Tips For Using A HVLP Paint Gun

[@ronaldcumpsty5605]

Your Harbour Freight spray gun explanation is perfect for an absolute beginner like me. Your other harbour freight one is very good too. Thank you.

[@davidbires2351]

I'm a 40 year auto body repair man I use 2 of the arbor freight gun 10.00 each 1 for clear 1 base coat 5 years love those guns I have had the most expensive guns don't like them this guy is right on thank you

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@everettcalhoun8197]

A newbie to hvlp bought those $10 harbor freight guns good to know more expensive guns don't do anything more than a low dollar gun. Experience is the key is what I'm gettin' from what your layin' down.

[@billr4283]

Your explanation on the volume of my 1/4" hose was an 'Ah-ha' moment for my HVLP stuff. 3/8" ordered. Thanks!

[@peterrabbit1207]

Extremely helpful been painting 35 years and your so correct on air hose

[@crpth1]

I guess it's worth mention. That a very reasonable solution is to get a LVLP gun. Opposite to HVLP guns they tend to be a lot less demanding on the compressor, etc. side of the problem! On the other hand for most people already stuck with their equipment. Without spending much, in fact rather cheap solutions. Is to increase the size of the hose, as mentioned on the video. And drill out the "limiting factors" of your assembly/installation. Be it a valve, fitting, etc. Sometimes a simple increase of 0.5mm on a limiting hole or valve. Can return quite interesting results for almost no cost! Worth considering. Cheers

[@highdesertworkshop]

I'm a home hobby guy but was a professional metal body repairer in a truck shop. Been using those guns for a long time, I've found that the disposable cups work well, the caps snap on and usually don't leak, makes clean up easy. Thanks for the tips on air lines and fittings. HVLP was just coming on the scene when I retired.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching

[@vincemajestyk9497]

When I was painting (not a pro) it was either Binks, DeVilbiss, or Sharpe. The first gun I bought, which I still have is an old Binks model 7 that I saved up for. I think you can't use that gun or those siphon feed guns in some places anymore. I remember when I bought it I had to change the nozzle because it came with a 'production' nozzle and it would push a ton of paint through there. Got a few of the cheapy HF HVLP guns and spot guns. In fact, about 18 years ago the HF near me had a special and was selling those guns for $10. I bought about 4 and still have 3 in the box. Not a bad gun. A lot of it is the painter and technique if you have a half-way decent gun. About 35 years ago when I was in the military I painted my car at the base hobby shop. Seen this Major paint his VW Golf and lay down one of the nicest paint jobs I've ever seen using a Taiwanese 'Buffalo' Tools brand knock off of the Binks 7.

[@douglashamilton4574]

I cant thank you enough. Ive been using one of these at work, and couldnt work out why the gun was getting clogged. I pulled out that little plastic strainer, and it was chock full of residue. Much thanks

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@michaelsummers4651]

I bought my HF purple gun for $10...I picked up two at this price. First time spraying and my project turned out great. This little gun is well worth the price.

[@awalk5177]

The diameter of the hose is potentially the limiting factor if the hole supplying air (in the gun) is quarter inch. Take a look up the inside of your gun inlet. The smallest part is where your restriction will be. As long as your hose is bigger, or equal to the gun inlet (inside) you cannot improve on that with adding a bigger hose.

[@AnthonyTackett]

The bit about the larger fittings makes sense. If you have a larger hose but use a 1/4" fitting, you're bottlenecking at those fittings and kind of cancelling out the larger hose you spent extra cash on.

[@markolmstead4709]

And not all hvlp guns use a lot of air. The cheap purple hvlp gun from harbor freight only uses 6 cfm at 40psi. A 1/4 air hose and fitting works just fine.

[@31acruz]

AWESOME review dude. Really, no BS, no fluff, right to the point, clear and concise. Nobody trying to be funny or a comedian or telling us their life's story (as if they were movie stars we are interested in) Just a straight shot review, well done. THUMBS UP AND SUBSCRIBED !!

