Paint Advice: How to tackle this hood.

[SixBolt_16G]

Hey painters/auto body friends!

I have a 99 Eclipse GST Kalapana Black that i bought from a friend 18 years ago. He left it sitting under a tree and sap? continuously dripped on the hood in one spot while waiting to get a new engine. Its always annoyed me and now i want to do something about it. Trying to get some supplies and a plan together for when it get warm again.

Ive sprayed a few bumpers with a painter that I worked with while I was doing dent repair in the past, so im not a complete newbie, but nowhere close to a professional. Have also painted wheels, door handles, etc. I do have enough confidence that I can do an acceptable job. 2 LVLP guns and a 30 gallon compressor, water separated. What Im really looking for is some advice on the extent of the prepwork that is needed for the damage on this hood.

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The car has been garage kept since ive owned it and not driven during the winter so the rest of the panels are in great condition, so im not looking to cheap out with a rustoleum job, but also not looking to overdo it with super expensive paint and clear. Just the best possible job you can get outside of a spray booth.

1. Do i need to take this hood all the way down to the metal? Primer? Sealer? If not going down to metal, what grit sandpaper should i use?
2. Single stage or two stage paint?
3. When we painted my rear center tail light, we just used the black basecoat at the body shop we were working at and it matched very well. Would this be another case of "black is black" or would the difference between Kalapana and a black basecoat be noticeable on a horizontal panel?
4. Where would you guys get your paint from outside of your jobs? Any name dropping of brands for supplies to use for an amateur paint job are much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GSXRunner]

I don't disagree at all but I have had to just to find all the "bondo" that is hiding on a lot of cars. I didn't even know my own hood had a patch of the stuff on it (rather thick too) so around our place we go to metal, weld in new metal for rust repair and use a hammer and dolly to rough it in for a skim coat of filler then followed by what we do. I did both of my Camaro's, my son's Camaro, my 73 V-8 Vega and my 71 SS Camaro all that way and you said it, if the material under the new primer doesn't like the old stuff, it will craze and then you do it all over again. I just dig out all of the old stuff (time is no issue for me) and start with a solid foundation. Who knows what is under 30 years of paint. My Red 90 Talon was the one I had no idea that it had some damage. It has sat outside for about 4 years now, waiting on me to put her back together, and that is when a 6x6 spot of 1/2" thick bondo showed up. I'll either strip it or get one of my other hoods and repaint it. I don't think my best freind and I have ever painted a car that was just coated over another paint job but I could be very OCD about it too (probably).

Can't really put too much bondo on a hood. If you do, it will crack as the hood will go through high temperature changes. You can always check using a magnetic paint gauge or simply a magnet. Magnets don't grab onto thick bondo. Yes, there is a lot of questionable body work out there, but it can be found quite easily.

When I first got into auto body and painting, I got into an accident, driving on ice and sliding into a car on my way to work with my van. The car I slid into was a POS, probably worth no more than $100. The accident was my fault and I didn't want this going on my insurance, so I agreed to fix it for this old guy. It needed another door. I picked one up at the junk yard for $50, it just happened to be the same color and similar paint condition as the rest of the car. It was not perfect, but I told him if I repainted it, it would make the car as a whole look hideous. The guy insisted that I repaint it, so I did. You should have seen what it looked like. It was laughable, but the guy was happy it seemed that he had the door of a brand new car.

The moral of my story is: If the paint is in similar condition as the rest of the car, you really don't want to over do it.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Can I get one of y’all to just paint my whole car? I’ll provide the beer and food and whatever else you may want.

 

[SixBolt_16G]

I did compound and polish it back in the summer. I think it was Sonax cutmax and finishing polish, or maybe it was jescar or something like that with a griot garage polisher. The rest of the car looked great afterward and the car was blacker than i thought it would be after removing all those light scratches from years of washing the wrong way, but the hood just really ruins the rest of the car because it didnt come out as nice.

