IWATA or SATA?

Bartman

Member
Well I know what opinions are like...BUT...I have sprayed both over the years and like both. I'm in the market for a new clear gun and interested in opinions. My favorite clear gun through the years was an IWATA W-400. I spray with a SATA 5000 RP now. I have someone helping me and I think I will pass that along to him. He's earned it and can't afford a high end gun. Now I don't know if I'll replace it with another SATA or should I go back to IWATA....

Bart
 
When I was shopping for a gun, It seemed to me the common thread was the Iwata was a slower gun which sounded good to me as I tend to be rather slow and deliberate. I understood the Sata was more of a hoser and was ideal for painters that could get around the car quickly doing an all-over.

I am not trying to answer your question. The truth is, I'm not qualified to. I did throw this out to see if the guys on here who are experienced with both would confirm or elaborate on the differences. I am sure it is largely a matter of personal taste and painting style. As I recall, Barry once told me had both and preferred his Iwata for panel repair but used his Sata for all overs.

I did buy the Iwata LPH400 1.4 and it suits me well.

John
 
Same here, I don't do complete paint jobs, my jobs are bumpers and maybe a door and a fender,
rarely more than three panels. I use the Iwata LPH400 and it seems to be perfect for that.
I think if I were going to do a complete car I'd get me a Sata.
 
I have the Iwata LPH 400 1.4 and Sata 5000 RP 1.3, These are both very nice guns but with my limited knowledge I use the Iwata as described above for panel work and Sata for complete jobs. I can say the 5000 is quite a bit more of a hoser and the Iwata is more of a finese type gun. You can't go wrong with either gun in my opinion but like you said everybody has one. Barry is the one who steered me to these 2 guns and I bought both when I found a deal, Barry advised me to stay away from the Iwata supernova though.
 
When I was shopping for a gun, It seemed to me the common thread was the Iwata was a slower gun which sounded good to me as I tend to be rather slow and deliberate. I understood the Sata was more of a hoser and was ideal for painters that could get around the car quickly doing an all-over.

I am not trying to answer your question. The truth is, I'm not qualified to. I did throw this out to see if the guys on here who are experienced with both would confirm or elaborate on the differences. I am sure it is largely a matter of personal taste and painting style. As I recall, Barry once told me had both and preferred his Iwata for panel repair but used his Sata for all overs.

I did buy the Iwata LPH400 1.4 and it suits me well.

John

I have both of those guns and it is essentially correct.

Don
 
What about the Sata 5500? They sell it with two versions of spray pattern.

Don

The 5500 RP 1.2 I is closer to the speed of an Iwata gun, still lays down the clear with a bit of a ‘factory correct’ micro peel look to it. Mind you I just got that nozzle set a week ago and have yet to spray more than 5 jobs with it.

The 1.3 I sprays with a bit more urethane wave, wasn’t really happy with it so I got the 1.2, haven’t tried any of the HVLP version in either O or I nozzles.
 
Basecoats I prefer something that is fairly slow, used a Sata 2000 HVLP for many years. Recently switched to a 5000 and got a screaming good deal through Ebay and ebays bucks (13%!) so I got a 5500 HVLP with the I nozzle. (1.3) Excellent gun for base. As for clear I prefer a hoser:) Panel or overall. I paint at the same speed. If I tried to slow down for panel work I'd probably screw up. Sata 5000 RP 1.3, 1-3/8 to 1-1/2 turns out. 75% overlap and move quickly.
 
Thanks guys. I didn't want to steer the conversation but was curious if anyone was going to say anything about the Supernova. My supplier is pushing Supernova but my buddy that's a paint rep for XXX says he didn't like it compared to either the LPH400 or Sata 5000RP. Any experience out there? I have a LPH400 that needs a rebuild. I liked it alot but I also like the Sata5000RP. Yes two different styles. I do think the LPH400 gave a finish clear finish than the 5000RP. At least for me and my techniques. Both were great but slight more peel with the 5000.
 
Thanks guys. I didn't want to steer the conversation but was curious if anyone was going to say anything about the Supernova. My supplier is pushing Supernova but my buddy that's a paint rep for XXX says he didn't like it compared to either the LPH400 or Sata 5000RP. Any experience out there? I have a LPH400 that needs a rebuild. I liked it alot but I also like the Sata5000RP. Yes two different styles. I do think the LPH400 gave a finish clear finish than the 5000RP. At least for me and my techniques. Both were great but slight more peel with the 5000.
Sounds like the secret answer for that peel is to put the retarder in.
 
