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Top 8 Primer Guns

This is The Gunman’s Top 8 Primer Gun Review, a comprehensive unbiased review based on objective facts about each gun. I have ranked each gun on the following 4 criteria. Build Quality, Price, Finish & Versatility
Each given criteria will be ranked on a 0-5 basis, then tallied up to give us a score out of 20.
Build Quality, Price & Finish is pretty self-explanatory, I added extra criteria for this review “Versatility” for the purpose of a large portion of my audience who are D.I.Y./Hobby painters and may just want one gun they can use for Primer, Base, 2K Colour & Clear Coat. So if a gun is available in a wide range of fluid tips it will get a higher Versatility score. If versatility is not an issue for you, disregard this.

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Number 8 DeVilbiss PRi Pro lite

Price: 1/5
Build Quality: 4/5
Finish: 5/5
Versatility: 1/5
Overall Score: 11/20

In at Number 8 is the DeVilbiss Pri Pro-lite, this primer gun being 8th position highlights how fierce the competition is.
I can barely fault the primer gun itself, however, mine builds up a light layer of primer overspray on the air cap in an uneven manner, this has never affected the way it sprays, it may just be the one I have and not a common issue, Build Quality had to be marked down to 4/5.
I can’t fault how the gun sprays, I recently primed up a full respray on a Commodore ute, I used this gun and it got just the right amount on. No heavy orange peel to sand out, the fan is also nice and large allowing you to get a lot of material on quickly.
I am happy to give this gun 5/5 for Finish Quality.
This Gun is available in 1.4-1.6-1.8-2.0 & 2.5mm setups so you do have lots of options for tip sizes, but I couldn’t see myself spraying anything other than primer through this gun even if I had the 1.4 tip on it, so, for this reason, it got a low score for Versatility 1/5.
This gun is currently retailing around the $400 AUD mark so it scored 1/5 in the price category.

Number 7 ANi F160 Silver

Price: 4/5
Build Quality: 3/5
Finish: 4/5
Versatility: 1/5
Overall Score: 12/20

Taking out 7th spot is the ANi F160 Silver, this gun has replaced the F150 so if you’re only able to find the F150 in stock and you wanted this gun you could get that instead, functionality is identical, the design had some minor tweaks and the new gun is silver instead of black.
This gun gets 4/5 in the price category currently retailing under $200 AUD.
I can barely fault the build quality of the gun itself, however, the pots on most ANi guns I have used leave a bit to be desired, while still usable they just aren’t anywhere near as good as the likes of DeVilbiss, SATA & Iwata. For this reason, I had to mark it 3/5 for build quality.
The finish quality is great but again just not quite that of the big brand guns like DeVilbiss, SATA & Iwata, so it gets 4/5 for finish quality.
This gun is actually available in many tip sizes including 1.2-1.3-1.4-1.7 & 1.9mm but I am pretty sure the air cap must be changed to suit each fluid tip size, so it may seem a bit harsh to give it 1/5 for versatility.

Number 6 DeVilbiss SLG

Price: 5/5
Build Quality: 2/5
Finish: 4/5
Versatility: 2/5
Overall Score: 13/20

In at Number 6 is the DeVilbiss SLG (Starting Line Gun)
This is the cheapest gun on the list currently coming in at around $115 AUD so it gets a 5/5 for Price.
I just get the feeling these guns aren’t built with quality first in mind, they are made in Taiwan with much lower quality standards than any other gun with the DeVilbiss brand on it I have ever used, so Build Quality score is 2/5. This may not be an issue for someone who only paints a few times a year and doesn’t give it a daily workout.
I was actually quite surprised at how well it laid the primer down, I could barely fault the finish it achieves but as mentioned of the ANi pots it just doesn’t have the slickness of the likes of SATA, Iwata & the quality DeVilbiss guns.
The gun is available in 1.3 also but I’m pretty sure spares for this gun are difficult to find separately because of it being a budget gun.
This gun can be purchased in a kit with a mini gun, a 1.3 & 2.0mm tip so giving it a 2/5 for versatility may seem harsh but I don’t rate this gun highly for base/clear coat so I think it is fair.

Number 5 STATjet 100 BF RP

Price: 1/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Finish: 5/5
Versatility: 3/5
Overall Score: 14/20

Taking out 5th spot is the STATjet 100 BF RP.
This primer gun is an absolute beast, boasting a massive fan and second to none build quality.
With quality comes price, this gun currently retails around $450 AUD which I would have to say is more than I would be willing to pay for a primer gun but if quality is top of your list and you don’t mind the price tag then look no further. I have to give this gun 1/5 for price.
Build quality is a no-brainer getting a full 5/5.
This gun delivers flawless results thus getting 5/5 for Finish.
The SATA 100 B is also available in HVLP instead of RP, I am not the biggest fan of HVLP guns so I usually prefer SATA’s RP guns but HVLP is an option. There is a reasonable variety of tip sizes ranging from 1.4-1.6-1.8-2.0 for the RP model and 1.4-1.7-1.9-2.1 for the HVLP model. I could see myself spraying wet on wet primer and possibly even base/clear with the 1.4mm tip, however, I have never used the 1.4 so I can’t verify this, I’d also like to see a 2.5mm option for using polyester spray fillers. I give this gun 3/5 for versatility.

