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silverdoctor

Compressor experience

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Lots of views have been shared and here is mine. I do my work in the basement. The Sears and Rowbuck Craftsman $100 compressor has been used for 4-5 years with no problems. However, I recently purchased an Iwata "studio" compressor that is very quiet. It doesn't produce enough air flow for my Iwata Eclipse but it is perfect for the Iwata HP B. I spray pearls, primers and non-thinned air brush paint with no problem. The quietness is great and its appreciated by the "boss." If I have a lot of work to do, I roll out the S & R unit.

ken

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Bob: The guage is mounted near the compressor and the hose is a small diameter possibly pvc tube. With the HP-B, the pressure is in the low 40's at the guage. With the Eclipse, the pressure drops to low trip (35 psi) and stays there. The Eclipse would probable work ok with "properly" thinned paint but overall I would rather use the Hp-B. My guess is that the pressure is about 20 psi at the bigger brush. One of the techs I called suggested using a bigger diameter needle in the Eclipse, seems like the wrong direction to me (vs. thinning the paint).

ken

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Ken, with my Eclipse HP-BS (stock .35 needle, gravity-fed) and my Harbor Freight airbrush compressor (0-40 working pressure, 56 max.), I never thin regular Createx or Parma paints, including pearls, and I seldom spray at more than 30psi, usually a little less. While discussing painting with a good friend who has a nearly identical set-up, I mentioned that after thoroughly shaking my paint, which he also does, I take the additional step of straining all my paints through a piece of pantyhose placed between the bottle-top and the cap. We concluded that this step might well contribute to the ease with which I spray pearls, and other paints custom mixed with additional pearl pigments, etc.

It does make a big difference whether your brush is a siphon feed or gravity feed, as all paints, and particularly pearls spray with noticeably less pressure through gravity feed guns.

Dean

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The compressor I use is a "no-name" model that resembles a Badger 180 and develops 50 psi max, 40 psi working. It's a freebie that passed through several hands and I'm not looking this gift horse in the mouth - but I'll buy a tool compressor when/if it dies on me! Something 68KingFisher said about pressure pulsing on small compressors stuck in my mind and I want to try a tool compressor with air tank. You don't know what you're missing until you upgrade and look back on things in retrospect.

Silverdoc, you might take a look at the Iwata's diagram to see if it has an internal pressure control that might be adjusted to a higher output. Iwata airbrushes specifiy a max pressure of 45 psi so their compressors are probably geared not to exceed that, but sometimes.....

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Dean and Bob: This unit has a bunch of hose between the moisture separator and pump. They say its to minimize pulses. I love this compressor with the HP-B.

I had trouble with the gravity fed Eclipse with the Superhide primer. I threw my last pair of panty hose out several years ago. (bad joke?) Dean, it may work better with the superhide to thin it rather than taking out some of the larger pigment. It covers really well. If I was smart, I would run a test.

Someone on the site made a jury rigged tank out of PVC pipe. This might help some with the eclipse. I would have to figure out how to attach the fittings.

My S&R compressor works fine but really noisy. Also, I have to rationalize my purchase of the Iwata unit.

Bob, thanks for giving my post a boost! Someone on the site bought a small compressor and caught an eyefull. thought it would be useful to post this experience. I will check out the pressure setting.

ken

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