Spray Gun and Compressor

[Mike Hill]

Need some advice on what HVLP Spray Gun to buy and I will probably have to buy a new compressor. I have a PC 2.5 SCFM @90 PSI "Pancake" compressor for my nailers, but I do not think it will work with the needs of a good spray gun. Basically I spray lacquer filler and finish. I am sure in the future I will want to spray other stains and finishes also.

So if anyone has any suggestions, they will be appreciated. There may be a "combo" deal out there on a gun and compressor to save a little money, but in the end, I want a great finish on what I build.
Thanks in advance
Mike

[Steve Clardy]

The porter cable PSH1 gun will work with the 6 gallon pancakes.

[Dick Heifner]

Hi Mike,
I was just looking at this one @ amazon.com, It's the Porter-Cable PSH1 gravity feed. At $ 83.00 its worth a look. Got good reviews.

Dick

[Steve Clardy]

Hi Mike,
I was just looking at this one @ amazon.com, It's the Porter-Cable PSH1 gravity feed. At $ 83.00 its worth a look. Got good reviews.

Dick

Yes. I've got-----4 of them

[tod evans]

mike, it ain`t cheap but for a decent dependable set-up i`d suggest going with a binks m1g gun and a quincy 18gal single stage compressor. if you think you might run additional air tools in the future then upgrade the compressor to a 60-80 gal 4 cylinder two stage, either a quincy or an american made ingersoll-rand,(read the lable!) all of quincys units are made here......
i`ve killed lots of the cheap tools in my days and in the long run it`s more cost effective to cry once......02 tod

[Mike Hill]

Hi Mike,
I was just looking at this one @ amazon.com, It's the Porter-Cable PSH1 gravity feed. At $ 83.00 its worth a look. Got good reviews.

Dick

Dick and Steve: I think this looks really good and seems to be a great value. One concern is that in the manufacturer's description it says: Avg. SCFM req. @ 40 PSI: 8.5. High volume low pressure technology. So my questions is, 8.5 SCFM @ 40 PSI equate to my Pancake Compressors 2.5 SCFM @ 90 PSI? In other words if I lower the pressure to 40 PSI, will it deliver the needed 8.5 SCFM. Possibly I am worrying about nothing. I guess I could give it a try and worst case, buy a compressor if I need to in the future.
Mike

[Curt Harms]

Dick and Steve: I think this looks really good and seems to be a great value. One concern is that in the manufacturer's description it says: Avg. SCFM req. @ 40 PSI: 8.5. High volume low pressure technology. So my questions is, 8.5 SCFM @ 40 PSI equate to my Pancake Compressors 2.5 SCFM @ 90 PSI? In other words if I lower the pressure to 40 PSI, will it deliver the needed 8.5 SCFM. Possibly I am worrying about nothing. I guess I could give it a try and worst case, buy a compressor if I need to in the future.
Mike

Hi Mike

I have a craftsman portable with output similar to your pancake. I tried a PSH1 on it just for grins. The compressor would maintain tank pressure, but it didn't shut off at all. I suspect to do this much would kill the compressor. I have used a critter gun with this compressor and it worked fine. I wouldn't use the critter gun if I were expecting a museum-quality finish but it works better than you might expect for what it is. I used it to spray some acrylic enamel on exterior doors and it worked out quite well, just don't use more air pressure than neccessary or the critter will create a lot of overspray. The PC PSH1 does work better for typical woodworking finishes.

Curt

leevalley(dot)com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20048&cat=1,190,43034.

[Allen Bookout]

Mike,

I saw this report from a guy that did a personal test to see why his pancake compressor would run the PC PSH1 gun. Here is what he reported using a flow meter.

"I have about 60' of 3/8"ID hose between the compressor and the gun.
I filled the system, set the gun to 40 psi with wide spray pattern (highest air consumption) and pulled the trigger:
The gauge read 3.4 SCFM! This explains why my little compressor can keep up with this gun but makes me wonder what the CFM rating for this gun really means."

I do not know about the accuracy of this report but I am just trying to add information.

I have seen reports of people adding an extra tank to store more air.

Allen

[Steve Clardy]

Dick and Steve: I think this looks really good and seems to be a great value. One concern is that in the manufacturer's description it says: Avg. SCFM req. @ 40 PSI: 8.5. High volume low pressure technology. So my questions is, 8.5 SCFM @ 40 PSI equate to my Pancake Compressors 2.5 SCFM @ 90 PSI? In other words if I lower the pressure to 40 PSI, will it deliver the needed 8.5 SCFM. Possibly I am worrying about nothing. I guess I could give it a try and worst case, buy a compressor if I need to in the future.
Mike

My guns are usually used in the shop. I have my own cabinet shop.
I also do custom staircases when time permits.


Edit. I run 25# air at the gun. You don't need 40#'s with this gun.

I use the same guns, with a 6 gallon pc pancake compressor, to spray staircases with.

I have never ran out of air. Yes it runs a lot, but keeps up with the gun.

[Mike Hill]

My guns are usually used in the shop. I have my own cabinet shop.
I also do custom staircases when time permits.


Edit. I run 25# air at the gun. You don't need 40#'s with this gun.

I use the same guns, with a 6 gallon PC pancake compressor, to spray staircases with.

I have never ran out of air. Yes it runs a lot, but keeps up with the gun.

Steve: This makes sense. I plan on going with the PC Gun and if I am not happy with my compressor I can always buy a larger model later. If you use it in your shop, that's a good recommendation. I am sure it will not get that much use here in my home shop.
Mike

[Steve Clardy]

Your compressor will be fine with small projects.

I have two 60gal compressors in the shop.
The pancake is used on the jobsites.