[@silvergrizzly316]

SoooOOO glad I found your channel, you're the first one I've found that explains this step by step process in the simplest terms. Thanks for sharing your knowledge my friend!! 👍👍 Take care and God Bless. Jay.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching

[@arthurleino]

Thinking about buying the purple spray gun. My air hose is 3/8 on 10 gallon compressor. Using to paint Harley Davidson Fat Bob Tanks and Fenders. Paint is one step acrylic Urethane. I used a touch up gun with binks regulator at my work for painting various Aircraft interior parts and Cockpit with polyurethane and high speed lacquer. Retired now. Thanks for the video.

[@jonathankeith524]

I just bought this gun at Harbor Freight with a coupon. Super affordable price for what it is. Feels pretty durable too. I haven’t used it yet, but it looks promising. I’m not a professional painter, so I don’t need anything crazy expensive.

[@gixerman01]

Good luck, thanks for watching.

[@jonathankeith524]

gixerman01 Thanks man! Your videos on this gun are super helpful by the way! I’ll be using it to paint some guitars that I’ve hand-made. Do you feel like this will be a good gun for painting electric guitars?

[@gixerman01]

Jonathan Keith should do good for that. Similar material as used on cars. Good luck!

[@jonathankeith524]

gixerman01 Thank you! I made sure to subscribe as well!

[@wangofree]

Volume vs. pressure - excellent info!

[@templatesgenius]

I never knew this information .. I have been struggling all along and finally someone show me the way amazing information

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@gustavskavacs9991]

The best video on these paint guns I've seen and the shortest one as well. Good job explaining!

[@alejandrocordero671]

today i used the Harbor Freight spray gun...and it's amazing!!!....I loved!!...the finish for the automotive paint...it's amazing

[@fo22estgump57]

I bought one when it was on sale for $7 and it set in my garage because i had never used one before, but I finally watched some videos and got around to using it and it blew me away how amazing this gun is! I use it for paint, I use it for stain, I use it for finish and it does everything I could possibly need! I do have a lot smaller compressor than you do but it runs my gun fine. If I'm painting a big desk I'll have to wait on it maybe twice for the whole thing.

[@gixerman01]

They’re great little gun. Can’t beat it for the price. Thanks for watching!

[@enoswhitaker7967]

Nice shop! Super clean, professional atmosphere. I’ve use this gun on several cars and motorcycles, so cheap I but 3 at a time and just throw them away when finished. It’s great and works under budget.

[@G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Thanks again for the tips on how to get the best performance from this paint gun. Very helpful. Thanks too for talking to us like every man (& not talking down to us).

[@Helmuesi911]

I use all high flow fittings starting from the compressor down to my guns. I enlarged the hole on my gun regulator (with a 5/16 bit I believe) to increase air volume .. no moisture traps or anything else to restrict air works nice

[@DANIELROMERO-cv3tu]

Great video The tips on the size of the hose and fittings made a world of difference. I can adjust my sprayer much better 👍🏼

[@jerrylittle8922]

This guy knows his stuff. No BS. 🇺🇸

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@drizler]

My shop line is just simple sweated household 3/4”;copper tubing. I put in 2 J Traps as water catchers just using common plumbing fittings. The diameter and copper help condense the water out well. I put it in back in 1999 and haven’t touched it as of 2019.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@delmaryennie692]

THANK YOU for all the GREAT tips. I have this gun and other guys are saying it isn't any good. I just got this gun and hope I will like it like you do.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching

[@billmcgee7]

Thanks a bunch for your video it is very helpful ! Will look into a larger diameter air hose for more volume ! In addition I opened the bleed valve at the bottom on my tank which pushed moisture out of the holding tank with a drier in-line the air was perfect with a meter which measures water content ! Again many thanks !!!!

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@jebadias1468]

Thanks for the tip on the air line. I don't know why I didn't think about it, but it makes a lot of sense

[@bru319]

Talking about air hose diameter and performance. I noticed that my impact wrench worked better when I did not use the coiled plastic hose at the end. I believe the inner diameter of the hard (yellow) plastic coiled hose is 1/4 inch whereas the heavy rubber hose It was connected to was 3/8. The coiled hose was restricting air flow which diminished the performance of the impact wrench.

