I have a 3 gallon craftsman air compressor and was wondering if I can use this compressor to paint and prime with. The guy at oreillys said that I could do it one panel at a time. I would rather ask you guys the pros at this cause this is my baby I am working hard to make it look good. Also which paint do you think I should go with. I am looking at nasons and kirker I know nasons is a dupont product wondering if one is better than the other? All info is greatly appreciated cause I keep notes to learn all that you tell me.
Thanks
Keith

 

I went back outside to double check my compressor and this thing has a 1hp motor on it and it looks to be maybe a 4 or 5 gallon tanks I can't find that info on there. I got it from my brother in law and I believe he put that motor on that tank not really sure. So hope this info help on you guys helping give me the best thing to do.
Thanks
Keith

 

thats not going to be big enough to paint a truck with. A conventional gun will have lower air requirements, but still that is too small, and only a 5 gallon tank will not store much air. Maybe could prime some smaller spots since that will be sanded anyways, but still awfull small. You need to match the cfm requirements on the gun you are going to use to the compressor. The compressor should at least meet the cfm required. The smallest I would consider is about a 3 hp with the biggest tank you can get if going with 120 volt. A big compresor is an investment, and nice to have. Some air tools and hvlp guns, sandblasters require a lot of air. If you are serious about doing this type of work more, invest in a compressor that will power the tools you plan on using. If this is a one time deal, maybe you would be better finding someone with experience and the tools who will do it reasonably or see if you can rent a compressor, make sure you have a moisture trap located away from the compressor also. There is enough to watch for when painting, make sure you mix right, lines are moisture free, the weather, ect, trying to get around a car without haveing dry areas while waiting for the compressor to build up enough pressure to atomize the paint correctly so you can continue spraying is not something you want.

 

I'm facing the same thing as you ,bigdaddy. I have a small shop and an even smaller budget to work with, but when it comes to painting an entire vehicle, you have to have volumn and pressure at the gun.I have 20 years + of paint/body experience and I have tried just about every combination you can imagine to paint with.The set-up you have would be great for small air tools or maybe an air brush,but I don't think it will deliver near enough volumn to paint a truck with.An HVLP (high volumn,low pressure) paint gun will help with the volumn problem,but you'll still need at least 40 pounds at the gun to properly shoot primers and solid colors. Pearls and metallics require a minimum of 60 pounds to apply without ''curtains'' or ''sags'' in them.You could probably get by with a heavy duty 3 or 4 horse 10 gallon set-up,but I'm going with at least a 20 gallon tank.There are 120 volt compressors that will do the job. Hose length,paint type and gun type all effect what pressure you'll need.You loose so much cfm per foot of hose,depending on hose diameter.A compressor that will deliver 6.0 cfm at 90 pounds would be the smallest I believe you could get by with.As far as paint,PPG or Dupont has always done well for me.Hope this helps and will be glad to offer more pointers if you need them.''Keep them old Fords rollin'!''

 

Its tough starting out. When I was a teenager in the 80's I began getting interested in bodywork. Didn't have much for tools. Think my first spray gun was a cheap craftsman conventional. My dad had a 1 hp campbell hausefield compressor and I painted my grandpas small aluminum fishing boat with Dupont centari. I didn't fare to well, had giant runs all over the place. Then I went to work on my cutlass and wanted to try base/clear that was fairly new at the time. Think in the middle of working on it, I overheated the little compressor and it was junk. I went and bought the biggest 3 hp compressor I could that ran on 120 volt since thats all we had in the garage. It did okay, but still was a bit underpowered, but I was happier how my car came out, though it was far from perfect. Then I decided to go to tech school for auto body to learn more, faster then trying to learn yourself or from a book, and it is what I wanted to do for a career. I painted with my dads 5 hp 60 gal for awhile, and now have a decent sized compressor, as well as other air tools.

Stuff like my 8" orbital and my hvlp take a bit of air, but with a large compresor it and more tools/ experience it is easier to get better results and get things done a bit faster, but body type of work is always time consuming and takes patience to perfect things. If you only want your truck painted nice and don't continue to continue doing more of it, you may be better off seeing if someone can do the job for you reasonably. If you think you want to do more of it in the future, get the largest compressor you can afford right now, and some of the more commonly used tools that will get the job done. Then continue to invest in more stuff over time. I only have a small garage to work in myself. You may want to get a conventional gun for use with a smaller compressor, even though they use a bit more paint. Get one with the proper tip size for the paint you will be spraying. Hvlp has larger air requirements, but some aren't real bad. Hvlp (high volume, low pressure) Still takes a lot of air going into the gun and to help atomize the paint, but it reduces the pressure at the cap down to around 10 p.s.i. and wastes less in overspray. A conventional is probably best bet for someone new, both because of the air requirements and I personally think they are easier to get good results with, though hvlp has improved a lot since I first used them.