Not going to be a show car. I do drive it because my wife is into cars so we do go cruising on weekend, go out to car meets etc. So there is to be some assumption that standard wear and tear would resume after painting. But really only put 1000 miles a year and its garage kept, so isnt baking in the sun or getting rain/snowed on. The front bumper would be the only part of the car that i would want to paint(rock chips, scuffing along the bottom lip.). Already PDR'ed all the dents

 

[motomattx]

This is not accurate. An HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun uses Low Pressure; whereas a Siphon Feed gun uses Higher Pressure as it has to fight gravity to draw in paint. An HVLP gun is better, especially if you have a small compressor.

Incorrect, with a small compressor you only have a small volume of air from the compressor, therefore you DONT want a high volume low pressure gun, you want a high pressure low volume gun for a small compressor, I should know.

 

[motomattx]

This is great advice. I don’t think you’ll have to and it depends how deep those crack are.

Matt, yours was a driveway paint job??? Turned out awesome from what I remember. Most home paint job you can tell from feet away.

Yes, it was done under an easy up in the driveway, and then it started to rain on it while I was doing it, the rain didnt hurt it one bit and old painters say that they used to mist the fresh paint with water anyway when they used to paint for whatever reason, I am guessing to harden it from the added moisture in the water that would react with the hardener in the paint/clearcoat.

 

[motomattx]

My car looked just like yours with the white and the crazing of the paint, if you do as I did you will be just fine, mine has been painted for years now, I consulted with Dupont before I decided what I needed to remove as far as layers of paint, the factory primer is better than anything that you can apply and its recommended to leave it alone unless it has problems, the same goes for the base coat thats on there, you can safely paint over it with good base/clear but do not use lacquer based products on acrylic or urethane base/clear coat it will wrinkle, you want a name brand base with a urethane clear, to do just a hood you would only need about a pint of base and a few pints of clear, if you want to put a sealer, or a primer sealer over the sanded area before you paint it with new paint you can do that as an added layer of safety margin against any problems. My 99' Spyder is going to get new paint soon, its starting to crack/spyderweb/craze like your hood, it starts with the hood and ends up spreading to the rest of the car so be prepared for future paint work.

I did compound and polish it back in the summer. I think it was Sonax cutmax and finishing polish, or maybe it was jescar or something like that with a griot garage polisher. The rest of the car looked great afterward and the car was blacker than i thought it would be after removing all those light scratches from years of washing the wrong way, but the hood just really ruins the rest of the car because it didnt come out as nice.

Not going to be a show car. I do drive it because my wife is into cars so we do go cruising on weekend, go out to car meets etc. So there is to be some assumption that standard wear and tear would resume after painting. But really only put 1000 miles a year and its garage kept, so isnt baking in the sun or getting rain/snowed on. The front bumper would be the only part of the car that i would want to paint(rock chips, scuffing along the bottom lip.). Already PDR'ed all the dents

 

[GSXRunner]

Incorrect, with a small compressor you only have a small volume of air from the compressor, therefore you DONT want a high volume low pressure gun, you want a high pressure low volume gun for a small compressor, I should know.

I'm sorry, but you're incorrect.

The "high volume" means that more paint is moved at a lower pressure, not more air. More air flow comes naturally with a higher pressure. The siphon feed guns need higher pressure to create the venturi effect that draws up the thick paint. The side effect of this is that there is more air in the paint stream causing more over-spray. The HVLP guns are fed paint by gravity, so HIGHER VOLUMES OF PAINT can be delivered at a much lower pressure (15psi vs. 50psi) and so air flow is much lower.

The main reason why these guns have been invented is so that there is less overs-pray (lower VOC's). I can tell you when I first switched over to an HVLP after a decade of using a siphon feed guns, the less air coming out was the first thing I noticed.

If you do a search on the internet, you'll get all different answers because many have been misled by what by what "high volume" actually means. I like many of us who started painting before HVLP (1980's) became popular have a collection of expensive siphon feed guns and can see and feel the difference in the amount of air that comes out of them. It's night and day.

