I don't know what your definition of "cheap" is, but I like the Devilbiss Finishline 3 gun. It's a high-quality gun, you can buy parts for it anywhere, and I bought mine on ebay for just a bit over $100.
for primer? any 1.8mm gun you see, I would say even electric one would work then you don't need big air compressor. $200+ quality guns are for top layers and lasts long
I don't know what your definition of "cheap" is, but I like the Devilbiss Finishline 3 gun. It's a high-quality gun, you can buy parts for it anywhere, and I bought mine on ebay for just a bit over $100.
I concur on the Harbor Freight #43430 HVLP gun - it's got quite a following among car hobbyists. Even some people who use the high-end guns have had positive comments about it. For forty bucks, it's a real value.
In my opinion one of the considerations in buying a paint gun should be parts availablity. I have no doubt that any decent gun in the hands of a decent painter can lay down some excellent results. There's not much to any paint gun and as long as they're clean and new, they work great. But what happens when you need a different size tip? What happnens when you accidently drop the gun as you reach to fill it and ding the needle? If one of the seals goes bad, can you get new ones? Lots of guns just don't have replacement parts available, and while I agree that the prices of some are very attractive, if you can get a gun that has parts available at the local paint store for nearly the same price, you need to at least consider it.
I don't remember what board I read it, maybe HAMB or hotrodders.com, but the HF gun can use the same parts such as tips and nozzles as a DeVilbiss or some other mid-priced gun. It's basically a clone. I'll worry about it if I do something stupid to mine like drop it with the needle exposed, but I'll probably just buy another.
I also picked up the little touch-up version of the 43430 for $20 but haven't used it yet. I might use it for shooting thinned Eastwood Rust Encapsulator into interior and trunk areas.