I'm looking to set myself up a small paint booth/area in my basement, mostly to do my own work, on car/bike parts. Not looking to make money, just save a little when I decide its time for a color change on this or that. Already have a compressor that I think would fit the bill nice, 10gal, ~6cfm@50psi. What else do I need to start painting? And what types of sprayers are out there that I should be looking for?

I'm definitely not a painter but I think you will find that your compressor is a bit small. With only a 10 gallon tank, it's gonna be running all the time trying to keep up.

blue star wrote:
I'm definitely not a painter but I think you will find that your compressor is a bit small. With only a 10 gallon tank, it's gonna be running all the time trying to keep up.

+1

As far as a sprayer, Warden had really good luck with a $16 Harbor Freight sprayer. Success lies more in prep and planning than anything.

blue star wrote:
I'm definitely not a painter but I think you will find that your compressor is a bit small. With only a 10 gallon tank, it's gonna be running all the time trying to keep up.

I agree. I got a deal on a 30 gallon 150 psi compressor at HD for $200. I bought my hvlp gun and accessories at Harbor Freight ~$50 total. Get the gun stand, makes it really easy to mix/pour paints. Just get a decent box fan and furnace filter and some good plastic sheeting (.7 mils i think) and your good to go. Oh and dont skimp on lighting. Im no pro by any means but this setup worked great for me.

I got a 60 gal 11cfm compressor for $400 at Menards. It runs my sandblast cabinet too (which I found to be a great tool in painting my own parts). I can't see a 10 6cfm working. I had a 20 gal 6.5cfm that just didn't work.

I agree with the others the compressor is a bit small. When I first built my paint booth in my shop I used a whole house fan to draw out the fumes and always had dust and grit in my paint to sand and buff out, then I had a fellow on a paint forum suggest that I pressurize my booth and that was the ticket. I wish I could remember who it was so I could thank him. What I did is install two 25x25 filters in the wall with a box fan behind each turned on medium speed blowing into the booth and one box fan in the window sucking out on high. This moves enough air to clear the room at a pretty good rate and allows me to exit the booth without sucking in any dust or grit. My booth is 15'wide x 24'long x 9.5'high and this is plenty of air movement, so on a smaller booth you wouldn't need so many fans.

Ok, I was hopeing I could use the compressor I've got to start, but I guess we will see about that. I am looking at the sprayers from hf also, glad to see someone else having good luck with them.

Not sure what you want to spray paint wise but a basement is no place to spray unless you have an adequate ventilation/filtration system in place. Do you have any appliances that could cause explosion hazard should you use volatile material? Proper use of respirator too. Not bein a smarta$$ just making sure you realize there are dangers.

blue star wrote:
I'm definitely not a painter but I think you will find that your compressor is a bit small. With only a 10 gallon tank, it's gonna be running all the time trying to keep up.

Ditto, and with the compressor running all of the time the moisture is going to be elevated in what air you have available. You can use the 'compressor' portion, but you need more capacity, perhaps a 40-60 gallon tank. You also need a way to dry what air you have. What alot of shops have done, is vent from the center of your tank, into a 4" diameter cast iron pipe, capped on both ends. In the upper cap you have the air outlet, in the bottom a drain. The difference in temperature causes the moisture to condense out. Do this along with an inline dessicant pack type dryer.

As far as just getting started HF has a paint gun pack, all HVLP, but there is a detail gun, and as spray gun. It isnt that expensive. Also you need to look and see if they have some different tips available. I'm planning on installing a garage type air system, with the above but just havent got around to it yet.

Just remember that moisture is your enemy. There are alot of site's out there that can guide you in the right direction, as far as air system installs.

As far as learning to paint, find an old salvage hood to practice on, I did this and painted it many many times at varying angles to the point where I got comfortable. And remember the important part to a paint job is the prep work prior to the paint.

Damon

IMHO, that's a very small compressor for painting. You'll need a filter to trap condensation or you'll risk water getting trapped in the paint hopper which will come out with the paint. That will create a mess! Here's a link to a forum where compressor moisture is being discussed.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/water-problem-air-compressor-115341.html