On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 23:21:09 GMT, beeperboy wrote:

|im new to painting, but am looking to get started. I have been
|looking at a few air compressors, but i really dont know what i am
|suppose to be looking for in terms of; cfm, psi, tank size, or
|horsepower. i found one with 4.4cfm@90 psi - 11.1cfm@40 psi- 125psi
|max - 21 gallon tank - 4.5 hp. Is this going to be adequet for auto
|painting, please help!
|
|I'm trying to remember from my auto painting days. My shop had a 10
|cfm@100 PSI, 10 hp, 100 gal tank. I used high pressure spray guns to do
|basecoat/clearcoat jobs. The compressor could just keep up to me. If
|anyone else was using air for sanding, I could drain the tank before I
|had one coat on. I would have to let the compressor catch up between coats.
|
|Are you hobby or commercial painting? If it's for your hobby, you can
|let the compressor catch once in a while. If you are making your living
|off the output of your paintbooth, you would best be advised to get
|engineering help from DeVilbiss or one of the other big paint companies.

My compressor is about 7 CFM @ 90 psi.
My gun is a cheapo HVLP gravity feed. The compressor will not keep up with it.
HVLP is the way to go, quality guns are a bit more efficient, but I think you
need to shoot for 13 CFM @ 90 if you have more than one car to do or if
perfection is your goal.
Get the specs on your gun, get a compressor to meet them.

Rex in Fort Worth