California Air Tools 10020c Ultra Quiet Oil
This is the ideal option for enthusiasts who dont want to overpay for an air compressor theyll just use for light bodywork.
Were talking about those who repair cars as a hobby and anybody else who enjoys periodic undertakings, such as painting once a month or at weekend and only for a few hours.
Its oil-free, which makes its maintenance easier and less expensive, has a respectable 10-gallon tank and can provide 125 PSI pressure.
Pros
- The wheels are not very sturdy
Cfm Cubic Feet Per Meter
CFM rating is a very important factor CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. This is the measurement of air that is produced at a given pressure. Spray guns need continuous airflow, and this means you want to look for a model with a high enough CFM rate to meet your guns air requirements.
How many CFMs do you need to paint a car? Typically, spray guns work best between 80 and 100 CFM. This means you need a compressor that has a CFM rating of 4 to 19 for the best results.
Best Air Compressor For Painting Cars Reviews Of 2022
Latest Update On: March 6, 2022 | Article Write: Ramon Chavez
Can you think of an auto body repair shop without having an air compressor? No, never. An auto body technician always wants to get the most compatible air compressor for the repair shop.
Now, tell me, are the compressors for painting, and other types are the same? You know they are not the same. You also know painting a piece of metal or wood is not the same thing as painting a car. The outlook, appearance, and especially the finish of the paint of the car greatly depend on the air compressor. For getting the brand new paint finish, you should definitely have the best air compressor for painting cars if you want.
Do you have any pre-selected compressors for painting cars? We dont know. We definitely appreciate your decision, but we just request you to review the compressor again before the final selection because it is a very significant item.
We know there are many air compressors found in the market, and many of them are good enough. But you want to get only that piece which gives you the expected result. And definitely, that has to be compatible according to your needs.
Now you need to find out the perfect match that can satisfy you. Dont worry you can easily get a superior quality painting air compressor from this guide. Even you may found your expected compressor as weve only included the best air compressor for painting here.
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Which Type Of Air Compressor Do You Need For Car Painting Right For You 2020
Latest Update On: December 29, 2021 | Article Write: Ramon Chavez
If you are looking for an air compressor to paint a car, you should consider some facts. You know that air compressors features are similar to pumps. They reduce the volume of air and thus increase the pressure that helps at your work. While in need of car paint, it requires high pressure and some unique quality. So, you have to choose a perfect air compressor that fulfills your needs. And based on the demand, finding the actual size is not easy. Lets go through the features to choose the best air compressor for painting cars.
Contents
How Do I Paint My Car With A Small Air Compressor

Smaller air compressors have a smaller tank, so you must refill the tank several times for a full-vehicle color painting. Therefore, you have to paint your car in parts, but on the same day.
You may end up getting asymmetrical paint on your car, as different parts of your vehicle will have a different shade of paint which will ruin your whole effort.
But here are a few tips to achieve better paint on your car with a small air compressor.
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What Size Air Compressor Do I Need To Paint A Car
A compressor uses regular air and pressurizes it to power tools such as spray painters. More DIY enthusiasts are now taking their cars for painting at home with how-to videos, supplies, air compressors, and paint guns becoming easily accessible. Choosing the wrong size air compressor can be annoying because it may not provide enough CFM power to finish the job. The big question remains which air compressor size should I use for my car paint job?
Experts suggest using a bigger air compressor for continuous spray painting. You need at least 200 liters per minute for your air compressor to be effective. That means you should pick an air compressor that delivers up to 7.5 cubic feet per minute at 40 pounds per square inch .
With lots of air compressors available in the market today, it is challenging to choose the best air compressor for Panting a car. Here is an exclusive look at tips that will assist you in selecting the right size of your air compressor for your auto painting car project.
Tips For Painting Your Own Car
Before we go on to talk about a few of the makes and models you can buy, lets consider some of the problems and pitfalls you might get when painting a car. First, this requires a different type of approach to, for example, painting a room or protecting a fence. You need to pay attention to detail in car painting, and also use the correct type of paint.
If you are familiar with the subject this will not be a problem for you, but it is worth reading all you can about spraying cars before you tackle your own.
Preparation is super-important when you are spraying a car, and you need to make sure you get right down to the bare metal if you are to get the best results. Applying the correct primer is also part of the job and will bring you the best results, so ensure you have the right advice on how to do this to the best effect.
Remember, your car will need a number of coats if it to look as good as you want it to, so be prepared to take the time needed to do the job correctly. It is all too tempting to rush through any painting job car or otherwise but this approach will never get you the best results. Time, car and attention are all you need to know about providing your car with the coats of paint it needs to look the part.
