Warning: That $40 cheap paint gun cost me 3 hours of sanding

I bought a no-name HVLP gun off Amazon for about $40 last spring thinking I was being smart... figured a gun is a gun right? First couple jobs it laid down okay but on this silver metallic Toyota I had to do last week it just started spitting and fisheyeing all over. I spent almost 3 hours wet sanding and rebuffing the whole driver side to get the junk out. The local paint supply guy told me the internal passages are rough on the cheap ones and they trap moisture and debris. I ended up buying a used Devilbiss from a retiring body man for $150 and the difference is night and day. Has anyone else had bad luck with the bargain bin spray guns grabbing your clear too?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith2712d ago

Paid $35 for one of those. Worked fine for primer but clear came out looking like orange peel from hell. Took forever to sand and polish. Threw it in the trash and got a Devilbiss. That cheap gun cost me way more than $40 in time and materials.

rivera.hannah12d agoMost Upvoted

That "orange peel from hell" is exactly what happens when cheap guns can't atomize clearcoat right.

charlieh7412d ago

My buddy Dan thought he was slick getting a $30 gun off Wish. Used it on his nephew's Civic. Looked decent in the garage. Then the sun hit it. All these little craters and spots everywhere. He ended up sanding that whole hood down twice. Finally just gave up and paid a shop to reshoot it.