Paint quantity with spray gun question

[McCreed]

I'm starting a new strat hardtail build and this will be my first finish doing it with my new spray gun set up.

My question is, how many mils of paint should I expect to use for a just the body? (per coat, acrylic lacquer thinned 1:1)
Hopefully this isn't "how long is a piece of string?" kind of question.

I'll be using a HVLP gravity gun with a 600ml cup. I'm sure there are unkowns that will affect output/volume, but I don't want to mix up 400ml if 200 should do it IYKWIM.

FWIW, for the base coat (metallic) I'm planning 2 coats, then a third further reduced 50%. 4-5 coats clear thereafter.

Anyone able to provide some rough guidelines?

Thanks in advance!

[Dedman]

I usually buy 500ml of a colour to do a body , and usually have about 200ml left when finished. I don't measure very accurately, and I mix about 1 paint to 2 thinners. I use a small suction touch up gun , I guess it holds about 200ml and that is enough to get a coat and a bit ( I do extra coats on the edges).Primer I do a pass around the edges, then a complete coat. Wait till that flash dries, then do it again. Wait a few hours, light sand , do the same, wait till next day, sand. Colour coats the same, usually wait a few days before doing the clear, then leave the clear for a week or so before sanding and polishing.

[McCreed]

Thanks Dedman. That will give me something to work off.

Just curious, why do you go 2:1 with your thinner?

The Dulon MSDS I have recommends 1-1.5 (metallic base coat).

Cheers

[Dedman]

as I said I'm not very accurate with measuring. I just find that with my gun and the pressure I run, that it sprays nicely and on initial coats it sinks in to the timber and dries quickly. You do get a nicer finish off the gun with less thinners I admit.

[McCreed]

Good to know, thanks.

I going to buy some cheap paint to play with on some scrap pieces before I hit the body.

I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I "pull the trigger" (literally) so any tid-bits I can collect from others is valuable knowledge.

Cheers