 

[GSXRunner]

Yes, it was done under an easy up in the driveway, and then it started to rain on it while I was doing it, the rain didnt hurt it one bit and old painters say that they used to mist the fresh paint with water anyway when they used to paint for whatever reason, I am guessing to harden it from the added moisture in the water that would react with the hardener in the paint/clearcoat.

I don't know where you heard this from but water is the second worst thing you want in your paint; the first being oil. You want to make sure you drain the water out of your compressor before starting any paint job. Furthermore, you need to use filters, preferably at the compressor and one at the gun.

Water in the paint can cause blushing, a milky white coating on the surface of the paint as water will condense on the surface.

 

[motomattx]

I'm sorry, but you're incorrect.

The "high volume" means that more paint is moved at a lower pressure, not more air. More air flow comes naturally with a higher pressure. The siphon feed guns need higher pressure to create the venturi effect that draws up the thick paint. The side effect of this is that there is more air in the paint stream causing more over-spray. The HVLP guns are fed paint by gravity, so HIGHER VOLUMES OF PAINT can be delivered at a much lower pressure (15psi vs. 50psi) and so air flow is much lower.

The main reason why these guns have been invented is so that there is less overs-pray (lower VOC's). I can tell you when I first switched over to an HVLP after a decade of using a siphon feed guns, the less air coming out was the first thing I noticed.

If you do a search on the internet, you'll get all different answers because many have been misled by what by what "high volume" actually means. I like many of us who started painting before HVLP (1980's) became popular have a collection of expensive siphon feed guns and can see and feel the difference in the amount of air that comes out of them. It's night and day.

Incorrect, high volume is high air volume, and air pressure and flow are proportionately inverse of one another. Also if you look at the air requirements of a hvlp gun vs a non hvlp gun you will see that I am right. Why do people come here to argue? why cant you just admit that you are wrong??

"HVLP means High Volume - Low Pressure. And more precisely it means High Volume (HV) of air going out at the aircap and Low Pressure (LP) of air at the handle"

Sames | ► Which compressor to feed my HVLP paint spray gun?

Sames offers its customers a large range of solutions from simple paint pumps & sprayguns to complete finishing application systems.

www.sames.com

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"

 

[motomattx]

I don't know where you heard this from but water is the second worst thing you want in your paint; the first being oil. You want to make sure you drain the water out of your compressor before starting any paint job. Furthermore, you need to use filters, preferably at the compressor and one at the gun.

Water in the paint can cause blushing, a milky white coating on the surface of the paint as water will condense on the surface.

Water IN paint is very different then water ON paint water on paint is what veteran painters recommend, if you have ever seen my car I think you would change your mind on water ON fresh paint. I am not an amateur painter, I likely have more filters and water separators then you do or most anyone else does, I do not cheap out on paint and equipment as I stated at the beginning of my advice. This is the gun that I painted my black car with:

https://www.grainger.com/product/6URD6?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI94iu15a0-wIVOGtvBB3zkQ2gEAQYASABEgJIZ_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Not the most exotic gun by far but not Harbor Freight junk by any means.

 

[GSXRunner]

Incorrect, high volume is high air volume, and air pressure and flow are proportionately inverse of one another. Also if you look at the air requirements of a hvlp gun vs a non hvlp gun you will see that I am right. Why do people come here to argue? why cant you just admit that you are wrong??

"HVLP means High Volume - Low Pressure. And more precisely it means High Volume (HV) of air going out at the aircap and Low Pressure (LP) of air at the handle"

Sames | ► Which compressor to feed my HVLP paint spray gun?

