Best cheap Spray Paint Guns for DIY CNC builder or small workshop

Hi,

from quite some time i wanted to share my findings and save fellow DIYers some cash , speaking of Spray Paint Guns.

I have had various Devilbiss, Sagola, 3M and some chinese. from 500 to 10e :whistle: .

So i will tell you straight:

You need only 2 cheap guns to cover your basic needs in a small workshop or if you are building CNC and here they are:




1. F75 spray gun 1.5mm nozzle . Ridiculous 10 euro gun . Ebay number 142241555112

This is my new gun from before a month as i hacked up my 400$$ 3M gun and did not want to spend 60euro on a nozzle. This is the best bang for a buck ever

This spray gun sprays epoxy , polyurethane, water based acrylic, wood lacquer, wood tint. Thick or thin. Its up for a job like spraying a whole machine or even a car or a van. Though its not a big gun with a large deposit. I dont know what the chinese did and who copied, but this thing is a beast.

Attachment 22601 Attachment 22602 Attachment 22603 Attachment 22604


2. 0.5mm K3 spray gun , again 10 euros. Ebay number 311236578956

This is the retouch gun. i have used it a couple of years. this is the paint gun for small objects, details, letters, signage, etc. Where you do not want to spend too much paint

Attachment 22605




As you may note you can use these guns from ANY position spraying up or down vertically. These babies put to shame any other chinese copy for the money and quality, not to speak of that many producers should be ashamed that 10euro gun sprays better than their brand ones.


As i am a very practical person, my advice is to buy 2 of each if you are in some fabrication.


And if you are in a serious fabrication or automotive business the choice will be the 3M 16580 Accuspray Spray Gun System with Standard PPS . I have the previous ACCUSPRAY gun and it was the best gun ever. but i refuse to pay 40$ for a nozzle. Sp this new Accuspray gun has plastic nozzles that you use a couple of times and when they clog, just throw them. isnt that great. Nozzles are cheap.

Attachment 22606




So as a conclusion if you are to have only One Do All Spray gun, then the F75 1.5mm nozzle is the gun for you. And drink a beer with the money saved.

Hope thats helpfull

2023 update.
Still have the guns and even painted a car with the bigger one. So i still recommend them.

But now I would say they are really good only for small projects. It was pain in the a%% to paint big projects and especially thick polyurethanes that i had to dilute. Same with the epoxy base which has probably become DIYers best universal base as it sticks to anything, wood , plastics, bumpers, cars, etc. and is antirust.


I wanted the gun combo to be cheapest possible and best quality possible :devilish: so here it is:

1.3 and 1.7mm combo kit PPS for 58 euros 2 days shipping straight in Europe from Germany.

PPS means the Gravity vessel has another one with filter inside, so for aprox 1 euro at every painting you dont need to clean anything but the gun, and the paint is filtered and can stay some time in the gun if one does second coat in 15 min or sth. Sold separately the consumables in 165, 400 ,600, 810ml

[Attachment 31760Attachment 31761Attachment 31762

Thanks Boyan for the tips. I am new to spray painting and I was thinking to start with some cheap spray guns. I already ordered both of them :)

I have to prepare a lot of mdf with two part polyurethane sealer and primer (not paint). Do you think the F75 spray gun will do the job?

Very good info, I wish I have found an article like that years ago and before many paint guns and airbrushes ,lol!

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Originally Posted by Boyan Silyavski

And drink a beer with the money saved.

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Best advice I've seen on here so far ;)

nice post.

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Originally Posted by Desertboy

Best advice I've seen on here so far ;)

nice post.

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Brilliant!

@ Boyan Silyavski,

I totaly disagree with you. These two sprayguns are totaly watse of time and waste of money. To explain in details:

After reading your enthusiastic review, I was stupid enough to forget my "if you pay peanuts, you buy monkeys" and decided to buy both of these Chinese-made spray guns from ebay. Like to hear my pesrsonal review? NONE of them works! Yes, they are good to spray air only or maybe fill cup with water and play a little, but these spray guns are actually useless! Reason? It is IMPOSSIBLE to disassemble them in order to clean them after paint spray.

