So far it's great. Well-made, smooth, operates at 15-30 psi, which my system can handle. I'm preparing a painting tutorial because I have had such trouble finding out what I needed to do a decent auto painting job. I achieved a fairly nice result with single-stage semi-metallic urethane using the following settings and technique: 25 psi at the gun, full fan (knob all the way out), 2-1/4 turns out on the fluid knob, painting at an approximate distance of 3 inches. At that distance my test pattern was roughly 8 or 9 inches high. The booth temperature was a little over 70°F, with a 4:1:1 mix of paint/hardener/reducer, and then a little extra reducer. I believe the humidity was around 45% and I waited 10 to 15 minutes between coats. I painted with a medium fast sweep and about 70% overlap. With those parameters I was able to get a fairly smooth glossy coat without runs or sags and with an acceptable amount of orange peel. It is rare that I can completely eliminate orange peel on a larger surface. I am able to manage that on smaller surfaces and I'm sure that my technique will improve with practice. It took me some practice to arrive at these parameters, with the help of a video made by the GunMan on YouTube. He actually painted at a distance of 2, and then 2-1/2 inches, which will give even less orange peel but becomes a very fine line between minimum orange peel and bunching up the paint, leading to runs. He also uses an expensive professional spray gun with an excellent air supply. The more expensive guns can easily use 13 CFM, but I can't possibly supply that with my two Harbor freight compressors. However my compressors can keep up with this Dewalt gun fairly well. It is very important to disassemble the gun and soak the cap and nozzle and clean the internals and the cup immediately after spraying. A dab of grease on top of the fluid spring before putting the knob back in makes it much easier to adjust the fluid knob. Here is the equipment I have needed so far (doesn't count the booth I made, nor the orbital sander and other materials). Equipment needed for hobby auto painting: 2 hp, 8 gallon compressor: Harbor Freight 2 hp compressor, $130 (I'm using two, but you can get by with one for small jobs). Two water separators: I am using a Pneumatic Plus SAF4000M-NO4B from Amazon ($33), and a Husky separator from Home Depot ($13). Air T-fitting: Allows hooking two water separators in parallel to flow enough air. I tried several cheap separators, two compressors, then the Pneumatic Plus filter, and could still not flow enough air to keep up with the gun. So I finally hooked two separators in parallel. This can be done with one compressor by removing the safety release and using it for an additional line to feed the second separator. Enough 3/8" hoses: Don't use less than 3/8", too much restriction will choke the air getting to the spray gun. One short hose for the first compressor outlet, through a separator, to one side of the T. Another short hose for the second compressor outlet, through a second separator, to the other side of the T. Then the main spraying hose, 25', from the T outlet to the gun/regulator. A bunch of 1/4" fittings/couplers: Every time I didn't use a quick connect coupler I regretted it. So, 1/4 fitting on the inlet of first separator, hose can screw into the outlet side of the separator, then a quick coupler on the other end of that hose, attaching to a 1/4" fitting on one side of the T. Then a similar arrangement for the second separator, then attaching the hose to the other side of the T. Spray gun regulator: This is a small regulator that attaches to the inlet of the spray gun and allows you to reduce the 90 psi hose pressure down to whatever the gun needs. I use the 3M Accuspray, Amazon, $25. Spray gun stand: Amazon, $14. Decent air gun : Dewalt Gravity feed HVLP spray gun - Amazon, $83.00 This gun has acceptable air flow requirements for use with a 2 hp or greater compressor. It will run out of air if used continuously, but works fine for painting smaller areas like a fender, hood, door, or tailgate. It is rated for 15 to 30 psi, and rated to use 3.5 CFM at 30psi, or 10 SCFM (standard CFM). Don't be deceived by the 3.5 CFM number, when all is said and done, going through the water separators and 30' of hose, you will use every bit of the available air from the 2 hp compressor. (cheap guns tend to use way too much air and operate at high pressure, wasting a lot of paint. They may be billed as HVLP but they don't function like a well-made HVLP. Excessive overspray will quickly plug your exhaust filter and cover you in overspray.)
