I want to buy an air compressor to learn how to paint my car myself, but why do some compressors have small tanks like this? They don't have those big 30 gallon tanks yet they're just as expensive and can cost $300 used or more, so what can they be used for?
>>994522
Wheel barrow type compressors are meant for rough construction sites as they are a little easier to move around, and are meant to run 3 maybe 4 framing/roofing nailers at the same time. They are not continuous duty though...
A continuous duty comp with a larger tank, higher cfm are necessary for orbital sanders, drills and paint guns...
Don't know about the electric ones but gas are usually like that because they put out enough air to not need a large tank. Assuming electric ones built like that are just for the sake of being more portable but no reason they should cost what they do
Related and I don't know /diy/s culture enough to know if it merrits it's own thread.
I'm going to paint an xbox one controller and some auto paint is beautiful so I'm going to use it if I can.
What tool would I need to spray the powder? Is it mixed during spraying or before? (If before that broadens my application options. Would a stensiling sprayer work?
>>994522
We have those dual tank machines in our work vans.
The ones we have are pretty damn powerful and run impacts and air chisels. You dont need a huge amount of air to run these tools intermittently. Great size for a work van, or with the wheel still on it for a portable work site.
On the other hand, painting needs a ton of air ready because you are gonna be blowing through it like crazy.
Just dont forget that the sheet metal that makes ups the tank is very cheap in comparison to literally every other part of the machine.
Companies put out cheap compressors and throw them onto large tanks to make them look impressive.
First and foremost you need to find a very strong, cast iron, oiled compressor. And if you cant find one with a large tank, just buy a large add on tank for cheap.
Painting is actually very taxing on compressors.
>>994522
>I want to buy an air compressor to learn how to paint my car myself
seriously look at the 8-10 gal compressors from harbor freight
I used the 8 gal with their $10 spray gun to do furniture and it worked fine (it would turn on for a minute or so after a few minutes of continuous spraying)
they have other guns that are more expensive, but I wouldn't be surprised if they cheap one would work fine, even if just for one job
Compressors have a cut off and refill level.
So you fill the tank to 150psi, it kicks off. When it drops to about 60psi it will kick back on.
So you don't really need a BIG compressor, just one with a good duty cycle. My compressor was just about 100quid, does everything but won't run a die grinder for more than 10seconds.
Also managed to spray a car with one of them super tiny compressors, just have to stop after each panel.
Or buy second hand, but get a bore scope in it to check for rust. Some fucks never empty the water out so they rust from inside out.
Paint guns are rated for psi and CFM. The larger tanks can provide the CFM the gun requires for longer periods while painting large items like a car.
pick a paint gun and find out what CFM and PSI it requires and get a compressor based on that.
And for a paint gun, go grab a HVLP one you know the one with the can on top of it?, that one requires less air pressure to run, because its gravity fed, the other one with the can hanging from the gun requires a good compressor and high pressure cause you need to be able to literally suck in the paint as the air comes out of the nozzle
Real automotive paint guns are HVLP (High Volume, Low Pressure).
What that tells us is that they need low pressure which is usually around 40-50 PSI. They also need high volume which is measured in CFM (Cubic feet per minute). Most HVLP guns are rated around or above 6CFM. So that means you need a compressor that puts out 6CFM to even be able to use the gun correctly. If you want continuous duty, you multiply the CFM rating of the tool by 4.
So you ideally want a compressor that is able to put out 24CFM.
Enjoy spending your life savings!
>>994522
>learn how to paint my car myself
If you are trying to save money then DONT, you wont save money. Doing it properly will cost you far more in mistakes and do overs and material then you will ever make up by just taking it to fucking maco and letting them color it.
If you want graphics and designs then DONT, just take it to a fucking pro, it will still be fucking cheaper than what it will cost you in the long run and will look a lot better than anything you will be able to pull off for a year or two.
If you are looking for a hobby then DONT, painting cars is not a hobby, hobbies are affordable.
If you are looking at getting into the hobby of airbrushing and eventually using your car as a canvas then WELCOME BROTHER! Boy is this going to be fucking expensive for you. I have sunk thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into this "hobby" and every now and then I paint something that doesnt make me want to throw up. For air compressors you will need a 60+ gallon air compressor, husky is fine. Hell china fright is fine if you get a big one. Whats that? You think you can buy a 30 gallon compressor and paint your car? SHUT THE FUCK UP! No just shut the fuck up. I said zip it. You dont even get to talk. A 60 and you can get away with it, I use an 80 and my $600 SATA gun is finally happy when it comes time to clearcoat.