Number 4 Airgunsa AZ3 (By Iwata)

Price: 4/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Finish: 3/5
Versatility: 3/5
Overall Score: 15/20

Taking out 4th position is the Airgunsa AZ3.
One of the cheaper guns on the list currently retailing around $170 AUD gives this gun a 4/5 for Price.
This Primer gun is Bulletproof!! They are able to cop daily use in a workshop environment and last for years. Build quality is 5/5.
These guns do what they need to do, ideal for daily primer work in a workshop but the small fan does let it down when doing full resprays or larger areas, therefore, I must give it 3/5 for finish quality.
The gun has a wide variety of tip sizes including 1.0-1.3-1.5-1.8-2.0-2.5-2.8 & 3.0mm. If it wasn’t for the massive range of tip sizes it would have scored lower than 3/5 for Versatility. I have heard this gun isn’t very good in 1.3 for base/clear due to the small fan, although I have never used the AZ3 for anything other than 2K primers.

Number 3 Iwata Bellaria W400

Price: 1/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Finish: 5/5
Versatility: 5/5
Overall Score: 16/20

Going into this review I never thought this gun would have taken out 3rd spot.
This gun is on the high end of the price range currently retailing at around $780. This is much more than I would ever pay just for a primer gun.
The build quality is absolutely flawless, up there with SATA, an easy 5/5.
The fan size on this gun is mindblowing and achieves a perfect 5/5 Finish.
I didn’t even know this gun was available in such a wide variety of tip sizes until recently, if not for this, the gun would have been well down the list. You have 1.0-1.2-1.3-1.5-1.8 & 2.0mm tip size options, I can personally verify this gun is a beast for base/clear in 1.3mm. I give the Iwata Bellaria W400 a perfect 5/5 for Versatility.

Number 2 DeVilbiss GPi

Price: 3/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Finish: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Overall Score: 17/20

Up in 2nd position is the DeVilbiss GPi.
This is a midrange gun, currently retailing for around $320 AUD giving it 3/5 for Price.
The Build Quality is amazing, especially for the price it deserves 5/5.
I can’t fault the finish this gun gives, I give this gun 5/5 Finish Quality.
Whilst I wouldn’t pay $320 for a primer gun alone, I would recommend it with both 1.4 & 1.8 tips as an allrounder, Primer/Base/Clear gun. Because of the 3 tip size options 1.4-1.6 & 1.8mm I give this gun 4/5 for versatility, this is all most DIY/Hobbyists would need.

Number 1 DeVilbiss FLG5 (SGK)

Price: 4/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Finish: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Overall Score: 18/20

And The Gunman’s Number 1 Primer Gun is the DeVilbiss FLG5 (SGK)
This gun is an old-time favourite and no newbie to my YouTube viewers, it is reasonably priced, currently around the $200 AUD mark. Easily getting 4/5 for Price.
I cannot fault the Build Quality, a Brazillian beast getting 5/5, this gun can really take a beating.
Boasting a massive fan and fine atomization to lay that primer down slicker than whale snot. I give the FLG5 1.8 Primer Gun a perfect 5/5 for Finish Quality, it really can hold it’s own up against the top dollar guns.
And Versatility gets 4/5, simply because it sprays Base/Clear so well with the 1.4mm tip, get this gun in 1.4 & 1.8mm and you have a great gun capable of Primer, Base, Clear & 2K topcoat application.
You Can find the FLG5 for sale here.

This review was made possible by Sprayguns Direct so I’d like to say thanks to them for supplying the guns for review purposes, they have generously offered to give 3 lucky winners a Primer Gun of their choice from the 8 guns seen above. To be eligible, watch my YouTube video (below) hit the like button on that video, then come back here and leave a comment below (it can say anything) and I will be announcing the winners in a YouTube video soon, be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss out. (winners will also be contacted via the email address they use to comment on this post).
I have also decided to give 2 of the demo guns away, stay tuned for how to win them.
All prices cited above are taken from SprayGuns Direct website and inclusive of VAT but not including shipping. VAT may not apply in your country and shipping rates will also vary. The above prices will obviously change with currency exchange rates but all were converted to AUD because this is my home currency.

If it’s a mini gun you’re after then I recommend checking this review out.

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