Wasted $150 on a cheap paint gun from a flea market in Mobile

Honestly, I thought I was being smart last summer. I saw this guy selling a gravity feed HVLP gun for like $50 and figured it was a steal. Brought it home, tried it on a fender I was doing for a buddy, and the pattern was so uneven I had to sand everything back down. Spent another $100 on extra primer and paint trying to fix the mess it made. Ended up buying a proper gun from the supply house for $180 after that, and it worked perfect on the first pass. Ngl, I could have just borrowed a good one from the guy I share the booth with. Has anyone else tried to cheap out on spray equipment and just regret it?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_bell26d agoMost Upvoted

That $50 gun sounds like the same kind I grabbed off a card table in Biloxi a few years back. It's funny how that pattern holds true everywhere, not just with paint guns. I've done the same thing with cheap wrenches that rounded off a bolt head, or a "bargain" pressure washer that blew a seal after ten minutes. It's like we have to pay the stupid tax once before we learn that the real deal costs more but saves you twice the time and headache in the long run.

pipera5025d ago

...and I read somewhere that the worst part is the "pattern" issue you mentioned, where cheap guns can't atomize the paint right. I think it was a forum post from a guy who restores motorcycles. He said most of those flea market guns are knockoffs of old designs that don't have the right air cap or nozzle size, so it's basically a guessing game. That fender you had to sand down? That's exactly what I was worried about with mine. It's wild how one bad tool can wreck a whole project.