I DARE you to show us pictures with these cheap Chinese-made "F75" and "K3" spray guns fully disassembled, with needles and nozzles free and ready for clean. To make my point more interesting, I dare to ANYONE who already purchased these cheap HVLP copies, to post pictures presenting the areas shown into following pictures disassembled. Long strory short. Wanna waste money? Buy one of these. I was stupid enough to buy both, because I thought these were a "bargain" as I was fooled by the review. These cheap Chinese-made spray guns are crap.

DO NOT BUY THESE CHINESE-MADE CHEAP CRAP

https://i.imgur.com/s7RCkQR.jpg

I take it you did you not read the small text: 使用一次，并倒掉 it reads Use once and throw away.

Phill

Phill, are you high or sth? "I DARE YOU..." , "It is IMPOSSIBLE to disassemble...". Do you think me for a fool to recommend something in forum which i have not tested at least an year/in fact 3years/. Or you missed to read my other gun is 400euro paint gun, so i have a base to compare.

If i have to explain you how to disassemble a screw, even if its stuck, then this is not the exact place me thinks. Its a CNC forum, not "Fix it at home". Anyway if some people were drinking Coca Cola instead of stronger liquids, they will know the answer, at least for steel screws.


Firts of all you dont need to disasemble the back part to clean the needle. The needle is cleaned when you disassemble the nozzle. In fact you need to do that every couple of times of use, but not always, if you clean the gun using water or the respective thinner, right after use. Fill can with thinner, spray a bit and then with your finger stop air from nozzle. What happens then its bubles start inside the gun and go oput back from ca, that cleans pretty well the needle without dissassembly. Though i always dissassemble when using 2k paint.

I use these guns daily without any problems or need for more expensive guns. Even painted my car with the bigger one. So why dont you take a step back, find a good brand tool like Stanley and unscrew it. With crappy tools there may be a problem if you push too much.


Attachment 23784

@ Boyan Silyavski,

As expected, your pics shows these cheap crap HVLPs without having the needles extracted. For example, the so called "K3" is a cheap copy of the Iwata's HVLP - I guess you already know that. According to instructions, the yellow marked screw need to be extracted in order to release the spring and slide the needle out and clear the way to easily clean the parts. None of this can happen and as far as I see in your picture, you also cannot remove the needle. So, I wonder how you clean the needle... or maybe you dont?

Show the K3 FULLY disassembled! Can you? I bet not! Know why? Because these screws (that should be possible to be extracted) are manufactured by Chinese copy makers as one part fixed on aluminum body.

Long story short? As said before, I was fooled by your enthousiastic review and believed that these cheap crap can do the job. Obviously, they cannot

https://i.imgur.com/2NGW2Qm.jpg

On all of my 4 spray guns, you do not need to fully disassemble to take out the needle. You just fully unscrew the paint volume screw, remove the return spring and pull out the needle. This K3 looks as though it is the same, so why the problem?

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Originally Posted by cropwell

On all of my 4 spray guns, you do not need to fully disassemble to take out the needle. You just fully unscrew the paint volume screw, remove the return spring and pull out the needle. This K3 looks as though it is the same, so why the problem?

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@ cropwell,

This K3 Chinese copy is different. To explain in details (have a look into the attached picture):

• The paint volume is regulated by the screw marked with the RED circle. This screw cannot be fully extracted, but no problem about it, since it does not effect cleaning process.

• The screw marked with the the GREEN circle, only determines how far the trigger can be pulled. For example, you can preset a trigger pull to the middle, in order to achieve a specific paint cone and remain as is. This screw can be fully extracted, but there is no effect to anything else, since the trigger spring is secured by the screw marked into BLUE circle.

• The part marked with the the BLUE circle, guides the needle and secures the trigger spring. Normaly (as happens on genuine Iwata model) this part should be possible to unscrew and release the spring AND the needle by gently pulling back. Unfortunatelly, this part, CANNOT be unscrew because it is part of the aluminum frame. The entire "screw" appearance of the part, is just decorative - not functioning! Therefore, the trigger spring and needle are traped there and cannot be extracted!

