Spray or brush

Got an old case vac 1957, got it running and want it to paint it. Just want it to look better. Never used a paint sprayer but I make a mess spraying with cans. Any suggestions as to a cheap sprayer? Or should I brush it?
 
Dave, I would suggest going to Harbor Freight. They have a spray gun for $16.00, which you can often get for around $10.00 on sale. It is an HVLP gun. Not professional grade, but at this price, They are quite disposable after 5 or 6 uses. Comes with the paint cup & lid. And guess what, it actually does work OK. Good Luck, Larry. P.S. its all about the prep.
 
I would practice more with rattle cans . The paint is mixed all you have to do is shake it you can start and whenever you want the only cleaning you have to do is tip the can upside down and spray until it?s clear no air compressor no air hose no regulators just easy . Grandpa love has painted several and he does a nice job
 
BTW, is there a way to get a decent result with a brush? I've tried to brush a few small parts and can never get an even coat. What's the trick, the brush or thinning?
 

Dave, I also urge you to go to Harbor freight and pick up a sprayer. Here are some reasons. Spray cans usually spray well but not always, and you can get into a predicament when the paint doesn't come out right. I painted the red of a 960 20 years ago with spray cans. I picked up four, then went back for two more, then back for another four. They don't cover like you expect that they will. Brushing can work well on some parts, but you can get very frustrated trying to get into tight places, back sides, and in behind the outer parts. Bright colors like orange will tend to fade out, unless you use paint that is better than what you can get in a spray can. It can look good for 3-4 years then you may have to remove the paint if you want it to look half decent.
 
Harbor freight sparayer 9.99 on sale. You can paint castings with a sponge brush okay. The trick with sponge brushes is to have a lot of them as they fail in use. If you add a flow enhancer to the paint it will eliminate brush strokes. Penetrol is one type.
 
Most of the job painting a tractor is the preparation. If you are going to go to the trouble of properly prepping a tractor to paint I would spray it. It will use less paint and look a whole lot better. Unless you are experienced at brushing paint it's difficult to eliminate the brush marks. Since you are not experienced with spraying paint and guessing you will be using an oil based enamel I would recommend a Harbor Freight #69704. It's about 18 bucks with one of their 20% off coupons.

If you do brush the paint and you plan to use an oil based enamel use as soft of a paint brush as you can find. If the weather is still warm you might add some Flood Penetrol to the paint. This will slow the drying time down to help the paint flow out. Brush the paint on as thin as you can with as few brush strokes as you can. The more you brush paint puts more air into the paint and causes it to set up faster. The bristles of the brush makes grooves in the paint and it needs to be wet enough to flow together so the longer it sits before it sets up the less the brush marks show.

There will be a certain amount of mess whether you brush or spray. Home Depot sells some cheap plastic drop cloth you can cover the area to prevent the mess.
 
(quoted from post at 14:35:07 09/07/19) Got an old case vac 1957, got it running and want it to paint it. Just want it to look better. Never used a paint sprayer but I make a mess spraying with cans. Any suggestions as to a cheap sprayer? Or should I brush it?

If you make a mess with spray cans, you'll really have some cleaning to do after using a spray gun.
 
Spent 4+ hours with purple power degreaser and a pressure washer. Then a couple of rounds of dawn dish soap. Wiped it down with mineral spirits. Brush painted both of these. The Ford has less brush strokes because it was hot weather 95+. Allis was painted in cooler weather and it was raining out , still I'm happy with the way they look. Wasn't going for perfect, just protection.
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Before and after on the Ford. Took less than a gallon on each one.
 

Dave, because the spray pattern with a spray gun is so much better that that from a can, and because the spray gun is shooting a lot of air with the paint, you will be able to control the paint a lot better and make a lot less mess than with cans.
 
(quoted from post at 06:44:35 09/10/19)
Dave, because the spray pattern with a spray gun is so much better that that from a can, and because the spray gun is shooting a lot of air with the paint, you will be able to control the paint a lot better and make a lot less mess than with cans.

Depending on what the issue with the cans or technique is, this is true. The amount of material that flows from a good gun may be a bit of a shock though.
 
would the hvlp spray gun kit that harbor freight lists on their web site for $109 be a good choice. It would solve my problem with the spray gun and compressor maybe not large enough? thank you
 
(quoted from post at 08:38:31 09/10/19) would the hvlp spray gun kit that harbor freight lists on their web site for $109 be a good choice. It would solve my problem with the spray gun and compressor maybe not large enough? thank you

That's quite a bit of money for a gun that not many people have given a good word on, and lower end guns tend to be worse air hogs than higher end ones. It looks like one that is sold under mulitple other labels, if I recall. Just keep these things in mind.

I would stay away from HVLP, especially for a beginner. It's more finicky, isn't as nice of a finish, and will use more air. Conventional or HTE is the way to go.

Others will chime in as to how "I get a good finish with HVLP!"...yeah, you sure do. So have I. Technique is more important, but HVLP just doesn't do it as easily. It was developed to keep vapors out of the air, and was marketed as the greatest tech so everyone would want it. You'll benefit from getting the "I need HVLP" feeling out of your head.
 

For a beginner gun you would probably be happy with a Sharpe FX2000 conventional, 1.4 mm tip.

I had the HVLP version and hated it because it was too slow, but I was coming from a 1.8 mm siphon gun. Everyone else seems to like them.

The price point is right on target with the HF one you mentioned.

I'd also consider Astro although I have never used any of their sprayers. I have had good luck with their other tools in the last few years.
 
