Campbell & Hausfeld touchup guns

I now have four of these guns. I use an Ingersol Rand compressor, 3 HP 20 Gal tank. Filters and water traps at the outlet and in line and I drain the water from the tank before each use or daily. I usually paint at 20 to 40 psi depending on the medium being sprayed. At first the gun was awkward for me to hold after using a regular airbrush. The cup holds 6 oz. The air is activated by using your thumb and it didn't take me more than an hour to get the hang of it. I tried it out on an old plane just using clear. I have a quick disconnect and also one on my airbrush hose. This saves time in switching from brush to gun. I used to take 15 minutes until I dug through my tool box and found what I needed. Though Wal-Mart sells the gun, they do not sell accessories for it. Lowe's however, does and most auto parts stores should too.
The air cap assembly rotates so you can spray a vertical pattern or a horizontal one. This helps in getting most of the paint on the plane. It is an external mix gun and the air and material volumn are easy to adjust. Cleanup is easier than an air brush. Also if you drop the paint cup, it's aluminum not glass! They have a 1-800 number for service, parts, etc and are very courteous. Also you can order from them a rebuilt gun for only 17.oo and it too carries a one year warranty just like a new one. At a 12.00 savings, you can't go wrong.
In using the gun I found that I have to apply three light coats to get full coverage. This means the gun will not apply it too heavy. However, I do get runs because I stop when I should be moving:-) Considering I used to use an airbrush to paint my planes, this is a big time saver. Also I made a holder form 1 inch pipe so I don't have to hold the plane or place it on a table and wait for one side to dry. I just rotate and spray. This is such a time saver that I look forward to painting, which I used to dread. Still hate masking.

I bought one of these guns last spring, thinking I'd use it to paint my Smoothie, but I never got to that point with the Smoothie - it's still sitting in the bones. I'll try it out this spring. It's good to read this review - it makes me feel good about having bought it. I'll be borrowing a friend's compressor...

Tim

Tim

I received my "rebuilt" gun today. I can't see any difference between it and a new one. Also, and this is important, the CH touch up gun must use at least a one horsepower compressor. Those smaller compressors we use for our air brushes will not do the job. I did not notice the sticker on the other boxes, but one was on the "rebuilt" guns box. Since my compressor is 3 Hp, I never gave it any thought and have never tried it on my smaller compressor (Pasche) which I sold two nights ago.