Air compressor size

[Keeperfaith]

Hello,

I'd like to know the gallon size of the air compressor any of you use who do Cerakote/Duracoat.

I have a 26 gallon compressor but at 80 PSI, I run out of pressure very fast and have to wait for the pressure to go back up to 80 PSI.
This of course is used to Aluminum Oxide blast the gun parts before painting. So it takes me way too long to blast parts especially larger parts (barrels, etc).

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[ericuda]

Sounds like you have an economical single stage compressor which is not suited for blasting. Instead of the gallons of the air compressor you need to be looking for the cfm at x psi of the equipment you are running. Not sure of your blasting equipment but i would say you would need a compressor capable of 15 or so cfm at 90 psi to run your equipment for hobby purposes.

I have an 80 gallon 2 stage ingersoll rand that i purchased years ago from craftsman and have had very good luck. Produces 15.8 cfm at 90 psi and works good for hobby sand blasting of car parts.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

Look for high CFM, not necessarily tank size, or Max PSI rating.

Cubic feet per minute is what counts for sand blasting, or air tools.
In fact, it's about the only thing that counts.

It has to be able to pump it in faster then your blaster or air-tool is letting it out of the tank in order to keep up.

rc

 

[BBBBill]

^^^^^^ ericuda nailed it. For blasting you really need volume and pressure which is pretty much the realm of the two stage. Even for some painting, especially if it is the older style paint guns. Airbrushes will work OK on a single stage.

 

[Blue68f100]

Paint guns vary a lot on how much air they need. Most air tools use 3-4 cfm while some HVLP paint guns use 18-22 cfm. You use to be able to size compressors by using 3cfm/hp. But since most are twisting the number using peak you can throw that at the window.

Need to look at the specs closely to know what your getting these days. Since your going to use it for blasting too, that will be the higher cfm/psi usage.

 

[Keeperfaith]

Great info, I really appreciate it guys.
Thx

 

[LRShooting]

Youll definetly need both volume and CFM for blasting. We have a rather large 80 gallon air compressor with 2 stage compressor that helps tremendously when it comes to blasting in the few times Ive used it. We really only got it for the ability to run large air tools and using air wands for cleaning off the shop floor and equipment when something breaks.

Probably a little much though depending on your use, so I would say high CFM before capacity. Capacity doesn't mean anything if you pump can't keep up, but it does help reduce the needed CFM a little because it gives you a short window of time before your pressure drops too much unless you are constantly pulling air out.

 

[Brass2grass]

I run an 8 gallon Kobalt compressor at 30psi when dura coating using a badger airbrush. I have my stuff blasted at an auto body shop down the street.