Using a conventional gun in a shop is a big no no around here, big fines if caught. I would get a hvlp gun, they are not that hard to master and you will save money on materials.
 
(quoted from post at 20:44:00 09/10/19) Using a conventional gun in a shop is a big no no around here, big fines if caught. I would get a hvlp gun, they are not that hard to master and you will save money on materials.

Do you have to have HVLP as a hobbyist and if so, are the HTE/RP/CPR/compliant guns allowed? If so, I would strongly recommend giving one a try.

For myself (a hobbyist) I didn't see much benefit in HVLP material usage (none, in all honesty), especially when compared with spray speed/finish quality benefits. Going from the HVLP cap to the HTE one on the same gun, I giggled like a school-girl at how easy life became. I could run the gun below the max PSI level instead of right at/slightly above and get far better results easier.
 
I would never go back to a convention siphon feed gun. I had to use my old gun after using the hvlp gun for a while and forgot how wasteful they are. Yakob, you should learn how to use the hvlp, you'll never go back once you have mastered it.
 
(quoted from post at 11:40:11 09/11/19) I would never go back to a convention siphon feed gun. I had to use my old gun after using the hvlp gun for a while and forgot how wasteful they are. Yakob, you should learn how to use the hvlp, you'll never go back once you have mastered it.

I'm not talking about a siphon feed. I'm talking about a gravity feed gun with an HVLP cap (which was "mastered," btw), then switching it to an HTE cap and seeing better results, easier, and with no change in waste.
 
(quoted from post at 11:44:04 09/11/19)
(quoted from post at 11:40:11 09/11/19) I would never go back to a convention siphon feed gun. I had to use my old gun after using the hvlp gun for a while and forgot how wasteful they are. Yakob, you should learn how to use the hvlp, you'll never go back once you have mastered it.

I'm not talking about a siphon feed. I'm talking about a gravity feed gun with an HVLP cap (which was "mastered," btw), then switching it to an HTE cap and seeing better results, easier, and with no change in waste.

"Conventional" is not synonymous with "siphon feed," FWIW.
 
If I spray it will be a hf sprayer that my hf compressor can handle. Plan on prepping best I can and do the same with my painting. Thanks for all the input.
 
(quoted from post at 13:01:12 09/11/19) If I spray it will be a hf sprayer that my hf compressor can handle. Plan on prepping best I can and do the same with my painting. Thanks for all the input.

How big is your compressor?

Adding an auxiliary tank can help.

If you're worried about cfm usage, that's another reason to stay away from HVLP.
 
You would be surprised what you can paint with a little compressor. All the little compressor does is restrict the area you can spray at one time. Then if you are at it for a long time keep an eye on the temperature of the compressor. If it starts getting hot, take a break and allow it to cool off. You might save some of your prep work to do while you are painting so you don't have the gun in your hand as long at one time. Myself when I paint a tractor I try to disassemble it as much as I can. This allows you to paint the parts individually and get to spots where you couldn't otherwise.
 
(quoted from post at 11:01:12 09/11/19) If I spray it will be a hf sprayer that my hf compressor can handle. Plan on prepping best I can and do the same with my painting. Thanks for all the input.


Dave, How good is best you can? Don't go spending money on good paint or spray guns if all you are doing is pressure washing. New paint over old will often cause the early paint to curl up and slowly lift over a few years. One that I bought looked very good when I got it but the paint started lifting after two years.
 
Plan to pressure wash grease and grime and sand what I can
put a primer on an paint. I?m not buying a high dollar sprayer
or compressor to paint a $500 tractor. Put overhaul kit in
engine and it?s still bare metal.
 
(quoted from post at 08:11:15 09/08/19) I would practice more with rattle cans . The paint is mixed all you have to do is shake it you can start and whenever you want the only cleaning you have to do is tip the can upside down and spray until it?s clear no air compressor no air hose no regulators just easy . Grandpa love has painted several and he does a nice job
ood evening:
If using rattle can, go to a paint supply store and get a clip-on handle for the rattle can. My greatest dislike about rattle cans is pressing the button down with one finger. The clip-on handle has a trigger that is easy to press, finger does not get tired. Just my humble opinion.....

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.
 
(quoted from post at 19:33:49 09/11/19) A paint sprayer is just a harder to use rattle can

The quality of paint you can apply, and the thickness of that paint is not even comparable between the 2.
 
I'm what you would term a low budget tractor guy.
I have all colors so not a one brand collector.
Most of my 8 tractors are restored but none to show room quality.
Frankly the glossy nice restoration job gets dusty, greasy, and fades in time unless you have a weather controlled environment to keep them in and have the time to keep them up.
So here's my MO on painting. Sheet metal parts like hoods, fenders, air cleaners, lights, etc get sprayed, in my case with rattle cans. Castings like engine blocks, trannies, axles, hubs, etc get brush painted. The castings, more often times than not, are not smooth anyway.
For both of the above, proper PREP. IS THE KEY as many have said. No sense putting the work into it if it won't last.
So I take off the parts I can and bring them into my heated shop and wire wheel, sand, fill, and remove ALL grease and oil. Then wipe down with paint thinner. Then wash with soap, then paint with can or brush depending on the part. By painting in a controlled environment you can actually get a nice smooth finish with the right brush and technique. Rattle cans work and can also give a good finish with some practice.
For the tractor drive train I prep in the same way and brush apply when the humidity is low. In colder temps it will work but will take longer to dry.
Attaching a photo of my last project. This was a combination of brush and rattle cans.
I feel the combo approach would work for you just fine. Just my two scents.
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