3M debuts new spray gun and touts it as providing improved productivity, efficiency

Earlier this week, 3M unveiled its Performance Spray Gun 2, which now features a design uplift and several improvements, according to the company.

3M says the spray gun was engineered to help enable improved productivity and efficiency within the paint process, building on its predecessor with several enhanced features:

• • Spray gun frame made with carbon fiber to provide greater durability and lightweight handling;
  • One-piece integrated hook design for easy storage and accessibility;
  • Laser-marked control knobs to provide a visual indication of spray settings for precision and consistency;
  • Redesigned trigger for comfortable use and fatigue reduction during extended periods of operation;
  • Surface finish for improved cleaning and professional appearance maintenance; and
  • Compatibility with current 3M Performance Spray Gun replacement parts, nozzles, and accessories.

“When we designed this spray gun, we went to you for feedback and asked if you could change anything, what would you change? One of the first things was the gauge,” said Jason Garfoot, 3M global portfolio manager, in the YouTube reveal of the spray gun.

“Now, we have a much higher quality gauge compared to our old version. Our old version just had a white face with numbers. This one now has a multicolored face with a green range and a blue range, indicating the right range of air pressure to use for the different nozzles. Green for HVLP and blue for our fine-finish nozzles.”

The other biggest ask from painters on spray gun design changes was the trigger, he added.

“What we’ve done with the new spray gun is actually incorporated an offset trigger that makes it a little bit more ergonomic,” Garfoot said. “The other benefit of this trigger is we’ve increased the hook on the bottom, so if you have to spray flat panels where you’re fully reached out, it’s easier to keep the gun perpendicular to the panel, and you can even pull the trigger with one finger.”

The spray gun is also compatible with 3M HVLP or Fine Finish Atomizing Heads. With the launch of the new spray gun, 3M also completed its Fine Finish Nozzle line, ranging from 0.9 up to 2.0. The HVLP nozzle range remains from 0.9 to 2.0.

“You can quickly switch back and forth between HVLP, fine finish, and that full range of sizes,” Garfoot said. “If you’re spraying a wet-on-wet basecoat line and you want to use an HVLP nozzle for your sealer, but then quickly switch to a smaller compliant nozzle to spray your base coat, all you have to do is switch the nozzle. For your clear, if you want to move back to HVLP or maybe a different size compliant nozzle, all you have to do is grab that nozzle, pop it on the gun, and tighten the collar.”

The release adds that by simply changing the nozzle, technicians can switch material within seconds from a heavy textured rocker guard coating to the finest clear coat atomization.

In the release, Garfoot called the spray gun an application tool with precision performance that shops can rely on” due to its enhanced performance and versatility.

Garfoot is a Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) IDEAS Collide Showcase alumnus, having presented in 2023 on the power of one more booth cycle per day.

Shawn Collins, advanced application development specialist at 3M, will join SCRS on the IDEAS collide stage this year to discuss ways to take apprentice technician learning to the next level with hands-on training. Test results before and after intensive, OEM-based hands-on training will be demonstrated to confirm a dramatic increase in knowledge after real-world exercises backed by OEM procedures.

Register to attend online at scrs.com/rde.

Images

3M Performance Spray Gun 2 photos provided by 3M

More information

3M session at SEMA details profit opportunity in improved paint department planning, efficiency