Compressed Air is the Key to Spray and Sandblast Equipment

Have you ever run into issues spraying where your pattern all of sudden decreases or paint is not atomized well? Have you ever been sandblasting and all of a sudden you cannot clean the surface as fast or at all? Both of these questions are intended to show you the consequences of not having the appropriate amount of air for your spray and sandblasting. With issues such as poor spray pattern, blast pattern and speed problems, inability to spray, or difficulty getting a good finish resulting from not having enough air it seems important to learn about how we can properly choose an air compressor for a production facility.

Air compressors come in single and two stage compressors, the difference between them lies in the volume of air a compressor will provide. Volume is the critical component in industrial finishing. Both a one or two stage compressor will provide the correct pressure, however volume is what allows finishing equipment to properly operate. Two stage compressors provide approximately 4 times the volume of air per horse power that a single stage compressor does. A single stage compressor typically provides 1.5 CFM per HP while a two stage compressor will deliver approximately 4 CFM per HP. In spray applications it is typical to need 20 plus CFM for a single spray gun. With sandblasting it can take up to 200 CFM or higher, it is all based on the size of the sandblast nozzle. You can easily see how quick an air compressor becomes the backbone of blasting and painting. The important thing to remember is CFM is not PSI. CFM is what’s most important to painting and blasting, and the amount or CFM of air needed will vary based on the equipment that is to be used.