Can you Paint a Car with a 30-Gallon Air Compressor?

We have talked about the right air compressor and paint gun, which work the best for painting. But in specific, we never talked about the tank size suitable for painting a car entirely. Although most experts recommend using a 50-60 gallon compressor, it is not ideal for everyone to spend this much money.

One of the most common compressors is the 30-Gallon Air compressor. But, Can you paint a car with a 30-gallon air compressor entirely?

In this article, we’ll explain if a 30 Gallon tank size is good to go for painting cars. Apart from tank size, we’ll explain certain factors to consider (CFM, PSI, etc.) while getting a suitable air compressor. Also, you’ll learn some steps to use an air compressor to paint a car.

Can you Paint a Car With a 30 Gallon Air Compressor?

Yes, you can paint your car with a 30 Gallon air compressor, but it will need at least 2-sections to paint it fully. It is not a small compressor tank, but still, for proper and good finishing, it will need more pressure.

For professionals, a 30-Gallon compressor is small; usually, it can handle painting a vehicle, and a large car or van will require more pressure.

For painting a car, you need a lot of air. You need a large air tank compressor that will generate a lot of pressure to allow you continuous use without refiling, and it saves time. Medium size and full-size cars use more air, so they need a large gallon air tank.

Mostly a 50-60 Gallon compressor is recommended, especially for professionals, as they not only need to paint one car but more. It can paint the entire car without the need to refill the pressure.

Now that you’ve understood the air tank capacity, it’s time to understand other factors.

CFM Rating Also Matters A lot!

Most spray guns have at least 10CFM working, so you need a compressor with at least 12-15 CFM to cope with a spray gun. CFM is important as it generates the air pressure in the compressor and allows the pneumatic tools to work easily with it. Always choose a compressor amount exceeding the spray gun requirements.

Do Check PSI

Before starting, you need to set your air pressure, but how much is suitable? Mostly general spray guns will need a minimum of 15psi with base coating and clear coats, and it can rise to 25-30 psi. A 28-19psi can give you a clear and great pressure flow to paint a car.

However, some HVLP spray guns will need at least 40 psi. So the best thing to do is to make sure to have a compressor with at least 90-100psi or more always to have enough pressure build-up.

How to Paint a Car with a 30 Gallon Air Compressor?

Painting a car with a 30-Gallon tank compressor requires some steps, which helps in efficient and great working. If you are using a compressor with your spray gun for painting a car, then you will need to perform it in these steps:

1. Select Your Paint

Choosing which color you will use for painting a car is important. Good paint will help you achieve finishing on your car. However, if you use normal paint, it will not have a clean and beautiful finishing. Also, it will not give a new look to your car.

Most of the time, experts recommend “waterborne and solvent-borne paints.” Why? Because they are designed to last on the vehicle surface. General and common paint are not a good idea for car painting.

2. Clean your Car Surface from Old Paint

This is the most important step as it ensures your car’s finish looks clear and plain, trim and clean all the rust from the surface of your vehicle, sanding or sandblasting is required to remove the imperfections on the car.

You remove all the other layers to give the new paint an even place and use sandpaper in a circular motion on the whole car to remove fine particles.

3. Prepare your air compressor

According to the required CFM, PSI, set your 30-Gallon air compressor: But first, attach your compressor with your spray gun using a hose: A hose should be good enough to not leak from the pressure.

After attaching, switch on the compressor, let it build up its pressure, and start using it. Use your spray gun in the vertical or horizontal direction: Mostly diagonal, use is recommended from 6-10 inches far.

4. Final Cleanup

Final cleanup means if any part of your needs any other coating or working, does that after that: detach your compressor and spray gun. Remove taping and clean the car using other tools if required.

Can you Paint a Car Without an Air Compressor?

Can you use paint on a car other than using an air compressor? Yes. You have three different options if you don’t want to use an air compressor to paint your car:

Airless Paint Sprayer: It pumps paint through a hose to the gun without using compressed air. It is faster and accommodates both thick and thin paints.

