NEIKO 31215A HVLP Spray Gun Paint Sprayer, 1.7 mm Spray Paint Gun, Nozzle Size 600 cc Air Gauge Regulator, Auto Paint Spray Gun, HVLP Spray Gun Kit

I originally bought this spray gun to spray Cerakote, which is a ceramic based thin-film paint. As much as I love products by Neiko, when this gun originally showed up, I was a little disappointed at first.Cerakote calls for a 0.8mm tip, but I figured this gun's 1.0mm tip would probably be close enough (and it did turn out to work just fine). Since I was just spraying some engine pistons, I didn't really want to invest a lot of money into a spray gun; so I decided to give this little guy a shot (no pun intended) instead of putting several hundred towards a higher end, professional HVLP (high volume / low pressure) spray gun. One of the things which I was kind of disappointed about, when shopping around for spray guns, was that this mini size Neiko gun w/ the 1.0mm tip only came with a plastic paint hopper, instead of the nicer looking stainless steel ones on some of the larger guns; that is until I started to really use it for painting.So first off, as far as the plastic vs. SS paint hopper: turns out that the plastic is actually super nice and maybe actually better than if it had been stainless. The Neiko cup does have metal threads, so part is fine. The biggest benefit I've seen is how the paint does not stick to the plastic. Clean up is a snap. Even if you leave a bit of paint residue on the plastic for a few days (and I'm talking Cerakote here) and some small areas dry up, you can still just toss the hopper into a sonic cleaner and it will come out looking brand new. The stuck paint slides right off with a bit of Acetone and compressed air and/or a brush, etc. So that part is super nice and has been keeping the gun looking great.I was also a little disappointed in how the front nose part threaded on when it first arrived. The threads were a bit rough. However, after taking the gun apart a few times and using a SS wire brush on the threads, now everything is smooth. I did also notice some burs on the 3 internal air holes on the back disc part of the nozzle, but those weren't too hard to remove with a little needle.The adjustments on the gun are a bit funky. Basically, there is only one real adjustment worthwhile and that's the knob on the very back. It controls the depth of the needle in the 1.0m front hole; the further it pulls away from the seat, the more paint can get out. That's the main adjustment I use. On the side, there is a knob which is supposed to allow you to control if the paint comes out in a circle or more of an oval. I've fooled around with that a bit, but so far I've found that about a 1/4 turn CCW from full in works best for most jobs. There is also an air pressure knob at the bottom of the gun, but I can't see that it has much impact on anything; better to just adjust the pressure at your air compressor and call that good. I spray at 30 PSI (as air is flowing through the gun) and it's been working well.One thing i do like about the gun is its little hook. It's designed in such a way where you can just quickly throw a metal rod into a vice and that makes for a pretty handy hanging post while working. The design of the hook wraps around further than some other guns, so that's nice and kind of helps to lock the gun onto the hook so it doesn't slip off. That's been a big help while working actually, at least for me.One thing you might wanna note... this gun comes with exactly one little paint strainer that inserts into the throat where the paint hopper supplies paint to the gun. That part cannot really be cleaned well after use and reused. If you don't already have some handy, you'll probably need extras. Luckily, you can buy a bunch of them via Amazon here: (these are ones I use and they work/fit great):"Boao 40 Pieces Gravity Feed Disposable HVLP Paint Filters Strainers"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0875JVQCGI pre-clean each filter in a sonic cleaner prior to using them in the gun. So far, it's been working great. I have to say also, the Boao filters actually fit more tightly in the gun than the one which came with it, which is a big plus also. The filter which came with the gun from Neiko was way too loose.So all in all, this gun has actually turned out to be pretty fantastic. For the money, as long as you don't mind tuning it up a bit, it's been really great. After getting used to using it and cleaning it a couple of times (and brushing some of the threads with a SS brush especially), I've really come to appreciate what a great little HVLP spray gun it is.Neiko comes to the rescue, once again!*** ONE YEAR UPDATE: (see photo also)Okay, just a quick update here... overall still loving this little gun, but there are a few things you might wanna be aware of. Most notably is that you must clean it thoroughly after each use with acetone or you'll end up in a world of hurt. Also, after a while, the little return spring under the end cap tends to lose its power to return the main needle home in the spray control tip / valve. This will ruin your day and will result in the tip not returning all the way forward and sealing (which will result in paint leaking out of the tip and all over the place). NOT FUN to find out about in the heat of the moment after you dump in a bunch of your ultra expensive Cerakote paint into the hopper...The solution is to keep the needle very clean and also the area around the brass screw down in there where the needle has to slide in and out. Even so, I think whatever gasket they have used in there tends to swell up after a while and this causes the needle to not want to move smoothly (it can fail to seat 100% and leave the tip open ever so slightly - this will cause paint to dribble out the tip). The easiest fix is just to stretch the spring that pushes it back home out a bit and then the extra tension should get the gun working again (see photo).Also, I've found using the little pop in strainers that go below the main paint cup to be a hassle. I've stopped using those and simply strain the paint as I pour it in through a finer mesh paper filter. This helps improve flow rate and is one less thing to worry about. The gun does have a nasty habit of spitting paint up through the vent hole in the top cap, but what are ya gonna do. This may actually be because I stopped using those little filter cups inside, now that I think about it. Will have to test that out again next time.All in all, still love my little Neiko paint gun. For the money, you can't really complain much. It does a nice job shooting Cerakote and is relatively easy to field strip and clean once done using it. Wish they had a .8mm tip but the 1.0mm seems to work fine from my experience w/ the C series air dry Cerakote paint.

