Going to attempt painting own car after receiving some pretty high quotes for paint.

Can you get by with a 60 gallon 3.7hp compressor such as the following, or do you need to go with a 80 gallon 5hp?

Husky

1. Cast Iron Pump - Provides extended life & delivers 10.2CFM @90PSI
2. Powerful longlife industion motor
3. 3-Foot tank design provides ease of leveling during instalation

Model #: VT6314
Internet #: 100083906
This compressor offers a solid cast iron, twin cylinder compressor pump for extreme durability. It also offers 135 psi maximum pressure and air delivery 11.5/10.2 SCFM at 40/90 psi. It has a space saving vertical design that is perfect for your home, garage, or work shop. The powerful 3.7 running HP motor provides significant air to multiple power tools

 

I know a car can be painted with a 21 gallon compressor, probably even smaller. you would need to rest while the compressor builds up so it might slow you down or you can break down the jobs into sections like 1 panel at a time, but unless you're not patient it is possible. I've heard the same tripe from other people about needing 2,000,000,000 gallon compressors at a minimum but it's not true a 21 gallon is plenty. the only thing is you won't be able to use guns that require a lot of air, plenty of low air guns though including the $500 tekna prolite

 

Thanks, that was the gun I'm considering

 

the prolite comes with 2 aircaps, one for normal use and the te10, I think it's called. that's the low air cap. advice for these guns say 29-30 psi, it must be for the normal air cap because but I've been running into sandpaper rough base coat with that pressure, just remember if using the low air cap reduce your basecoat PSI to 20 and turns wound out to 1.5, somewhere around that, I'm still testing. with clearcoat 29-30 psi for that cap is also too high. try 24-25, and start testing, fluid probably should be 2- 2.5 turns, again still testing those setting but those will get you into the ballpark, and ALWAYS 1 fist length from spray surface, put your fist down like your grabbing a cup, a fist is not very far, maintain that distance across your passes. and ALWAYS use a test piece like a curvy plastic interior molding piece from the junkyard or an old hood, never start on your workpiece, test panels first. also you must wear goggles and open your eyes and watch the spray land on the surface, as soon as it starts flowing out that will tell you your speed for your passes, open your eyes!

 

also people say the copper and the quickclean models spray better than the prolite, I only have experience with the prolite though so maybe do research on those 2 guns i mentioned

 

Thank you! Appreciate it

 

Hey about the 1 fist distance that I mentioned. I've been testing and it is what was recommended to me but I have found it is too close and causes tiger striping on the basecoat. I have written notes on what my settings are so if you don't need them ignore this but from my testing this is what works for me. hopefully it helps someone out:

Devilbiss Tekna Prolite settings
Cup only ½ full to prevent spill from lid hole, check hole on top of cup lid for blockage, clear if blocked. Gun will stop working if hole is blocked
fan 100% open than close it down a little otherwise spray fan pattern may be distorted (some guns have this problem. tekna prolite might be excluded)

Basecoat: 20 PSI, 1.5-2.5 turns fluid, about 1.5 - 2 fist distance (about the length of a thumbs up hand signal), medium (normal) speed pass

Dry sand paper rough basecoat is caused by dry spray using too high of a PSI and too much distance (3-4 fist) from spray surface. You cannot use 29-30 PSI on the prolite. Reduce pressure to 20 PSI and 1.5-2 fist length away from spray surface. Fan all the way out than close down a little bit. 1.5-2 turns fluid needle.

Use tack cloth to wipe between basecoat layers but make sure it’s completely dry before wiping, be careful of edges or tack cloth will get caught.

On last coat for metallic colors do not let last coat fully dry than pull tip further away from panel and do a “dust” coat to lay metallic flakes correctly.

Do not spray edges from underneath or exactly parallel to edge or it will overspray onto the bottom side of the panel. Spray close to parallel to get as much of edges as possible

Only do the edges on the first coat, if you keep doing the edges on 2nd and 3rd coats it will build too thick

Clearcoat: 30 PSI, about 2.5 turns on fluid needle, about 1.5 fist distance (about the length of a thumbs up hand signal), 2-3 times slower than normal medium speed pass

29-30 PSI works and flows well. You can try 20 PSI or higher to experiment, but use a test panel.
Do not spray all the edges first otherwise they will dry too quickly and cause a hard visible edge. Spray the edges as you move along the panel while the clear coat is fresh, it will allow it to blend into the layer. Spray edges at an angle, but not exactly parallel otherwise the bottom of the panel will get overspray. Only spray the edges on the first coat, if you keep doing the edges on 2nd and 3rd coats it will build too thick on the edges. Reducer is not needed, these settings will achieve a glass finish. DO NOT get too close to the spray surface or it will cause basecoat to tigerspripe, at least 1.5-2 fist length. Metallic colors REQUIRE an activator and on the last coat wait 30-60 minutes to dry before adding clear coat. About 1-3 capfuls. Clearcoat requires you to Move 2-3x SLOWER, keep eyes wide open to see when the droplets start to flow out like water. Do not get too close otherwise it will get restricted and start to pile up, 1 fist length is too close unless you move with very fast passes. The further back you are the slower you must move your passes. Eyes wide open and watch for the fluid to start flowing out, that will determine your exact pass speed. If you can’t see the spray land on the surface you will never master how to apply clear coat. If sweating STOP, wipe off sweat with a paper towel from your pocket, it will get over panel and ruin it. If sweat lands on the panel get the tip of a paper towel and try to absorb the sweat without disturbing the clear coat under it. Let the panel dry overnight and wet sand the whole panel with 400 grit with random orbital sander, dry panel and wipe with final wipe and re-clear entire panel

On last coat you can try to move a bit slower for a smooth glass finish

Again always test all of the settings on a test panel such as an old hood. Strip the paint on the panel and reuse it over again