Sames offers its customers a large range of solutions from simple paint pumps & sprayguns to complete finishing application systems.

www.sames.com

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"

The fact that you used a 30 gallon compressor to paint your car speaks volumes about your knowledge and skill level of painting. It's like someone who owns a Lowes, all in one tool set claiming they're an ASE Certified Mechanic. Let me guess....You did not get into painting because you wanted to be a painter (like I did), you just wanted to paint your car. So you said "hold my beer" and went out and bought an HVLP paint gun because it was the most popular technology. Then when you painted with that puny 30 gallon compressor (not suitable for painting cars), it started cycling like crazy and you blamed it on the high volume "air" gun when the culprit is clearly the puny compressor. I don't think you ever owned a siphon feed gun because with a 30 gallon compressor, the pressure would drop off so fast that the gun would start spitting paint as it would lose the required vacuum to draw up paint, ruining the paint job; so you would already know this if you actually had one. You're basically recommending a paint gun you never used.

I had a full time business in the 80's and 90's fixing/modifying car bodies, custom painting, including Harleys and wave runners. I have 3 compressors. The one I use for painting is 120 gallons, 2 stage. I spent thousands of dollars on 6 siphon feed guns made by Binks, Devlibiss and Sharpe which I haven't used in a long time and now I have 3 HVLP guns to replace the old technology.

I told you, you won't find the answer on the internet as you will find many contradicting links. Since you just had to post one of the wrong ones, I decided to post some that are correct.

This is a Husky gun, I do not own one nor do I endorse it, I just put this here as an example:

Husky Gravity Feed Composite HVLP Spray Gun H4850GHVSG - The Home Depot

Husky spray guns feature stainless steel needles and precision air caps for reliability and perfect paint atomization. All Husky Spray Guns have the controls located at the rear of the gun to allow comfortable

www.homedepot.com

Husky spray guns feature stainless steel needles and precision air caps for reliability and perfect paint atomization. All Husky Spray Guns have the controls located at the rear of the gun to allow comfortable use by left and right hand operators. Husky HVLP (high volume-low pressure) technology provides high material transfer efficiency, eliminates paint waste and requires lower air volume. This Husky HVLP spray gun is ideal for high volume paint application for car refurbishing, industrial and woodwork.​

The Best HVLP Spray Guns of 2023

Achieve a professional finish with paint, stain, and varnish faster than with a brush by using the best HVLP spray gun. See top picks here.

www.bobvila.com

Q: What’s the difference between an HVLP, a conventional sprayer, and an airless spray gun?​

​

HVLP stands for high volume, low pressure, hence an HVLP spray gun can move a lot of material quickly. Different models run off a pump, turbine, or compressor.​

Good read - History of paint guns

The History of Sprayguns - BodyShop Business

If it weren't for a maintenance supervisor at a department store and a doctor trying to cure sort throats, you might still be painting vehicles with a brush - taking up to a month per vehicle. Can you say "cycle time nightmare"?

www.bodyshopbusiness.com

Around since the 1930s, HVLP came to the forefront in the ’90s as a response to 1987’s Rule 1151 in Southern California. Air pollution was the problem, so high transfer guns (65 percent +) were utilized to reduce smog. ​

How do you reduce air pollution? Increasing or decreasing air flow? You decrease it by delivering more product and less air. Less air, less overspray; thus higher transfer efficiency = common sense .

spray guns gravity feed VS suction cup - also note the top comment (it wasn't me).

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Some things are just common sense! HVLP uses low pressure (~15psi), so it has to deliver less air. If you inflate one of your car tires to 15 psi and another to 35psi, which one would have the most air in it? I can't believe I have to actually explain this to you.

If I buy a high volume oil pump, I expect it to deliver a high volume of oil.
If I buy a high volume water pump, I expect it to deliver a high volume of water.
If I buy a high volume sandblaster, I expect it to deliver a high volume of sand.
If I buy a high volume fuel pump, I expect it to deliver a high volume of fuel.
....and if I buy a high volume paint gun, I expect it to deliver a high volume of paint, not air.

HVLP guns are known for less overspray and higher transfer efficiency; which can only be achieved with a LOWER air flow. I'm done arguing. I don't want to get into a pissing match over a simple issue like this, but I respect this site enough to point out incorrect information. You can believe whatever makes you happy. I put this here so anyone who wants the correct information can read all of our posts and figure out what the correct information is and I believe the readers are intelligent enough to figure that out. Nuff said!

