Newbie with questions

jzhinton said:
Looks like I won't be able to rent a decent air compressor after all and will have to use a 20 g 4 cfm one. So now I will be using an LVLP gun with a1.3 tip. Any advice spraying epoxy and universal CC with this setup would be appreciated.
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I went down this road,LVLP still needs lots of cfm or more then 5.
You'll be farther ahead to just purchase a proper compressor.
 
jzhinton said:
Looks like I won't be able to rent a decent air compressor after all and will have to use a 20 g 4 cfm one. So now I will be using an LVLP gun with a1.3 tip. Any advice spraying epoxy and universal CC with this setup would be appreciated.
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That's nowhere close to enough. 4 CFM is hardly anything and 20 gallons of air will run out real fast. You will need a bigger compressor or I would not do this. What is going to happen is your air pressure is going to drop after about 30 seconds of spraying and will continue to drop as the compressor won't be able to recharge fast enough. Soon you'll have just a trickle of air. This will be problematic for both of what you're spraying, whether it be metallic basecoat or clear. Once you start spraying a panel you can't stop halfway through it.

The fact that the compressor will be continually running means it is also going to be generating a lot of water that may overcome your filtration.

Earlier this summer my main compressor went into overheat protection for some reason and I needed to spray a truck door. I used my 20 gallon compressor and it was barely enough for that. I could only spray the front side and had to stop to let the compressor fully recharge in order to spray the backside. And a door is maybe only 9 sq feet of area.
 
Lizer said:
That's nowhere close to enough. 4 CFM is hardly anything and 20 gallons of air will run out real fast. You will need a bigger compressor or I would not do this. What is going to happen is your air pressure is going to drop after about 30 seconds of spraying and will continue to drop as the compressor won't be able to recharge fast enough. Soon you'll have just a trickle of air. This will be problematic for both of what you're spraying, whether it be metallic basecoat or clear. Once you start spraying a panel you can't stop halfway through it.

The fact that the compressor will be continually running means it is also going to be generating a lot of water that may overcome your filtration.

Earlier this summer my main compressor went into overheat protection for some reason and I needed to spray a truck door. I used my 20 gallon compressor and it was barely enough for that. I could only spray the front side and had to stop to let the compressor fully recharge in order to spray the backside. And a door is maybe only 9 sq feet of area.
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The LVLP gun I am buying requires 4.5 cfm@40 PSI. I could get two 20 gal 4.0 cfm@90 PSI compressors and join them - would that work?
 
Remember
The air must be cooled so the water condenses back to liquid before the dryer.
Youll have to make a series of steel or copper pipe with drains for the air to cool.
 
Tungsten said:
Remember
The air must be cooled so the water condenses back to liquid before the dryer.
Youll have to make a series of steel or copper pipe with drains for the air to cool.
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I doubt he'll go that route due to his situation. The best he could do is install the largest desiccant filter off of the air compressor. He'll most likely have to change desiccant beads after every coat sprayed, or every two coats sprayed.

Not the end of the world, just an inconvenience when you have to work with what you have to use.
 
MJM said:
I doubt he'll go that route due to his situation. The best he could do is install the largest desiccant filter off of the air compressor. He'll most likely have to change desiccant beads after every coat sprayed, or every two coats sprayed.

Not the end of the world, just an inconvenience when you have to work with what you have to use.
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yes, that is doable in my situation
 
MJM said:
I doubt he'll go that route due to his situation. The best he could do is install the largest desiccant filter off of the air compressor. He'll most likely have to change desiccant beads after every coat sprayed, or every two coats sprayed.

Not the end of the world, just an inconvenience when you have to work with what you have to use.
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How does that work? Will the desiccant still catch the moisture with hot air?
 
Tungsten said:
Remember
The air must be cooled so the water condenses back to liquid before the dryer.
Youll have to make a series of steel or copper pipe with drains for the air to cool.
Click to expand...
Until just this year my air was never seriously cooled. I run a series of three filters with the last being a desiccant. That lets no water through. Cooler air—which I have now—just makes my desiccant last longer.
 
