G'Day Milo, well the gun is one part of the equasion, but don't forget that you'll need a compressor, hoses, filter/regulator, etc etc.
If you're gonna spray frames you'll probably use enamel or 2 pack (nothing to do with dead rappers) and if you're gonna do tanks etc you'll probably use acrylic laquer, in which case you'll need 2 guns, with different size tips and needles, as the flow characteristics of each media is different.
Surprisingly, a good painter can get excellent results from an el-cheapo compressor and guns, so don't spend a fortune like I did 30 years ago before eBay, Bunnings, Aldi, etc. A gravity fed gun works well for tanks etc, usually gravity guns are known as HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) and the beauty of these is that apart from requiring less air pressure (and hence, a smaller compressor) you get much less overspray, and use a lot less material. (paint is expensive)
I paid over 600 bucks for my Iwata finishing gun back in the 1980's, then discovered a "Star" gun (Taiwanese copy of my Iwata) at Total Tools for around 100 bucks, which was just as good. I've got 2 Star guns, one with an acrylic tip, and one with an enamel tip. I bought a cheap HVLP (gravity) gun at my local auto paint shop and it worked great, but the plastic paint cup fell apart and I haven't found a replacement yet, so if you buy one, either buy two cups, or buy one with an aluminium cup.
Teaching yourself to paint is easy, just remember that winter isn't a good time, unless you have a heated booth. If you make your own booth (a garden shed with some form of non explosive spark producing heat will do) make sure it's well ventilated, or you'll fill your lungs full of cancer producing chemicals which will kill you faster than just about anything else. Otherwise, wait until at least September or October before you start, and do it outside.
Most guys set up their compressors with the filter regulator attached to the compressor. That's fine for fence builders etc, but no good for spray painting. You need to position your filter regulator higher than the compressor and at least 3 metres away, so that the moisture in the air coming from the compressor mostly runs back into the compressor, and what doesn't is picked up by the FR and doesn't make it to the paint gun. Water in paint is not a good look.
Read as much as you can about how to paint, setting up your gun for air pressure, fan width, distance from workpiece, preparation of items to be painted, prepwash/tack ragging, primers, spray putty, base coat/clear coat, rubbing back between coats, finish coating, cut and polishing, etc etc. When I bought my outfit, spray painting equipment was really expensive (my first compressor was well over 1000 bucks) but nowadays anyone can afford enough equipment to do a reasonable "factory finish" quality job, for a few hundred bucks. Have fun! Cheers, Terry.