 

[GSXRunner]

Water IN paint is very different then water ON paint water on paint is what veteran painters recommend, if you have ever seen my car I think you would change your mind on water ON fresh paint. I am not an amateur painter, I likely have more filters and water separators then you do or most anyone else does, I do not cheap out on paint and equipment as I stated at the beginning of my advice. This is the gun that I painted my black car with:

https://www.grainger.com/product/6U...VOGtvBB3zkQ2gEAQYASABEgJIZ_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Not the most exotic gun by far but not Harbor Freight junk by any means.

Water should NEVER be near paint, period. Water on paint that hasn't dried yet is not good at all for several reasons. For one it beads up on the paint, trapping solvents underneath so the paint dries unevenly. Secondly, the water contains minerals and sometimes acid (from rain) that can react with the paint causing imperfections. Usually when the water evaporates it leaves behind contaminates that can be trapped in the paint. If you painted for as many years as I have, you would know this.

I find it hilarious that you have a cheap 30 gallon compressor and a $600 paint gun and then claim that you don't cheap out on equipment. Your money would be better spent on a 80+ gallon, 2 stage compressor and a much cheaper gun.

Sorry to make fun of you, but you just walked into that one.

BTW - That gun uses 12 cfm at 50 psi, but to paint a car, you wouldn't need more than 15 psi, which would use only a fraction of the air.

 

[AWD-Tony]

Think you guys can agree to disagree, and op has enough info to do his own research and make his decision.

 

[vanilla gorilla]

Coming from a person with experience. This is about as basic as I can make it. If you want me to elaborate on anything or go over cleaning procedures, gun settings, etc, I can. Someone mentioned blending previously, if youre confident in trying that (and the rest of the hood is in good shape), I can tell you how to do that as well.

I would take that spot to metal. Plus it looks like crows feet all around it which again needs to go to metal. Possibly the whole hood if it looks the same. If just doing that spot to metal, prep the metal in 80 grit, Feather out those areas into surrounding paint with 180-220. Prep rest of hood out in 600 (less likely to show sanding scratches under black). Spot prime area with some self etch (a good brand rattle can is fine, like SEM), and follow that with 2k high build. I do 3 coats, gradually increasing coverage area on each coat. Let it sit in sunlight for arleast a few days. Go a week if you can to let it shrink back. Guide coat and block primered areas finishing in 600 grit. Base, clear. Sealing before base is preferred. 2 to 3 coats base. Rule is coverage plus 1 coat. 2 wet coats of clear. 3 coats if you plan to do a little spot buffing. 4 coats if youre looking to fully wetsand/cut and polish flat.

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Its like 35 degrees in Chicago today, so ill post pics and let you guys know how it went in April/May. Gonna stock up on supplies over the winter and finish this garage. Thanks again for the info

 

[motomattx]

The fact that you used a 30 gallon compressor to paint your car speaks volumes about your knowledge and skill level of painting. It's like someone who owns a Lowes, all in one tool set claiming they're an ASE Certified Mechanic. Let me guess....You did not get into painting because you wanted to be a painter (like I did), you just wanted to paint your car. So you said "hold my beer" and went out and bought an HVLP paint gun because it was the most popular technology. Then when you painted with that puny 30 gallon compressor (not suitable for painting cars), it started cycling like crazy and you blamed it on the high volume "air" gun when the culprit is clearly the puny compressor. I don't think you ever owned a siphon feed gun because with a 30 gallon compressor, the pressure would drop off so fast that the gun would start spitting paint as it would lose the required vacuum to draw up paint, ruining the paint job; so you would already know this if you actually had one. You're basically recommending a paint gun you never used.

