I just started painting my own bodies as well, and also am new to painting. I did try using a air compressor but with a 27 gallon compressor couldn't find a hvlp gun to match the compressors CFM rating., Then I switched to LVLP gun, worked great for small projects, however living in Florida, I had allot of water in the lines when spraying even with some cheaper $60 water separators inline.
I now bought a Fuji Semi Pro 2 - 2 Stage turbine to to to get dryer air.
I shot 3 golf cart roofs so far practicing on them to get the feel of the gun and adjustments
Tomorrow I have Restoration Shop Acrylic Enamel Auto Paint Kit coming in:
https://tcpglobal.com/products/rsp-ae2701-kit-q
I been using TCI Adhesion Promoter following their instructions for the roofs
This weekend I plan on shooting my first body with the Turbine, and single stage paint.
I choose Acrylic Enamel paint as from research it's less toxic to shoot and easier to work with for a beginner. I've heard acrylic urethane has more of a learning curve and harder to shoot for a beginner
The pics I attached are SEM Trim Black reduced with lacquer thinner
for the golf cart roofs. It cost me about $85 in material for everything for the roof