Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[sixdogs]

fried1765--The $10 HVLP--on sale--HF is pretty darn good but the seals are not removable so it will only be good for a limited number of uses. The throwaway cups fit that too and make life so mush easier. When you use HVLP, you'll never switch back. I use way less paint and get a much better job. HF paint guns rival the best. I've seen them in very exclusive paint shops for primer use or lower dollar jobs.

 

[sixdogs]

I've got a junk truck that desperately needs paint. A proper paint job is out of the budget. The truck could be significantly improved with rattle cans but I would like to do a little better than that. Another project is painting my dump truck bed. Any suggestions on technique and paint? I've got a spray gun that looks like the one that six dogs linked but I've never used it.

It's said that prep work is 90% of a paint job and I think that's true. Hold that thought because I have done a number of beautiful jobs on farm equipment and farm trucks with spray cans. Take your time, do the prep and spray thin coats when there is no wind. As well, lots of old timers could brush paint a vehicle and not easily be able to tell it was a brush job. Again, do the prep and use a fast drying solvent.

For your truck, don't use spray cans unless you are committed to good prep work. It's got to be grat prep work or it will look like cr@p with overspray on the glass and windows or chrome. Remover, chrome, door handles and anything else that will come off. Then paint. Clean, sand and prime and and again. You can do part of the truck each year but do a good prep job.

Oh, always always always (got it?) buy only factory OEM paint if you can get it. The difference in quality is amazing.

 

[fried1765]

fried1765--The $10 HVLP--on sale--HF is pretty darn good but the seals are not removable so it will only be good for a limited number of uses. The throwaway cups fit that too and make life so mush easier. When you use HVLP, you'll never switch back. I use way less paint and get a much better job. HF paint guns rival the best. I've seen them in very exclusive paint shops for primer use or lower dollar jobs.

Thank you sixdogs.... I will definitely try one of those HVLP units.

 

[PhysAssist]

It has to be this one. Looks like same gun with two makers. It's 20 oz, not 2 oz,
2 oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun with Regulator
2 oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun with Regulator

Don't buy this $70 one below unless you are painting cars. I have one and it's not much different than the above for farm spraying.
2 oz. Professional HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun


Here are the paint cups. These are a must so get two packs of cups. Don't use the screw-in adaptor. Mine leaked so just screw the paint cup onto gun.
5 Piece Air Spray Gun Disposable Paint Cups
The paint gun stand I like looks like this below but I can't find on the net right now. It's in the store.


I spray and when done, immediately rinse cup with a little acetone and spray clean. I disassemble what I can, soak the nozzle, etc in acetone and blow clean with compressed air while wearing goggles.

Also, acetone is acetylene (get at WalMart) and highly flammable so I keep outside as much as possible. I don't work directly under my overhead lights while cleaning and pouring the stuff. Keep rags outside. Wear thin rubber gloves.

EDIT--When painting, I wear those typical "Tee shirt" type bags on my feet that are available everywhere. Just find some beefy ones, put your foot in and tie the tops together. It looks dumb but keeps my boots the rustic brown leather color I prefer rather than Kubota Orange or JD Classic Green.

What he said is what I do as well, but also....

Always wear goggles when you're using acetone, [and preferably an approved respirator] but at least use it in a really well-ventilated [OR preferably] open air environment.

Exposure to high levels of acetone can cause death, coma, unconsciousness, seizures, and respiratory distress.

It can damage your kidneys and the membranes in your mouth.Breathing moderate-to-high levels of acetone for short periods of time can cause nose, throat, lung, and eye irritation. It can also cause intoxication, headaches, fatigue, stupor, light-headedness, dizziness, confusion, increased pulse rate, nausea, vomiting, and shortening of the menstrual cycle in women.


Breathing highly concentrated acetone vapors can irritate the respiratory tract and burn your eyes. Skin contact with acetone can irritate or damage your skin.


Exposure to acetone can also cause low blood pressure, bronchial irritation, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, and an increased need to urinate.