[@bigbrownbeaver08]

Thanks! Bought one yesterday, never painted anything before. Tips are good lol

[@biggblake112477]

I did the same thing. How's it going for you?

[@ericonabuell]

HVLP (high volume low pressure) means a high volume of material is displaced at a low pressure of air flow. This means that more of the paint propelled by the spray gun reaches the surface you are spraying with reduced wastage, overspray, and pollution of the air.Mar 5, 2018 High Volume Low Pressure (

[@johnj.broughton585]

Well done buddy, thanks for educating me. Harbor Freight rules.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Thank you, I will go get a 1/2 inch air line because the biggest volume air compressor I can afford is the 20 gallon Wen which is just 2hp and 5 SCFM at 40 psi.

[@Gladness2023]

So showing how to clean with laquer and disassemble the gun nozzle parts and reassemble the parts are steps needed for beginners in an instructional video… even that stuff people don’t know and it’s terrifying thinking of taking it apart and then not clearly seeing how or what bit to clean .., and then low and behold what if you should forget a step and can’t remember how it goes back together ‘perfectly’? 😮 enjoyed watching though … just needs more steps included. Great tip about size of hose… thankfully I have 3/8 hose and 1/4 “ fittings .. so got the minimum! Thanks!

[@Thinkingshop]

Thank you. Not using the Harbor Freight gun, but your advice applies for any HVLP gun. Really appreciate the advice & experience. 👊

[@brianthompson1045]

Great video! Thanks. I learned everything I needed to know before I even start. Was going to buy a gun today and learned I need to get some other parts before I jump right into my spray gun

[@crunkmonkiee]

Thanks for this. I was really frustrated with my gun and was going to throw it away. But now, ill get a larger hose. Other videos dont even mention air hose.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@USCG.Brennan]

For the money this little purple gun is great....just make sure you clean it out REALLY well at first and then after each job, run lacquer thinner through it to clean it. ;-)

[@BobBlarneystone]

Your advice about the importance of a large hose diameter is good stuff. From an engineering' POV, the rate of flow through a tube is described by Poiseuille's Law. Briefly, if you double the internal >radius< of the hose, you'll get 16x the airflow. Soooo, a 1/2" hose delivers 16 times as much air as a 1/4" hose. Going from a 1/4" hose to 3/8" hose increases the airflow about 4.7x

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@charlesparent1379]

WRONG!!!!! DOUBLE the Diameter gives FOUR times the volume through the pipe/hose The formula is Pi x R Squared x Length . double the radius gives four times the area of a circle

[@samtate1260]

Thank you for the information I checked out DMC the Mercury outboard he did a great job on that motor thanks again 👍🏻

[@martysheets6882]

Thanks for honest analysis, I get what you're saying for the money not bad. Thanks Brother.

[@VintRestGarage]

I’ve had good luck with this cheap gun. Your information is accurate and I just learned recently to remove the filter, especially with primers or you’ll have to thin or reduce more than specified. Also tricky loose air adjustment at the gun handle base can be problematic.

[@dandiddledum3003]

The best air hose ive used is the red 3/8" Diablo also sold by Harbor freight

[@istvanotvos6254]

Best straight forward video! Thapnk you for the good tutorial

[@U_ever]

Great stuff! Thanks for casting your pearls amongst us swine. Greatly appreciate it.

[@gixerman01]

Calvin Roberts LOL not sure what that means exactly. Thanks for watching.

[@urospetrovic5228]

@@gixerman01 what it means you can find in Holy Bible ;) And yes, nice of you to explain things about air volume, recently I learned about it too - few yrs ago ... Before that I always had problems when I wanted to spray paint with compressor ! Also with hose - about two years ago I got wide enough so my power tools can work now - it was stressful !!! I didnt know why nothing want to work, sure I tought it was my compressor because I have small one, 50 litar tank... With no big power or air volume flow but in the end when I change hose things start to work :) Sure it is not like in some shop or anything but I can finish my job.... Just I had to learn all on a hard way ! Now because of good and noble people like you others dont need to suffer... ;) Cheers dude !