Well we are here for you. Lots of people have come on here to learn and after some time have turned out very nice work. Sometimes after doing this so long as a lot of us have gotten comfortable with all of our so called " luxuries" of having clean places to paint, air compressors that put out more air than we need , etc. And we forget what it was like not to have those luxuries. The most important thing is to figure out how to make the best of what you have got. And not to get discouraged and quit. I know several people who started out with a one room garage with a dirt floor that turned out fairly nice work.
 
jzhinton said:
I'm on this forum to reduce those odds which is why I ask so many questions. None of you know me nor my capabilities.
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Nobody is judging your innate ability to do something. What we are worried about is that A. you have no real experience doing this B. you don't have the neccesary equipment and less than ideal space to do the work, and C. the complexity of the multi color paint. Factor all this together and it stacks the odds against you. There is a real learning curve to doing this successfully and that is why we are worried for you. Crash did not say what he said as a put down. I didn't say what I said earlier as one either. Sometimes even though we want to do something doesn't mean it's always possible. That being said you sound determined and sooner or later you will have success but darn if the odds aren't stacked against you.
If someone had said to me at 18, this is your first job, do it reasonably well, and the conditions were like yours, I would have failed miserably.
 
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Chris_Hamilton said:
Nobody is judging your innate ability to do something. What we are worried about is that A. you have no real experience doing this B. you don't have the neccesary equipment and less than ideal space to do the work, and C. the complexity of the multi color paint. Factor all this together and it stacks the odds against you. There is a real learning curve to doing this successfully and that is why we are worried for you. Crash did not say what he said as a put down. I didn't say what I said earlier as one either. Sometimes even though we want to do something doesn't mean it's always possible. That being said you sound determined and sooner or later you will have success but darn if the odds aren't stacked against you.
If someone had said to me at 18, this is your first job, do it reasonably well, and the conditions were like yours, I would have failed miserably.
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I have done many things in my life, if I had listened to the pundits, I would have failed at. I didn't! I don't plan to fail here either. I seek advice and wisdom from those able to assist me in my endeavor. I truely appreciate those that understand the challenges I have, given I am a full time traveler. If I fail at first I will just try again until I succeed.
 
Would an HVLP Turbine system do what he is needing? That would take care of the moisture in the air supply but not sure if it would cause other problems.
 
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Thinking a new compressor in the US like a 6hp 33 gallon is $700 isnt to bad.Could sell after if you dont need any more, recoup half of that back.
You would need 240v power though.
 
jzhinton said:
None of them have a portable compressor available. Many of them say they do on their websites but don't. I can rent a 155 cfm trailor pull behind compressor for $655 per day. It's not going to happen...
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Well you are going to have to have an air compressor that will put out enough CFM and have some storage. Me personally I would be calling the Houston and Austin area places and drive and get one. There have got to be some somewhere "near" you. IDK how well tying a couple of 4 cfm compressors together is going to work. I have my doubts. One is most definitely not going to work. Two? I don't think will either. If it does, it will be limited usage then wait for it to catch up which is not going to work having to stop in the middle of a panel and then pick back up several minutes later. Using that gun you described, you won't be able to shoot any hi build primer. 1.3 tip is not ideal for either epoxy or clear either. It will have a fairly small fan and you will need to reduce the clear to the max.
Like I said I have no doubt your determination, but the reality of the situation is you are trying to run a race with both hands and one foot tied behind your back. You need a decent compressor that puts out at a minimum 12 cfm better yet 15cfm as a minimum. If I were you I would do whatever it took to make that happen. If that means driving an hour to get one that's what I would do. You don't have a choice. And that is a fact.
 
Depending on just how much you want to paint on your RV after this first round, maybe a turbine setup would be a good investment. My buddy has one and did a few completes with it and it worked out pretty decent. I believe he bought a Fuji system.

www.paintsprayersplus.com

Fuji Spray Mini-Mite 4 Platinum T75G HVLP Spray System

The Fuji Spray Mini-Mite 4 Platinum T75G HVLP Spray System uses the most powerful 4-stage Turbine on the market (same as the Q4 GOLD). This system is recommended for those who want the extra power available a full 9psi.
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