What Size Air Compressor For Painting House – Complete Guide 2023

Air compressors are used to perform many tasks, such as painting cars, inflating a tire, filling a paintball tank, blowing out sprinklers, operating a nail gun or impact wrench, refilling a Co2 tank, and much more. Interestingly, many people want to paint their entire house with an air compressor. One of our readers asked about what size air compressor for painting house? So in this guide, we will discuss in detail what size air compressor is needed for painting a house.

There are many different pneumatic tools that we can run with an air compressor. Every air-powered tool has different air compressor requirements. Therefore, to run each air tool, an air compressor must match the needs in every aspect. Air compressors produce compressed air generated by an engine or a motor. This compressed air is then used to spray paint your house.

Paint is sprayed with pressure on walls with the help of a spray gun and nozzle in very-fine mist liquid particles, which covers the walls with paint evenly coated.

Using an air compressor for painting house is a very efficient and time-saving method. Also, it covers every difficult-to-reach part of your walls very quickly.

Air Compressor For Painting House

A 10 HP air compressor, with 60 gallons tank size and a higher CFM around 20, with 40-45 PSI air pressure, will be enough to paint the 3-4 walls of your house. However, higher PSI is recommended for clearer paint. Also, you can’t paint your entire house in one shot, so paint your house room-by-room to get the best results.

Once you’ve decided on a color for your house, the most important thing is to ensure you have the correct-sized air compressor with all the required standards for painting your house.

What Is A Good Size Air Compressor For Painting A House?

The size and requirement of an air compressor to paint a house depend on multiple factors. For example, what size is your house? Do you want full-house paint, a few walls, or just touch-up work on a patch?

Below, we will discuss an air compressor for painting a house. We will discuss every aspect and requirement in detail.

– Tank size

– CFM rating

– Horsepower

– Air pressure

If you want to paint your house yourself, make sure to meet the following air compressor standards before starting the process.

Tank size:

The tank size of an air compressor plays a vital role in painting a house smoothly and efficiently.

You can’t paint your entire house in one shot, so paint your house room-by-room to get the best results. But smaller tanks don’t have enough air volume CFM (cubic feet per minute) to paint your entire room at one shot.

The paint gun will start to strain as the smaller tank will run out of air while you are using it non-stop, wishing to cover the whole room at once for smooth, clearer paint.

So, a smaller tank will need to be refilled several times for a full-room color painting.

Another issue while using a smaller 15-20 gallons tank for house painting is that your air compressor will get hot because of constant running. As a result, the compressor will start building water in the tank, which must be drained once in a while.

Drain your compressor after covering each room of your house to be safe.

How to drain your Air Compressor

First of all, turn off your air compressor and let it cool down for a few minutes. Now unscrew the drain valve of the air compressor.

 
It usually is a ¼ inch round brass fitting. You will find it under the belly of your air compressor tank. (as shown in the image below)

Open this water release valve by turning it in an anti-clockwise direction. You can turn the valve with a pair of pliers. You will hear a sudden sound of releasing pressurized air stored in the tank.

Wait until all the condensation and pressurized air bleed out. Once you are sure that all air is drained, now firmly turn back the water-release valve in a clockwise direction to close it back.

Leaving your air compressor tank pressurized while connected with the nail gun or any other tool can cause the moisture to build up in your tool too, which can lead the tool to rust.

Recommended Air Compressor Tank Size for Painting a House:

To paint the whole room at once without refilling, you will need an air compressor with a 60 gallons tank.

In a smaller tank, the air pressure and paint flow are stopped and start again and again. It leads to an uneven color coat resulting in a slight color variation on your walls after every refilled tank.

So always use a recommended tank size for smooth, even, and clearer paint.

CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute):

CFM (Cubic feet per minute) is the volume of air delivered in one minute from an air compressor.

Smaller tanks don’t have enough air volume CFM (cubic feet per minute) to paint the entire house in one shot.

Therefore, higher CFM (cubic feet per minute) is required to paint a house efficiently.