I had a full time business in the 80's and 90's fixing/modifying car bodies, custom painting, including Harleys and wave runners. I have 3 compressors. The one I use for painting is 120 gallons, 2 stage. I spent thousands of dollars on 6 siphon feed guns made by Binks, Devlibiss and Sharpe which I haven't used in a long time and now I have 3 HVLP guns to replace the old technology.

I told you, you won't find the answer on the internet as you will find many contradicting links. Since you just had to post one of the wrong ones, I decided to post some that are correct.

This is a Husky gun, I do not own one nor do I endorse it, I just put this here as an example:

Husky Gravity Feed Composite HVLP Spray Gun H4850GHVSG - The Home Depot

Husky spray guns feature stainless steel needles and precision air caps for reliability and perfect paint atomization. All Husky Spray Guns have the controls located at the rear of the gun to allow comfortable

www.homedepot.com

Husky spray guns feature stainless steel needles and precision air caps for reliability and perfect paint atomization. All Husky Spray Guns have the controls located at the rear of the gun to allow comfortable use by left and right hand operators. Husky HVLP (high volume-low pressure) technology provides high material transfer efficiency, eliminates paint waste and requires lower air volume. This Husky HVLP spray gun is ideal for high volume paint application for car refurbishing, industrial and woodwork.​

The Best HVLP Spray Guns of 2023

Achieve a professional finish with paint, stain, and varnish faster than with a brush by using the best HVLP spray gun. See top picks here.

www.bobvila.com

Q: What’s the difference between an HVLP, a conventional sprayer, and an airless spray gun?​

​

HVLP stands for high volume, low pressure, hence an HVLP spray gun can move a lot of material quickly. Different models run off a pump, turbine, or compressor.​

Good read - History of paint guns

The History of Sprayguns - BodyShop Business

If it weren't for a maintenance supervisor at a department store and a doctor trying to cure sort throats, you might still be painting vehicles with a brush - taking up to a month per vehicle. Can you say "cycle time nightmare"?

www.bodyshopbusiness.com

Around since the 1930s, HVLP came to the forefront in the ’90s as a response to 1987’s Rule 1151 in Southern California. Air pollution was the problem, so high transfer guns (65 percent +) were utilized to reduce smog. ​

How do you reduce air pollution? Increasing or decreasing air flow? You decrease it by delivering more product and less air. Less air, less overspray; thus higher transfer efficiency = common sense .

spray guns gravity feed VS suction cup - also note the top comment (it wasn't me).

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Some things are just common sense! HVLP uses low pressure (~15psi), so it has to deliver less air. If you inflate one of your car tires to 15 psi and another to 35psi, which one would have the most air in it? I can't believe I have to actually explain this to you.

If I buy a high volume oil pump, I expect it to deliver a high volume of oil.
If I buy a high volume water pump, I expect it to deliver a high volume of water.
If I buy a high volume sandblaster, I expect it to deliver a high volume of sand.
If I buy a high volume fuel pump, I expect it to deliver a high volume of fuel.
....and if I buy a high volume paint gun, I expect it to deliver a high volume of paint, not air.

HVLP guns are known for less overspray and higher transfer efficiency; which can only be achieved with a LOWER air flow. I'm done arguing. I don't want to get into a pissing match over a simple issue like this, but I respect this site enough to point out incorrect information. You can believe whatever makes you happy. I put this here so anyone who wants the correct information can read all of our posts and figure out what the correct information is and I believe the readers are intelligent enough to figure that out. Nuff said!

You obviously aren't much of a painter if your using a cheap HUSKY brand paint gun or taking advice from a Lowes brand of paint gun I have around ten paint guns and three compressors, my gun only requires 8-9 cfm due to the fact that it is NOT an hvlp gun, do your research and you would know that already, its a gravity feed non hvlp gun, thats why I chose it. And YES I do own a siphon feed gun and have painted many cars with it, I have worked in several dealerships and have painted cars for years, likely longer than you have. Again hvlp is high volume of AIR not paint there buddy, you need to let this one go and lick your wounds and find an easier target to get your internal angers out on, Devilbiss knows paint guns and what hvlp means moreso than Homedepot or Lowes description of a cheap gun that they sell, also yes turbine gun are hvlp, the put out a ton of air at low pressure, they use a vacuum cleaner type of motor on them, I have one of those too! they are manufactured locally by tip tools, if you would like me to interview the owner of the company to explain what a hvlp gun is I actually CAN do that after work one night. I am by no means an amateur painter but I now believe that you are by the way that you are trying so hard to dig yourself out of a hole, I am putting the information out for anyone doing future research here, not to argue with you or anyone else so do stop with the misinformation and arguing and take it to pm's if you dont like the facts.

