Beginner — Spray Gun + compressor for small sculpture

[elso]

Hi there,
I have searched the forum for advice regarding a spray gun and a compressor to buy, I have found some good info, but I was wondering if they apply to my case.
I have a small sculpture (55cmx40x30) with large sides, (its is basically a pyramid) I have built out od car body filler over resin and I am looking at a way to paint it gun gloss. I asked ppl around tyo have it painted and the cheapest estimate went up to £150 and a week of time.
So I was wondering if I could use that money to buy the tools and do it myself, mainly because I would prefere to save time.
Can you please recommend a spray gun and (possibly small) compressor to cover such an area? I was thinking about using cellulose base paint if this makes sense to you. It'd be great if this is something I can buy online.
Many thanks for your help!

Best wishes

Elso

 

[pedrobedro]

You could have the colour of your choice mixed and put into aerosols with a good quality spray pattern for not too much money. One can would easily cover what you want. Ebay or local car spares shops do them.

 

[elso]

Thanks Pedro, my only concern with aerosol is the fear that the can may loose strenght after 50% of usage and make the paint coat look like orange peel...
any experience with that?

 

[cumbriasteve]

The modern, good quality spray cans tend to have a higher pressure and maintain pressure until the paint is used up.

I use them a lot and get some excellent finishes and the beauty of celly is it can be flattened back with some well used wet and dry with plenty of soapy water before the final finishing coat if required.

Normally that is all I ever have to do for a high standard finish, for a show finish I may consider further detailing with mild cutting paste and polish/wax.

 

[elso]

Thanks for sharing! One last question, can you list some good brands? I only know the likes of Montana, the type of spray cans used in graffiti.

 

[superls]

i have an aldi comperssor, (2.5hp 24 litre) and a clarke gravity fed gun, ive painted most of a car with it (panel at a time) with no problem and a real good diy finish

 

[Dev]

You could get one of the decent Earlex HVLP sprayers for about that budget.

 

[zx9]

You could get one of the decent Earlex HVLP sprayers for about that budget.

I would second Dev on the Earlex, great for small jobs but oh so slow if you have a lot of ground to cover, noisy too but you will get a lot of noise with even a small direct drive compressor.

 

[Daz1968]

I would go with a cheap touch up spraygun and a small 24ltr compressor if you planning on doing any more, but if just the one job stick with aerosol, I wouldn't use metallic in aerosol form though as I have tried and its difficult to apply compared to a spraygun.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Thanks for sharing! One last question, can you list some good brands? I only know the likes of Montana, the type of spray cans used in graffiti.

Before using off the shelf cans I used to get mine from an autofactors, they mixed and filled the cans, they had a wide spray pattern and covered a decent area.

I should think most autofactors will still do them unless the paint regs has tightened it up a bit.

 

[Daz1968]

Jawel do them if you have one in your area as postage on paint can be a bit steep

 

[elso]

Thanks for the infos, so at the moment I am contemplating two solutions:
- go for the aerosol solution (checking Jawel and other shops)
- go for the 24lt compressor (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Einhell-Lit...2UJG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358893992&sr=8-3) or the Aldi (which I am still trying to see if I can buy in the UK) and a paint gun like Clarke or similar, I have found a Kestrel gravity http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product.php?products_id=4974.
- I must say that I am tempted by the Earlex (http://www.mkmonline.co.uk/product/6992/hv3500ukp-hvlp-paint-spray-unit.aspx) but (and this might probably sound like a silly comment) I a not too convinced by the design.... not from an aesthetic point of view, only I wonder if it is just best to get something that looks more like a paint gun and compressor if this makes sense.
I will send an update, but thanks for your help guys! much appreciated!!!
Best

 

[elso]

Hey, I've found this one here, is it any good? I was thinking I could probably replace the gun with a better model: http://www.ukhs.tv/Workshop/Air-Com...9-5CFM-Air-Compressor-with-13pc-Pro-Spray-Kit
Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Dev]

I was thinking of the mid rang earlex with a proper looking gun and cup. http://www.earlex.co.uk/hv5500.html

I was in the same position as you - would like to spray but not regularly enough to spend a huge amount.

After reading all the posts about how important it is to get the air from a compressor right, keep it free from moisture, and oil, and contaminants at the intake, at the right temperature and then having to stop spraying if the LPM doesn't match your CFM and it can only pick up AM not FM I thought I'd give it a miss.

The Earlex sounds like a Hoover, keeps spraying till I run out of paint and is fairly easy to clean. The only thing I don't like is that the air continues when there is no paint so it 'blows', or bleeds constantly from the nozzle. Not that big a deal but worth knowing if you are using big billowing sheets. I do however use the hose without the gun attached as a blower sometimes, which is handy too.