Safety Police Mode- off

 

[California]

...Safety Police...

As a non pro occasional painter - that hazards list is why I use acetone only for a final rinse after getting the $10 gun cleaned 99% with paint thinner.

 

[PhysAssist]

As a non pro occasional painter - that hazards list is why I use acetone only for a final rinse after getting the $10 gun cleaned 99% with paint thinner.

Good call, and ditto!

Sixdogs,
If I can go off-topic for a second- I followed your link back to your restoration thread- is there a specific reason for the way the tines on that cultivator articulate the way they do?

It looks as if you could re-position them to accommodate many different row widths/spacings, or even rotate the front ones back to be almost right in front of the the rear ones- which seems like way more than would be necessary for their usual functions.

Or am I making mountains out of [corn] hills.
PA

 

[sixdogs]

Good call, and ditto!

Sixdogs,
If I can go off-topic for a second- I followed your link back to your restoration thread- is there a specific reason for the way the tines on that cultivator articulate the way they do?

It looks as if you could re-position them to accommodate many different row widths/spacings, or even rotate the front ones back to be almost right in front of the the rear ones- which seems like way more than would be necessary for their usual functions.

Or am I making mountains out of [corn] hills.
PA

No mountains here. Those date from maybe the into of the Ford 2N and probably were made into the 1950's. Some were Dearborn, some Ferguson and some Pittsburgh. Behind an 8N size tractor, they could do it all from general cultivating to row crop cultivating or whatever you wanted. That's why those tines can move every which way and then some. I set them up for knocking weeds down with 2" narrow cultivators and this is the way they don't plug or clump.

I also use with 5" wide shovels to control weeds in one area and have them spaced to cultivate my corn that's planted on a 30" row. I just lift two shanks up and straddle the row to cultivate. Years ago, I also used a set to pull many 50-75 lb rocks from a New England field. Never broke a tine over 10 years. These are great units and everyone should have a set. Might as well paint them if you have them.

 

[sixdogs]

What he said is what I do as well, but also....

Always wear goggles when you're using acetone, [and preferably an approved respirator] but at least use it in a really well-ventilated [OR preferably] open air environment.

Exposure to high levels of acetone can cause death, coma, unconsciousness, seizures, and respiratory distress.

It can damage your kidneys and the membranes in your mouth.Breathing moderate-to-high levels of acetone for short periods of time can cause nose, throat, lung, and eye irritation. It can also cause intoxication, headaches, fatigue, stupor, light-headedness, dizziness, confusion, increased pulse rate, nausea, vomiting, and shortening of the menstrual cycle in women.


Breathing highly concentrated acetone vapors can irritate the respiratory tract and burn your eyes. Skin contact with acetone can irritate or damage your skin.


Exposure to acetone can also cause low blood pressure, bronchial irritation, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, and an increased need to urinate.

Safety Police Mode- off

I just presumed people spraying paint would wear a respirator and goggles. That's common sense.

Not sure why this rant about acetone when the warning label looks the same as any other thinner. All of them are dangerous. Heck, my toothpaste says if I accidentally swallow any to call the poison control center. What? It's toothpaste. Charcoal lighter is benzene and wow, check that out on food you eat. The older fillings in your teeth helped bring down the Roman Empire. Just be careful.




What would be a cause to rally around, and I have to no avail, is people spraying paint "hardener", which is readily available everywhere paint is sold and then spraying it with insufficient protection or usually none at all. One use--one use--of those isocyanates can permanently--permanently-- damage your lungs. One use. And yet, guys here still spray it. I don't get it. You need external supplied air--think space suit--to spray this stuff in 398 of the 400 ways it's used. Period. Talk about dangerous and it's sold in the farm and big box store. The warning label is right on the container.