 

[motomattx]

Water should NEVER be near paint, period. Water on paint that hasn't dried yet is not good at all for several reasons. For one it beads up on the paint, trapping solvents underneath so the paint dries unevenly. Secondly, the water contains minerals and sometimes acid (from rain) that can react with the paint causing imperfections. Usually when the water evaporates it leaves behind contaminates that can be trapped in the paint. If you painted for as many years as I have, you would know this.

I find it hilarious that you have a cheap 30 gallon compressor and a $600 paint gun and then claim that you don't cheap out on equipment. Your money would be better spent on a 80+ gallon, 2 stage compressor and a much cheaper gun.

Sorry to make fun of you, but you just walked into that one.

BTW - That gun uses 12 cfm at 50 psi, but to paint a car, you wouldn't need more than 15 psi, which would use only a fraction of the air.

Since reading comprehension seems to elude you for some reason here is yet another source to prove you incorrect:

https://www.paintspraytools.com.au/hvlp-spray-guns/

I can provide unlimited more if you still dont understand what an hvlp gun is lmk. Also my gun requires 8-9 cfm and my 30 gallon compressor that I used puts out 11 cfm, more than enough to operate that gun with room to spare.

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Showtime 99 "Finisher" HVLP Turbine Unit with ProLine Finish Spray Gun

A Great Way to Spray - Just Got BETTER! 3-Stage Turbine Produces 7.5 psi @ 60 cfm for Superior Finishes. SHOWTIME 99 Turbine Spray System with High-Volume 3-Stage Turbine Power Unit produces 45 to 50% more pressure than two-stage models. The increased pressure provides better paint atomization...

www.tptools.com

"The Turbine Power Unit delivers an instant 60 cfm of air (high volume) at only 7.5 psi (low pressure). The high-volume air moves the paint, and the low pressure reduces overspray up to 80%."

 

[GSXRunner]

Since reading comprehension seems to elude you for some reason here is yet another source to prove you incorrect:

https://www.paintspraytools.com.au/hvlp-spray-guns/

I can provide unlimited more if you still dont understand what an hvlp gun is lmk. Also my gun requires 8-9 cfm and my 30 gallon compressor that I used puts out 11 cfm, more than enough to operate that gun with room to spare.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Showtime 99 "Finisher" HVLP Turbine Unit with ProLine Finish Spray Gun

A Great Way to Spray - Just Got BETTER! 3-Stage Turbine Produces 7.5 psi @ 60 cfm for Superior Finishes. SHOWTIME 99 Turbine Spray System with High-Volume 3-Stage Turbine Power Unit produces 45 to 50% more pressure than two-stage models. The increased pressure provides better paint atomization...

www.tptools.com

"The Turbine Power Unit delivers an instant 60 cfm of air (high volume) at only 7.5 psi (low pressure). The high-volume air moves the paint, and the low pressure reduces overspray up to 80%."

Why the hypocrisy and anger? We're all friends here; don't need to fight. I'd love to say that you're right and I'm wrong just to spare your feelings, but I can't with good conscience because I believe you are wrong; so let's just agree to disagree and not waste bandwidth on unproductive chatter that does nothing to help the OP.

I have a reading comprehension problem? I read every one of your posts; including (post #13) the one where YOU said you painted your car in your driveway using a 30 gallon compressor and I did not misrepresent anything you said. I clearly wrote that I do not own a Husky paint gun, nor do I endorse them and you claim I said I have one. So who has a reading comprehension problem? Why get hypocritical? Why make stuff up?

