Thread: Spray Equipment - Confused

My son bought me one of this type of compressor with a kit that contained a spray gun some 12 mths ago. the compressor works well but the gun was shall we say useless. He has considerable experience with spraying and said go out and buy a Star 770. Got one in Toowoomba for $98.00 which I thought was resonable. They had some chinese copies much cheaper but I was advised that parts for the copies could be hard to obtain. The gun works well but if you were continually useing it on large projects you could run out of air. the largest item I have sprayed was a 900 mm. 4 drawer chest and I had no problems. The only regret I have is that I should have got it sooner. vinnie

The star 770 is all you need.
The other guns are not necessary.

If you pay $120 for a S770 Star YOU are being ripped off something awful (read more than twice what they are selling for at the moment (during sale)

TradeTools

I started out with a Star gun and a 2.5HP/10cfm/40 litre direct drive compressor. The gun started "spluttering" after very little use - turned out to be a crack in the nozzle housing letting in air where no air should be - and they replaced it under warrantly. But..... the direct drive compressor runs all the time when you are spraying and gets very hot. It really isn't up to the job. I think it probably delivers 6 - 7 cfm max and the guns need about 10. I upgraded to a belt drive 3 cyl 16cfm unit that delivers a full 10 cfm. I also upgraded to a Devilbiss gun. Still got the (new) Star and it is OK This'all is proving to be excellent - I mainly use it for enamel paint.

Just a thought... The Star was faulty, it turns out, from the start. I spent quite a bit of time fiddling with the needle packing, replaced the packing, tightened it.... nearly went crazy! I concluded it was a waste of time and the gun was too cheap to be any good. I probably would not have bought the Devilbiss if I had known about the manufacturing/assembly flaw in the first Star. Service from the Star agent was A-OK once I found the crack in the casting.

Thanks guys,

Sounds like the Star S770 is still the go.

What about moisture traps, filters, regulators etc???

Also how easy is the gun to clean????

Does anyone know of any good books on spray painting???

regards

Nomad

The 770 will be fine for you, moisture trap/filter is essential and close as possible to the gun, most MT/Filters have a regulator... set your line pressure while the trigger is pulled on the gun, final setting can be done on the gun(read instructions!).

With spray equipment clean is not clean enough, always after spraying run the same thinners(fresh) as you use for the paint through the gun at least 2 times, you dont need a big amount just enough to dissolve the liquid paint. Then pull the gun down and soak all parts that contact the paint in thinners until your ready for next coat(s), if its the final coat soak for several minutes then wipe all parts down till completely dry.

Harry,

You must use gallons of thinners to do this?????

Sorry haven't had much to do with spraying before.

As for the the mini starr touchup gun does this give you a spray much the same as an airbrush??????
Nomad

A lot spray than an airbrush
You can get a cheap but compatible thinners for washing guns.
Keep all your dirty thinners in a spare can,
The paint settles out of it so you can still use it to clean guns or even paintbrushes that have gone hard.

IN, not really as each wash out would be lucky to use 20ml for a gravity fed gun, about 50ml for a syphon fed job!
The trick is not to use a large single amount for dilution, but several small amounts.

Honestly the star touch up gun is junk, sure it works/sprays fine but it is not a durable gun they have cheap thin castings which tend to break if knocked and all the fittings(moving parts/connections)will rust if used with water based products.
However they are quite fine for a 1st to learn on gun budget wise, the 770(im going by others opinions here)is the same, once you've tried a quality gun you'll realise the cheaper guns are chain store handyman gear. But in saying that like most products/tools you will pay a lot more for a little better... cheap gun $50 good gun $250+

Does anyone know of a good air brush to buy for a novice???????

I have an airbrush called a "Badger" it's a beaut. About $40.00 when I got it a couple of years ago. There are cheaper ones aroung though. I like the one where the resevoir screws on rather than the ones where it slides on. I could just see me dropping bottles off the gun by the dozen. I also have an adapter that lets me run it off the spare tyre which can also be handy if you don't have a compressor. I got mine through my local wood turning shop but think they might be available from Toyworld or any decent hobby shop.

I ahve a star suction touch up gun & I recon its great particularly for the price. It will run on very low air preasure & doesn't blow overspray back in your face anywher near as much when working inside things.

It is nothing like an air brush.

I use mine for all sorts of small stuff & the pot is small which means you dont need much to get it going.
It would be good for doing little fiddly things like girly boxes & small turnings.

I use it for touching up screw heads and spraying in interior trim in cases and its great for spraying refurbished theatre lighting lanterns.

the 770 is a hell of a lot bigger but still a great gun.

one of each is a good starting point.

cheers

So I should get :

1. Starr 770 suction gun

2. Starr Touchup suction gun


So suction is better than gravity feed??????????

Nomad

Grab both, 770 will do the big jobs and the T'up does the small stuff.

I personaly dont find any spray performance differance between suction and gravity fed guns, but find gravity is better suited to cabinet work as a suction gun can starve for paint when the pot is near MT if spraying at a upwards angle(under shelfs and stuff).
On the other hand I find suction guns a more easy/comfy to use on a lenghty job as they have better balance with the weight under your hand not over top... another thing that good guns have over cheapys they are made from much lighter alloys, spray a large car and you'll see what I mean.(my old samson S90 full sized gun is lighter than a star T'up!)