Educate me: Compressors/HPLV/Air Tools

zoggynog

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Hey folks,

I may have some money down the road to invest in restoration tools.

I have the four following items on target...

1. A compressor for blowing stuff out. I also want to be able to hook air tools up to this bad boy.

2. A good sander (do they make air tool sanders, or is this something best left up to electric?)

3. A good spray gun for my compressor to do paint/laquer.

4. An airbrush...and possibly a secondary smaller (pancake?) compressor to do detail touchups on pinball/arcade art.

Can the experts out there make any reccomendations on the specifics of what I should buy?
 
Your big research/decision will be how large of a compressor to buy. A pancake one is cheap, but worthless for spraying paint..won't really do it. It's really no good for blowing compressed air either, unless you want to wear earplugs around it and hear it running.

In auto body, people do use air sanders. Air tools need to be oiled regularly, so they will blow oil and moisture out of the exhaust port onto you or what you're sanding. For fine woodworking, and I'll lump this hobby in with that, you don't want an air sander - check out what Lowes or HD has - Bosch, DeWalt, etc.. get a decent priced electric random orbital sander. If you want to blow big bucks (or see what the extreme end of that is), check out Festool stuff online.

A pancake compressor could keep up with a small detail brush ok, but not a regular HVLP gun at all. Might make sense to use a pancake one for that. You will also need to get moisture traps and a regulator/gauge to put at the gun, so budget for that. For cheap, but very usable HVLP and detail guns, check out Harbor Freight. You can always upgrade later if you want, but they're great bang for the buck. I hesitate to say buy a compressor from there though.. you really get what you pay for on that.
 
pancakes are super loud and run way to ofen. get one belt driven and that needs to be oiled. look about on craigslist and you should be able to find something okay. if you plan to use air tools you really need a large tank or a large dual tank.
 
You guys rock, thanks for the input.

So, focusing on compressor. Outside of getting one that needs to be oiled, what else am I looking for specifically? What kind of capacity, what kind of volume, to run a spray gun when painting a cab? Let's also make the assumption that down the road I might like to get an air tool nail gun or something of this nature.
 
Keep in mind that tanks will do you no good if your pump isn't putting out the cfm( cubic feet per minute) that your air tool requires. Air tools use a lot of cfm, air sanders are big users of air. A really good 5 hp compressor will put out about 18cfm. If you can use an electric sander it will save you on your electric bill versus using an air tool.
 
You guys rock, thanks for the input.

So, focusing on compressor. Outside of getting one that needs to be oiled, what else am I looking for specifically? What kind of capacity, what kind of volume, to run a spray gun when painting a cab? Let's also make the assumption that down the road I might like to get an air tool nail gun or something of this nature.

My larger portable one is an oilless, but I bought it used, and there was NO compression at all. It has a sort of piston/ring and cylinder sleeve that were completely worn out and ruined. $30 in parts from Sears online and it was like new. It it's going to be completely stationary, consider getting a vertical tank 220v type.
 
CFM is the main thing to consider when buying a compressor.
Most of the oil less compressors don't put out enough CFM to keep up with an HVLP gun. You need a minimum of 6CFM for a HVLP.
I bought my gun from TCP Global because they are better than the HF guns for about the same price. http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraygundepot/tcpgate.aspx
They require less CFM and have changeable needle and tips for different materials.
I then bought an oil less compressor that put out 5.1 CFM and they work great together. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...o=1&blockType=G1&prdNo=1&i_cntr=1332732501687
The compressor does run most of the time but never do I run low on air while spraying.
 
CFM is the main thing to consider when buying a compressor.
Most of the oil less compressors don't put out enough CFM to keep up with an HVLP gun. You need a minimum of 6CFM for a HVLP.
I bought my gun from TCP Global because they are better than the HF guns for about the same price. http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraygundepot/tcpgate.aspx
They require less CFM and have changeable needle and tips for different materials.
I then bought an oil less compressor that put out 5.1 CFM and they work great together. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...o=1&blockType=G1&prdNo=1&i_cntr=1332732501687
The compressor does run most of the time but never do I run low on air while spraying.

How much coverage do you get out of 33 gallons before it has to refill? I'd like something that can do the occasional cab, but I also want something bigger than a pancake and ideally verticle. What do you think is a good balance on price and size?
 
It's not an air tool but get yourself a decent wood router, it's indispensible when it comes to cutting new T-molding slots and making exact repro wood panels of damaged ones, I've entirely reconstructed completely destroyed cabs with one being the primary tool.
 
1. A compressor for blowing stuff out. I also want to be able to hook air tools up to this bad boy.

2. A good sander (do they make air tool sanders, or is this something best left up to electric?)

3. A good spray gun for my compressor to do paint/laquer.?

Spray guns and sanders take a lot of air to run. It will drain a small compressor fast. If you plan on doing a lot of sanding I would not get anything smaller than a 60 gallon tank. The 2-stage compressors also help keeping the CFM higher.

I own a 80g 2-stage and sometimes I wish it was bigger.
 
How much coverage do you get out of 33 gallons before it has to refill? I'd like something that can do the occasional cab, but I also want something bigger than a pancake and ideally verticle. What do you think is a good balance on price and size?

I can usually get one side done before the motor comes back on.
It has no problem spraying the entire cab. Even though the compressor runs constantly it puts out enough cfm for the gun.
I bought the one I have because it is portable and doesn't need all the plumbing a bigger non portable one would need. All I need is a moisture/dirt trap and a hose.
If you get a compressor that is not oil less then an oil filter is also required.
Plus my neighbors wouldn't like it much with one running on the side of my house.
There is really no way to avoid a compressor running a lot unless you get a 2 stage with an 80 gallon tank or larger.
I didn't see the need to spend all that $$ for something I will only use occasionally.
If you need to buy a gun and compressor then check the cfm requirements for the gun you want then get a compressor that meets or exceeds those requirements.
 
Just a quick note on noise - Oil free compressors are usually much louder than oiled ones. I used to have a 33 gallon craftsman - it was extremely loud. I ended up selling it and bought a used 26 gallon belt driven compressor that is quieter and puts out more air. Its a little small for automotive work but a good size for arcade cab work/spraying.

Here's some good notes on compressors...most of it applies to automotive work - so you don't really need such a big tank - but its a good read anyway:

http://www.2quicknovas.com/aircompressors.html
 
Just a quick note on noise - Oil free compressors are usually much louder than oiled ones. I used to have a 33 gallon craftsman - it was extremely loud. I ended up selling it and bought a used 26 gallon belt driven compressor that is quieter and puts out more air. Its a little small for automotive work but a good size for arcade cab work/spraying.

Here's some good notes on compressors...most of it applies to automotive work - so you don't really need such a big tank - but its a good read anyway:

http://www.2quicknovas.com/aircompressors.html

The newer ones are much quieter than the older ones and I can just run it in the garage to keep the noise down for the neighbors.
I don't really care about the noise it makes since I am working outside and the compressor is inside.
 
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