Do I need a pressure regulator?

Hi Karl, my advice would be yes you do need a regulator to get the level of control you need for mottled camo at that scale. Dropping down to 10psi gives me better control but I reckon anything lower than that is a bit iffy as atomisation starts to get inconsistent, but thats just in my experience . Normally I can find a pressure between 10 to 15 psi to do most jobs, occasionaly going up to 20 for larger areas or thicker paint. Your paint is quite thin so you should be able to work around 10 psi or thereabouts. You really need to experiment on some scrap to get a feel for how the pressure and paint viscosity are reacting with each other. What I do to find a good pressure is start with a really low pressure and slowly increase it between test sprays until you achieve a proper fine atomisation and that will be about the lowest pressure you can use with that particular mix of paint/thinner, at this point you know you can up in pressure but not less. Maybe I misunderstood your question but how do you know what pressures you are using now if you have no regulator?

Cheers...Snowy

Snowy, My compressor is a Werther 3, which has a gauge on the front.

Now it also has a small brass assembly to the side of the air output, and having looked at a regulator on the net this morning, I'm wondering if this is a regulator.

It would have been useful if the thing had come with instructions but it didn't, well none that were in English!!!

I shall have to go and have a play. If it isn't, looks like I'm buying a regulator.

Many thanks

Karl

Karl, I have had a look at the compressor you have and I am just guessing but I think the gauge on it is probably telling you the cylinder pressure and not the regulated pressure but I am not sure on this. Does the airflow change when you adjust the brass knob? If so, it is regulating the airflow out, but you won't know what pressure you are running out to your airbrush. The type of regulator I am more familiar with has a dial gauge to give you a fairly accurate guide to the set pressure. You could get one of these to fit inline and I would suggest one with an integrated water trap if you haven't already got one. The main thing is the result you are getting when you spray with a given pressure which you can probably already adjust by the sound of it. The dial regulator just gives you a visual confirmation of what that pressure setting is and makes it easier to get repeat results. The water trap is essential for most people to stop water droplets from ruining your paint jobs. Hope this helps.

Cheers...Snowy.

Karl if it's brass it is more than likely just an air valve, although the differences between an "Air Valve" and a regulator are subtle. A valve reduces a supply value by a specific amount. In other words, if you increase or decrease the supply pressure the output will change right along with it. A regulator, on the other hand, doesn't care what the input pressure is as long as it is high enough. It will always provide the same output pressure regardless of changes on the supply side.

Since a compressor motor assembly always produces the same volume and pressure of air, an air valve will usually work OK although not as accurately as a true regulator. If it's working for you, don't worry about changing it.

Thanks for the updates guys.

I have always assumed that the little braas bit was a relief valve.

I have just seen a regulator, including a small 0.33 litre tank which looks like it should do the job nicely. So I'll guess I'll be buying one next month.

Thanks

Karl