I was just wondering what size compressor tank I would need in order to get a proper continous feed of air to the typical spray gun. I am looking to do some common body work for some rust issues then paint a cutlass I have been steadily working on for a while now and I'm thinking that I will be at the body/paint stage in a month or two and want to begin buying the essentials.... Thanks for any help provided and for taking time to review this thread.

 

While something smaller may do, I would go for a 60 gallon tank. You can go to Home Depot and they sell a Husky compressor or similar with a verticle 60 gallon tank and I beleieve it sells for about $425. It is 240 Volt so you may need to run a 240V 30A or 40A circuit for it. I had one for years and it did well and for the money I thought it was a pretty good deal. If you plan to run a lot of air tools you may run it hard. But if you don't use it like that every day you should be fine. You'll need to look into a filter to keep moisture (water) from getting into the paint job. Keep in mind that the air that comes out of the compressor, especially if it has been running for a while, will be warm. Warm air carries mositure vapor that will turn back to water when it cools. So if you use a water trap, make sure it's as far from the compressor as you can get it. I've seen people come off the compressor and run copper lines up and down the wall in a tight pattern to act as a cooling fin. They put a Tee at the bottom between the runs and install a drains so the water can be drained out of the pipes. I've seen 6-8 rows of copper and they are about 6' tall. This will cool the air, collect the water and should help to give you dry air. Just a thought. Use one of the disposable type filters that goes on the end of the gun as a last point to catch anything. Good luck.
Brian

 

Pick your gun before you buy the compressor. Modern HVLP guns need a high volume of air (hence the "HV" in HVLP). Match the compressor rating to the needs of the gun. Also, don't skimp on the water trap/filter.

 

Just as a reference, I used a Sata HVLP with that Husky unit and it worked fine. But if painting is something you plan to do more of in the future, you'll need to look at the rating of the gun you choose and make sure the compressor exceeds the requirements. The single stage Husky unit was just slightly under the Sata requirement but it worked. Higher CFM ratings will likely put you into a 2 stage compressor and the cost will more than double for the cheaper units compared with a single stage unit. Aside from the considerations on the equipment, you need to be careful with the paint fumes. Today's paints can be very harmful to you so you need to look at ventilation and proper respirators. Water born paints are starting to become law and I believe 2013 is the year this happens. Water based paints will only be used for the base colors and the clears will remain as they are currently. I believe primers will stay the same too. The EPA has determined that the base colors contained the most VOC's so they wanted to get rid of them. Water based paint is fine to use but it requires a lot more air moving over the paint in order for it to dry. Thus, this makes using them tougher for the home user. Most body shops switching to water based paints have had to modify their booths to increase air flow. Just keep that in mind if the paint supplier tries to push water based paint.

 

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from the little I know about this you definately need a good water trap I beleive near the spray gun and a oil and particulate filter closer to the pressure guages coming off of the compressor. I have not used my set up yet , but planing to this summer when there will be a butt load of water in the tank.

 

Thanks so much yall. These comments have put me in the right direction for sure.

 

i once seen a paint shop that ran it's air through an old cast iron heater radiator to remove water from the air.saw another guy that plumbed a old furnace fan to a section of sewer pipe [the type with holes in it] and would lay the pipe under the car while painting to create a down draft.doing things the hill billy way.