Learning to paint....

[sireland67]

I've got a Devillbis Tekna Pro Lite, and use it for both base and clear. I clean it brain surgery clean after base coat, and have had no problems. I use the 1.4 tip for both. When I did the Leer fiberglass topper for my wife's Dakota, I used it for sealer, base, and clear. I did about as much gun cleaning as I did painting....lol.

So true, you cannot in any way keep a paint gun too clean.
I can still get lacquer thinner here cheap at the local hardware store, nothing to use almost a 1/2 gallon every time I spray BC/CC.

 

[JDMopar]

I have one of those little siphon pumps made for a 5 gallon can, so I still buy the thinner at the auto paint store in a 5 gallon can. I'm still holding out hope that I might find a lacquer auto paint bootlegger, and can buy some satin paint to do dash frames with.

 

[GeorgeH]

After having a great conversation last night over dinner with an old friend (very talented retired painter/body man) I've decided I should get a second gun so that I can have one for BC and one for CC to prevent any accidental contamination in the CC.

Other than the tip size, what should I look for in a second. My current gun is the Devillbis FLG4. Does clear shoot significantly differently somehow that would prompt a "different" gun or do I just get another FLG4 and call it a day?

For clear I prefer the trans-tech/ high efficiency guns over hvlp. Better atomization and a finer finish. I've always been a Devilbiss guy and have a few Plus, and Tekna guns and I'm still carrying around a Sata Jet 90 for some reason. I'm not a fan of the FLG for clear, period. Tekna's are nice and the base gun is phenomenal but I get a better clear finish easier out of the Plus then the Tekna with a Te10 air cap. The Tekna does use a little bit less materials though. I have a few of the Plus chrome version, but this is a smoking deal with 1.2,1.3,1.4 tips, a cup, and an air gauge.
Devilbiss Eastwood PLUS Paint Gun 303742

My second choice are the Iwata's. I have used quite a few different ones. The Iwata Air Gunsa AZ3 HTE(high transfer efficiency)guns in both 1.3 and 1.4 is another decent gun at a fairly reasonable price.
For the home hobbyist shooting all the top coats out of one gun is not the end al be all. Clean between each round and definitely pull the cap, nozzle, and needle, and clean when your done. One tends to forget the clear is still in the gun when you're drinking a beer admiring your work. Rooting around in one with metal objects because it got crusty, letting it fall off a bench, or soaking the gun body in thinner so the gaskets degrade are things you don't do..
As far as painting. Sealer and base dry quickly. Clear has flow so the trick is to watch the difference of how the clear looks going on, how long the flash time is actually taking and what the clear looks like when it's done moving. I'm another guy that has been in the booth for a really long time.

The PLUS gun on the left was purchased about 2003 and still works flawlessly. Treat them like the precision instruments they are. Both are set up with PPS cup adapters

 

[sireland67]

I have one of those little siphon pumps made for a 5 gallon can, so I still buy the thinner at the auto paint store in a 5 gallon can. I'm still holding out hope that I might find a lacquer auto paint bootlegger, and can buy some satin paint to do dash frames with.

I just use base coat with no clear for the satin look.