Got a great (IMO) deal on a used compressor. My neighbor (never met the guy though) had one for sale in his front yard a week or so ago, so I stopped by this weekend to see if he still had it. Anyways, it's a craftsman 3hp 20gal compressor, 8.8cfm @40psi, 7.7cfm @90psi that runs fine but he had another one so didn't need this one.
Got it for $60 :D. Only problem now is I need my brother to run me a 220 line out to the garage for it.

Any recommendations as far as a decent impact gun, and any other tools that may be useful?

Buy a spare air tank and a chuck to take care of low tires with. I keep one in the back of the car on track days

A small detail gun with a regulator is good for paint touchup.

air ratchet's are nice, having an air cutoff wheel helps too.

Mikey bought the Huskey air tool set from Home Depot.

They are great, never gave any issues.

I have an Ingersol-Rand 3/4" Impact gun that I bought in 2005 that I have been in love with since. Granted I never use any 3/4" sockets - I leave the 3/4" to 1/2" adapter on but I bought it for its robustness and torque capability. Uses quite a bit of air though.

The second tool is a Snap-On 3/8 air ratchet. I do not know the model number off hand but it too was a great investment. Between the two tools it takes care of most of my needs.

For fabrication and other work definitely get an angle D/A grinder and an air drill. Not too pricey but last a lifetime if maintained.

I love airtools because they get colder during use instead of hotter like electrical tools. Heat=Enemy of electric motors.

2 tools you'll ever need... IMPACT and air ratchet. IMPACT, don't work on a 420a w/out it :) (make sure it has enough torque)

Originally posted by 420agreenvilleSC
IMPACT and air ratchet. IMPACT, don't work on a 420a w/out it :)

This

I have a Craftsman impact that is older than dirt but works perfectly.

Must haves (I need them all, and have used them all), but it depends on what you do..... In order of use:

Impact gun
cutoff wheel
DA
die grinder
Air wratchet (I personally prefer the feel of a regular wratchet)
air chisel

Check out your local sears or kmart. They carry a full line of craftsman, kmart prices are abit lower than sears. An both places sell kits for the air compressors.




1997 gs soon to be sold
1991 gsx awd soon to be bought

Buy an impact but with that small of an aircompressor, cutoff wheel will not function efficiently for more than 10 5 minutes. Air ratcher wont work efficient for more than 7-10 minutes.

DO NOT BUY A TOUCH UP GUN. The CFM is too low and you will have paint density issues caused by the varience of airflow and pressure drop.

Dont bother with a spare tank....that compressor is mobile enough to fill tires. Just buy a spare 50' hose.

Terry

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
DO NOT BUY A TOUCH UP GUN. The CFM is too low and you will have paint density issues caused by the varience of airflow and pressure drop.

Interesting I would have thought it would be ok for fairly small projects. I was hoping to attempt to reclear an evo viii wing with this compressor. I figured it wouldn't come out professional looking, but would be decent enough.

Well you can try it if you want. A cheap gun is less than 100.00. The other issue you are going to find is when you spray paint through a gun with a compressor, the air acquires a static charge as it leaves the compressor motor and it will pick up every little spec of dust in your air.

To make sure you dont have density or coverage issues, your going to need to spray the clear twice as thick and make sure you wetsand it down. Then hope you got the debris out of it. I have sprayed lacquer with my dual 60 gallon compressors and trust me, the dust and hair comes out of no where and into your paint.

My advice is to just buy a decent compressor for 500.00. Those little ones liek the 20 - 30 gallons are good for women who want to air up their tires or contractors running a nail gun.

BTW for painting your going to want a minimum of 55' hose and you will want to get 2 air/water separators. I advise you also get a spare remote oil filter mount and run the air fitting in and out making the filter a secondary filter prior to the hose. You want 55' of hose to allow the air temp of the air coming out of the compressor tank to stabilize.

Many factors will change the color and density of the coat your laying. Air Temp (both gun temp and ambient temp), Moisture (both gun air and ambient air), Air Flow, hose pressure and nozzle pressure.

I recommend running hardline with water drain traps in the line as well. I run 1 water trap 25' from my compressor. I have an air/water separator right off the tank and another 50' from the compressor with an air filter as well. The hose then couples in at the air filter.

Oil-less compressors also have the most poor CFM flow.

