Tools

[93STLTH]

Got this in both 1/2 and 3/8ths at Harbor Freight. I use them for just about everything and they've worked flawlessly so far. I highly recommend them for every tool box.

[thor'svr4]

Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive paint gun?

I like DeVilbiss

Gravity Feed Spray Guns

I’ve always been told that DeVilbiss makes some very good guns and there decently affordable. A HVLP gravity feed gun is the way to go. You save a lot of money on paint/clear and also don’t need a large compressor to run it with. I use a DeVilbiss GTI Millennium for my color and clear coat and a cheepo Craftsman HVLP gun for spraying primer.

[green-lantern]

I just did my VSS and borrowed this tool from a friend on the boards. It worked great





On the other hand the big craftsman tool set I bought wasn’t all that great. Hard to read the size on the socket and the ratchets sucked balls. Real cheap parts in these things now. They will exchange them but they just don’t work real well. I use the sockets but use my old Stanley ratchet instead of the crap that came with the set.

[j2k4]

heres a review of a sand Blaster:

Ive got this one from Harbor Freight
110 Lb. Pressurized Abrasive Blaster

Overall its a good blaster that wont jam up on you. its got a built in water trap to keep the sand from getting wet due to moisture in your air line. its VERY powerful. i run mine at about 120psi and it will remove any rust no matter how thick. They say 60-125psi in the description but honestly 60psi is more for removing paint and at 120psi this blaster was strong enough to actually cut through the sheet metal under the rear bumper cover. in general i keep mine to 80-90 psi.

The description says “1.2 to 1.3 hour working time with standard media and tip” which is a pretty big lie. You can empty 50lbs of sand in about 10-15 min of use. This is plenty of time to do something like a gas tank. Also I lay down rubber mats in the driveway and just sweep up any used sand then filter it out with a screen and reuse the sand. So you don’t have to buy sand (which is fairly inexpensive) once in a while.

ive had several sand blasters and this one is my favorite. you have lots of adjustability between the volume of sand you allow to come out of the nozzle at once use and the speed at which the sand comes out of the nozzle. also because its pressurized, not siphon feed, the sand flow is pretty consistent.

Cons: well its from harbor freight so you’re pretty much just paying for the tank setup. For example the mask included is a joke. I normally wear some safety glasses and a paper respirator then put on a face shield over the glasses and mask. Then a large hoodie sweatshirt with draw strings on the hoodie over the top of the face shield. Its not perfectly safe but it works pretty well. also the rubber lines and cheep deadman valves will be wear through eventually by the high pressure and fast moving abrasive sand. luckily deadman valves are cheep and readily available at any hardware store. also the guns ceramic tips will eventually wear out. I’ve always hated the 'gun' style nozzles so instead of buying some new tips when the ones included in the kit wore out i bought a much larger nozzle that resembles this.

Sandblaster Gun with 3 Extra Nozzles : Sand Blasting Tool | Sandblaster Gun with 3 Extra Nozzles : Sand Blasting Tool on sales best price


because the ceramic inside this nozzle is MUCH thicker i get many more hours of use in-between switching the ceramic inserts.

It’s a great tool to have and is very useful. I used to be the guy with a wire wheel on a drill but this thing saves me a ton of money in both wire wheels and time. You do need a large compressor to run the sand blaster, or you will only get a few seconds of blasting in-between waiting for the compressor to pump the blaster back up to the desired psi. plus it’s a great feeling knowing that you can simply unbolt anything that’s rusty and easily make it look like new.

I’ve also been looking into buying a plasma cutter and tubing bender. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction, but if not you can bet there will be a review of a plasma cutter and tubing bender on here within a few months.

Have you had any trouble with the media holing the elbow at the shutoff valve on the bottom?

I was able to mitigate the problem by going to a stainless unit, but it would still wear out more often than I liked.

[RL7]

Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive paint gun?

I have a warwick gun I got for a little over $100 and its great. I bought it at Finishmaster. I have the 903G Warwick - 903H / 903G. This and the 904 are supposed to be "LVLP" guns and comparable to Iwatas. I believe it. I use it for clear only and get almost no orange peel.

I use the big gun from harbor freight's "automotive hvlp set" for primer and it works fine for that (with the 1.8 tip). Most of their guns aren't that good though. Some people like their more expensive HVLP gun, but I think I have one I bought from a paint shop (these china guns are all over the place) and the fan is pretty pathetic. I use it for base sometimes though.

[RL7]

I got one of these 1/4" teloscoping drivers from harbor freight and I use it all the time. Combined with a swivel, it's unstoppable. Saves so much time.
1/4" Telescoping Socket Driver

In general harbor freight stuff is disposable garbage, but if you buy the more expensive line (i.e. the $25 wrench set instead of the $15 one), the quality can be surprisingly good. I have been happy with their orange and grey colored tools. I think they may have been meant for home-depot. I still like my old USA-made tools best, but I hate when I lose them.

[mcshooter]

on paint guns i have a top line debliss which will lay down a great coat of clear but i have just got and used the eastwood concours gun in 1.2 and 1.4 tips. the eastwood gun at $200 bucks is just as good as the debliss. i just used hf siphon gun with a 1.8 tip to spray a coat of rust bullet . it was only $25 and is ok for a heavy rust preventive paint like rust bullet. hard to believe a all alum gun is only $25... but spray gun quality is in the manufacture and quality of the air cap. over all if you only paint a car once in a while or the first time i would recommend the eastwood gun ..

[Nytron]

Got a mechanic friend with snap-on tools. They're usually like 3x the price of any other tool, but the quality is better than most other brands by far.

For tools that you can't have break on you, snap-on is the way to go. In MN, there really isn't any other choice, especially with the rust here. I plan on getting a flex head ratchet this year like this:


link: FHX80, Ratchet, Dual 80 Technology, Locking Flex Head, Comfort Grip, 3/8" drive, 11 7/8"

[mcshooter]

for sure the snapon is the best, i have some kolbalt tools that were made by snapon for retail stores . presently the kolbalts are made by williams which are also a top line quality tool co. i looked at some stanley wrenches but passed when i saw they were made in tiawan. .forget the harbor frieght wrenches as they are cheap junk ..buy snap on,kolbalt,williams,matco and they will last you a lifetime

[TwIzTeD_3kGt]

I have a set of fine-tooth Mac flex head ratchets that have seen daily abuse and haven't let me down.