Higher CFM breaks the paint into very-fine mist liquid particles, then sprayed with a paint-gun nozzle to evenly cover the walls with paint.

Recommended CFM for painting a house:

Look for a two-stage air compressor that delivers around 20 CFM, which is required to have smooth and clearer paint on your house. Higher the CFM, the softer color you will get.

Higher air volume CFM (cubic feet per minute) is required to break the paint into very-fine mist liquid particles and quickly cover every difficult-to-reach part of the wall.

Make sure you are looking at the delivered CFM, as there are several different CFM ratings out there.

Delivered CFM is the actual volume of air that will reach your spray paint gun.

The tank size should be large enough to serve more CFM than the required CFM for painting a house. This excess CFM allows the compressor to have some time to cool down and prevent from overworking and heating up.

HP (Horse Power):

Horsepower (HP) is the amount of work that an air compressor can do. Higher HP does not necessarily mean it is better for every tool.

Recommended Horse Power for Painting a House:

A 10 HP air compressor is recommended for painting a house. However, higher HP air compressors may operate more efficiently and for other tasks.

PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) Air Pressure:

PSI (pounds per square inch) measures air pressure delivered by an air compressor. The higher the PSI, the higher the air volume compressed into a tank.

When painting a house with an air compressor, air pressure is less critical than CFM. Air pressure is measured to the rate at which pressure paint is delivered from the nozzle.

It is vital to obtain a higher CFM so the paint output will be very-fine mist liquid particles, resulting in a smooth and clearer paint.

Recommended air pressure for painting a house:

The recommended PSI range is between 40 – 45 PSI. But you need to set the PSI settings as per the operational requirement and personal feel.

Below, we are sharing the recommended PSI for different requirements:

– 15 – 20 PSI: For airbrushing, minor touch-up, wall shading, and thin finish materials.

– 20 – 25 PSI: Lacquers in particular for soft, velvet-like coverage.

– 35 – 45 PSI: Average spraying range for sealing and top-coating walls.

– 50 PSI and above: For water-based, lacquers may need this much pressure to paint an entire room at once.

How To Paint A House With A Small Air Compressor

Many air-powered tools are used intermittently, such as nailers, impact wrenches, pneumatic blowers, etc. But paint spray guns require a continuous compressed airflow from an air compressor.

So, to keep up with the spray gun, paint sprayers require a compressor with a large tank, preferably from 50-60 gallons and above.

Spraying paint is NOT a pressure thing, but a VOLUME of air.

Smaller air compressors have a smaller tank, so you must refill the tank several times for a full-house color painting. Therefore, you have to paint your house in parts, room-by-room.

You may end up getting asymmetrical paint on your walls, as different parts of your wall will have a different shade of color which will ruin your whole effort.

But here are a few tips to achieve better paint on your walls with a small air compressor.

You can paint your room in one shot with a small air compressor. But you have to keep your ear on the sound of the air pressure. So if you hear and feel a drop in air pressure, you have to adjust accordingly.

You have to refill your tank as soon as its pressure slightly drops. So throughout, your spray gun will receive almost even air pressure.

It will reduce the asymmetrical patterns on your walls and give a smooth and clearer paint.

To paint your entire room in one shot without refilling, you will need an air compressor with a 60 gallons tank.

Paint your entire room on the same day to have the same color, shine, and shade.

Never stop yourself from trying things. Whether you face some shortage of resources, there are always many ways to figure it out. Just do it!

Precautions to Follow While Spray Painting Your House

If you plan to paint your house yourself with an air compressor, there are several precautions. Therefore, make sure you follow the following precautionary measures before starting the painting process.

– Use space having proper ventilation

– Read your paint materials safety data sheet (MSDS)

– Must use a respirator

– Cover your whole body while painting

– Take care of any spills right away

Now let’s discuss these preventive measures in some detail.

Use space having proper ventilation

It is vital to make sure you paint your room in an open space with proper ventilation.

Automotive color paints contain hazardous chemicals called VOCs (volatile organic compounds). These VOCs are released in the air as soon as the paint can/bottle/container is opened. These harmful chemicals are tiny particles that remain in the air even after work for up to 4 days.

