Gear Guide: InoKraft Drizzle D1 LVLP Spray Gun

Managing expectations can be a big part of success. Promising too much for the sake of self-promotion almost always ends in disappointment; witness the outsized promises made by Tesla and its CEO as Exhibits A and B (and probably C) of this phenomenon.

The same goes for tools in a gearhead’s garage. Expecting one item to act as a be-all-end-all solution is the perfect recipe for a trail of tears, or at least the frustrated tossing of said tool a distance sufficient to earn Air Miles. This is why we’re not supposed to use the handle of a screwdriver - or the sole of your shoe - as a hammer.

InoKraft is a leader in DIY products, focused primarily on spray painters and spray guns but also dabbling in some power tools. In other words, they’ve spent plenty of time serving the needs of people who are serious about their hobbies. One of its best products is the InoKraft Drizzle D1 Spray Gun, marketed to people looking to lay down professional quality paint results right in their backyard garage.

Part of an all-in-one starter kit which includes everything from pressure regulator and oil-water separator to a trio of nozzle sizes, the InoKraft D1 LVLP is a solid gun, crafted of aluminum and weighing about 3.5 pounds. It feels much more expensive than its friendly price point implies, with crisp and satisfying trigger action the likes of which other products can only aspire.

There are three different nozzles included in the package ranging in size from 1.3 to 1.7 millimeters, meaning a person could use this same gun for applying primer, paint, or clearcoat. A paint cup sized 600cc means approximately two quarts of paint can be on hand, an amount which should be enough to handle a single fender, bumper cover, or - in our test - a decklid factory spoiler plucked from the junkyard and later affixed to a Hyundai Elantra.

Remember, a tool is only as good as the person wielding it. Take the time to suss the correct viscosity for your chosen paint, fine tune that air pressure from your compressor (up to 50psi on the InoKraft Drizzle D1 LVLP), and practice smooth side-to-side action with an appropriate overlap. Automotive painting takes time to master; properly prep the surface to be painted, work in a clean area, and don’t be disappointed or tempted to blame the gun if your first-time results aren’t factory fresh. And take it from someone with a bit of experience - learn the value of a good fisheye killer. If you don’t know what that is, research it before picking up this (or any) paint gun.

Where the InoKraft Drizzle D1 LVLP excels is in the professional-like coverage of individual body panels and trim pieces. This gun’s ideal job is laying down solid swaths of paint on metalwork that’s either part of a larger project or, as in our case, a single item being added to a vehicle. Paint flowed easily and that wide array of included nozzles meant fine-tuning the spray was dead simple. A bit more experience with the gun, and with the process of painting, will help inform nozzle choice in the future. Cleanup was a breeze thanks to the vast array of tools for that purpose included by InoKraft.

The InoKraft Drizzle D1 LVLP Spray Gun even got kudos from a professional body shop technician who has been plying the trade for years, which is a solid vote of confidence for the rest of us. Brutishly large connection adapters at his shop weren’t compatible with this gun’s connectors, but that’s an indictment on the type of equipment employed there and no fault of the sprayer. Home-based DIYers, for whom the D1 is intended, will be just fine.

Would I use the InoKraft Drizzle D1 LVLP to paint an entire car? Probably not, mainly because of its cup size, but covering a whole vehicle at once is not this gun’s purpose nor promise. Trying to use the D1 for that task would be like asking a toaster to cook a turkey; sure, the toaster gives off heat but to complain it can’t handle Christmas dinner is unfair to the toaster because it is doing great work on the task for which it was designed.

Your author feels the Drizzle D1 will also work as a vessel for people attempting to apply polyurethane on woodworking projects, a realization which widens the net of potential customers for this gun as a professional grade product priced for the DIYer. And it goes without saying that this tool would mark a quantum leap in results for anyone who has typically just used a spray can to get the job done.

InoKraft also has two extra guns in the hopper, slated for release later this year. The Drizzle Lite will appear as a beginner-friendly unit with an even more attractive price tag. Meanwhile, the Drizzle Pro should do exactly what it says on the box, serving as a premium and pro-focused upgrade designed for advanced users. This means the Drizzle D1 sits squarely in the middle: just right.

As with most tools in the garage (and life in general, if we’re being honest) reasonably managed expectations are key to success - and enjoyment of your new InoKraft Drizzle D1 LVLP Spray Gun.