[bigbrownbear]

I am not sure if this is the right place, and searched with no luck. so feel free to move this if needed (Like the mods would have waited anyway, but non-the-less .

So for X-mas my girl bought me an Air Compressor

Only mine is grey, but no real other difference.

Which does "SCFM Delivery At 40 psi: 4.3 SCFM"

Then I bought a Gravity feed spray gun off a guy locally for $25 with another general purpose spray gun.

which says "Requires tank-type air compressor delivering a min. of 8.5 SCFM @ 40 psi"

My mind is hoping that for some reason I might be able to get away with using the compressor, with the spray gun. Or is what sears says the honest truth, and my plans are kinda dead????

I was just going to use it to spray down some rust bullet this spring/summer, and maybe prime the truck a color still to be determined if I found I was not so bad at it, and the gun did a decent job. But at $25 I thought it was worth it either way.

 

[imlikeojnow]

I think this is supposed to be in the tool forum but i will give it a shot. From what i understand if you use a compressor that is not up to it you have to do little at a time cause you wont have enough constant PSI for the gun. or it will clot up and come out like shit. im not a painter by any since of the imagination. but that is what i gathered off of trucks one day

 

[bigbrownbear]

I was hop if I went realy slow, made a couple passes, waited for the tank to fill back up I would be ok. Don't know if that is just going to be irritating as crap or not, but worth a shot. Anyone have experience with doing this.

 

[bigblockbuggy]

What sears says is likely not the honest truth, they probably overated the pump by a ways, so you are probably going to be in worse shape then you think. If your air supply wont keep up with the gun, you are going to have to stop. Stopping in the middle of painting is not the recipe for a good paint job. I am by no means a painter, but I have done a fair amount, and educated my self quite a lot.

From everything I have read, and my own experience, if your compressor isn't up to the task, don't waste your time, especially with trying to paint a whole vehicle.

Later,
Jason

 

[bigbrownbear]

What sears says is likely not the honest truth, they probably overated the pump by a ways, so you are probably going to be in worse shape then you think. If your air supply wont keep up with the gun, you are going to have to stop. Stopping in the middle of painting is not the recipe for a good paint job. I am by no means a painter, but I have done a fair amount, and educated my self quite a lot.

From everything I have read, and my own experience, if your compressor isn't up to the task, don't waste your time, especially with trying to paint a whole vehicle.

Later,
Jason

Damned you and your good advice that doesn't match what I want:madder . OK, so Unless I get a bigger tank/compressor I am pretty much SOL. Ohh well, guess I will be brushing on the rust Bullet.

 

[bigblockbuggy]

As long as your compressor pump can stay ahead of the gun, it doesn't much matter what size air storage tank you have. A huge tank and a small pump will still eventually put you in the same position you were, you will just have a little more time before you get there. The compressor doesn't have to be able to refill the tank while you are working, but it does have to be able to supply enough air that once the reserve is depleted, it can still provide the flow the gun needs.

A big tank and small compressor is probably worse than your original plan. You will have to wait significantly longer for a large tank to fill, and it is the time that you are stopped that has an impact. Automotive paint begins to dry very quickly, a lot are supposed to be recoated w/ in 15 minutes. Otherwise the paint wont chemically adhere to the previous paint. This is the rule for multiple coats, but similarly, if you can't paint the whole panel at once, the paint will dry before you finish and you will get terrible results.

It would probably be faster to brush or roll rust bullet on anyhow. From what I have seen, it is self leveling and doesn't leave brush strokes or roll marks, so why not go with the quickest, easiest, cleanest method.

Later,
Jason

 

[El Kabong]

Another option is to plumb multiple small hp compressors together to increase the volume.

So if you have a buddy or two that you can borrow from for painting day, you could pull it off without anyone having to buy the big compressor. Set up a tee or a cross, with 2 or 3 ins & 1 out with quick connects, so it's easy to repeat when it's time to return the favor.

Try to plug them into different circuits, so you don't blow a breaker in the middle of the job.

 

[bigbrownbear]

Another option is to plumb multiple small hp compressors together to increase the volume.

So if you have a buddy or two that you can borrow from for painting day, you could pull it off without anyone having to buy the big compressor. Set up a tee or a cross, with 2 or 3 ins & 1 out with quick connects, so it's easy to repeat when it's time to return the favor.

Try to plug them into different circuits, so you don't blow a breaker in the middle of the job.

I like this idea. if I could find another AC with the same output as mine I should be ok since mine is roughly half. Thanks for the help:beer

 

[petlover07]

You could always test it out on a big piece of cardboard or something (got a fence you want to paint?) to see if it will keep up.

 

[bigbrownbear]

You could always test it out on a big piece of cardboard or something (got a fence you want to paint?) to see if it will keep up.

Don't have anything to paint yet (Living in an apartment for another month), but will be having a garage that could use some paint on the doors in a couple weeks hopefully.

 

[metal1313]

this is why im buying a bigger compressor, theres a few 60gallon 220v models on my local craigslist for around 3-400. i really wouldnt try to plumb 3 smaller compressors together though, too much risk of failure or just really not getting the results you want. it be better to prep the truck yourself then take it to macco

 

[Alejoint]

Dunno if the same theory applies to paint guns, but for some power tools like die grinders, impacts, etc. the air consumption is generally underrated...

Let's say you have a 5-6 CFM air compressor and a die grinder that draws 4 CFM. Hook it up to the compressor and you'll realize that the tool will rotate at a nice speed for say 15 secs, after that time the speed gradually goes down until it gets too slow for efficient material removal, no matter how hard and how often the pump is working. This is exactly what happened to me :banghead ...

The CFM figures tool manufacturers give aren't for constant operation, that's for sure... For constant, 100% duty operation a good rule of thumb is taking the figures given by the manufacturer and then multiply them by 3 or 4 (to be more precise). That will give you an idea of how many CFM (and how many $$$) you'll need for that fancy air tool to operate properly.

 

[Liftedbroncboy]

we had the same problem painting my dad's camaro. it turned out fine but it just takes longer

 

[bigbrownbear]

Had a friend who is mainly a house painter tell me he had a guy tell him I might be able to get away with smaller hoses??? He said he was going to ask him again (And get the details why), but wasn't sure that would do anything. If I can convince my grandfather to give me his AC (like 10 HP 200 gallon shop compressor) then I would be fine, but he is refusing to budge even though the only think he has used it for in the past 10 years is to fill his John Deere lawn mower tires.