If you get a cheap spray gun, you will get "iffy" results, then they usually start working worse and worse, and eventually don't work at all. Then you have to spend another $20 to buy another one...
Unfortunately, I haven't found any really cheap spray guns that work just like a $700 SATA. Neither have I found $700 in my couch cushions so I could buy a super expensive spray gun. Yet.
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I'd recommend the Asturo 878WB mini-gun and kit. I know at least a few places carry them online, but I don't remember the prices off hand. It's not entirely bank-breaking, though.
I have two of the 878's and they get used for all sorts of stuff. The kit I got came with a 1.0, a 1.2, and a 1.5 set up. With the 1.0, I'll shoot clear coat, solid color bases, smaller pearls, etc. Some of the chrome-effect paints will work well in the 878WB, too. I'll use the 1.2 to clear if it's a larger project, or if I just want to get fuller coats down. It works great with any paint up to a smallish-flake, too. The 1.5 doesn't see a whole lot of use, but I've used it to lay down sealer before with good results.
They work equally well with waterbased/borne paints or urethanes. Just make sure to clean really well in between if you go back and forth between the two.
With 8 air holes on the air cap and air horns, I'm pretty sure it wins the "how many air holes can fit on a mini-gun" contest.
. But, it does atomize and spray out really well. The spray quality is good enough to get "professional" results, and the older of my two I've had at least three or four years now, and no problems at all (knocking on wood).
The CFM requirements are really low, too, so you don't need all that big of a compressor to run it. Again, I forget the exact CFMs required, but it's way lower than you'd think for an HVLP gun of any size.
Anyway, those are, so far, the best bang-for-the-buck mini-guns I've found so far. They're also the least expensive ones I have used that will really produce a very high-quality result, and continue to over time. I'm sure you'll get plenty more suggestions, too, though ;-)
