Thread: air compressor question

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Okay, bare with me, I'm a beginer with nobody around to help me.

I'm tired of my 1963 Caddy being primer gray. I was pretty much ready to do a rattle can job with John Deere Blitz Black just to get it all one color. However I've been doing alot of research through this forum and I realize the spray gun method is the way to go. So...how big of a compressor do I need?? They have some craftsman 3hp 5 gallon compressors on sale right now but is that not big enough??

I'm still in the process of prepping the car so I've got time but I just need to know what the best compressor would be.

thanks for the advice in advance.

A 3hp/5 gallon compressor isn't enough to run any paint gun that I know of.

Check the output of the compressor in scfm, and compare that to what the spray gun requires.

if your on a budget but still want to get a compressor get a 3 hp wit the small tank and it will always come in handy re tools and small spray jobs. when you want to paint your car borrow or rent one for the day around the same size and double them up . i did that with my dads two smaller farm compressors when i panted my truck and it did the job, one can go pretty slow with blitz black as its just a regular paint. it worked with a std style siphon spray gun, i am not shure about the new hvlp guns

For a bunch of years I got by with a Sears portable with a 20 gallon tank and something like 2 hp. It served me well. I painted a couple of cars and boats with it (one was my '27 footer) and I finally gave it to a friend when I got our 60 gallon model.

Is it something a pro would use? Not really, but it was better than nothing, and with the addition of one of those round, screw on air/water filters right at the gun, gave me pretty good results.

I think I paid something like $ 150.00 when I bought it (used) and as far as I know, it is still going strong.

I'm not suggesting this is the ultimate set up, but for the occasional painter they can be ok.

Don

Which ever spray gun you buy should state the SCFM requirements. That will tell you how big your compressor will need to be. Example: I have an Ingersol Rand Model200G (a small touch-up gun). On the box it states that it requires 4.5 CFM @ 35 psi. So... I need an air compressor that will flow at least that much or more.

I painted many cars, and painted them very well with a 3 HP Sears compressor. Some really great paint jobs. Now, mind you, if I was running a production shop, I would get something larger, but you'll be okay. I used a Devislbiss siphon feed gun, (not an HVLP), Ocassionally you might have to wait 5 minutes for the compressor to "catch up", but since you spray with only 45-50 PSI at the gun, you don't drain the tank that badly. Do one complete light coat, wait 20 minutes for it to set up, do a second slightly heavier coat and wait 20 minutes, then do a third coat.

Yup Brian is right--unless you plan on doing a few cars in the next year or so that is plenty.

My Devilbiss has a one quart cup. I always mixed up a gallon of paint in a clean gallon pail, that was 3 quarts of unreduced paint, about 2/3 quart of reducer (refer to paint spec), and whatever hardner was required. I would start spraying from the center of the roof out to the drivers side, then walk around and do the other side of the roof, from the center out to the passenger side. Since the Lord seen fit to build my arse fairly close to the ground, I generally had 2 cinder blocks and a plank to stand on at each side of the car so I could reach to the center of the roof without dragging my armpit in the wet paint. Then I would repeat this on the hood, then on the trunk. About that time, the compressor would be labouring to keep up, and my gun would be empty. I would disconnect the airhose from the gun, walk over to the bench, and using a coned filter, refill my gun from the gallon pail. By the time I had done this, walked back to where I left off, and hooked the air hose back up to the gun, the compressor would have shut off. I would then do the "incredible lean over and spray upside down trick" on all 4 wheelwell lips and the rocker panels----(this is a trick that takes a bit of mastering). Then go to the back of the car, and spray everything at the rear, from the end of the trunklid down. Then go back to the front of the car, and spray everything from the front of the hood down. Then I would start at the drivers front and spray the entire side of the car, walking towards the rear of the car. Then start at the passenger side rear, and work my way back up to the front of the car. By this time, the compressor would be working hard to catch up, but I would be finished the first coat anyways. I would then rush out into the fresh air, gagging and snorting, (damn I hate charcoal filter masks but you gotta use them), and immediately light up a cigarette (yeah, I know----CRAZY---go figure.) After 20 minutes went by, I would basically repeat the entire sequence. Then after another 20 min. to 1/2 hour, I would go in and lay down the third coat. As you see, the compressor generally had time to play "catch-up".

Before you buy a little one, check Sam's Club if you have one there. I picked up a 2 stage Delta with an 80 gallon tank and enough CFM to run a blast cabinet on one side of the shop and two DA's on the other all at the same time for under $800.00!!!! To me, buying a compressor is just like building a garage. Decide how big you will need it, plan it all out, then save your money a bit longer and get one one size bigger!!!! Too much air volume even in a home shop is like having too much horsepower!!! Can't imagine it ever happening to me!!!!!!!