Terry

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
Well you can try it if you want. A cheap gun is less than 100.00. The other issue you are going to find is when you spray paint through a gun with a compressor, the air acquires a static charge as it leaves the compressor motor and it will pick up every little spec of dust in your air. To make sure you dont have density or coverage issues, your going to need to spray the clear twice as thick and make sure you wetsand it down. Then hope you got the debris out of it. I have sprayed lacquer with my dual 60 gallon compressors and trust me, the dust and hair comes out of no where and into your paint. My advice is to just buy a decent compressor for 500.00. Those little ones liek the 20 - 30 gallons are good for women who want to air up their tires or contractors running a nail gun. BTW for painting your going to want a minimum of 55' hose and you will want to get 2 air/water separators. I advise you also get a spare remote oil filter mount and run the air fitting in and out making the filter a secondary filter prior to the hose. You want 55' of hose to allow the air temp of the air coming out of the compressor tank to stabilize. Many factors will change the color and density of the coat your laying. Air Temp (both gun temp and ambient temp), Moisture (both gun air and ambient air), Air Flow, hose pressure and nozzle pressure. I recommend running hardline with water drain traps in the line as well. I run 1 water trap 25' from my compressor. I have an air/water separator right off the tank and another 50' from the compressor with an air filter as well. The hose then couples in at the air filter. Oil-less compressors also have the most poor CFM flow. Terry

Damn Terry that's a lot of info. Thanks. The wing is either getting recleared with spray paint or a cheap spray gun, I'm not going for show quality here, hehe. Sounds like you have a pretty crazy setup, I really have no need to go with (and spend the money on) a larger compressor at this point in time, I barely have time to be in the garage as it is.

Terry really needs to host his own Show on SpeedTV or something similar.

Buffer for sure, I use the shit out of mine. Well, not so much anymore that I have a brand new car but they are cool.

Originally posted by cs82685

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon Well you can try it if you want. A cheap gun is less than 100.00. The other issue you are going to find is when you spray paint through a gun with a compressor, the air acquires a static charge as it leaves the compressor motor and it will pick up every little spec of dust in your air. To make sure you dont have density or coverage issues, your going to need to spray the clear twice as thick and make sure you wetsand it down. Then hope you got the debris out of it. I have sprayed lacquer with my dual 60 gallon compressors and trust me, the dust and hair comes out of no where and into your paint. My advice is to just buy a decent compressor for 500.00. Those little ones liek the 20 - 30 gallons are good for women who want to air up their tires or contractors running a nail gun. BTW for painting your going to want a minimum of 55' hose and you will want to get 2 air/water separators. I advise you also get a spare remote oil filter mount and run the air fitting in and out making the filter a secondary filter prior to the hose. You want 55' of hose to allow the air temp of the air coming out of the compressor tank to stabilize. Many factors will change the color and density of the coat your laying. Air Temp (both gun temp and ambient temp), Moisture (both gun air and ambient air), Air Flow, hose pressure and nozzle pressure. I recommend running hardline with water drain traps in the line as well. I run 1 water trap 25' from my compressor. I have an air/water separator right off the tank and another 50' from the compressor with an air filter as well. The hose then couples in at the air filter. Oil-less compressors also have the most poor CFM flow. Terry

Damn Terry that's a lot of info. Thanks. The wing is either getting recleared with spray paint or a cheap spray gun, I'm not going for show quality here, hehe. Sounds like you have a pretty crazy setup, I really have no need to go with (and spend the money on) a larger compressor at this point in time, I barely have time to be in the garage as it is.

If all you want to do is fix the clear issue on the EVO wing....here is a simpler setup. Dont buy a gun for only one use....thats stupid.

Call a couple paint supply stores. You can get Urethane 2 part paint (just like what is already on the car) in an aerosol can for about 15.00 each. The catalyst is in the can and you activate it with a pushbutton on the bottom of the can. Get 2 cans and make sure you get enough coverage to polish the finish down. You will get fuzz in the paint so your going ot need to get a good cutting compound like Perfect-it III (32.00 last i bought it).

Go to Menards and buy a small pack of scotch-brite green pads. 3 pads for like 5.00. You will need ot scuff the entire spoiler to make the clear adhere properly. use the scotch-brite pad to do the scuffing till its all scuffed.

You want to wet sand the clear with an 800. You can use a 600 to work fast if your good with it but if you havent done it before use the 800 grit.

Then use the perfect-it III and a buffer to polish it up.



Terry