I'm not going to be able to work on my car at my grandfathers house for ever, but I've got very accustomed to having a well equipped workshop at my disoposal, in particular an air compressor.

Once my car is back on the road, it will be time to start buying my own tools. There are some very cheap compressors on the market from DIY stores. Is a cheap compressor going to be any use to me, or should I save my money till I can afford a good one?



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Drive it like you hate it

For painting I understand you need lots of air. You don't want the compressor running constantly. Check with a good supplier of auto paint and supplies: the guys who supply the body shops. A good shop will know all about air requirements. The one I'd like to have that would run air sanders, spray guns, and a sandblasting unit costs about $800, but it is top quality with a 60-gallon tank and a 4 cylinder pump. I don't know if I'll ever buy one like that though, but it sure is nice. The $100 machine won't be very good for painting. Check some dealers, Sears, etc. and see what you find. Quincy is one good brand, but there are many others. Check the way the unit is put together. You'll see big differences in quality.
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Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, M46; 86 240, 133k

If my friends and I pool our money we might be able to share a decent compressor. One of my hotrodding friends is thinking of aquiring someone elses unfinished Holden Kingswood project, which has a rebuilt motor and gearbox, and has been sanded back to bear metal and had all the rust welded. The catch is it is currenly just in grey base primer, so he's in the market for a respray.

I'm sure I could think of a reason to repaint my car, so that all the panels are the same shade. (There's white, and then there's white, depending on how much sun it's had and how many times it's been reprayed.)
I'd love to treat it to a clearcoat over the top when the project's finished.

Whether it would be worth the two of us buying a decent compressor I don't know. Mike needs to find a job first, in the meantime he's the best friend a brixter could ask for, and doesn't mind getting up at 6:00 and getting home after midnight when helping with my car.
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Drive it like you hate it

The "oil free" compressors are being sold by everyone these days. I guess they work, but they are noisy and get noisier as they age. The better ones have a pump with a crankcase driven by an electric motor with a belt between the two. There is a huge range of quality out there and I'm pretty sure you get what you pay for. A home-shop compressor might cost anywhere from $100 - $800, depending on what you want. The better ones will be much quieter per cubic foot of air pumped, pump much more air, run more different tools, last longer, and be more expensive. I'd get the best you can afford. You can upgrade later if you want to.
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Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, M46; 86 240, 133k

Would a $100 compressor be Ok for respray work, because that and blowing up my tyres is all I really want it for.
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Drive it like you hate it

You need to move a lot of air to paint a car. My brother had a shop that had a 6 HP compressor (dual stage) and it needed a new head in about two years.