What Size Compressor Do I Need To Paint A Car?

The answer depends on several factors. Based on the size of your operation and the types of auto painting you will need to complete, compressor criteria may differ. For example, full-vehicle painting will have more difficult requirements than a repair or touch-up job.

The list below will account for some of these more common applications:

• Tank Size: The tank size of an air compressor for spray painting cars makes a difference in the overall efficiency of the operation. Smaller tanks will need to be refilled, sometimes several times, in larger jobs such as full-vehicle coating. Smaller tanks may also introduce more variance in the pressure and flow of the paint, leading to uneven coats. Tank sizes of 50 gallons or more are typically recommended, while a tank size of 60 gallons or more will usually mean that an entire vehicle can be coated in one pass, without refilling.
• CFM Rating: A higher CFM is required to do the job of breaking up paint into the small particles that make spray painting the vehicle possible. A high volume of air will make the critical difference in making sure that paint is applied evenly and that the finished coat appears uniform. We will discuss PSI below, but a high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) compressor is usually sufficient to complete an auto paint job. Look for 2-stage compressors that deliver close to 20 CFM.
• Air Pressure: As mentioned above, pressure (PSI) is less important in an air compressor for painting cars than CFM is. The pressure rating indicates at what pressure the paint is delivered from the nozzle, which is less important than obtaining a proper atomization of the paint through high CFM. Look for a minimum of 15 PSI, with some applications, such as clear coat, better-suited to 20 or 25 PSI.
• HP: For auto painting, a 10 HP compressor will typically suffice. However, higher HP compressors may operate more efficiently and can be used for other tasks.