Small Spray Gun for Motorcycles!

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kronek67

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As I'm planning out my new paint shop, I'm taking everything in at the beginning. So I want to get a compressor that will work with they guns I need. Question is, what gun?

I'm thinking about the Iwata LPH80 Miniature. It has a 1.2 nozzle and uses 2.2 cfm of air. It sprays a 5.5" fan pattern. Here is the spray gun. http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=LPH80

Here is another possible spray gun if that one is not enough. http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=LPH101LV

I plan to use this for painting motorcycle tanks and fenders. Base coats, clear coats and candies. Will I need a separate gun for each? Eventually I would like to have dedicated spray guns for each but hope to start with one.

For the setup. I will be running off an 11 gallon tank @ 125 psi tank pressure. Doing the math, even without a compressor attached, that should give me 1 hour of continuous spraying. I'm hoping to use a compressor such as the Super Silent TC-50 http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M22590 with the 11 gallon tank.

Will this gun and setup do what I'm wanting?
What areas do I need to change?
Let me know what you think.
 
It's best to have a dedicated clear gun and it needs to be a 1.7 nozzle setup for best results. You can go down to a 1.3 but that's pushing it. Not ideal at all using a mini for clearcoat as you for one will run out way too fast with the volume and speed you need to clear. A good clear gun will need 12 to 14cfm so that compressor isnt gonna do the job, would need at least a 5hp compressor as those usually max out at 14cfm. I use a mini for candies and for doing door jams and that's about it.
 
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It's best to have a dedicated clear gun and it needs to be a 1.7 nozzle setup for best results. You can go down to a 1.3 but that's pushing it. Not ideal at all using a mini for clearcoat as you for one will run out way too fast with the volume and speed you need to clear. A good clear gun will need 12 to 14cfm so that compressor isnt gonna do the job, would need at least a 5hp compressor as those usually max out at 14cfm. I use a mini for candies and for doing door jams and that's about it.

Thanks. You are always a lot of help and point me in the right direction. It may cost me more up front, but I'll save in the long run.

Taking what you said, I'm looking at the LPH-400-LV as a dedicated clear coat gun. http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=LPH400LVI I can get it up to a 1.8 and it only uses 9.5 cfm. This should give me 15 minutes of continuous spraying from the tank alone. So it should work with the same setup as long as I'm not painting too much. If I have too, I could always hook up my noisy compressor with the silent one for using that spray gun. Or borrow my friends 20-30 gallon compressor for bigger paint jobs. I mainly want to be able to paint up to the size of a motorcycle, but 90% of my painting will be airbrush. I just don't like the idea of setting up to airbrush now, then have to buy a new compressor to paint my motorcycle. I'd rather pay more up front than to pay twice.
 
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My background is with auto refinish. Now in retirement I'm doing motorcycle for a hobby. I have always used Devilbiss guns. Currently using their finishline models with interchangeable tips (1.3-2.2). 1.3 works for me, clear and base with minimal orange peel. Dedicated primer (cheap gun here), color and clear guns (finishline). No experience with the mini guns so I can't comment. For gen spraying I'm using a 5 hp craftsman. To eliminate craters I have plumbed my shop with up-over-down-and then horizontal pvc pipe. Petcock drains at the ends with water trap and regulator keeps my paint mostly contaminant free. I have a new california air 2hp 10020 for my airbrushes. Haven't tried it for basecoat or clear yet. I'm sure it would work for basecoat and probably clear. Delivers 7 cfm @ 40. My gun calls for 10 cfm but I think it will work for everything. You have to go easy clearing cycle parts to avoid sags. I go light to medium urethane clearcoats with generally 10 minutes between coats (depends on temp). Doesn't take long to clear a cycle panel set. One coat less than 10 minutes. I'm also using a fresh air system which I have found lets me linger longer in the booth and go slower. good luck
toms_zps6de6e805.jpg~original
 
I have looked at the finishline guns before but it has been a while. I want to try and keep the gun to 10cfm or less, which can be tough for a clear gun. I was going to ask how long it takes to spray a motorcycle with one coat, but you already answered. Knowing that, I can size my take accordingly so that I can run completely off the tank and not the compressor. If I have enough air volume to spray one coat then anything I get from the compressor is a bonus. I'll be running an 11 gallon tank typically, but will probably add 1 or 2 more for painting motorcycles. I also have another 2.5up compressor I can hook to the extra tanks. I don't want it running all the time, but while I'm clearing will be fine. The two compressor together will provide at least half the cfm requirements for the clear gun, so as long as my tanks are big enough and I don't burn out the compressor I should be good.
 
Until you get a feel for how long your air tank will last paint try one panel at a time. Your compressor can catch up between coats.
 
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