I hope the above explanation, can clearly give a picture of the problem.

https://i.imgur.com/aNBSR9s.jpg

Attachment 23787

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Originally Posted by Philipp

Unfortunatelly, this part, CANNOT be unscrew because it is part of the aluminum frame. The entire "screw" appearance of the part, is just decorative - not functioning! Therefore, the trigger spring and needle are traped there and cannot be extracted!

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By the way, this is how the spray gun should be disassembled, but I guess that the manufacturers of this Chinese-made piece of crap (previously presented as "the purchase of the Century"), did not bother to think how this tool will be cleaned after use! Typical Chinese-made useless crap for once paint and throw to garbage.

DON'T BUY CHEAP HVLPs - TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY

https://i.imgur.com/siSgZUY.jpg

Attachment 23788

I've got two cheap paint guns, and I've never had any reason to remove the needle, or even dismantle the nozzles, so I'm failing to see why you're making this out to be such a big problem. Flush the gun once you're finished with it, and it's not a problem.

But I'm also wondering why you're only contribution to this forum has been to criticise these spray guns?

Looks like I am just going to have to buy one, just for the hell of it. It would make sense for part #17 on the diagram to be left hand thread. Just a thought. These Chinese must be damned clever if they can assemble the needle assembly with part #17 in the body already.

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Originally Posted by m_c

I've got two cheap paint guns, and I've never had any reason to remove the needle, or even dismantle the nozzles

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I am really curious to hear HOW you clean the tools after use.

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Originally Posted by m_c

Flush the gun once you're finished with it, and it's not a problem.

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Just fush the guns? Really? Wow! I guess you never use real enamel paint, lacquer or epoxy (!!!) as first post claims. Well, maybe I am wrong, but I always disassemble my paint tools after use, clean them with proper thinner and assemble again to be ready for use. If this sounds "too much", I am sorry for respecting my tools "too much".

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Originally Posted by m_c

But I'm also wondering why you're only contribution to this forum has been to criticise these spray guns?

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...maybe because these cheap Chinese-made tools are totaly useless? Do you think that I would criticise if I had great tools with low price? I say again - I forgot the most basic rule "if you pay peanuts, you buy monkeys" and I was stupid enough to think that purchasing cheap tools would also do the job. That is why!

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Originally Posted by cropwell

These Chinese must be damned clever if they can assemble the needle assembly with part #17 in the body already.

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Well, I do not know if they are "damned clever to assemble the needle assembly with part in the body already", but I know that they are smart enough to fluid the market with cheap copies that do not work.

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Originally Posted by Philipp

...maybe because these cheap Chinese-made tools are totaly useless? Do you think that I would criticise if I had great tools with low price? I say again - I forgot the most basic rule "if you pay peanuts, you buy monkeys" and I was stupid enough to think that purchasing cheap tools would also do the job. That is why!

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Let's just say, I'm always sceptical of people who join a forum, and then only post on a single topic.
From experience, that tells me either the poster has an axe to grind for some reason, or they have an ulterior motive/vested interested.

Given that your first post made your point, but have then essentially repeated that point 4 more times, I'm still undecided.


And just for reference, over the past few years, I've used my guns for tractor enamel, along with water and oil based paints. Flushing works for me, but then some peoples idea of flushing is just running a little bit thinner/cleaner through. I always flush until I'm getting pure thinner/cleaner out, with no hint of colour. Then if it's the final clean, I'll fill it with thinner and let it sit for a couple hours, before giving it a final clean out.
If it was to block, I'll just spend another £20/30 on a new one. Given my current guns must be over 5 year old, and are only used 2 or 3 times a year, I'm not going to spend several hundred on a spray gun.

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Originally Posted by m_c

Let's just say, I'm always sceptical of people who join a forum, and then only post on a single topic.

