Airless sprayer for auto painting?

so, I`m thinking of painting my truck with an airless sprayer has anyone ever done that or knows anyone who has? I`m wondering how it would turn out. I`m going to use a single stage urethane auto paint and a urethane high build primer.

I couldn't tell you, even though I've been painting in a body shop for a while. I only deal with actual spray guns and an air compressor...

a reply to: Tardacus

I don't know a great deal myself, but I've been around a lot of really top notch paint guys and there's a lot of factors to consider (and really expensive sprayers) to get auto paint to come out right - and that's for guys with lots of knowledge and experience. If you just need a fresh coat of paint on a beater/work truck, sure, but if you're looking for it to come out looking good, I don't think it's a good way to go.

I obviously don't know how experienced you are with auto paint, or what kind of outcome you're looking for. If you just want the equivalent of what cans of spray paint could give you, I think this would be an efficient way to go, but you'd probably get a better paint job from MAACO (or whatever the modern equivalent is if they no longer exist.)

My limited experience with airless sprayers found them to produce a certain amount of spater. Usually not a big deal when spraying latex, not sure how that would work on a urethane for autobody. Might work ok for the primer I guess, probably a bad choice for your finish coat though.

a reply to: Tardacus

What brand sprayer are you going to use? There are some fantastic sprayers out there that do not use air, but many are purpose built for a specific type of paint. I'm sure if you work with a Tool sales person, or even a local paint shop that handles sprayers you can find a reasonably priced sprayer that with some practice will provide you with results that are satisfactory.

Will it look like a factory job? Maybe, maybe not really depends on materials used and your own patience/time took to learn how to apply the paint. The steps taken in prep and finish work are huge as well.

I have considered doing my own paint work, but I do not have a good compressor, the money for a good air sprayer, awesome paint, space to sand/prep/paint.

If you have all of these things, I'm behind you buddy. Good luck!

a reply to: Tardacus

I think you're chances of getting the classic "orange peel" texture are pretty good with an airless gun but I guess it would mostly work if you're not concerned about it being super smooth...

Probably wouldn't be recommended by a pro but it will put paint down...Make sure you're consistent on your spray distance & angle if you do try it.

Let us know how it goes if you do use airless...never tried to paint a car with one.

ETA: make sure you use at least a respirator...modern urethane & clear coat is highly toxic

Ive done 2 stage paint jobs with dupont chromabase. Base coat clear coat. I dont like orange peel. I like glass. Heavy clear cote that looks wet all the time. I wouldnt use an airless. Not on a car

The 15 dollar hvlp sprayer works great from Harbor Freight. Believe it or not.
It requires an air compressor drained of water, hose and a line dryer/water seperator for the hose. Read tips on setup online. Excess moisture in ac
, line,or air will show up as a fog in the paint, and extreme fog in clearcoat
You really have to watch air speed, needle settings, temp and humidity. I would recommend a 2 part paint, it's the only one that will hold up.

Use a high build primer first and sand smooth. Wet sand with 2000+ grit wet/dry paper, you can feel it float on the water and wash paint build up from sandpaper, of it gets gritty clean paper. Finish w high speed buffer, clean, wax remove and clear coat. Polish again, then wax after a couple weeks of cure time...There are some good guides out there on the net.

An airless sprayer would absolutely destroy a car paint job. You would get better results with a spraypaint can fogging each layer on.

Thats the main trick to car painting. Not too much at once, so it runs. First coat is a tack coat only. Ignore color coverage and mist thin, even layer over whole car. 12-15 min, immediately after shininess leaves, apply next coat, watch glossiness leave, then apply subsequent coats to your liking, or coverage. Each new coat it thin enough to not run.. Runs can be wetsanded between coats.

Practice on something, so u can back pressure down enough for it to not bounce and orange peel it.
Match the cfm of the sprayer w ac cfm. The Harbor Freight one is perfect for painting a car w a light duty compressor.

I'm not sure why you would consider the expense and hassle of using an airless sprayer to do a car.
Airless sprayers are going to put a lot of paint on pretty fast, even a small one.
An air assisted airless may be a better option if you really must as it produces a better fan.

I spend a lot of time repairing Graco Airless pumps and none of my clients use them for spraying cars. Just a thought but you do get a pressure pulse as the pump changes direction at the end of its travel, thinner the paint the worse the effect on the spray fan.

Post some pics if you do try it.

You definitely want to use an HPLV setup with urethane auto paint. The key to a decent paint job with urethane is atomizing it properly and the only way to achieve that is with a HPLV gun.

You can get airless systems that atomise reasonably well...not over confident it'd do well enough for a decent automotive paintjob as I've personally never seen them used for such other than backyarders who aren't overly worried about how the final finish turns out....and like most things pro-gear = pro-price.

If you're not going to use it enough to offset/warrant the cost of it, then likely to just be cheaper to get someone else with the gear to blow over your car.


Still...usual basics too...prep, prep, more prep...prep again.
Top quality gear and top quality skill for the final coating will rarely compensate for low quality prep work...

a reply to: alien

I am still at a loss as to why someone has not justified buying a huge great compressor, decent HVLP spray gun and all the needed stuff to do such a job?

Am I missing something here?

Is the OP not a married man?

a reply to: nonspecific

Hahahaha

This is true!

My own wife oft' comments "Ummm, do you really need a new [insert car part, power tool, whatever here] hun??"

"Well hun...see...define need...."

Hahahaha

a reply to: Tardacus

Is the airless sprayer automotive specific, or at least intended for painting vehicles generally? Is it manufactured for that purpose?

Also, remember to leave it drying someplace where things like sand and things blown about by the wind can't get at it, or bugs can't land on it, and ruin all your paint.

I wish I had someplace to paint my car and prep it, I'd keep the same original colour but get it mixed up as a chrome paint.

originally posted by: alien
a reply to: nonspecific

Hahahaha

This is true!

My own wife oft' comments "Ummm, do you really need a new [insert car part, power tool, whatever here] hun??"

"Well hun...see...define need...."

Hahahaha