Best HF paint gun for base/clear? Which primer/base/clear products for first timer?

Title says it all.  Dusterbd13 got me all excited to paint my former Challenge Miata that came to me......less than perfect so i dont have too far to fall if i fail.   Ive filled, sanded, primer/fillered and blocked 4 times each and I'm ready to seal, paint and clear it.  I am way better than avg with rattle cans so I'm not SUPER worried about laying down the paint, just curious about budget minded products as i dont want to end up sanding off $400 worth of stuff if i blow it.

Any and all product recommendations are welcome and if there is one or two HF gun(s) that will get me through this one job i will happily toss the at the end.

Dont you hate when you can't edit the title? Autocorrect put a period at the end of a question!!

Art swears by the sata guns. But they're 600 each for the low rent ones.

He says the more expensive harbor freight hvlp is pretty good for a cjeap gun.

Your car was previously painted with the 9.99 gun.

Nobody?

Sorry Mike, nobody else?

Maybe i should have put this in the Challenge section?  Mods you can move this if it's in the wrong place 

HF has some nice guns for not much money; check Youtube. So does Eastwood. Look up Eastwood videos on YouTube and watch them until this all makes sense. Rats Nest Hot Rods was another must watch DIY body work channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ZgoDTqM3_Sz8CxWJ5gTeg

I shoot primer with a $60 large orifice gun. When it comes to high fill, its the orifice that matters.

I have a really nice Devillbiss that will forever be a better gun than I will be a painter. Sata would present the same reality. But they do work really nice and are easier to clean and last longer than cheap guns.

I don't see where you can go wrong with the Eastwood paint products. I do wonder who makes them.

Souther polyurethanes is the go-to hot rod paint products place if not buying name brand stuff.

I hate Sherwin Williams products with a passion.

You can check with Dusterid 13 to confirm this, but doing 85% of the work is a waste of time, it wont give you a 85% paint job. You really have to buy in for the whole pitcher of Koolaid to justify the effort.

If you can find a used Sata they really are nice to use, even my hamfisted work came out well. 

If you have a NAPA or Sherwin Williams supplier near you check out their bc/cc system (same products/different label). Easy to use and high quality paints. The un.better quality HF gun should work fine if you can't find a high end used 

Has anyone used the parts store Duplicolor Paint Shop lacquer system?

I have done a crap ton of prep and feel like I'm in a good place but $250 or more for materials that i may have to sand back off is scary and I'm on a budget due to no work ATM.

Thank you all for your input, i will follow all leads

In reply to Don49 (Forum Supporter) :

My experience with SW was horrible. Three layers of paint and you can still read the newspaper through the stuff. VERY low solids count.

I only have a expensive suggestion for sealer.  I used PPG DP50LF.  You will need the correct temperature range activator to go with it. It lays down really nice. I even brush painted the stuff and it still came out with minimal brush marks.  

DP50LF is gray but there are multiple primer colors to compliment the top coat.

https://us.ppgrefinish.com/PPG-Refinish/Products/Automotive-Refinish/Deltron

The duplicolor paints I've used are only good for 5 max years before it breaks down. It is only about as good as model car paint in my opinion. Good enough for touch up, but would never paint a car that I cared about with it. It has no rust prevention capability because it is so thin and barely holds film thickness. You will need lots of coats to build up film and then you need to take real good care of it to keep it from being damaged by the sun. 

I would be hesitant to use Southern Polyurethane epoxy primer unless you have pristine environment or a great gun, sure it has higher solids and is tougher, but it did not shoot or lay down as nicely as the PPG stuff. It was only good for chassis covering where a pristine finish is not necessary. I guess that is what you pay PPG the big bucks for.

I would consider rustoleum rust tough if going cheap (not their automotive line). That is good cheap paint and actually does hold up to the elements better than the duplicolor crap. I would guess it is goodYou will need to wet sand and polish it because smooth laydown is not its strength. It takes a ton of time to dry so wait a long time for it to harden before wet sanding and polishing. 

Even the cheap HF guns work pretty damn good for the incredibly cheap price if you have a good air system. And even if you have a very expensive gun , if the air system sucks the paint job probably won't come out very well.

