I know theres a few people who have painted there cars here
so im wondering what kind of compressors you guys have, size/rating/etc
and what type of guns you used

 

To spray the whole car you need a relatively big compressor. With most colors and especially metallics and pearls you can't stop in the middle of spraying and wait for compressor to catch up.

This is the compressor I just got: http://dxm004.homeip.net/gallery/vie...05&id=IMG_1019

It is pretty much the bare minimum you would need to do the whole thing. It is 7HP (max) 3.6HP(avg) 240V 60 gal. If you only doing panel repair, you might get away with smaller/less powerful compressor and maybe an extra tank.

2 things to look for:
- cfm output of compressor needs to be more than what your gun will require
- compressor must be oiled. Oiled compressors have duty cycle of 100% if you need it. Most cheaper 5.5-6hp compressors they sell are oiless and advertised as better and less maintenance. What they don't tell you is that oiless will heat up and self destruct when you let it run as long as it would take you to put 3 coats on your entire car. Oiless typically have duty cycle of 20-25%

Guns have 2 types. conventional and HVLP (high volume, low pressure). HVLP produce less paint mist and less paint is waisted into the air. HVLP will require higher cfm rating, but each gun is different and you have to look at each manufacturer for specs.

also for painting you generally want smaller tips (1.3 to 1.5 mm). For primers (especially for some high build ones), you would want larger tip 1.8-2.0. I have 2 guns just for this HVLP 1.4mm for paint and cheaper chinese gun with 1.8mm tip for priming.

for a lot more info checkout www.autobodystore.com. They have a message board with some very knowledgable people there.

 

thanks for the info!
i was considering buying that exact compressor, haha...
since they had a 2-stage oilless one that actually had a lower rating, i figured something must be better with the oiled ones
was also wondering about the duty cycle, because I think that compressor is on the bare minimum already, so I didnt want it konking out before i was done