I hate to burst your bubble Jim, but I'm afraid that the compressor you're
looking at will be a little small for what you intend to do. I have had
several compressors over the years including several from Sears. As a
matter of fact, I still have an old three horse 120v portable Craftsman that
I use around the house quite a bit. It is good for powering most air tools,
blowing up tires, some light paint spraying (not HVLP) and such. I tried to
do sandblasting and painting cars with it, but I found that it just wouldn't
keep up. I finally broke down and bought a re-conditioned Devilbis 20 CFM
6HP 240v with an 80-gallon tank. I got it at Home Depot on closeout last
year for $500.00. It works fine, but for sandblasting, it is about as small
as I would want. I could easily have gone much larger with an Ingersol Rand
that puts out about 28 CFM, for about $1500.00, but I figured that for my
home work shop, it was more than I needed.
Sandblasting requires around 18 CFM minimum, to avoid having to stop
continuously to wait for the compressor to catch up. Most HVLP spray guns
require around 10 CFM or more. Don't get me wrong, you can do these things
with the Craftsman, but you will have to stop often, and the compressor will
be running all of the time, and building up moisture, which is death to
sandblasting and painting.
Another thing you want to stay away from is the oil-less compressor, like so
many of the newer ones are. They simply do not last. Get a piston type
with a cast iron cylinder, and it will last for years. I know you said you
require 120v power, but I can't stress enough that for what you hope to do,
a 120v motor won't be enough. You really need to figure out a way to run
240v power to your garage and get a bigger compressor. If your primary
driver is refinishing those wheels, you would be better off to pay to have
someone else do them. If you buy the Sears compressor, you will have a nice
little portable compressor good for general use around the shop, but you
still won't have your wheels blasted and painted.
BTW, $250.00 for sandblasting five wheels, and another $125.00 for painting
seems high to me. Here in the Houston area, I could get them all powder
coated (sandblasting included) for under $200.00 bucks. Shop around on that
and check with powder coaters. They have to sandblast it before they coat,
and usually they are surprisingly reasonable.
My advice to you is to look at the Campbell Housefield 60 gallon 6 HP
compressors with the 60-gallon tank that puts out around 11.0 CFM at 90 lbs.
These are available all over the place for around $300.00. They have a
two-cylinder cast iron compressor, and an upright design. It still is a
little small for sandblasting, but if you're not doing big pieces, and you
go slowly, it can still get the job done. It is a good compromise for the
home workshop without breaking the bank, and should give you years of
trouble free service.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your projects.
Regards,
Tim Slesak
41 GMC 3/4 ton
Jim wrote:
> Well after a year of nagging her my wife said OK to a compressor. This
will
> be a once in a lifetime buy...The one I am looking at is 6 HP 30 Gal
8.6/6.4
> SCFM at 40/90PSI - 125 max PSI. It is on sale for $259.88. I am
interested
> in sandblasting and HVLP painting.
> What do you think - is this compressor a good deal?
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