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No problem sir! PLEASE go ahead and purchase one of these Chinese-made K3 or F75 crap sprayguns. If you manage to disassemble parts (as shown in the above mentioned diagram) and clean them properly, I PROMISE to send you the amount you spent for purchasing these Chinese-made copies. On the other hand, if you also find that it is impossible to extract needle and spring, would you forget your ego for a moment and publicly admit that I was right? Please make my day and go ahead to buy. After all, you only have $20 to loose and feel tricked and stupid (like I did) by Chinese sellers. What do you say? Sounds fair? Do you really need to get tricked by Chinese sellers first to be convienced that these cheap HVLPs are useless?

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Originally Posted by m_c

From experience, that tells me either the poster has an axe to grind for some reason, or they have an ulterior motive/vested interested.

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Please Mr Sherlock, please tell me ONE reason (ONE only) I need to say lies to you. Give me one reason for having ulterior motive/vested interest. I am just trying to save you money you silly! I am just shouting loud "...I've been tricked, I was fool and purchased these cheap Chinese-made HVLPs. Do a favor to yourself and do NOT buy...". Where is the negatine on trying to warn fellow hobbyist? Where?

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Originally Posted by m_c

Flushing works for me, but then some peoples idea of flushing is just running a little bit thinner/cleaner through. I always flush until I'm getting pure thinner/cleaner out, with no hint of colour. Then if it's the final clean, I'll fill it with thinner and let it sit for a couple hours, before giving it a final clean out.

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Sir, I paint for more than 20 years. Never seen a paint (water-based, enamel, lacquer, epoxy etc) gets away with "just a flush". Ah, keep in mind, that my painting tools (airbrushes, sprayguns etc) are SHINING like new, even if I use them for 10+ years! And they are look like new, because I always clean every detail after use. On the other hand, the picture I saw earlier (click HERE) showing Boyan Silyavski's tools, they are dirty and obviously never care about them - typical sign of no proper cleaning and maybe not cleaning at all! Are your HVLP sprayguns also as dirty as his? More dirty maybe?

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Originally Posted by m_c

If it was to block, I'll just spend another £20/30 on a new one.

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We all do have expensive tools on our bench. Tools that absolutely worth the money spent! The reason for all this, is the enthusiastic review for a product that is completely useless, and THAT should ring a bell for you all! WHY someone sends an enthusiastic review for a low-cost and low-quality product? Why? Hmmmm... any ideas? Any "...ulterior motive/vested interest..." (as you previously said)? Any?

Honestly, I would prefer to offer these $20 money spent to a poor guy, instead of purchasing the Chinese-made sprayguns. Maybe the worst purchase ever for me. And what really bothers me is that (for some unexplained reason) some people still insist that the Chinese-made less-than-$10-worth sprayguns are "great"! Well, no - they are not. Sorry!

Long story short. I asked user Boyan Silyavski to show a picture of his Chinese-made HVLP sprayguns completely disassembled as shown in the above mentioned diagram, as they should. What presented so far, was a picture of dirty sprayguns with obvious paint remnants - and that is a sign that clearly says that Boyan Silyavski's sprayguns are also impossible to get disassembled - just like the ones I purchased.

Make that 5 more times...

Here is my perspective on the whole issue :-
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The first question is -
Do these spray guns produce acceptable results for the job in hand?
If I had to paint a Rolls Royce, I would take the car to a professional painter of Rolls Royce cars with a known reputation for quality work. I would not consider an amateur job with a cheap spray gun. For painting a CNC frame I would probably use a disposable foam brush anyway.
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The second question -
How valuable is your time that you would spend cleaning out a spray gun?
Generally, when I do a job, I carry on until I am finished (not only the job, but me as well) and am too knackered to do anything but a functional clean of my tools and equipment. So the value of my time increases massively when I am tired.
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Thirdly -
How much does the solvent cost?
Not only in £s but also in environmental terms.
..

The final issue for me is who do I trust? A member of this forum who, for some years, has been giving the sound advice of his experience OR someone whose first post on the forum descends to a rant in a short time.

