[PhilB]

I spent some time researching spray guns. If painting is your business, HVLP makes sense. My problem was compressor size; HVLP takes lots of air and I didn’t want to buy yet another compressor. I used a conventional, gravity-feed gun with dryers at the compressor and gun. Over-spray wasn’t a problem. Gun spray pattern settings are critical but easy to dial in. The high-end paints like the PPG urethane I used are apparently more forgiving of operator skill than cheaper paints. The suggested video recommends using a side-to-side and up/down motion when applying metallics to get the flakes to lay properly. This wasn’t necessary with my paint. I spent several hours talking to my paint salesman who walked me through the entire process. Proper surface prep is the key; it’s hard to go back and correct defects you missed during priming.