I said shut your fucking cock holster with that 30 gallon shit. Just shut it dude, I Know you are about to speak and whine and make excuses with tech specs about how it theoretically works out, but SHUT UP. Buy a 60 gallon compressor and still wait in between sprays or just shut up and buy an 80+ gallon shop compressor and actually get somewhere or stop wasting your fucking time you god damn mongoloid. I bet you were going to try 1/4 inch fittings too.
Fucking scrubs trying to buy bare minimum compressors and not listening to people who have been through this shit make me sick, so shut your cock holster.
>>994877
Sassy!
>>994522
Because not everyone wants 30 gallon receivers and not everyone wants a stationary compressor. When that is what everyone wants, these will be dirt cheap.
>>994522
http://m.instructables.com/id/The-Poor-Mans-Paint-Job-or...-How-to-paint-your-c/
>>994877
Not to derail, but....
How do you feel about a 5 gallon compressor +10 gallon expansion tank for an air brush? I'd only be painting miniatures (think war hammer but Starcraft army men) obviously I'd need a filter and reduce down to the correct fittings.
>>994934
For miniatures that will be fine. You need a large compressor for a car because a car is many time larger than a figurine. When painting you want to be able to do the whole surface in one go. Not 1/5th wait 5 minutes for the tanks to fill, repeat.
Hey anon, I have a 6 gallons compressor and im about to paint my chinashit motorcyle...is that setup, enough??
>>994552
If you want to do it on the cheap, get paint match paint from vatozone. They also sell 'guns' for spray paint cans. I've used paint match to fix up a completely scratched to shit quarter panel on my truck, and after I polished and waxed it it came out great.
Also, the reason a lot of cars look good is due to a metallic paint layer. From what I've read this is extremely hard to do properly by the DIYer.
>>994934
For an airbrush its fine, I used a 2 gallon pancake compressor forever. Hell the oiless diaphram compressors dont even have a tank, they just run constantly (which can cause pulsing in the aeration but I digress). I prefer a large compressor for airbrushing only because you can fill up the tank and turn off the compressor and use the 80 gallons stored in the tank for the rest of the day and not worry about the motor going off half way through the day and giving your wife a fucking heart attack as shes working on one of the motorcycles in the garage thereby leading to no sex that night.
You NEED a large compressor for HVLP spray guns. You can get by with with a small 30 gallon compressor but you will be in hell while trying to paint anything, even a helmet. It will be SPRAY for 3 seconds, and then wait 45 seconds while the tank fills up and then SPRAY for 3 seconds again. Repeat all fucking day until you sell all your guns and car to buy a real fucking compressor because your urothatnes all dried up while waiting to spray. FUCK YOU OP IF YOU DO THAT! Cocksucker.
For airbrushing shit, 10 gallon is overkill. I've seen old pro's use a 3 liter coke bottle rigged up with a bike pump.
Not OP, but I have the oiled Harbor Freight 21 gallon. Seems to work well.
However, I have pretty much tossed the instructions to drain the tank after use out the window and keep it compressed 24/7 for months on end. Am I playing with fire? I don't recall the compressors ever being drained at the garage I used to work at, and they were bout as old as I am.
>>995302
Is there water in the tank?
>>995313
Yes, I occasionally open the drain on the bottom to let the moisture dribble out, then I close it and let it pressurize again.
>>995294
>You can get by with with a small 30 gallon compressor but you will be in hell while trying to paint anything, even a helmet. It will be SPRAY for 3 seconds, and then wait 45 seconds while the tank fills up and then SPRAY for 3 seconds again.
complete BS
>>995328
that's fine, just make sure to also change the oil every so often if it gets regular use
>>995527
>complete BS
Good luck with that.
>>995564
luck has nothing to do with it
I've painted 30+ projects with an 8gal compressor, 30gal is not "small" in any sense of the word
if you're getting seconds worth of usable pressure, it's more likely the idiot using it rather than the tools at fault
>>994522
The tank size barely matters. Check the CFM to see if it will keep up with your use-age. If you had a 10,000 gallon tank, it would eventually run out if you were outrunning the pump.
