Painting equipment advice

[Mad Duc]

For X-mas I'm having family get me gift certificates to Harbor Freight. I want to get some painting equipment. What is some good equipment they have there?  What stuff can I get to help out?  Or is their stuff junk and should I get it elsewhere?  I'm trying to keep the budget to ~$150. I want to do normal paint as well as ceramic coatings for exhausts. I'm not looking to do this as a business, just have fun and save me some money.

I'm looking at this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93305
or this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93312
Or this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94572

Here's the full list:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=324&pricetype=

I like the first two so there isn't a huge tank in the way, I like the last one as there are two guns...

Thanks in advance!

[red baron]

I didn't even know you could buy euipment that cheap.


The first two you've posted are for painting very large objects (think tractor trailers) and have a few drawbacks.

1) Consume a large amount of compressed air, you better have at the minimum a five horse two stage compressor.

2) Require a lot of solvent to clean, usually around a gallon per cleaning.

3) Are probably not set up to provide a automotive type finish.


The third one might be a bit better, again it depends on what you are painting.

One thing to note is that all spray gun companies seem to stretch the truth about how little air the sprayguns actually use. Getting the right amount of air to the spraygun is crucial to it's performance.

[MrFryMoto]

I didn't even know you could buy euipment that cheap.


The first two you've posted are for painting very large objects (think tractor trailers) and have a few drawbacks.

1) Consume a large amount of compressed air, you better have at the minimum a five horse two stage compressor.

2) Require a lot of solvent to clean, usually around a gallon per cleaning.

3) Are probably not set up to provide a automotive type finish.


The third one might be a bit better, again it depends on what you are painting.

One thing to note is that all spray gun companies seem to stretch the truth about how little air the sprayguns actually use. Getting the right amount of air to the spraygun is crucial to it's performance.

know of any moderately priced, but decent spray guns?
...particularly any to paint bicycles with?

[red baron]

pm me

I might have an inside connection.

[Doctor Woodrow]

DO NOT BUY FROM HARBOR FREIGHT TOOL!!!! Their stuff is cheap crap, the only things good there are things without moving parts (like those magnetic dishes you put screws in to keep from losing them when working on your DUC. Other than that it is all cheap crap made out of even cheaper crappier materials. Trust me my father buys stuff from there all the time, he is always going bake and buying new stuff over and over again b/c it breaks. I have numerous instance where I have ended up spending less on a trusted name-brand from somewhere else and actually spent less in the end than he did after buying a cheap version of the same tool at harbor freight four times.

Don't buy inexpensive, you get what you pay for there: cheap. I am not saying you have to buy the most expensive stuff around, but c'mon who can sell a good 18 volt cordless drill for $19.99. Do you really expect something like that to last?

Sorry y'all, done ranting now.

The Doc

[Mad Duc]

I'm looking to do auto and moto stuff. Hobbyist stuff, not huge. I have a good compressor, ~5 SCM. 

Oh I know about Harbor Freight. I pick and choose what I get from there. I'm more than willing to get stuff from somewhere else like Eastwood.  They are great for cheap stuff I only need to use rarely.

Actually I am also looking at this kit from Eastwood:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=15988&itemType=PRODUCT


And tons of HVLP videos on Youtube: