Paint in stages. Small air compressor?

Any questions about tools or supplies. Post your compressor/gun questions here.



Non-Lurker
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2018 3:28 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 6:40 pm
I simply don’t have the need or space or money for a huge air compressor. Would it be ok to use a smaller compressor 30 gallon max and do the car in different steps? No rush on painting it and would prefer to take my time anyways compared to spraying everything at once. I feel as if this would also reduce my chances of making a mistake.
I will probably order devilbiss finish line kit and a cheap primer gun to do my painting. And the cfm required is a bit higher then the smaller compressors that I was looking at.

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 9878
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:40 pm
Location: ARIZONA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:41 pm
https://www.autobody101.com/content/art ... ould-know/
1968 Coronet R/T


ACTS 16:31



Non-Lurker
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:10 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 8:23 pm
Hey Dylan,
I think Jim is saying "think this through" A year ago I started my project with an optimistic attitude that I could DIY it for less money than a pro. I'm sure I've saved some money, but its still not done (my wife likes to remind me of this). If I had to do it over would I hire the work out... hell no. Would I have done some things different... of coarse.
Can you do it piece meal... well yah, and it will likely show. Oh, did I mention I'm in the market for a high capacity air compressor?
I say go for it. Get the body work done, buy the primer gun and get it ready for paint. Take your time, save some dough. Keep in mind, it doesn't make sense to save money on air, just to spend it on sand paper and more paint. What I mean is, if your air supply doesn't keep up, you will be spending a lot of time sanding... and repainting... and repeating.



Top Contributor
Posts: 1396
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2011 2:16 pm
PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:54 am
dylan, you could theoretically do the car in parts- hood,doors, fenders, trunk.
but when it comes to the main body, i think you'll run into problems- youre going to want to shoot that all at once and gonna run out of air with that compressor, unless the car is smaller than a yugo.

also beings if a solid color is used.

you might want to head to the local bone yard and pick up a large hood. then to your paint jobber for some mismatched paint. then you can practice and see how much air your compressor uses.

i guess it all depends on you- do you want the chance of the job looking messed up?



Non-Lurker
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2018 3:28 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:37 pm
I have decided to get a larger compressor. Will need to add power to the garage and and outlet bigger to power it. I won’t be able to get a very expensive one so I will be looking at 12 to 14 cfm on the cheaper 60 gallon compressors. The car is small it is an e36 bmw but I may want to paint it all at once since it is very high metallic green. As for removing the fenders, bumpers, sunroof, hood, trunk, mirrors, gas cap and front fascia It still seems like a lot to paint at once including the car. Should I be worried about how the metallic lays if I used 3 different guns one for priming, metallic basecoat and clear and did it on different days but kept the settings on the guns the same?

User avatar

Top Contributor
Posts: 2762
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 4:46 am
Location: Canberra
Country:
Australia
PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:20 pm
I really don't get how you guys rate your compressors, but at the end of the day it's the compressor itself that's doing the work and whether you kid yourself on the tank size or not when the air level inside the tank drops to the point where the compressor kicks in the capacity of the compressor is all that matters because it has to maintain the air pressure inside the tank. If it can't do that then pressure at the gun will drop, affecting your job, or you'll have to stop and wait for the pressure to build up again. A bigger compressor will work less, stay cooler and produce less moisture in your air.

The Devilbiss FLG4, 1.3 with HVLP cap uses around 13CFM so your 12-14CFM compressor is going to struggle. Far better to look at the FLG5 with 1.4 which will use 9.8CFM, as well as give you better atomisation and higher transfer efficiency.

Unless you're using panels from another car and have to do insides of panels and/or door frames I'd leave as much on the car as possible and try to do it in one go. You will get better colour match than if you paint on different days when even the temperature can influence colour.
Chris

User avatar

Top Contributor
Posts: 3957
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:59 am
Location: Louisville, KY
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 3:18 pm
There are a lot of good spraying guns out there that use way less air.
You don't have to use HVLP.
I did complete car repaints for years with a 1.5 HP compressor,
but I used a cheap conventional gun, a Binks 7 copy, spraying at a little less PSI and
did great paint jobs.
There were plenty of great paint jobs before H.V.L.P came along.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



Settled In
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 2:02 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 7:02 pm
Is conventional the same as lvlp? I've seen a few of both and the air consumption always peaks my interest.

User avatar

Top Contributor
Posts: 3957
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:59 am
Location: Louisville, KY
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 10:38 am
No.
LVLP (low volume, low pressure) is not the same as "conventional"
A lot of LVLP guns still use a lot of CFM.

Here is a Binks copy. A Astro conventional.
It says 7 to 12 cfm, but that is at 50 to 60 PSI.
This gun sprays great at 35 to 40 PSI which puts it in
the 4 CFM range. That's the advantage of a conventional.
This is what I use for years when I started out.

http://www.spraygunworld.com/products/A ... PAS7SP.htm

Remember this.
Most painters hated HVLP guns when they first came out but had to
switch to meet local regulations.
Some still today hide their Binks guns
and use them when they can get away with it.
I know of one shop that has some nice HVLP's hanging in the
paint booth only for show, he still uses a Binks 7 when no one is around.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)

Return to Tools and Supplies

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 45 guests