Aztek compressor

The answer to "what compressor?" is as varied as you can imagine. It all depends on your budget, your work space and whether or not noise is an issue.

I use a cheap 3 gallon pancake compressor, but it is LOUD. Mine lives outdoors and I run a line through the wall into my spray booth. Serves the neighbor right for letting his swimming pool pump run all night! Added bonus is it can fill up tires and run a small nailgun when needed. It works so well that when it dies (I have no illusions about cheap compressors!) I'll go and buy a larger tanked Sears unit to replace it.

Some use a small compressor or they might go for a unit such as the Smart Jet from Iwata, or go for an even more expensive unit like the Power Jet. Badger, Paasche, Silentaire and Sparmax all make excellent compressors.

CO2 cylinder!  You can get a really nice professional set up for under $250 including a floor stand to secure the cylinder to.  That was my Xmas present to myself.

 

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I figured as much.  Serves me right for opting to go the cheap route.  Any suggestions on a good compressor to buy?

Scott is absolutely right.  Testors' Blue compressor has very little output, around 20 psi tops IIRC.  And that 20 psi is not while under load.  I saw one in action at a hobby shop airbrush demo hooked up to a Paasche VL.  Needless to say, the object being painted did not get much coverage and no one could figure out why.  Just kept my mouth shut on that one.  Some brushes need at least 20-25 psi to atomize properly and the blue sometimes doesn't cut it.  BTW, I bought that VL from that store for $10 bucks and rebuilt it for $5.00 ( parts sale at Hobby Lobby ) and it works like a champ @ 25 psi. Two days of lacquer soaking, an airbrush cleaning kit, and a new needle and tip is what saved it.  Long story short, the compressor sucked the acrylic paint in but couldn't spray it out and it dried inside and was put away "wet".

 

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Regulators, moisture traps, filters, oilers, fittings, etc. all cause a reduction in pressure.  Nothing is free, and anything that is connected inline is going to cause a loss of pressure.  In your case there just isn't enough left to go around.  Those little compressors don't have a lot to start with and you just don't have anything left after the pressure drop across the regulator.

Pressure is turned up and yeah, it only happens when the trap/regulator is hooked up. 

Is the weak air only when the trap/regulator is in the line?  It may be some problem with the regulator, if the air is otherwise OK.

It is doing that even after you turn up the pressure on the regulator?