The title of this thread is; "Best cheap Spray Paint Guns for DIY CNC builder or small workshop"
With key words being, "Best cheap"
Boyan is therefore not trying to say these are as good as 'expensive' spray guns but rather, these are the best he's found that are 'cheap' spray guns.
So if the reader is looking for a cheap spray gun, one of these is a good choice but if the reader wants a better spray gun then look elsewhere.

As cropwell said, the price of solvent is an issue now, gone are the days when you get a gallon of parafin at the local shop.
That's why I buy a pack of dirt cheap paint brushes for non critical work because it's cheaper to bin them than clean them after use.

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Originally Posted by EddyCurrent

The title of this thread is; "Best cheap Spray Paint Guns for DIY CNC builder or small workshop"
With key words being, "Best cheap"
Boyan is therefore not trying to say these are as good as 'expensive' spray guns but rather, these are the best he's found that are 'cheap' spray guns.
So if the reader is looking for a cheap spray gun, one of these is a good choice but if the reader wants a better spray gun then look elsewhere.

As cropwell said, the price of solvent is an issue now, gone are the days when you get a gallon of parafin at the local shop.
That's why I buy a pack of dirt cheap paint brushes for non critical work because it's cheaper to bin them than clean them after use.

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I bought 25l's of Thinners (We do a lot of vinyl removals on vehicles it's a bastard to clean the glue off) was cheap try car parts suppliers, but normally I chuck the paint brushes anyway as I use £land ones ;)

Is Paraffin the same as kerosene? In which case you get a gallon of it from any local fuel supplier for a few pounds it's often called 28 sec.

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Originally Posted by Philipp

Honestly, I would prefer to offer these $20 money spent to a poor guy, instead of purchasing the Chinese-made sprayguns. Maybe the worst purchase ever for me. And what really bothers me is that (for some unexplained reason) some people still insist that the Chinese-made less-than-$10-worth sprayguns are "great"! Well, no - they are not. Sorry!

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i'm a bit skint at the moment. Can I have that $20?

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Originally Posted by EddyCurrent

As cropwell said, the price of solvent is an issue now, gone are the days when you get a gallon of parafin at the local shop.
That's why I buy a pack of dirt cheap paint brushes for non critical work because it's cheaper to bin them than clean them after use.

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I bought 100 foam brushes for £10 so at 10p a pop it just ain't worth cleaning them and they give a good result with any water based paint, PU or enamel paint. They are not recommended for French polish but they are OK. I would not even try them with cellulose, but I just don't use that any more. Two pack is probably a no-no.

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Originally Posted by Desertboy

Is Paraffin the same as kerosene? In which case you get a gallon of it from any local fuel supplier for a few pounds it's often called 28 sec.

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Paraffin, Kerosene, White Spirit (and many others) are all basically the same straight chain hydrocarbons, with a varied mix of molecules each with 9 to 17 carbon atoms. Any more it goes to oils and waxes, any less it is petroleum or gas.

In the 60's, working in a lab, there were gallons of ligroin (7 or 8 carbon atoms) we never used. A lot of it went into my petrol tank :barbershop_quartet_

Cheers !

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Originally Posted by Desertboy

I bought 25l's of Thinners (We do a lot of vinyl removals on vehicles it's a bastard to clean the glue off) was cheap try car parts

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Well you've obviously never used my Tar & Glue remover best in business.!!

After reading Boyan's post I order both models that he recommended.

Claiming that a brass nozzle cannot be removed from an aluminium body spray gun is hilarious.

Here is what I've got. I haven't used them yet but they look good manufactured for 10$ and 12$.

Attachment 23807

Attachment 23808

Attachment 23809

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Originally Posted by paulus.v

Claiming that a brass nozzle cannot be removed from an aluminium body spray gun is hilarious.

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I very much suspected that would be the case. I have ordered the little gun. You beat me to a similar post (pipped me at the post :grumpy:).

In one of the criticisms of the K3, it was stated that the upper screw adjuster was for 'paint volume', whereas it is for the air volume, adjusting the shape of the cone of paint. The F75 has a fan spray pattern.

My K3 is on order.

I hope my experience of having played with a good few 'top end' guns (at someone elses expence) in a past life may be useful? I am of the opinion that if you want consistant high quality results in a professional environment, you should do your research thoroughly and then buy the best tools you can afford.