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Air Compressors That Are Ideal For Automotive Spray Applications
Chicago Pneumatic QRSM 20 HP TM Rotary Screw Air Compressor This is a versatile machine designed for industrial applications like automotive spray painting. Its easy to install and maintain. Heres a look:
- Horsepower: 20 HP
- Tank size/gallons: 132 Gallon mounted tank
- CFM delivery: 59.9
- Why Its better: Low noise and high efficiency make this a game changer around the shop.
Porter Cable Pcfp02003 Pancake Air Compressor
This air compressor manufactured by Porter Cable is called a pancake compressor because the air tank is squatty and round kind of like a pancake. It has an air flow delivery of 2.0 SCFM and a 90 PSI pump.
The three and one half gallon air tank will be sufficient to help you in any job you take on. They can power any of your air tools, spray guns, and also air up tires and inflate pool toys and balls.
These compressors are especially handy if you are working inside a home because they are small and light so they are easy to reposition, and if you are working on a roof these air compressors are small enough to go up on the roof with you.
There is a quick coupler that is installed by the manufacturer to increase the ease of connecting your air hoses and protecting the ends of your air hoses.
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On A Budget: California Air Tools Ultra Quiet And Oil
First in our guide to the best compressors is this affordable, but still effective option from California Air Tools. This piece of equipment has been designed with ease of use and quiet operation in mind.
It only produces 60-decibels of noise, which is a real industry low and takes just 165 seconds to fill the 8-gallon tank, meaning you are not left standing around with anything to do and can get on with the job at hand quickly.
Thanks to the fact it does not rely on the use of oil, there are lower costs and less maintenance involved in running it and it can produce between 3 CFM at 40 PSI to 2.2 CFM at 90 PSI.
Your Air Spray Gun And Paint Compressor Checklist
As weve already established, ensuring youve got the adequate CFM and volume in your compressor tank to do the job consistently is essential. However, despite all your best efforts and preparations, you might find that youre still facing problems with air pressure.
If you are struggling to get the results youre looking for, theres a checklist of things to go over to ensure youre getting optimal performance from your spray gun and air line setup.
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Best Air Compressor For Hlvp Spray Gundewalt 27 Gal 200 Psi Portable Air Compressor
Where a small air compressor succeeds in mobility, it often falters when it comes to power. This DeWALT compressor is larger but has wheels so maneuvering it through a worksite is possible. Depending on how many standard cubic feet per minute it runs at , it can handle powering an HVLP spray gun.
Though its larger and more powerful than some hot dog compressors or pancake compressors, reviewers noted that its still fairly quietand even quieter than a few pancake compressors out there. This is part in thanks to its oil-free pump.
This unit is very easy to wheel around and the tires make it easy to move over most any reasonable terrain, wrote a buyer. Its an air compressor, so it is never going to be real quiet however I found this unit much quieter than my small 2 ½-gallon pancake compressor Overall I love it! I paired this with the 50 Dewalt retractable air hose coil and bought several pneumatic Dewalt tools .
Specifications
Best for: Paint sprayer, plasma cutter, die grinder, and other tools
Maximum pressure: 200 psi
Have You Checked The Air Compressor Requirements For Spray Painting

There are three critical measurements to consider when compressed air spray painting. The first is pounds per square inch , the second is cubic feet per minute , and the third is tank size. As you can guess from the “low pressure” part of HVLP delivery, you will not need much pressure to get the job done, but you still need to ensure you have a high enough PSI to ensure consistent delivery.
The CFM measurement is arguably the most crucial factor to consider when choosing your compressor. CFM measures the air volume produced by the compressor per minute and the quantity of air the compressor can have at a given PSI. The CFM rating of your compressor should be higher than, not equal to, the CFM requirements of your air spray gun otherwise, you risk both pressure drop and volume loss, which are the two leading causes of insufficient coverage. As alluded to above, the “high volume” element of HVLP spray guns is a big clue that you will always require a larger compressor.
Tank size of compressors matters when it concerns spray painting. Tank size helps maintain a steady flow of air, and spray gun operation requires a constant flow of air rather than intermittent supply, as with many other pneumatic tools. Thus, your compressor needs to have adequate storage to keep up with the gun.
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Are Hvlp Guns Better
HVLP guns are, by far, superior to their conventional counterparts. This is because HVLP guns have a much higher transfer efficiency and use much less air pressure to operate.
That means more paint sticks to the surface that you are painting. That, of course, results in less cleanup and less waste. In fact, with an HVLP paint system, an experienced painter can achieve an efficiency of around 60%.