Handheld airless paint sprayer: portable and can spray various materials from thick and thin.

HVLP turbine: uses electric power and generates air to work with HVLP. It is almost the same as paint spray quality.

Benefits of Using an Air Compressor for Painting a Car

Suppose you don’t want to use an air compressor with your spray gun. But using an air compressor with a good capacity air tank allows you to work faster and helps in spreading paint swiftly.

Its great capacity allows you to work consistently without rest, and it saves time. The compressor provides an even coating with consistent airflow and provides good finishing.

Best Air Compressor for Painting a Car

Compressors make your painting process quick and time-saving. Many brands offer great compressors for painting a car. The air compressors listed here are some of the best, quiet, and most capable compressors you can use to paint a car.

• Senco PC1010 Hotdog Air Compressor
• California Air Tools 8010 Steel Tank Air Compressor
• Master Airbrush Air Compressor Airbrushing System
• California Air Tools 10020C Ultra Quiet
• DEWALT Air Compressor – HandCarry with Wheels
• WEN Oil-Free Vertical Electric Air Compressor
• CRAFTSMAN Air Compressor
• PORTER-CABLE Air Compressor
• DEWALT Pancake Air Compressor
• Makita MAC5200 3.0 HP Big Bore Air Compressor

We’ve reviewed these compressors in a separate article. We encourage you to check Best Air compressor for painting cars.

Conclusion

Painting a car is not an easy process, and you need a large compressor with a great quality spray gun. Usually, the experts recommend using at least a 50-60 Gallon with at least 12-15cfm air compressor for car painting. However, if you have a small air compressor, you can still paint a car, but you need to do it in small sections.

Most people feel a 30-gallon compressor is enough but can you paint a car with a 30-gallon air compressor? Is it enough? No 30-gallon compressor is considered a small compressor. Although, it can paint a car but not in one go.

FAQ’s

How Many Gallon Air Compressors Do I Need to Paint a Car?

How many Gallons are enough to paint a whole car? If you want to paint your car in one go and do not wish to waste your time, then at least a 50-60 Gallon air tank compressor is recommended. It will ensure enough generation of CFM for the spray gun to work efficiently, and it can work continuously without needing to rest and will save you 30-40 mins.

Can you paint a car with a 25-gallon air compressor?

To use a compressor with a 25-Gallon air tank, you will need to drain your tank after every 2-3 passes of the car. It is a small compressor compared to what is recommended by the experts, and mostly large compressors are recommended for painting a whole car.

Can you paint a car with a 26-gallon air compressor?

Although a compressor ranging from 20-30 Gallon is also considered a small compressor for painting a car, it is not impossible compared to a 3-10 extremely small Gallon compressor. A 26-gallon compressor can work in the section starting from the base coating.

It will perform the task but in 2-3 sections.

Can You Paint A Car Using A 5.6cfm Compressor?

Is a 5.6cfm compressor suitable for painting a car? Not. Your compressor at least needs 12-15cfm. Then it can generate enough pressure for the compressor to use a spray gun with it easily and efficiently. Most of the spray guns have 10cfm, which tells that you need a compressor with more than 10cfm to use it with a compressor.

Can you use a 3-gallon air compressor to paint a car?

While painting a whole car, you need to do it continuously, which a 3-Gallon air tank is not capable of. It is an extremely small compressor for this kind of heavy-duty work, and it will take forever for you to paint a car. Also, a 3-Gallon compressor will not have features to handle a spray gun.

Can you paint a car with a 6-gallon air compressor?

Painting your car with a 6-Gallon air compressor? No, it is not a good idea. The 6-Gallon air tank compressor is considered a small compressor, and it is not capable of painting a whole car. It will take more than 29 hours with this capacity compressor because it will run out of pressure and will need rest.

Can you spray a car with a 50l compressor?

A 50litre air compressor tank will be considered a small tank, and it will run out of air while you are painting your car. You will have to wait to get it to refill, and waiting for it to build up pressure again is time-consuming. You need at least a 100litre air tank.