Spray gun air regulator
- Thread starter JC Daniel
- Start date
RosharonRooster
Promoted Users
My iwata regulator has been very good to me.
metalman
Oldtimer
I rigged up a set up like that and liked it. Can'y blame any gun regulator for a restriction that way
. If a regulator at the gun is used it should be a diaphragm type and not a cheater valve. I have RTI, some nice small (Chinese?probably) ones I got off of Ebay that work well, and two new Motorgard brand that I haven't used yet. I guess if the knobs fall off the Motorgards I'll just leave them in the tool box.Whitesnake
Newbie
RTI’s on my iwatas as well.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Been my experience too. After taking a SATA paint seminar I thought about doing it but never did. Originally I did it to ditch the regulator and how much space it took up. Made it hard to spray rockers when doing collision, but I found I liked it so much I never went back. Compensated for any pressure drop because of the hose by upping the pressure at the wall 5 psi or so. I know that's not the way Barry says to do it but it works well for me.
metalman
Oldtimer
It means it takes 5 lbs or so more at the wall to compensate for pressure drop of the hose. Example if you want 30psi at the gun you may need 35psi at the wall. The gauge at the gun verifies what you are getting at the gun. It could vary depending on the hose, ID and length.
metalman
Oldtimer
It absolutely varies. Longer hose probably more drop, hose ID, fittings factor in. IIRC it was 38 at the wall to get 30 at the gun with 38' of 3/8" hose in my situation. I've been using a regulator lately but next time I clear with the Sata 5000 RP I am going to put on the gauge with no regulator on and set at the wall. Whatever works to get good results
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Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
I honestly have no idea what pressure I spray most stuff at. WIth base just enough to get it atomizing correctly. Usually getting the gun to atomize clear nicely on a piece of masking paper works the same as base. Only time that hasn't worked well for me was with Universal. UV I know approximately what I want on the wall which for me is 45 psi.
JMO but relying on psi numbers doesn't really work. Everyone's lines are different combined with all the different guns, numbers are at best a very broad approximation that gets you in the ballpark. Why I've always used test spraying on a piece of masking paper. Getting it spraying and atomizing correctly or well is really all that matters IMO. At lest for me it is. PSI ends up being whatever it is going to be. The only exception to that I've found in the last 10 years or so has been Universal which ended up needing 10 or 12 psi more than what I arrived at doing as I described above. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
JMO but relying on psi numbers doesn't really work. Everyone's lines are different combined with all the different guns, numbers are at best a very broad approximation that gets you in the ballpark. Why I've always used test spraying on a piece of masking paper. Getting it spraying and atomizing correctly or well is really all that matters IMO. At lest for me it is. PSI ends up being whatever it is going to be. The only exception to that I've found in the last 10 years or so has been Universal which ended up needing 10 or 12 psi more than what I arrived at doing as I described above. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Lizer
Mad Scientist
What are you looking for on the paper?
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
What the fan looks like. Whether or not it's atomizing nicely. That would be more evident by looking at the spray as it's coming out of the gun. Too low and it won't look the same as higher air pressure. With base especially too low you will see a difference in the actual pattern and the deposits on the paper. Clear that's harder to see but it's still there. Also when it hits the paper. How it "fills". And when you have sufficient pressure there is usually a different sound than when pressure is too low or not enough. That has always worked for me for most of the clears out there. Like I said with Universal being the exception. Because it's a true hi solids clear it wasn't completely accurate. I needed more pressure to get it to lay out correctly (no peel/texture, eliminate little sags). Took me like 3 or 4 times spraying it to figure that out. Like I said just how I do it. The one guy who taught me a lot did it that way so that's how I did. I've never relied strictly on a number. YMMV.