[@chrismcdonald6481]

Awesome video. Use same guns with same lid problems. They work well for a peroxide based chemical we spray for decontamination.

[@petroart]

Thank you, Im just about to order a gun set up from HF to do a mural. This was very helpful 🙏

[@juank1026]

thanks for this, I am just starting out here.

[@WINCHANDLE]

Thanks for tips. I guess I'll stick with my 1/2 inch hose. It cracked at connection, so I have to find a 1/2 inch barb to 1/2 or 3/8 NPT adaptor. The HF purple guns seem to be getting a lot of good press!

[@Ultra-Collector]

I’m expecting it to be just a primer gun! It’s $15 for heavens sakes but to hear you say you’d rather use it than a $400 gun makes me want to give it a go!

[@gixerman01]

It’s a 15 dollar gun at the end of the day, but you can turn out some nice finishes with it. check out my video on my sons wheels I paint. They turned out nice. Thanks for watching.

[@dauhuan]

Great tip! I was using 1/4 in airline today and it was dusting instead of painting.

[@zappa916]

for the metric ppl. 1/4 inch = 6.1 mm. 3/8 = 10 mm

[@40mick]

I have used these and for the money, they do well. Heck, Bad Chad uses them and throws them out after a single use. His reason? The time to clean them isn't worth it! :) That's a little crazy but if you watched his show you will understand. Crazy talented. Nice video!!!!!!

[@gixerman01]

My son and I joke about the solvent being more expensive to clean the gun than the gun cost. Thanks for watching.

[@PatriotPaulUSA]

Just FYI you can use the larger 3/8" high volume quick coupler fittings on 3/8 air hose with 1/4" NPT ends to match your 3/8" hose and it more than doubles your airflow! Yes, you can get even more out of a 1/2 air hose but that is the size of a garden hose nearly, and nobody wants to drag that crap around. This is what most better paint booths use. Its the best compromise and flows more than enough for most HVLP guns on a 50ft hose run.

[@localcrew]

Great advice. What you said about hose and fittings sizes really makes sense. Just subscribed!

[@iceman71625]

As far as me i have seen lots of videos and not mocking anybody but as for MY OPINION your videos so far are the easiest to understand and apply to the product that i utilize mine for..... Opinions are like. BUT HOLES every one has one☝👋👋👋👋👋👋😁😁😁😁😁😁good job dude very informative👋👋👋👋👋🎈🎈🎈🎈

[@johnnorth9355]

Great tips especially about the air line hose ! I would have been cursing my lack of skill if I had not known this.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching!

[@meradu2]

A ha 🤔 nice love it good explanation on the 3/8 or 1/2 air 👍Thank you

[@samtate1260]

The fitting I bought says HF for high flow works great has bigger hole in fitting

[@LatoriaMartin]

Either increase the hose by size or shorten the length of the hose and no drop in air pressure through hose

[@brandongouge9922]

Love the video brother. As a caveat, I build houses for a living and have used a nail gun almost daily for most of my adult life and I can assure you that those coiled up hoses are laughed at in my line of work as well. Honestly, I won’t even use those to air up a tire unless it’s an emergency and I’m away from my tools. They’re pretty useless all around in my opinion. None the less, the information in the video helped me get a better understanding of how to use one of these guns. Very clear and most importantly, no rambling!

[@gixerman01]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!

[@nednedx]

Great Video, I'm getting ready to start a project using that purple gun from HF and I haven't thought about the air line hose or fittings. I think I'll try out a 3/8 hose and get new fittings for high volume. Thanks for the info.

[@wildbill23c]

Great information. I don't use those 1/4" coil air hoses for anything, they're more annoying and get tangled up on everything, and they're not that flexible. I'm just thinking about getting an HVLP gun to do a repaint on my pickup...my only other thought is a few cans of spray paint, but I'd think I would like the results much better if I went with an actual paint gun to get better coverage and a more even application of paint. Its only to repaint the lower 4" of the vehicle all around, so it don't need to be a very expensive gun, and its only going to be a 1 time thing most likely unless it turns out extremely well and attempt to paint another vehicle completely. Seems many people like that HVLP $15 gun from HF so I may try it. Can't be any worse than the paint that's already well mostly missing as well as the clear coat.

