A Few Air Compressor And Spray Gun Questions...

[Peter]

Hi Everyone!

So I am thinking of getting an air compressor to (mainly) paint the damaged door of my R33, touch up my spoiler and front bar, and a few other things around the car. This will be the main reason for purchasing it, but I am also thinking of using it around the house, just to do some light duties, such as spraying the fence, inflating tyres etc.

I didn't want to get one that was too expensive, so I have been looking at the ones available through Supercheap, Malz and Bunnings.

They seem to all be around the same size and same price - this is what I am considering at the moment - which one would be the best for me?

Supercheap

$199

- Black Ridge 2.5HP Hi Flow Compressor

- 40L tank

- 115 PSI max operating pressure

- 200L/min free air delivery

or

$119

- Black Ridge 2.5HP Direct Drive Compressor

- 40L tank

-115 PSI max operating pressure

- 120L/min free air delivery

Malz

$149

- SRT Air 2.5HP Direct Drive Compressor

- 40L tank

- 125 PSI max operating pressure

- 131L/min free air delivery

Bunnings

$199

Project Air 2.5HP Direct Drive Compressor

- 2 x 10L tanks

- No other specs

or

$137

Project Air 2.5HP Direct Drive Compressor

- 40L tank

- No other specs

Also, with regards to spray guns, do I go for a:

- low pressure spray gun?

- high pressure spray gun?

- gravity fed spray gun?

Thanks for your help and feedback,

Pete

[ARTZ]

the top ones the only one that will really flow enough air for painting..problem is at 200lt per minute and a 40lt tank it is empty in 12 seconds ..

I have one and its a noisey POS but it does do the job..I wouldnt want to paint a whole car with it but for short bursts for a few minutes its fine

either kind of paint gun will work as long as its high pressure..

I usually just paint with cans though its much easier and you can get a good finish..

[666DAN]

I'd go for the gravity gun for what you're doing, unfortunately I'm not familiar with how well the cheaper brands fair as I always used Graco units, a pressure pot unit is really only used for thicker products (industrial epoxy coatings etc etc) and wouldn't give as good a finish as the gravity gun and it's really easy to overbuild the coating if you've never used one.

[Bl4cK32]

you want a compressor with some warranty on it. All the cheap ones break sooner rather than later. Go price up a decent one and look at what the differences are. You also need water traps, connections, hose etc, so it all adds up.

The gun should be gravity fed, and a HVLP (high volume, low pressure) to spray the car with. Best bet is to also have a look around at the various types as buying the cheapest can also mean headaches. Different sized needles are needed for different types of media, like undercoat, primer and paint. Speak to the paint supplier as they can offer the best advice for the paint you want to eventually use.

[gtr fan]

$199

- Black Ridge 2.5HP Hi Flow Compressor

- 40L tank

- 115 PSI max operating pressure

- 200L/min free air delivery

I have this compressor. It is good to use but like someone said it does empty the tank quickly, which can be annoying. But for short busrts of work it is good.

However trying to cut through something strong can pose an issue. Use an electric angle grinder for this.

[Peter]

Thanks for all the replies!

I have taken everything into account and as recommended will look around at what other compressors are avaiable, to see if increasing the price slightly makes a huge difference. I'll also speak to a paint shop to see what they recommend regarding the type of gun and the size of needle required.

Will post up what I find out.

Thanks again - great advice, and I'm glad I didn't just go straight in and buy something that wouldn't do the job.

Cheers,

Peter