Size compressor needed for spray painting ?
 

Plan to repaint vintage plane with dope. Compressor size needed?
Thanks

RE: Size compressor needed for spray painting ?
 

The size of the compressor is directly related to your choice of airbrush/gun. If you're using a small airbrush, you'll need way less air than a big HVLP gun.

RE: Size compressor needed for spray painting ?
 

It's all based on Cubic Feer per Minute. CFM

You need to buy the gun first and determine the required CFM to make it operate properly. THEN buy a compressor with MINIMUM 15--20% MORE CFM capacity than you need for the gun.

I've painted a few real cars. Back in my drag racing days. Trust me--you want MORE compressor than the gun indicates.

It's not just about tank volume. If you buy a gun that needs 4CFM and you have a 50 gallon tank, but the compressor will only do 2.5CFM--your okay untill the tank gets low and the compressor kicks on--it's all downhill from there. Untill the tank gets full again.

The compressor needs to be able to put out more than you need. That way, when the tank gets low--you can still squirt while the compressor runs and actually fills the tank while your squirting. This way, you can squirt as much as you want. If you have to stop and wait for the compressor to catch up and build the volume in the tank--you got serious overlap problems. Paint dries pretty fast. If you have to stop in the middle of a stroke and wait for the compressor to build back up--your paint is dry and when you start up again--it'll leave a bump where you have to overlap to get started again.

Hope this helps.