Therefore, painting in a closed or fully covered space may result in chemicals affecting your health badly. Let the room door open in your underground or basement area if you are doing it.

Turn on the exhaust fan if you have one in your basement area. Otherwise, try arranging some table/standing fans to release the chemicals outside your painting space.

Read your paint materials safety data sheet (MSDS)

Whichever paint you use for your house, always read its MSDS (materials safety data sheet).

This materials safety data sheet lets you know all the chemicals it releases into the air. You can then search those materials on the internet and the safety measures for that particular chemical.

This MSDS (materials safety data sheet) will also guide you about the thickness of the coat, optimal temperature of the environment, estimated drying time of the paint, etc.

Must use a respirator

When painting your house yourself, you must have to use a respirator. It’s a form of highest security from hazardous chemicals.

The respirator will prevent the toxic and harmful chemicals from entering your body through the lungs. It will filter out the air before breathing and keep you safe from hazardous chemicals from inhaling.

Cover your whole body while painting

Before painting your house, you must wear a full-body paint suit to cover your entire body.

Because the respirator is not enough to tackle the dangerous isocyanate chemicals from entering your body.

Isocyanates are highly reactive, low, weight molecular chemicals. This Isocyanate is used in paints, varnishes, and other auto-body repairing stuff.

Therefore, make sure to cover your whole body using a full-body paint suit, nitrile gloves, safety goggles, and of course, a respirator.

Take care of any spills right away

I recommend covering your floor around the painting space with some old newspapers. It will protect your area from any unwanted paint spots.

If you spill even a tiny amount of paint on the floor, stop painting and clean it up immediately. Otherwise, this spilled paint can give you a headache later on.

Also, make sure all the paint lids are tightly sealed after you’ve finished your painting work.

Air Compressor Paint Gun

For painting your house with an air compressor, you will need a paint gun and a nozzle. The air consumption is controlled by the paint gun you use, so it’s crucial which paint gun you choose.

You have to fill the paint gun with your desired color paint. AS DISCUSSED ABOVE, higher CFM breaks the pigment in very-fine mist liquid particles.

The compressed air from the air compressor pushes the paint from the air gun and is then sprayed with a nozzle attached with the spray gun to shower the paint on the walls.

It is vital to properly prepare the room’s wall surface for a professional and smooth painting experience.

How Much PSI Does A Paint Gun Need To Paint A House

Paint gun takes around a minimum of 15 PSI, whereas recommended PSI for clearer coats is around 40-45 PSI.

Spray Paint Gun Specifications

Before using the spray paint gun to paint your walls, make sure the paint gun matches your air compressor’s specifications.

Regardless of the air compressor capacity, a professional spray paint gun will be efficient with every air compressor. So it’s crucial to use a professional spray paint gun to paint your room.

Recommended Paint Gun for Painting a House:

HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) Spray Paint Gun offers a softer spray using a high air volume at low air pressure.

HVLP Spray Paint Gun is also recommended for painting smaller walls, bathroom portions, kitchen, or other small-detailing areas.

Recommended Nozzle Sizes:

Nozzle size depends on requirements and your preference. If your spray paint gun has interchangeable tips, you can determine the thickness of the coating and can change the thickness of the paint according to your requirements.

As for the standard nozzle size, below we are sharing the recommended nozzle sizes for different requirements:

– Nozzle size 1.4 to 1.6 for sealers and single-stage urethanes

– Nozzle size 1.7 to 2.2 for primer surfacers and heavy wall primers

– Nozzle 1.4 to 1.6 for basecoats spraying · Nozzle size 1.3 to 1.7 for clear-coats spraying

Conclusion:

To conclude our answer, what size air compressor for painting house, we must say that randomly picking an air compressor to paint your house will result in worse performance.

So always calculate your air compressor’s specs to match your paint gun requirements mentioned in your paint gun’s manual.

So to summarize, the recommended requirement you should look into for an air compressor to paint your house is 20 CFM, 40-45 PSI, and a 60-gallon tank.