Best to go to a good paint store and ask for information. Lot of variables, pressure, paint type and various hardeners.
I have already been some way down this road, getting to know the difference between 1X and 2X, and which Alkyd 1X will let brush marks "level", and how long which paint will allow runs to be taken up before hardening. How oil based enamels will eventually dry and go hard, but it might take days, or months, or not happen at all.
If you watch enough videos, you can get to know what suits.
No 2-packs for me yet. The end effect is hard and durable, but I don't like the toxic nature of the stuff.
Masking? I need to do that anyway, even with a brush.
The other kind of masking - always. I use the kind that when when combined with eyeglasses and ear defenders makes you look like a horror extra from the set of "The Fly". Basically, if I get a whiff of the solvents, my chest wheezes up. This has happened, even when I just took the lid off the can of 1K alkyd too close to my face.
The carbon granules really do work!
So I use a rattle can - but I do always use a primer stage, and I use a heat gun in a practiced way.
Not tried it out yet - but I do have one of these -->
Electric Airless 550W
Old school air guns lay on about 35% and overspray almost the whole room.
HVLP spray guns have bigger holes blasting towards the paint exit to make a "fan" spray, and they get 60-65% down, so much less overspray. You need a big compressor to deliver the high volume. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the bigger holes mean lower pressure (at the holes).
The "airless" electric types seem to deliver very nearly all the paint where you point it.
The compressor" is apparently built-in. Why else would it need 550W? For the £22.90 price, compared to having a separate compressor, I can see why they might appeal.
These "airless" guns are cheap, and I don't yet know much about them. The not-so-good kind are maybe only good for spraying a garden fence, but now, the better ones give a good finish on small paint jobs, and are much used inside, painting walls, doors, furniture, etc. I came across one video of a guy showing how accurately he could paint a picture frame, apparently having no problems with over-spray.
(Have to look that one up again).
For stuff small enough to put in an oven (I know - I know - don't go there!), and an enormous amount of careful preparation, and a modicum of knowledge about high voltage current-limited DC, you can get into powder-coat finish. Like my car wheels repair - but that was done by a professional. You can even do it without the high voltage.
You can get a DIY powder coat kit from Harbor Freight.
Search "DIY powder coat" on our favourite video channel.
YT is surprising sometimes!