Great Little Spray Gun! , used it to spray automotive clear coat and it worked great

Many reviews talk about how hard it is to get the spray tip off. Some call this a spray nozzle a spray cap and other things. The manufacture DID NOT put any threadlocker on the one I recieved. I was able to get it off without any trouble. It was on tight, but not overly tight. I took everything apart and washed it in hot soapy water. Reassembled it and shot some hot water through it. Adjusted the pattern and it did a great job on cardboard. I have a project coming up and I will be shooting all water based products. Primer, lacquer and poly. I was surprised by the weight of the gun. I was expecting it to be made out of plastic or pot metal. Feels good. The instruction sheet is next to useless. I love that it states to contact them with any problems but there is not an address, phone number or web site anywhere on the sheet. All that aside, If this gun can handle my small project then I will be happy. I'm not planning on using it much after this. I have a conventional siphon gun (Binks model 7) but it puts out too much overspray. Paint is expensive so that is why it went with a HVLP gun. I will update my review after I have finished finishing the project. (Get it? Finish finishing! LOL)5/28/2018 - So far so good. I built new counter tops for my kitchen. I plan on painting them black and then covering with polyurethane. Yesterday I sprayed on Zinsser Shellac Based Primer to seal the end grains. This is pretty thin stuff and the gun with it's 1.5 tip did a great job. This morning I sanded the tops and shot a coat of water based high-fill primer. Thicker stuff but not as thick as latex. The gun did OK. Not great but OK. It left the texture pretty rough. It should sand out easily though. I did encounter a problem with the gun. It would leak around the threads where the air cap screws on. You know, the colored outer ring. It was a small leak and after a bit the primer would build up and drip out. At first I didn't know where it was coming from and thought I had dripped sweat onto the surface. Next coat I'm gonna use thread tape to see if that helps. Also, when you put the plastic cap on the cup DO NOT hold the gun by the handle. The cup will bend at the connection point and could snap off. Instead hold the cup like holding a brandy sniffer. If you don't drink brandy, hold your palm up and slip the cup between the third and fourth fingers. This will cradle the cup and allow you to push the cap on without putting pressure on the joint. The photo shows the countertop after the first coat of primer.5/28/2018 - Shot the second coat of primer and used the thread tape on the air cap. No leaks. The gun did a good job. The tip size (1.5) is a little to small for primer I am using (60 seconds on a #4 Zahn cup) so I thinned it with a little water. Flow, pattern and air pressure are all easy to adjust. I'm running 40 psi at the gun, 30 psi with the trigger pulled.5/28/2018 - Sanded the third and last coat of primer. Then pulled the trigger, so to speak, and shot the first coat of black. As the photo shows, it's not such a great job. No problem with the gun just a lack of experience on my part with this type of lacquer. I have shot gallons of the nitro lacquer back in the 70's and 80's. This is a water based, acrylic lacquer and it's a cat of a different color. The manufacturer says this product does not need to be thinned but I have to disagree. I tried different gun settings but nothing looked very good. Next coat I'm gonna thin it with water until I get a nice flow. Tomorrow I will sand with 400 grit and shoot a second coat.5/30/2018 - Yesterday I sanded off most of the first coat of lacquer and shot another coat of thinned lacquer. Made a huge difference. The paint came out much better and flowed much smoother. This morning I did a light sanding to get out bugs and dirt and shot a second coat. The gun did a great job with the thinned paint. I'm gonna do a third and final coat tomorrow, let dry, sand and start on the clear coats.This gun rusts very easily. After each use I take the gun apart and clean everything with soap and water. Reassemble and shoot clean water through it then leave it upside down to dry. I've noticed rust developing in the cup and inside the gun. Now I spray an ounce or so of denatured alcohol through. The alcohol blows out most of the water in the gun and then evaporates quickly leaving the gun nice and dry. This seems to have cured the rust problem.6/2/2018 - Ran into a problem. Not with the gun but with the counter top. The seam is visible where I joined the two pieces. I'm going to sand that portion down and fill in the seam. It didn't show up with the primer, but after sanding the color coat I could see a faint line. This would really show up after the clear is put on.The gun - Still rusts despite the steps I have taken to prevent it. I live in the South and it stays humid here. Today the humidity is 85%. I think this is causing the rust and I don't know how to prevent it. Good thing I'm not planning on using this gun after this project.6/17/2018 - Finished!! I am very pleased with the countertops and the performance of the gun. It is not the best gun on the market but it's not the worst either. For the occasional use it it is a good gun and I would buy it again.