[@bullboss7698]

You can swap out that cheap plastic cup for an aluminum cup and end up with a pretty nice set up. The cup costs more than the gun, but is much better.

[@gixerman01]

The 3m or devilbis disposable cup system would even be better.

[@truecountry5780]

Thanks man! I was using the small 1/4" curly hose

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@dicknewman9009]

I have one and I like it you're right about that screen when I first bought that gone I thought maybe it was junk I saw the screen I thought to myself that can't be right I tried using it and come get no paint through it not nearly enough pull the screen works just as good as the rest

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching

[@omt5562]

Thanks so much for the airline size info.

[@dicknewman9009]

People don't understand when you're a professional you can make anything work

[@gixerman01]

Well most anything, LOL

[@hunkydude322]

its true if the equipment is at least half decent

[@hunkydude322]

on the other hand too if you use a 1000 dollars spray gun and you've never painted that gun worstless to you.

[@vincedenimarck6498]

Great video as a newbie spray painter very helpful..Thanks

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching

[@bradleyharris9022]

Been using 3/8 air lines for years with no problems. I would recommend flexzilla hose just for the fact of being very flexible and lack of cooling. Anybody that uses flexzilla hose will understand. It's more expensive than standard rubber hose but well worth not kinking and twisting twisting.

[@cri8tor]

Will be painting my new HF trailer a flat, desert tan with one of these guns. Please consider more videos on prepping and painting trailer type parts with this gun. Nice to see your Grizzly lathe and mill in the background. Thank you so much for taking the time to record, edit and share your knowledge.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching!

[@trueskatewithsam5275]

Thank you now I just need to find out what paint I can spray out of this and how to thin it.

[@kimfoster9187]

You gave me more information on hvlp on the pressure that no one does thankyou. How do you start setup of of air an fluid to begin setup before starting to spray !

[@johnrodebaugh7120]

Great Advice about air hose size, volume is the secret!

[@gixerman01]

Yes it is thanks for watching.

[@purplemushroomcloud]

People knock Harbor Freight products because they are inexpensive and not 'Murican made. For the price, they are perfect to learn with. Why spend hundreds of dollars on something that if you end up not staying with it, or only need it a few times when you can spend between 15 and 30 bucks for something that works just fine? I've been using all kinds of crap from HF and have had zero issues with anything. Of course the stuff isn't really fheavy use, but if you're a hobbyist or don't do projects very often then they are perfect.

[@iceman71625]

Ty again buddy great info after watching it again that's how we learn... Great tutorial and love your knowledge... I can imagine with your experience and your guys you have seen some awesome and not so awesome paint jobs lol.... Thanks again💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

[@Pushyhog]

Thanks, i spray release agents, some primers, I clean w/cheap carb cleaner,,, i take gun apart ever 4 or 5 sprays and clean good.

[@gixerman01]

Thanks for watching.

[@DogGuy19]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Would appreciate seeing what paint to get & how to mix it

[@gixerman01]

Good idea for a future video

[@uriel-heavensguardian8949]

Thank you for this video! im new to this Spray gun stuff. i definitely want to go with whats recommended. Can you share a link to the 1/2 hose and the right fittings you were talking about? please sir!

[@kevinjones7555]

You should have mentioned you need a large enough compressor to handle the CFMs that HVLPs require. On another note devilbiss does make an adapter for the cheap guns for they're D-Cups system, once you use D-Cups you'll never go back to the cup.

[@gixerman01]

I have 3m pps system. I have a whole video on air compressors for painting. Thanks for watching.

[@nunyayourbusiness7327]

thehf metal cup fits right on it no adapter needed holds 1 litre too

[@dougwilliams44]

So.. Im trying to paint a 1969 Roadrunner (440 6BBL) Fiberglass hood. Seems Im mixing correctly, (1:4 1:4), have a quality Water/Oil filter in line and PSI guage. Setting to about 20/22 psi. Goes fine for 3-4 passes, then I'll get either water drops or might be "Clumps" of the Eurethane paint landing on my work! Now I AM using a 100' hose. @ 70/74°.. It's a thicker material, so using a 1.7 tip? Wonder if I should be using a 1.8 or 2mm tip? Very frustrating.😢 Any help be greatly appreciated! Thanks for the video!!

