Proper gun or rattle cans?

[Davek0974]

Hi all,
I make ornate metalwork for the garden etc, most of it is sprayed black with rattle cans, bothe primer and topcoat, smaller items I can powder coat myself to good effect but only have a little oven.

I was wondering if it was worth getting a small touch-up gun and using standard cellulose products or sticking with the rattle cans. The downsides of these seem to be the massive overspray they have, no fan pattern and relatively high cost, plus the fact that pressing the button for lengthy periods play hell with my hand!

It's not regular use so wastage might be an issue, I have no idea how long paint lasts in the tin?

I already have a 3hp compressor so that's covered.

Does a small gun produce less overspray and mess?

Any tips or thoughts?

 

[optima21]

depends how much painting you're doing,by the time you've bought the paint and solvents, buying rattle cans in bulk can be cheaper

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360973471727

and an aerosol trigger (if it fits the cans)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261478133922

depends what you're spraying, you might have less mess straying intricate things with an aerosol, but if its a wide flat area you'll get a better finish with a touch up gun.

or if you need a slightly bigger powder coating oven than a domestic one

http://www.electrostaticmagic.co.uk/blogs/news/8033889-easy-coat-used-with-halogen-heater-dustbin

 

[Davek0974]

Good point, that ebay link is a good price, thanks.

Guess I'll stick with the rattlers for a while

 

[marlinspike]

I have been hugely impressed with Aldi metal protector paint. Comes in aerosols at about £5 a can. Dries very hard and semi gloss. They don't have the aerosols in stock very often but usually have the 1l tins - also a fiver. Has a picture of a gate on the tin. I am hoping to use these, thinned down, with a smart repair type gun (£10 from Lidl last week) and a 7cfm Aldi compressor (usually about £90). Don't know if that is the kind of thing you were thinking of.

Metalflake.co.UK are good for cheap paint too, including aerosols, especially as p and p is included.

 

[marlinspike]

Just quickly read that powder coating article. Does anyone think you could powder coat an alloy wheel with a £29 halogen oven and dustbin? Or is that expecting too much of such a homemade device?

 

[optima21]

well it would be better of with insulation on the outside, and possibly with the oven below the bin as the air would then cycle better ( with warm air rising and cool air falling)......or if they are 13" or less you can stick them in a domestic oven

 

[langy]

At the end of the day no aerosol will be as good as a gun, aerosols are mosty thinners, just look at the tiny nozzle and common sense will prevail.

 

[Davek0974]

Thats the problem though, although near impossible to get a good finish on a rattle can they are extremely useful when in my situation - intermittent, fiddly jobs where surface finish is dictated by the metal not the primer coat.

I have a feeling my costs would increase if I switched to a small spray gun due to clean up and paint wasted, that old outweigh the costs involved in rattle cans and overspray.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Cellulose can live in the gun for some time. Cleaning the gun is only a matter of a swill with gunwash, spray through and repeat. Finish with a small amount of good thinners sprayed through and it will be fine for your purposes. Bulk paint should be cheaper than aerosols and you are in control of the quality.

 

[langy]

Thats the problem though, although near impossible to get a good finish on a rattle can they are extremely useful when in my situation - intermittent, fiddly jobs where surface finish is dictated by the metal not the primer coat.

I have a feeling my costs would increase if I switched to a small spray gun due to clean up and paint wasted, that old outweigh the costs involved in rattle cans and overspray.

I guess it depends on the sort of quality required on what your producing, for me aerosols have no place in a final finish as they just don't stand up like gun applied paints.

 

[Davek0974]

I guess it depends on the sort of quality required on what your producing, for me aerosols have no place in a final finish as they just don't stand up like gun applied paints.

Luckily for most of my work a mirror finish is not required, ornate ironwork is rarely smooth enough and does not need to be either.

Can you give a rough guess at a cost of a ltr of gloss black, primer and gun wash, thinners if needed too please so I can run some numbers.

 

[langy]

I pay around £20 for a litre of Lechlar gloss black but there are cheaper brands out there that are pretty good, epoxy primer is £15 a litre and on iron work both would go a long way.
2K thinner is cheap as is gunwash

 

[Davek0974]

Thanks for that.

 

[steve.h]

I am still using rattle cans with the trigger thingy, I know it would be cheaper to buy bulk and use a gun but its a hell of a lot simpler, just rinse the rattle can top and its finished, put lid on can and put back on shelf. job done. You could spend more time setting up for a little job than actually making the piece your painting....