Painting questions

[Chrome_Rush]

Alright, I have done a bit of painting, and I am pretty darn good. I painted my daily driver, with a 3 stage job, didnt sand anything when I was done and no one can tell I didnt have it professionally done, but did it in a garage.

 

That being said, I have a bit of a problem, when I did all my paint work in the past I used my uncles garage where he had an 80 gallon 12 horse compressor. He lost his house and sold the compressor though. I could buy one similar and have it hooked up, but if I go through that expense it would be a year at least before I could afford to paint the 2 cars I need to paint right now including my quest. I guess the question is, can I get away with using a smaller compressor with a HVLP gun? MY brother inlaw has a 30 gallon compressor, I think its a 3hp I could use and an HVLP gun. Now i know it wont come out glass smooth, but IF I wet sand and polish out the dry spray and orange peel after I put on the clear could I still get a really nice job? I dont mind doing a little more work if I can save alot of cash. But I dont want to do it if after all that work it wont look very good. In that case I would have to just wait, or pay a shop to paint the cars.

[AutoBodyGod]

It can be done, even if you have to do 1 panel at a time.

[Chrome_Rush]

well one panel at a time isnt going to make for a very fluid paint job, I want to do the whole car all at once. I know i will get alot of orange peel and dry spray with an inadequate sized compressor, but will all that sand out of the clear to give a really nice glossy smooth finish? I have heard of people painting cars with small pancake compressors with pretty good results even without sanding. I know of a guy who actually used a paint roller with automotive grade paint, than sanded it for days and got a pretty nice finish, I never saw the car, but I was told you couldnt tell it wasnt sprayed. Since i didnt see these cars I cant say though, alot of people really cant tell the difference between a good paint job and a bad one. But I can, and I wasnt it to turn out good, otherwise its a big waste of time and money.

[AutoBodyGod]

Your compressor will need to maintain at least 40 psi at the gun, getting orange peel and dry spots can be controlled by how you spray.

[Chrome_Rush]

That really doesnt answer the question. the compressor in question obviously cant maintain 40psi on constant. HVLP guns dont need anywhere near that much pressure though, I didnt ask what pressure I needed to run it at, I sked if I can get a good job out of that or any other smaller compressor, plus the newer guns arent nearly that power hungry. Anybody out there NOT dead set in the old school mentality that came with the old power hungry equipment of yesteryear want to chime in? YOu may have needed 40 psi to get a nice job done through a gun from the 60's, but times have changed. Edited June 4, 2010 by Chrome_Rush

[cyberquest]

we only use about 20psi constant on the guns we use.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/vcyberbob/tman/t6066.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/vcyberbob/tman/t6024.jpg

 

 

i use a 60 gallon compressor from lowes around the shop here, we mainly just cut in parts and stuff here but the 60 gallon does a ok job keeping up. could it keep up for a all over shoot, probably, could a 30 gallon....i dont know. i think it would almost have to run constantly to maintian the pressure that you would need. at that point battling water that its producing is gonna be a bigger concern, i get a LOT of water from mine when i run big air tools. and we have had problems with it when spraying paint also.

 

we painted toms engine bay here at my shop with my 60 gallon compressor. its just a kobalt one i got from lowes for a around $500, you can see it in the background. i know it kicked on and off a few times just painting the engine bay.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/vcyberbob/tman/tman071.jpg

[AutoBodyGod]

That really doesnt answer the question. the compressor in question obviously cant maintain 40psi on constant. HVLP guns dont need anywhere near that much pressure though, I didnt ask what pressure I needed to run it at, I sked if I can get a good job out of that or any other smaller compressor, plus the newer guns arent nearly that power hungry. Anybody out there NOT dead set in the old school mentality that came with the old power hungry equipment of yesteryear want to chime in? YOu may have needed 40 psi to get a nice job done through a gun from the 60's, but times have changed.

 

 

I run anywhere from 30 to 32 psi to my Satajet 3000, but I also run a hardline through out my shop attached to a water separator. So yeah.....I do need to maintain at least 40 psi on my brand new spray guns.

[Chrome_Rush]

I think this unit can maintain a constant 20psi, but it would be pushing it, it might not be a little short of that. I could get a water separator for the water issue I guess. I was looking at an 80 gallon cobalt compressor at lowes that im sure would be sufficiant to paint the car with. Its about the same specs as the one I used in my uncles garage. After delivery, hoses, and installation it would end up costing will over 1000 bucks though, not to mention I still need to buy a good gun, so add another 300 or so. I figure to get the equipment to do it right im looking at spending around 2k. Than I have to buy paint for 2 cars, another 1000 bucks for good stuff. I spent almost 700 on paint to do the other car I painted. so 3k minimum, heck it might be cheaper to have a shop paint the cars for me, and much less work. Thats why I wanted to see if I could get by with what I have available to me. Thats alot of money either way I go.

[speed racer]

Do a few other peoples cars and make some money back.I tried to get by using "what i had" and it sucked.i found a nice bigger comp. at a pawn shop.No use skimping on equipment;you will just be aggrivated and pissed off.

I put a new floor in a kids old rusty ford ranger and painted inside of cab.Made back what i got in air compressor ad paint gun.

[Chrome_Rush]

Ya I suppose I may do that, anybody recommend a good paint gun. I dont need the best you can buy, but I would like something i can get a nice slightly better than factory finish from. I know you get what you pay for but I also know alot of less well known brands are just as good as some of the pricey top brands, alot of companies scoot by on there name and charge alot extra for the same quality because of that name on the box.

[AutoBodyGod]

IMO.....most HVLP's on the market work well for awhile and some do not last as long as others. I have used cheap HVLP's from Harbor Freight, Home Depot & Lowe's just to spray primer with and I will have to say Lowe's sells a decent gun for $99.00 bucks. Most people will agree it's all in the technic of how you spray and not in the gun. Heck, my 1st all over paint job was a 80 Cadillac Seville and I sprayed the whole car with Dupont acrylic lacquer with the aid of a $16.99 Craftsman spray gun. I did a lot of color sanding & buffing, but the car turned out better than factory and looked like a mirror. Todays paints are so much better and easier to use, it's almost impossible to screw a job up.

[Dad]

I did my van and a few other cars with a 2 hp 20 gallon dayton compressor. just be sure it's not in the same area you paint in or overspray will clog the intake filter.

Dad

[Drwojo]

For reference I have a 26 gallon compressor. Fill it to the max of like 130psi. Adjust your line pressure down to 60 and set the regulator on the gun to about 35. It does not ever drain the tank fully. The compressor will begin to run while you are spraying but thats not a problem. I didn't need to wet sand anything. Just tighter overlaps and a little quicker movements and it will flow out nicely. I also use a super cheap harbor freight gun. It is really good just less efficient than a Devilbis or Sata or even a Sharpe. You will end up wasting more paint with cheaper guns.

[Chrome_Rush]

Alright thanks for the info guys, I guess I will give it a try with what I have. Worste case scenario I guess I waste a little paint. IM only going to paint a car here and there every once in awhile, if I average one a year I will be surprised so it would be more cost efficient for me to use a less expensive gun and use a little more paint than go out and buy a 300 dollar gun and a 1000 dollar compressor when my brother inlaw has a 30 gallon and a 100 dollar gun already that I can use. SO the equipment is free, I just need to buy the paint.