Suitable air compressor for painting?

[Titus_RacerX]

I'm looking at this 26 Gallon Craftsman model that comes with a couple of tools.

Would such a model be fine for home use to primer and paint my car? I'm used to the much larger, professional units but want something like this one in my home. It's about the max the wife will let me spend too.

[JohnnyK]

Most definitely not. I would be shocked if you could get a panel out of it. Maybe you could primer it piece by piece, but that's about as far as i would go. You definitely couldn't apply paint, as you'd be running out of air, and starting up again, and it would look like someone hit with a paintbrush!

[wareagle]

I think it would eventually get the job done, but you will be waiting on the compressor to refill more than you would be working...

[JohnnyK]

I went with this 60 Gallon Air Compressor - 2 Stage, 5 HP, 165 PSI .

It was good for my budget, and, no, it's not chinese if you worry about that kind of thing.

The standard big box store 60 gallon 11.5cfm compressor is probably as low as you want to go for painting, I would think.

[JohnnyK]

Originally Posted by wareagle

I think it would eventually get the job done,

NO!

Primer, maybe, sure. It's being sanded anyways. Paint/clear? No.

[Bucket Lister]

Its the CFM @ 90psi that counts. You need about 11+. Never buy a used one. You can't tell how worn out the compressor is or how rusty the inside of the tank is. No matter what you get, get a drier/filter to get out the humidity and oil. Water and oil will ruin an even well applied coat of paint. Never put oil into the hose to lubricate an air tool. This is common knowledge in body shops. I'd even suggest a "painting only" air hose. There still are a few domestic made compressors, but not many.

[wareagle]

Originally Posted by JohnnyK

NO!

Primer, maybe, sure. It's being sanded anyways. Paint/clear? No.

Maybe I should have put the "eventually" in quotes for you JK...

[buflash]

You and I are in the same boat right now and, just like me, it looks like you're a little ways from getting to paint. I've been researching all sorts of options and it doesn't look like you can get away with spending any less than $800 - $1,000 just on the compressor. Don't forget guns, driers, air hose, and other misc. gear. IMHO, you need to sit down with your wife and set a new budget. Since you still have time, you can schedule the purchase for 6 months or a year from now and start putting money away now. If your finances are tight, the other thing I would recommend is don't buy anything until you are at that stage in the job and can't progress any further without it. I see guys tie up their hard earned cash in parts and equipment they're not using all the time. Only to end up just having it collect dust because some unforeseen series of events caused their project to slow down or halt. That money is always worth more in your pocket than it is tied up in equipment or parts.

Now, you also have to compare what you're looking to spend to the cost of a professional job. At 800-1000 on equipment, and however much you spend on paint/chemicals, you're still out quite ahead.

Since I already have a 26 gallon compressor which I use with most of my tools, I'm considering this: Showtime 90 HVLP Turbine Unit with ProLine Spray Paint Guns - TP Tools & Equipment

I've been doing a lot of research and people seem to really like them. The only folks that don't like them are those that are used to using compressed air. I like the fact that it comes with 2 guns for $700 and is extremely portable and doesn't take up much space.

Another option I've looked at is priming the vehicle with my 26 gallon compressor, one panel at a time and then renting a bigger compressor when I shoot paint and clear.

If it's not something you do for a business or use all the time, IMO it has to be cost effective because I hate seeing stuff that cost a lot of money just sitting around collecting dust.

[jdub]

Here's the compressor I want:
FREE SHIPPING — Ingersoll Rand Electric Stationary Air Compressor — 3 HP, 10.3 CFM @ 135 PSI, 230 Volt, Model# SS3L3 | 10 - 20 CFM| Northern Tool + Equipment

[Greg'66 5.0]

Do you have a spray gun already? If so, you need to look at the air consumption specs for the gun and the air supply specs for the compressor to determine whether or not the compressor is adequate. This is just my personal opinion: that is probably not enough compressor for a HVLP gun. HVLP guns vary widely in the amount of air required. Generally a higher dollar, high end gun will require less air to properly atomize the paint than a lower dollar budget gun. That compressor might be able to supply a better quality gun, but is probably not enough for a gun that a typical "garage painter" would buy.

