30 Gallon Compressor?

[Peter D.]

I’m a total noob but I’m thinking of buying a 30 Gallon Husky compressor from Lowe’s and using that with an HVLP gun to paint my floor pans with the body off. I’m going to use a water/oil separator, etc but I’m still nervous this won’t work for some reason.

Am I right in assuming that since it’s a small area I shouldn’t have trouble with low pressure and heat build-up/moisture? I can’t really afford a 60 gallon tank plus an electrian to install.

If this is a dopey idea I’ll just pay a professional, don’t want I ruin a freshly blasted pan
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2019 Golf Alltrack, '65 Ghia Coupe Restoration in Progress

[theKbStockpiler]

You don't need a big compressor to paint because it's done at a low pressure/volume.Look at the paint gun manual for the setting.Use a 'Filter' in the airline just before the gun. A big tank just stores some energy. The Price Point compressors these days are a 60 gallon 3.7hp. A 5 hp is really the way to go but hard to find in hot dog style that is maneuverable.
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My beetle is not competing with your beetle. I have the yellow beetle in my town. There is a red one, a green one ......
Use all safety devices including a mask.

[Mike Fisher]

30 gallons is plenty for painting everything. www.masterseriesct.com black & silver is good stuff that can be brushed or sprayed on pans & chassis.
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https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
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'68 Karmann Ghia sold

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[Evil_Fiz]

EDIT: ^^^ +1 on the MasterSeries products. You can also use their AG-111 paint as a top coat for the primer if you want a color other than black.

Eastwood sells a five CFM paint gun, Eastwood Concours 2 - Single HVLP (High Volume, Low Pressure ) Paint Gun Kit in Aluminum Case (Item #16287,) that is intended to be used with smaller compressors. Make sure that the compressor you get can produce at least 20% more CFM than your paint gun will need. The smaller the compressor, the more it will cycle. The frequent cycling is what will build up the heat and moisture. A cheap way to combat this problem is to run a 20+ Ft. coil of 3/8" copper tubing through a large bucket full of ice water followed by a water and oil separator. As theKbStockpiler suggested, run a filter and a disposable desiccant trap just before the gun. This setup should get you where you need to be for small paint jobs.

You can also use a traditional HPLV (High Pressure, Low Volume) paint gun which most small compressors can keep up with. The down side to this technology is an increase in paint consumption and more overspray.

NOTE: When looking at compressor specs, look at the CFM rating at 40 PSI. This is the important number for HVLP paint guns which typically require between 20 and 35 PSI. Oil lubricated compressors are a better choice but are typically more expensive than oil-less compressors. I was in you shoes this time last year and it took me four months of research to properly educate myself on the subject.

Look at the thread titled Sandblasting - Harbor Freight Compressor for more information about compressor choices.

...we're all in this together,
Emil
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“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Peter D.]

Thank you, everyone, for these incredible responses. I've been scouring the internet but couldn't find the straight dope. I love the support you can find on this site!
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2019 Golf Alltrack, '65 Ghia Coupe Restoration in Progress

[Evil_Fiz]

For sound advice and healthy discussions on compressor related matters take a look at https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/, https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/, and http://www.practicalmachinist.com/. These were the sites I found most informative during my research process.

Cheers,
Emil
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“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Peter D.]

These are great resources, thank you!
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2019 Golf Alltrack, '65 Ghia Coupe Restoration in Progress

[Evil_Fiz]

It's me again Glad I could save you some of the troubles I went through.

I ran across this information over on GermanLook.net in the WRX/Porsche Karmann cabrio 1303 build thread.