However, if like me you are not in a bodyshop where punters pay thousands because the colour of their car does'nt match their new dog, you will be looking to get the optimum bang for your buck.

I own three guns and two airbrushes, none of which are used more than half a dozen times a year but all of which produce perfectly acceptable results when reconditioning machines and on stuff I make to sell. I have not paid more than £20 for any one of them.

When buying cheap, make sure that you can strip every component before you buy a gun, a conversation with the seller works wonders. As soon as your gun arrives, strip it and make sure that you know exactly what every part does, before you put any paint through it.

My best acquisition was given to me by a neighbouring workshop owner, who said it didnt work. I plugged it in to air, undid all the valves and slowly homed into an acceptable pattern by adjusting them down. All was fine, so I took it back to give him the good news and found that he had just loaded up a brand new £300 Iwata!

Without exception, all needles in cheap guns are manufactured from low quality materials using the lowest possible manufacturing techniques. Look at a cheaply produced needle under a scope and it looks a bit like barbed wire when compared to a quality needle. This does nothing to help the life of low quality 'O' rings that the manufacturers use.

Swapping to a quality needle of the same size is an (expensive) alternative, but a better one is to polish the needle using 1500 wet/dry and finishing with metal polish. This works well for me and only costs a bit of time.

Keep a good stock of good quality 'O' rings, best quality 'O' rings are cheap so I replace them often. Acetone, epoxy paint and gunwash eat them for breakfast.

I prefer to spend the money I save buying frequently used quality tools rather than 'investing' big money in stuff which is hardly ever used.

I received my K3 spray gun this week. Of course I had to dismantle it to clean it !

The gun requires the use of specialised equipment to disassemble, fortunately I had the kit needed, a 13mm six sided deep socket and ratchet handle.

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Originally Posted by cropwell

I received my K3 spray gun this week. Of course I had to dismantle it to clean it !

The gun requires the use of specialised equipment to disassemble, fortunately I had the kit needed, a 13mm six sided deep socket and ratchet handle.

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Blimey Rob where did you manage to find the equipment I've been looking for ages. :whistle:

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Originally Posted by Clive S

Blimey Rob where did you manage to find the equipment I've been looking for ages. :whistle:

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Yes mate, my workshop is a bit like that :beer:

made fun sunday night reading. i use cheap fastmover guns- spraying every day- lacquers and 2 packs. - only have to fully disassemble if i leave a gun for a while- yup lazy! all my guns look well used- but function perfectly. - probably spraying around 40litres/week at the moment. - i paid around £25 each for them. i painted my sprinter van with mine- lovely finish :-)

Is anybody else disappointed that the one who says these are 'cheap crap', hasn't been back to comment on our latest findings?

Not since his rant sold more than Boyan's positive comments did!

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Originally Posted by Neale

Not since his rant sold more than Boyan's positive comments did!

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:hysterical:

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Originally Posted by Neale

Not since his rant sold more than Boyan's positive comments did!

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What he missed that everyone didn't was it was a £10 lol, so people were willing to take the risk and make their own mind up.

I just bought one for the hell of it in case I do feel the need.

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Originally Posted by Desertboy

What he missed that everyone didn't was it was a £10 lol.

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I trust that was for the F75, my K-3 was under £8 so it was a cheap laugh!:joyous:

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Originally Posted by cropwell

I trust that was for the F75, my K-3 was under £8 so it was a cheap laugh!:joyous:

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I went pro lol with F75

And isn't painting with a roller more qualitative?

Well, I worked as a painter in Singapore for a while, and we were taught there that roller painting is more time-consuming and high-quality, so when painting to order, rollers are more often used. When I came to Singapore for a while a couple of years ago, I got a job as a house painter on https://www.paintingservicesingapore...ting-services/ and we were taught how to paint correctly, what types of paints there are and other useful things for the photo session, which surprised me very much. In Singapore, they take all works and services very seriously. When you paint with a roller, the paint settles more firmly on the surface than when using a spray gun.