[@miajeffrey4403]

I had a few aha moments. thanks for the clear step by step demo.

[@eduardoosorio5199]

Thanks for all tips that I’m good to use brother

[@dougwilliams44]

Can using a 3/8" 100' hose REALLY be that much of an issue? Seems I'm getting a LOT of H20 dripping OUT OF the gun (Amazon 🙄). Im getting "Clumped" paint landing on my work! Help!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@DanielJohnson-ps4xv]

Paint leaking out of cap, that’s why I’m watching this. How much I wish I had watched this first.

[@jonathanchen4109]

I just realized my air line is too narrow. damn! I did everything right and this ruined the results. Thanks a lot!

[@geomiss8889]

Most recreational workshops do not spray paint/finish very often and as such spending $400+ for a spray gun is simply not going to happen. Another point is we're not doing $3,000 car paint jobs. This gun gets one in the game and does the deed way better than a brush or finish by pad. The big limiter is the size of the project and compressor size...One option to get around the compressor size is a LVLP instead of a HVLP. HF and Sprayit both sell LVLP guns and they are teriffic and low priced goods.

[@gixerman01]

Very good points George. Thanks for watching.

[@stephanieferrari6275]

Thank you. Very helpful!

[@chrisstearns10]

Thank you for the information 👍👍

[@smallworld7865]

I tried spraying with my gun. And from the start to the finish problems, didn't know the hose made a difference. Need to replace that coil air line

[@thoroughbread1975]

I'm getting ready to replace either my fender wheel wells on my truck or the whole bedside and I'm looking to maybe paint the bed myself. I live in Richmond and if it's alright with you I would like to bring my truck by to get your opinion on how to correct my clearcoat on my grill that I color matched. A friend steered me the wrong way when I did it. If you're okay with doing that and have a free moment just let me know and maybe we can set up a time that's good for both of us if that is possible. I commented on the powder coating video as well. I left a comment on a powder coating video as well. In it, I mentioned that my son goes to Northeastern. I would like to pick your brain on the powder coating aspect as well. I just bought a paint gun just like your harbor freight gun so maybe I could pay you something to help me out on setting that up. I believe I remember seeing you around town actually now that I think about it. I believe you're a gentleman that has been big into motorcycles if I'm not mistaken since you mentioned powder coating motorcycle parts. If you would like to text me my number is 765 nine one four 45 two 9, or just email me at thoroughbred1975@yahoo,com. I appreciate the videos btw.

[@jasonrowland4110]

Thanks for the info i its my hose thats too small ,thats why iv been getting bad results

[@jamesharper8373]

If using a 1/4 inch fitting, may as well use 1/4 inch hose

[@Tony-hr4bl]

I have been auto painting 260 years Bla Bla..anyway, I’m going to be using my new HF gun next week. My question is, should I purchase 1/2 x10’ or 1/2 x 25’ house? The compressor is close by where I’m painting so I was wondering if shorter was better

[@GaryHasting]

Thanks, learnt a lot.

[@MOZOGuitars]

Thanks for all the info! I was having trouble finding the "Ergo hose" that you recommended. How do you spell the brand name?

[@caddi70]

I bought one of these. Using 3/8 hose. No matter what I do, all the primer does is splatter. I don't really have the budget of trying new equipment and different paints. I've also thought that my primer is just crap. It seems to start drying as soon as air hits it

[@gixerman01]

Thin your primer some that may help. Thanks for watching.

[@caddi70]

@@gixerman01 I tried thinning it with acetone. that didn't help. guess I have to buy a bunch of stuff, but I've seen several people use this gun and it worked fine. thanks

[@gixerman01]

SwitchDoctor acetone is not a good thinner for primer. You want to use lacquer thinner. Acetone is too fast a solvent and will cause dry spray.

[@bartgiles1068]

Great information thanks for sharing

[@callevi1791]

Awesome, again...keep the info coming....