In contrast, conventional spraying cannot achieve a transfer efficiency any greater than 50 percent.
So, these new paint sprayers dont just use less air but they also apply more paint than a conventional paint sprayer. This is because HVLP paint sprayers have a much higher transfer efficiency than a traditional high pressure system.
For these reasons and others, we recommend only to use an HVLP paint sprayer when painting a car.
Top Pick Best Portable Air Compressor For Painting Cars
The charges of professional pinter for painting car is a few thousand dollars. And you can save those hard-earned dollars by bringing the best air compressor for home painting.
Good quality air compressors are compatible with spray guns in order to use them properly and get the most out of your job. Generally, we are required to find the perfect combination of spray gun and compressor.
Do not worry Were here to help you find the best air compressor for painting your car. Check out our top 10 air compressors for the painting below!
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Best Air Compressor For Auto Paintinghusky 20 Gal Vertical Electric
One of Huskysbest air compressor for painting options is this 20-gallon steel tank. Its equipped with wheels for easy transportation and a space-saving vertical frame, which differs from the classic pancake or hot dog compressor.
The tool is equipped with a high flow regulator knob, intake silencer filters, and a water drain valve. It recovers a bit slower than others, according to customers, but still provides a solid method of getting air pressure into a paint sprayer. Its fairly quiet, too.
Save your ears super quiet, works great, wrote a customer. Held up pretty good with HVLP paint gun to paint camper shell. Another person noted that they no longer need to wait til 10 am to paint, I can now start earlier without disturbing anyone.
Specifications
Best for: Paint sprayer, air hoses, drills, nailers, and impact wrenches
Pressure: 165 psi
Cover Your Whole Body While Painting:
Before painting your car, you must wear a full-body paint suit to cover your entire body.
Because the respirator is not enough to tackle the dangerous isocyanate chemicals from entering your body.
Isocyanates are highly reactive low molecular weight chemicals. This Isocyanate is used in paints, varnishes, and other auto-body repairing stuff.
Therefore, make sure to cover your whole body using a full-body paint suit, nitrile gloves, safety goggles, and of course, a respirator.
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What Size Air Compressor For Painting
It depends on what kinds of painting jobs you will be involved in, painting a car, painting furniture, airbrush painting, or want a new look of your bikes. Most of the painting job painters use an HVLP spray gun for getting shiny factory-like finishing.
When it comes to choosing a compressor for car painting, and this is your daily task in your garage. It would be best if you considered a 60-gallon air compressor, which one equipped a 5HP motor and capable of producing a minimum of 10CFM.
If you are a hobbyist painter and involve in weekend painting at your home garage, a 6-10 CFM air delivering capable air compressor is a perfect fit to handle your criteria. It would be an excellent decision to choose an air compressor with a 3HP motor and CFM rating above 6.
Noise And Noise Reduction
The compressor noise is an important environmental issue especially when you are working in small and closed areas. You should select the quiet air compressor for spray painting.
You will also find super silent air compressor but they are quite expensive and if you work in a quiet area then you can add sound dampers such as fiberglass insulation, mineral, wool, packed fiber. Here you can find easy ways on How to Make an Air Compressor Quiet.
Also, check for
- Intake silencer filters can silence air intake activity into inlet holes.
- Expansion chamber mufflers can also block air compressor sounds.
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Best Compact Air Compressorcraftsman Compressor Combo Kit
Jobs that dont require the heavy lifting of a huge air compressor can get done adequately with the use of something more portable, like CRAFTSMANs pancake compressors.
This small compressor also comes with a brad nailer, finishing nailer, and stapler, which is ideal for contractors who do more than one job. Though its not the loudest compressor some buyers commented that echoing caused when indoors makes it significantly noisier.
Fills up fast, noted a customer. The refill rate was quick enough for me to spray paint the underside of the car with an anti-rust coat. Another person added, Works great for brad nailers and small tools, painting, and standard tires, though they pointed out that it wont handle larger tools.
Specifications
Best for: Paint sprayers, nail guns, tires
Maximum pressure: 150 PSI
Best Air Compressors For Painting Cars

Auto Body Toolmart offers several outstanding air compressors that are ideal for painting cars. Here are two of our best-sellers:
- The Ingersoll Rand 7.5HP 80 Gallon Vertical Air Compressor features an electric 2 stage design, a CFM of 24 and 175 PSI, meaning it runs at high volume and high pressure for maximum power.
- The Ingersoll Rand Rotary Screw Air Compressor is a 120 gallon, 15 hp compressor that delivers 150 PSI of compressed air. It features both fixed and variable speed options and is designed for maximum efficiency and productivity.
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