I have recently put a combination air filter, regulator and lubricator on my craftsman air compressor. Before I used to drain the condensate out tank once in a while but I noticed I was still getting condensate in my hose and I have been attempting to srpay paint my models : so this is why I bought this air filter. My question is if I put oil in the bowl which will be for air tools will I get oil int the paint . Or do most people drain all the oil out of the bowl before spray painting.. Thanks Flybye

You don't use a lubricator in a set-up for spray painting. The air tools are lubed
manually as needed, you don't want oil in the air.

FBD.

Thanks Dave, This makes good sense I guess I'll have two set ups. One for spraying and one for air tools which will include hoses and air filters on each but the one for air tools will include the lubricator. Is this what you do? Flybye

I just oil the tools manually, I keep the hose free of oil. That oil causes a lot
of fish-eye in the paint.....not good. []

Dave.

You'll still need to drain condensate from the tank regularly. The compressor will still inhale air with moisture in it, the moisture will condense in the tank, and if you let it build up, or don't drain the filter and the tank regularly, it will get through to the tool or sprayer.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

And when allowed to go to an extreme, can cause you to lose capacity. This is noted by increase in cycling of the compressor. Alwaysa good practice to manual drain the tank weekly.

I suggest that you take the oiler off and leave it off as basically suggested by Flyboy. It doesn't take much oil (perhaps even the little bit that is left in the system upstream of the oiler as a result of blowback during compressor operation) to cause all sorts of paint problems, and the kinds of air tools used by a homeowner and hobbyist only need manual oiling before even a full day of virtually continuous use - per the instructions on my air tools.

You may also want to have an air hose just for spraying. Even though you remove the oiler, oil will still be inside the hose that was attached to the oiler and could still cause problems.

I have never used an in-line oiler. All my airtools (impact wrench, hammer chisel, air drill, etc.) have a place to add a few drops of air tool oil and I make it a practice to just do that before each use of the tool. Even if there is no specified port to oil the tool, you can just put a few drops down the connector before attaching the tool to the hose. If using the tool for an extended period, I add a few more drops from time to time. That has worked fine for me for many years and I have never had a failure of a tool.

Best solution -- remove the oiler and manually oil the tools.. Thanks everyone, Flybye

yes you will you need to have a dedicated oil free line for painting or you can purchase some fish eye eliminator and mix with paint to eliminate oil contamination bubbles

Flybye, I've used a lot of air tools in my trade. An oiler just before the tail hose of the tool is best. A dryer at the compressor would be deluxe. Water coming through the line quickly washes out the oil you have dumped in the tool. A slow continuous oiling seems to be better for long tool life.