Paint?

[J P Stein]

Several months back. I bought a Harbor Freight touch up spray gun.....8-10 oz capacity feed cup. It was less than 15 bucks. It works fine as frog hair @ 40 PSI but that is really not my point here.

I also use Argon/CO2 mix for MIG welding. That got my mind to wandering.....don't take much these days..

Has anybody here ever tried using this compressed gas in lieu of a compressor for painting? I don't know the CFM capacity of the MIG regulator....which would be a game stopper if too low.

I figured this would be the spot to ask a dumb question before I start fooling around with some lash up to attach the regulator to the the gun.

Hay, it is either this or speculation if SammyG and Rweb are/were one and the same........

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by J P Stein

...Hay, it is either this or speculation if SammyG and Rweb are/were one and the same........

Cun't be...Rundy speels bettur than Summy

[stomachmonkey]

How big is your Argon/CO2 tank?

You'll run out of gas before the first coat is done.

[june82000]

No. I guess you don't have a capable compressor? When I spray I'm nowhere near 40 psi; closer to 20 actually.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk

[sammyg2]

How dense is the substitute gas, compared to JP I mean?
Serial it should work as long as the compressed gas has similar physical properies to air.
I dunno bout argon but nitrogen should be a no-brainer (webby) cause air is mostly N2, no?

Argon is denser, and is sposed to be a nert so no chemical reactions would be made during spraying, doan think that's an issue. Argon is soluable in water but not that much more than N2.

But it's 'spensive compared to air!
Seems like it'd be cheaper to affurd a good compressor after running through a couple bottles or argon.

[mattdavis11]

Using nitrogen takes the fun out of painting. After 1 beer, the paint is dry.

[LakeCleElum]

Seems like it would be:
1) expensive
2) Possible fire hazard
3) Might not mix with the paint and lead to problems?

What would the advantage be?

[oldE]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Seems like it would be:
1) expensive
2) Possible fire hazard
3) Might no mix with the paint and lead to problems?

What would the advantage be?

I wouldn't worry about the CO2 /argon mix being a fire hazard since they use one in some fire extinguishers and the other is inert.

Expensive unless you were painting very small bits.

Best
Les

[vonsmog]

I would say, go back to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap air compressor!

[David McLaughlin]

Lower the pressure and you may be able to do a little painting. Many airbrush artist use smaller Co2 tanks successfully. A 20lb tank will last a tee shirt airbrush guy at a fair for many days and that's at 70 PSI though a smaller tool. Don't know about the argon mix though; I'd use just straight Co2.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

LOL sammyg.
Now gotta run from that 'shielding welding gas' explosion now.
Made my day.

'Inert' means nothing affects it.
Not heat.
Not heat plus all the oxygen in the world (sub~18% and dropping).
Not a young Brittney Spears suddenly appearing in a male teenager's bed whilst undulating persistently.
Nothing.

OP's idea is a good one.

I'm just not sure of the technical advantages:
-The volume of air/gas flow needed for painting(pushing liquid) is huge, and the benefits of using an alternative to air would probably be negligible.
-Removing water is a must, unless the materials are water based/activated.

Still...Studies of oxygen penetration pared with long-term durability are still an unexplored subject in the materials world.