Back on topic is to use the HF better paint guns, restore ag equipment by doing a quality job and extend this TBN avocation/hobby. HF, and these quality low-buck paint guns has revolutionized equipment painting. Before HF, you had to go into an auto parts store to look at a $400 paint gun ( or a junk $60 cheapie), deal with an arrogant parts guy who acts like a snot and then pay retail and whatever they felt like charging for whatever it is you got. Then you needed spare parts and had to drive many miles to the same store, rinse and repeat the trauma and then at it again. HF changed all that with their wonderful line of knock off paint guns that can be had for $25 or so with a coupon. Thank you HF.

Go search some of my posts on restoring equipment and maybe post a comment. Maybe we can get others to make some restoration progress this summer. We each only have so many summers left so maybe make use of them while we can.

Here's another restore and paint.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/219879-scored-one-shank-ripper-subsoiler.html

and another
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...building-harragator-spike-harrow-project.html

and we're on a roll
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/278852-repaint-old-ford-dearborn-two.html

 

[PhysAssist]

I just presumed people spraying paint would wear a respirator and goggles. That's common sense.

Not sure why this rant about acetone when the warning label looks the same as any other thinner. All of them are dangerous. Heck, my toothpaste says if I accidentally swallow any to call the poison control center. What? It's toothpaste. Charcoal lighter is benzene and wow, check that out on food you eat. The older fillings in your teeth helped bring down the Roman Empire. Just be careful.




What would be a cause to rally around, and I have to no avail, is people spraying paint "hardener", which is readily available everywhere paint is sold and then spraying it with insufficient protection or usually none at all. One use--one use--of those isocyanates can permanently--permanently-- damage your lungs. One use. And yet, guys here still spray it. I don't get it. You need external supplied air--think space suit--to spray this stuff in 398 of the 400 ways it's used. Period. Talk about dangerous and it's sold in the farm and big box store. The warning label is right on the container.


Back on topic is to use the HF better paint guns, restore ag equipment by doing a quality job and extend this TBN avocation/hobby. HF, and these quality low-buck paint guns has revolutionized equipment painting. Before HF, you had to go into an auto parts store to look at a $400 paint gun ( or a junk $60 cheapie), deal with an arrogant parts guy who acts like a snot and then pay retail and whatever they felt like charging for whatever it is you got. Then you needed spare parts and had to drive many miles to the same store, rinse and repeat the trauma and then at it again. HF changed all that with their wonderful line of knock off paint guns that can be had for $25 or so with a coupon. Thank you HF.

Go search some of my posts on restoring equipment and maybe post a comment. Maybe we can get others to make some restoration progress this summer. We each only have so many summers left so maybe make use of them while we can.

Here's another restore and paint.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/219879-scored-one-shank-ripper-subsoiler.html

and another
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...building-harragator-spike-harrow-project.html

and we're on a roll
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/278852-repaint-old-ford-dearborn-two.html

Well, I didn't really mean to rant, more just to add a caveat.... [FONT=&quot]FWIW [/FONT]

...and though you did mention goggles, you didn't mention using a respirator.

The reason for my "rant" is that because after even very limited work-related exposure to several volatile organic compounds [VOCs], including acetone [during summer jobs at K*d*K in Rochester, NY during college from '78 to 1980], by my early 30's I developed early signs of macular degeneration, which have required close follow-up to show that they haven't continued to progress- yet.

Since my employment there, the potential danger of VOC exposures have been recognized, and less likely to occur occupationally- but casual exposures happening to DIY'ers have continued to occur.

You are also right about the problems with hardeners- they require much more stringent protection than any of us are likely capable of employing economically.

I will remember to make my future posts on your [excellent] restorations on their individual threads henceforth to avoid off-topic tangents.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...for 45 + years I've had a fiberglass/polyester fabrication side business...can't count how many 55 gal. drums of acetone I've been through...Always tried to work with good ventilation...there are much worse (harmful) solvents out there than acetone...

Acetone is not considered either a VOC (volatile organic compound) or a HAP (hazardous air pollutant) like almost every other chemical solvent...

It it is great for removing grease or oil before applying a finish or welding etc...