Harbor freight spray gun?

There is no reason you can't shoot a show winning top coat with it.

Ask me how I know.

I've used everything from Sata, Iwata, DeVillbiss, Porter Cable and cheap guns from Harbor Freight.

Any HVLP gun to be used on a complete paint job will generally have a 20.5oz. capacity, so that, plus whatever the gun holds, usually renders a reasonable 20oz. from your mixing cup.

If you shoot a complete, have someone help you mix, or just mix the batch as you go. I don't like mixing the entire batch at once, with the exception of basecoat, because at the end of the run, the clearcoat can start spraying heavy. I mix my clear as I go and if I'm on a round when I'm trying to make a complete side or hood, I will stop at my door jamb, regardless of my paint in the gun and have the mixing cup full of clear without the catalyst in it yet, so I can just pour in catalyst, stir and then strain it into the gun, so it will blend, between stopping and going again. I stop for about 1.5 minutes or less before going back into the booth this way. Not enough time for the clear to lock up and cause dry spots, but enough time to mix.

Always plot how you're going to shoot. Usually the roof will take one cup for a coat (actually less, but don't continue, because you want to tac lower panels) and then you get about three panels per cup, except for a hood, so maybe do one fender and a hood, etc.

20oz. is easy to formulate in just about every mixing ratio. Most of the time, anymore, I don't even use the mix ratios on the cup and just cut the math up by the Oz. marker on the single column. 4:1= 16oz:4oz, etc.

Show winning paint jobs are not left by the spray pattern, unless you are talking about shooting a car in single stage acrylic enamel with lead based metallics, for crap like the Carlisle judge shows, where you're going for that 100% survivor look.

Most people in this day in age are after paint jobs that have less surface changes than the glass on the car, which requires about 40 hours worth of multiple pass color/ wet sanding on the car, by hand, with a combination of soft blocks and more rigid foam blocks, off of 3 coats of clear, cut just like body work, because that's essentially what it is. You can use a D/A sander with some trizact or other type of topcoat sanding system, but watch it, because not all are used wet. Trizact is, but the Mirka system is not. Went through half a pack before I discovered that. And it also vibrates the panel, so while it will look smoother than the spray pattern/ orange peel, it will never be as smooth as hand sanding, when you gunsight the panels.

I know for a fact that you can paint a car outside with a harbor freight gun and win shows. If you do it outside, you need a good day, a clean ground (wet is best) and no trees/ dirt/ etc., as well as a fast curing catalyst for your clearcoat.

If you get any boogers in the base that won't tac cloth out between coats (always tac fenders/ quarters after shooting a roof and tac everything between basecoats), just stop, let it sit for fifteen minutes and come back with som 800 grit paper, cut it smooth and spot/ blend your color right there.

Let the whole thing flash a half an hour tac everything and go for it with clear.

There is no reason to spend tons of money on a nice gun, unless you are doing something crazy, like sunbursts or graphics work on a touch up gun for good pattern.

And honestly, the better fades are done by using a clear basecoat and mixing your color into that, then shooting it in light coats, so you are not relying on the atomization of the gun to get a fade.

Don't throw it away. That is really wasteful. If you are careful, you only need about 6-8oz of thinner to clean a gun, spotless. Even less if you've got a gun washer or clean parts washer that you use for spray equipment. The only time you might consider retiring the gun is if you've shot a lot of acid etch primer through it. Then just dedicate that gun to acid etch primer.

I've had an HF gun in my posession for my primer and I've been using it for 15 years. Works just like it did when I bought it.