I just painted my car last weekend and I used a DeVilbiss Starting Line gun driven by a 5HP 60 gallon Ingersoll-Rand compressor. My compressor had no trouble at all keeping up with the gun, but based on what you said, that kind of compressor is probably not within your budget. If you want to use the compressor that you linked to, I would be prepared to spend a little bit more money on a paint gun. Before you buy a compressor, figure out which paint gun you want to use and make sure whatever compressor you want can provide enough air. HVLP guns practically demand a large stationary compressor. If you are using an older gun that is non-HVLP, that compressor might work - the key is finding out the gun specs.

[Titus_RacerX]

Some might know that I have painting experience. 15 years ago, I had a business with my brother where we build AC Cobra replicas and restoring a couple of cars. We've painted show-winning Cobras and even my 260Z

got a couple of plastic things to sit on the mantle.

Problem is distance to that shop, it might be soon for sale, age of equipment. Right now, the building is in terrible shape but the paint booth that we built looks OK. It just needs my attention to repair some things and clean.

I would only be painting this one car. Perhaps the expense is not worth the investment for my 2 car garage. But, I would like a small compressor to run wrenches and cutting tools.

I'm at least a year off from making such a big purchase. Best now to get the car running and fix any sheet metal issues, of which their are few.

Not until then should I blow the car apart and put it on a cart of our rotisserie...

Thanks! You guys are a wealth of information that we didn't have when we had that kit car business.

[wareagle]

Originally Posted by Titus_RacerX

Some might know that I have painting experience. 15 years ago, I had a business with my brother where we build AC Cobra replicas and restoring a couple of cars. We've painted show-winning Cobras and even my 260Z got a couple of plastic things to sit on the mantle.

Problem is distance to that shop, it might be soon for sale, age of equipment. Right now, the building is in terrible shape but the paint booth that we built looks OK. It just needs my attention to repair some things and clean.

I would only be painting this one car. Perhaps the expense is not worth the investment for my 2 car garage. But, I would like a small compressor to run wrenches and cutting tools.

Thanks! You guys are a wealth of information that we didn't have when we had that kit car business.

I have this one and, knock on wood, it has been doing pretty good so far using cutting wheel, air chisel, impact wrench. Only wish it had at least a 5hp motor, but oh well...

Shop Kobalt 3.7-HP 60-Gallon 155 PSI Electric Air Compressor at Lowes.com

[Bucket Lister]

This is admittedly off topic, but we all get our $.02 worth. I'm sure I'll get flamed, but this was my experience. I was at your stage 14 years ago. I figured that doing as much as possible myself was the low buck way to go. That may be doable if you have done several cars before, have the experience and knowledge, and have already invested $thousands into tools and related equipment.
I tried to suppress my out of pocket costs as much as possible. I made a lot of expensive mistakes and I now have a different view on all of this. There is wisdom in what Buflash posted.
Ask yourself, "What do I really want?" If what you really want is to learn how to restore a car, you're doing it. If what you really want is a nice mustang, that's not necessarily the same thing. There are great advantages to both routes. If you save your money and get major parts of the job, like body work and painting, done by pros, it will be cheaper in the long run. If you're a young, budget challenged family man, you probably have limited space for this project. Mixing a body shop with bikes, toys, kids, etc. is difficult.
Short cuts seldom are.

[wareagle]

Great points bucket... At the most, I may use mine to apply epoxy primer. As for the paint job, I am gonna save that for an expert. Of course, by the time I get mine to be a rolling resto (I told my wife hopefully May of this year) I will leave that sucker in epoxy primer until I save up enough for a great paint job...

[Israel]

I'd look at used but new lookin Quincy,......US company but not inexpensive