Thanks guys. I didn't want to steer the conversation but was curious if anyone was going to say anything about the Supernova. My supplier is pushing Supernova but my buddy that's a paint rep for XXX says he didn't like it compared to either the LPH400 or Sata 5000RP. Any experience out there? I have a LPH400 that needs a rebuild. I liked it alot but I also like the Sata5000RP. Yes two different styles. I do think the LPH400 gave a finish clear finish than the 5000RP. At least for me and my techniques. Both were great but slight more peel with the 5000.

The supernova will lay down clear really slick, you hardly ever have to fight it. The trick is dialing it in cause it has such a big fan. You can’t run the fan wide open or even 90% open cause it gets thin on the center. Something else is that you can’t run the needle at 2 1/2 turns and get enough material on the panel, for some reason that gun seems to work better at around 4 1/2 to 5 turns out from closed, you almost have to run the fluid wide open to get it to work. This is just my experience and what I’ve seen most painters set up their WS400 HD Evo Supernovas. Spray around 28 to 35 psi. If you have a chance to demo one, take it for a spin, you may really like it.
 
The supernova will lay down clear really slick, you hardly ever have to fight it. The trick is dialing it in cause it has such a big fan. You can’t run the fan wide open or even 90% open cause it gets thin on the center. Something else is that you can’t run the needle at 2 1/2 turns and get enough material on the panel, for some reason that gun seems to work better at around 4 1/2 to 5 turns out from closed, you almost have to run the fluid wide open to get it to work. This is just my experience and what I’ve seen most painters set up their WS400 HD Evo Supernovas. Spray around 28 to 35 psi. If you have a chance to demo one, take it for a spin, you may really like it.


I may take one for a test drive thanks for your comments. I shoot with the LPH400 with the needle way out as I used to with the original W-400 which I wish I could get a new one.....
 
i will offer another bit of info on these two brands. like previously said, both are good, i have both. each has a couple weaknesses. satas are built really well but i find the newer models have parts like aircap seals that are made in a way that they shrink and start falling out so you need to replace them every so often. minijets piss air from the seals on the air adjustment knob. it seems sata is making parts in their newer guns so there are more consumables involved. overall build is great though and you cant beat the feel and ergonomics of a sata. iwata sprays really well and is a quality piece as well but dont have quite the precision feel that a sata does. iwata also has problems with their seals but they are just from poor design. the seals are usually staked washers in a housing that just fall apart. one other thing to note that iwata only sprays great when they are spotless clean. just a micro thin layer of paint film in those cuts on the nozzle tip and it just doesnt spray the same. you need to pull the nozzle and aircap after every use and really keep them in a stripper bucket so they are spotless clean every time you use the gun. sata you just grab and go. they are much more forgiving. iwata parts are quite a bit cheaper than sata so thats a plus. i am a fan of both guns but in recent years i have found i am slowly replacing my iwata guns with sata.
 
i will offer another bit of info on these two brands. like previously said, both are good, i have both. each has a couple weaknesses. satas are built really well but i find the newer models have parts like aircap seals that are made in a way that they shrink and start falling out so you need to replace them every so often. minijets piss air from the seals on the air adjustment knob. it seems sata is making parts in their newer guns so there are more consumables involved. overall build is great though and you cant beat the feel and ergonomics of a sata. iwata sprays really well and is a quality piece as well but dont have quite the precision feel that a sata does. iwata also has problems with their seals but they are just from poor design. the seals are usually staked washers in a housing that just fall apart. one other thing to note that iwata only sprays great when they are spotless clean. just a micro thin layer of paint film in those cuts on the nozzle tip and it just doesnt spray the same. you need to pull the nozzle and aircap after every use and really keep them in a stripper bucket so they are spotless clean every time you use the gun. sata you just grab and go. they are much more forgiving. iwata parts are quite a bit cheaper than sata so thats a plus. i am a fan of both guns but in recent years i have found i am slowly replacing my iwata guns with sata.

I’m really curious in your opinion of the 5500 RP and HVLP once you get to spray with them.
 
gotta agree there. the prices of these things are out of control. my lph400's when i bought them new were 450. now a gun is $1k and they dont even give you a damn cup.
 
I have Iwata 400 lph 1.4 and sata 5000 rp 1.3

The car I'm spraying right now is a 1935 sedan with the deluxe trunk bulge (some of you know the body type). I'm painting it like I paint everything else, completely apart in batches through the booth.

There's a lot of shape to this body, difficult valleys and "ditches" to wet out without running or at least getting too heavy in other areas. I decided to clear the whole thing with my LPH400 because that's a gun that keeps up with my deliberate and carefully planned movements. My sata is a gun that I do my best to keep up with, That works on 50's and 60's car body styles because the gun passes are all very similar and I can get by with trying to "keep up with the gun"

What I found is that my 1.4 LPH400 shoots clear (universal unreduced) faster than it shoots base. I actually really like it for shooting clear. haven't touched my sata 5000 for a while now (shame, really)
 
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