Spray gun tip size for paint ?

[tommyinajar]

I checked a lot of old posts and didn't get a clear answer. Now that it's nice out and I don't have to paint in the basement -Whats is a good gun (for an air compressor)  and tip size for latex primer, paint / and for oil based. Also generally, how much if any and what do you thin each with?

[kronic24601]

I'm no pro, but trail and error has taught me a few things. Mainly, it HIGHLY depends on how hot it is outside and exactly what paint you are using. Also things highly depend on your PSI you are feeding the gun

Typically your paint will suggest an amount to thin ... the magic number for me was @~ 20% thinner. This was for oil based.

I don't remember the size tip, but the bigger the better, my main problem with this kind of paint is that it is not meant for small gun spraying. Alternatively, if I could re-do this, I'd have gotten automotive paint.

Just remember, bring plenty of practice wood to test on first.

[tommyinajar]

I just sprayed the oil based primer today with an siphon feed automotive spray gun and a 1.6mm tip.  I had to thin it a lot more than 20%- it was just too thick. With it that thinned, needless to say coverage wasn't great. Still looks better than a roller though.

Harbor freight tools has a home use spray gun with a 2.0 mm tip cheap, maybe I'll give that a shot. http://www.harborfreight.com/household-low-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-92841.html

[jan25th]

I am definitely no pro either but I have been very happy with my Wagner HVLP conversion gun. I use it with a small pancake compressor which may be considered too small for big jobs, have to wait for compressor to catch up every now and again, but I do pretty small jobs. I have painted a couple of doors and even some ceramic tiles, using the stock tip that came in the package and latex paint (thinned 15-20%). I got the gun from: http://www.gleempaint.com/hvcongunnew.html where much good info can be found. There is even talk about it here, just search it.

Barry.

[Ed_McCarron]

I just sprayed the oil based primer today with an siphon feed automotive spray gun and a 1.6mm tip.  I had to thin it a lot more than 20%- it was just too thick. With it that thinned, needless to say coverage wasn't great. Still looks better than a roller though.

Harbor freight tools has a home use spray gun with a 2.0 mm tip cheap, maybe I'll give that a shot. http://www.harborfreight.com/household-low-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-92841.html

Hm, for 17 bucks thats worth checking out.  Thanks.

[kronic24601]

Just keep in mind the really cheap guns are kinda cheap for a reason.

I ended up buying 3 different guns (from Harbor Freight) and kinda wish I just bought a decent one that had reviews on it I could trust. I found cheap guns provided somewhat cheap results ... so ... keep that in mind.

As a total side note, there are a few things I wish I had known going into this. (but perhaps you already do)

1) Paint in the shade, but not under a damn tree with falling pedals/leaves 
2) DON'T put in the sun to dry - (this warped my materials and crinkled the paint on the top layer). 
3) If paining on top of plastic ... TAPE the plastic/other-material DOWN (otherwise the wind may flip up and ruin the paint   

I would suggest placing it in a garage to dry where things can't fall/crap on it...


All in all, I had such a miserable experience I wish I had just vinyl laminated the  thing. I know it would have been cheaper easily.

[Dr Zero]

I was talking to the people at wagner the other day about using a paint gun and they recommended adding a conditioner to the latex paint now due to some refomulations going on. The conditioner is supposed to help the paint flow and level better so you dont get spatters or spits and it will dry smoother.

here is just some examples
http://www.flood.com/paint-additive-solutions/paint-additive-guide/index.jsp