I timed my paint spray gun. It *****. Looking for help.

[VonMoldy]

With my 3.2hp 10.2CFM @90PSI rated 60 gallon husky pro compressor with 100psi line pressre and 26.5 psi into the HVLP gun which requires 15cfm at 40psi I measured 1.82 minutes of spraying time before the compressor turns on again. I have a 50 foot 3/8 hose from the wall regulator into a gun filter and then the gun regulator.

I need to time how long it takes to refill the compressor tank but I think this is not going to be enough to paint my car.

How can I improve the setup I have?
My thoughts are:
-Replace the 50ft rubber air hose to the gun with some copper air pipe along the 30ft wall.
-Reduce the number of reducers between the compressor and regulator and regulator and air hose.
-use high flow fittings like milton V

I am thinking this may increase CFM but not increase spraying time.

Finally I could get a lower CFM spray gun or spend $1500 on a new 80 gallon 5hp twin stage compressor which I obviously don't want to do.

 

[The Cobbler]

pipe, fittings ect won't change your cfm. you need a larger compressor or a gun that uses less air

 

[jeepinerdeep]

I feel like you over analyzed this. I can't imagine a 60 gallon compressor that won't paint a car.

 

[larry_g]

Put a pressure gauge near the gun and rerun the test to see when the pressure at the gun drops to 30 psi, as that is what you should be worried about.

I can't imagine a 60 gallon compressor that won't paint a car

Receiver size has nothing to do with it. One can have anywhere from a 2hp to a 15hp compressor on a 60 gallon tank. The size of the motor/compressor head combo determines whether it can deliver the amount of air needed.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Elsinore13]

HVLP uses a lot of volume and a little compressor just isn’t going to have you running all the way around a car. You would do better painting it a panel or two at a time.

 

[braidmeister]

You can increase your spray time with a few air pigs since this will effectively increase your storage capacity and CFM.

Lunch, not being free, means that you'll still have to wait for the compressor to fill them all up again.

You might want to try a smaller gun with smaller CFM requirement. I know the touch-up guns are great, but I have no idea what you are painting. You can also buy a dedicated (used) turbine airless HVLP setup if you look around.

Compressors are like welders....buy THE ONE you want with the intention that you'll have it forever. My Ingersol T30 was $2500 twenty years ago...it is still running perfectly. Looks like it's only $100 more since then...what a bargain!

 

[toplessHO]

I used a 2 hp speed aire for many years
added an old LP gas tank as a add on.
I would kick the pressure switch up and fill both tanks
then kick pressure back down to 100 when I started spraying.
You need a real good water separator when the compressor runs that much

 

[RV8guy]

You're not going to be spraying 100% of the time. You should be off the gun at the end of each stroke and whenever you reposition yourself. 3.5hp is not optimal but you are only painting one car not running a shop.

 

[sberry]

Easily paint with that comp.

 

[MikeF2316]

I think you're worried about nothing. This compressor painted several cars, although with a gun conceived long before HVLP. When you're painting, you spend a lot of time with the trigger up.

 

[braidmeister]

Sorry...I could NOT resist!

Now that you mention it, my buddy has a compressor just like that & he's painted at least 4 cars with it. If you think about it, you can do a decent amount of square footage in 90 seconds.

OP - what are you painting?

 

[dnschmidt]

It's possible but less than ideal. Don't worry about how long it takes the compressor to turn on it's how long it takes for the compressor's tank to go below 50 PSIG. You should be able to do the front clip of the car before you need to wait for the compressor to build back up. If you use a professional spray gun: SATA 5000, DeVilbiss ProLite, Iwata W400 you're going to have to wait once in awhile but the nature of spraying is such that this sort of happens by itself. For example you have to reload the gun's cup. A compressor that puts out 17SCFM is about right for this application and most pros go with one size up which is 25 SCFM with a 7 1/2 HP compressor as these cycle much less and produce less water. The problem with a small compressor is condensation. That stated it can be done.

 

[trainer]

You could get smaller fluid tip for your gun. The tradeoff is smaller pattern, but it slows the process down so the compressor can keep up.

I find it makes it much easier to control, but I don't paint often.

 

[ez-duzit]

...How can I improve the setup I have?...

Adjust the compressor so it restarts at a higher pressure.

 

[driz]

Set up an old 100 lb propane tank as a portable extra air vessel . Use QD fittings . The brass fittings to change the tank over are cheap and available at hardware store. I’ve had one since the 80s for those big jobs. You’ll find them laying around all over the place out of date for or nearly for free. I never noticed that the propane ***** [emoji87]still there after all these years has ever affected any paint job in any way.


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[ez-duzit]

Pretty sure propane tanks are not certified for compressed air.

 

[driz]

Pretty sure propane tanks are not certified for compressed air.

Nope but when I got it the rep told me those gas cyls exceed 200 lbs/ sq inch in the summer sun. If you want certified well then get yer wallet out and dig deep. Personally I’d just stuff it behind a plywood wall if I was nervous. Put it on an air hose and you can locate it anywhere then just stuff it in a corner when not being used which is almost always, simple.






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[dr_clyde]

Right, wrong or otherwise, my great uncle's air compressor uses a 100 gal propane tank as the main receiver. He built it from random compressor parts he found.

He's had that compressor for at least 30+ years in use. Been under pressure for the vast majority of that time.

 

[davesym]

Interesting stuff

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Receiver size has nothing to do with it. One can have anywhere from a 2hp to a 15hp compressor on a 60 gallon tank. The size of the motor/compressor head combo determines whether it can deliver the amount of air needed.

lg
no neat sig line

I totally get that. I'm just saying I'd have trouble imagining a commercially packaged and marketed compressor couldn't DIY paint a car. I don't get what time to motor start has to do with the price of tea in China here.

 

[sberry]

Ideally being able to see or get a feel for the building pressure is ideal so you can start a pass just prior to the pump cutting off. Same for sanding with an undersized unit. let off it when not spraying. So,,, cut in some, move around, get situated and iff cut off is 150 then resume spraying at 140 or 145 to run the longest time. I paint a lot of cars and trucks with 3 hp and a 50 ft hose.

A car painter needs beer money can put a coat on a car in 7 minutes. Can do it with a 12 cfm comp. The reason a 5 hp is for body work is it will run a tool 100% regardless of operator efficiency.

 

[sberry]

I have ran 8 inch da on a 3 hp. With a big tank will run it long enough to get the job done. I did one recently where we spend a couple hrs with a 6 inch, 15 20 minutes at a time on 3 hp with 200 gallons of tank and never drop below 100 at the inlet, never had to wait on air.

 

[strutaeng]

OP, you state that your HVLP gun uses more air than the compressor provides. The compressor volume at 40 psi will be the one to compare (40 vs 30 psi is basically the same).

The real question is will you paint a hood in less than the time you took to kick the compressor, and then you have some air reserve in the tank before tank pressure drops to 30 psi or so. I think you will be okay. I'm assuming you are be are a DIY and will be going slow. A pro will finish the vehicle in a faster time, so they need more air.

Also, consider that the CFM of the air compressor is rated with a clean air filter.

What I would do is plumb another 120V compressor to your supply line. That will give you about 16-17 CFM total volume. I'm not sure how to do it but you may be able to plumb the little compressor such that it kicks in at a higher set pressure, basically under high demand usage.