I've got an assortment of guns from HF cheapos to Devilbiss & SATA  with various size tips, cups etc. and use different ones for different jobs. As a challenge I've used the $13.00 1.4 tip purple HF model for pearl base/clear and BC/matte clear with no problems. If you know the traits of a gun you can adjust your settings to make it work for you. Ya sure, the higher priced guns have smoother action, better control, can be rebuilt,  better adjustability and a wider range for volume/pressure, and wider more consistent pattern adjustment but if you don't have a lot of experience using the features you might as well save the money on the gun IMO unless you think you'll paint more cars. Put a little of the saved money toward sandpaper for wet sanding & buffing you'll probably need to do anyway just because this is your first car.

In reply to NOT A TA :

YUP. 

Good paint is all about the time and sanding. Spend a lot of time and use a lot of paper. Paper is dull way before your budget want it to be, Once it is dull, it works against you, not for you. 

Wash the car with water when you think if is ready for paint, If it does not look lke it is already perfectly painted, dont paint it yet.

In reply to NOHOME :

Ya know we really should have a thread here for novices to refer to with lots of "the basics" tips & tricks. Compressor basics, drying the air, etc   While there's more than one way to accomplish the goal and a wide variety of tools and products that can be discussed there's certain simple things that folks new to paint work don't think of. Here's a mistake I've seen repeated several times.

Plan is to do all the bodywork and then paint the car in the garage. So once prep work is completed the garage gets super cleaned, blown out with leaf blowers, big fans, air hose etc. and the floor gets washed down. Important stuff gets covered to prevent over spray, then the big door gets lowered most of the way down, but not all the way before paint so fresh air can come in the bottom.

The problem is that the bodywork was done with the big door open and stuff floats around and settles up on top,  on the outside of the door when it's overhead in the horizontal position. The settled dust on the top panel often isn't washed away by rains because of the overhang/soffit and recess of the door to the inside of the wall. So the top section of the door has dry dusty stuff on it. When the door is almost closed the angled door gap at the top becomes a big wide venturi, then with just the slightest breeze the dust on the outside of the top door panel blows right onto the fresh paint. Easy preventive is to wash the outside of the door before paint. If any of you guys want to see what I'm talking about go out with a wet clean white rag and wipe the outside top panel of your garage doors.

You guys are awesome. I got the mid grade HF gun today but also grabbed a box of their filter screen cone funnel things, an inline regulator, 2 moisture filters and a set of disposable paint cups. Im building a paint booth out of our "soccer tent" and misting the inside with a pump sprayer.  This is where i am with it right now.

I’m excited to see how this comes out for ya... I figure pretty good ; you seem to have “the devil’s in the details “ thing down pretty good... and... great advice!

I'm looking into the same process for my 2020 Challenge car ... only I was planning to use Valspar tractor paint. Trying to decide between Massey Ferguson Gray and Ford New Holland Blue.

Lanevo, The Duplicolor Paint Shop series isnt expensive, has way better color options, and is designed to be easy to spray for us newbs, but everyone says longevity is not its strong point.  In other words, you may be able to pull off a better looking Challenge car with it but dont plan on it still looking nice in 5 years.  Dusterbd13 says his local Ollie's had some paint for 5 or 6 bucks a can!

I was interested in tractor paint mainly because I've heard it's easier for a n00b to spray (somehow better at self-leveling). At this stage, I haven't ruled out a roller job. Also, tractor paint is supposedly more resistant to environmental insults and easier to touch up. I don't know if any of that is true, but this is what I've picked up.

Besides all that: this is a Triumph TR project ... and Triumph 4-bangers are based on the Ferguson TE20 tractor engine. I figure Massey Ferguson tractor paint would be appropriate!

Ive done tractor paint. Rustoleum, valspar,  majic from tractor supply. 

Add hardener to it. It scratches surprisingly easily. It fades in the sun after a while, and chalks bad. Doesn't self level very well in my experience. But. After it cures it wetsands and buffs very well! And is easy to touch up, depending on your standards.

Bought paint and primer today, spray as soon as the weather will leave me alone.

Ollies?

All they had was orange.  Got my wax and grease remover as well as paint thinner and plastic.  Not that any of that matters now.

Final rinse complete

In reply to Placemotorsports :

You suck but i truly LOLed