I don't need to dig myself out of a hole. I have my opinion, you have yours; let's keep it that way. I could come back with an unlimited amount of links proving I'm right (as you can too) such as this one:

High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP) Spray Gun Tips | Adendorff Machinery

A short overview with helpful spray gun tips about HVLP spray guns. DIY enthusiasts, craftsmen. automobile restorers and fabricators all agree that HVLP guns are great. We have written this short spray gun tips article about the featured & benefits about HVLP spray Guns in general.

www.adendorff.co.za

What is a HVLP Spray Gun?​

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HVLP (high volume low pressure) means a high volume of material is displaced at a low pressure of air flow. This means that more of the paint propelled by the spray gun reaches the surface you are spraying with reduced wastage, overspray, and pollution of the air.​

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High volume = larger volume of paint material is displaced from the gun and makes it to surface​

Low pressure = Reduced atomization of the material (less overspray, waste, pollution)​

Air Supply for HVLP Spray Guns​

If you decide to go with the spray guns that need an air compressor there are some key things you need to understand. HVLP spray guns are great that they use less air flow than older guns but they do still need plenty, some people have this misconception that these new HVLP gun only need a tiny DIY compressor… wrong.​

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The reason you still need a large compressor is that of the duty cycle of the compressor. Most air compressors have relatively low duty cycles meaning they cannot run for hours on end unless its a commercial type of machine. You want a compressor to supply enough air that even while you are spraying you are using less air than the pump is supplying, because of this, the compressor will be able to have a rest period in between running cycles. HVLP air flow requirement differ from model to model but they are on the lower end of what spray guns tend to use. This information is referred to as CFM (cubic feet per minute) and you would want to aim for a compressor 25% above the CFM requirement of the gun for most use cases, 40% for commercial applications.​

...but you can too; which is why it's impossible to get a straight answer from the internet. And that is why there's no point in trying; it's just an exercise in futility.

I only looked up consumer level paint guns because the OP was interested in painting his car, not going into the painting business. He doesn't need to be reading about $1000 guns; which will do nothing but drain his wallet rather quickly. Anyway, a good painter can paint with almost any gun and if you're going to sand and buff the final finish, you could get a great paint job with a $10 gun. In fact, I would recommend that a DIY'er sand and polish the paint considering he doesn't have a paint booth and there is bound to be bugs and debris that wind up in the paint anyway.

When I got started painting in the early eighties, I was painting with lacquer. Lacquer dries to a dull finish. It's a requirement to sand and polish lacquer unless you top coat it with urethane clear. Eventually, lacquer got outlawed due to environmental laws and I was then doing all my painting with urethane. Once you get your gun technique down, you could lay out clear like glass with the right settings. All it takes is confidence, practice and persistence; no magic involved.

My first paint gun was a Binks #7. The main reason why someone would need an expensive gun is for longevity as they have rebuild kits and you can replace the packing on them when it starts to leak. The more expensive guns do have a finer atomization, but if you use a cheaper gun with the pressure just a little higher, you could get similar results. An expensive gun will not make you a better painter. I have sprayed with cheap guns before. For instance, I sprayed a friend of a friends wave runner in their own garage, using their own equipment. They had a cheap gun and I laid out a finish like glass, even after absorbing a six pack. I was surprised by the result; but I probably just got lucky that day.

Anyway, it's better to paint with a bigger compressor and a cheaper gun than the other way around. I would recommend for the OP if he doesn't already have at least a 60 gallon 2 stage compressor, that he may be able to rent one just to paint his car. You could get away with a 30 gallon compressor if you're only going to paint the hood and you use the right gun. You could probably rent a gun as well, but I wouldn't recommend that because rented guns are usually abused. If you order the gun Amazon Prime, you can buy the most expensive gun, paint your car and send it back for a full refund.