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Dang!!! It's always something!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dang!!! It's always something!
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
The compressor lives. Drained the accumulator of what water was in there, tightened up a joint I could see a faint oily cloud coming from yesterday, tightened up all the other joints I could reach, topped up the oil (it wasn't low, but added just a bit to make-up for any losses), and adjusted the pressure cut-off switch so that it cut off again. Not 100% convinced it's making quite the same noises as before, (probably paranoia) but it's working again for now and shouldn't go bang.
Compressor and body update:
The compressor kept running because it was loosing compression, so it couldn't quite make it to the cut-off pressure without a lot of effort. The motor isn't rated for continuous operation (they are normally rated for a 50% duty cycle maximum) , so I monitored the pressure and turned it off manually when it was high enough. One run was normally more than enough air to spray a coat on a guitar.
But the pressure achieved was getting less and less and less, so there's a major issue with one or both compressor pistons. Seeing as a new replacement compressor unit for the compressor would be quite expensive, and it is oversized for my needs and pretty noisy, I decided to order a new Hyundai oil-free compressor via Amazon but direct from Hyundai with a receiver that's half the size of the current one (25l vs 50l) and is much quieter.
That was back on the 12th August. I'm still waiting for it to be sent out. Apparently the Hyundai shipping system software was updated and it lost orders in the process. I was one of those who suffered. I have sent several 'where is my compressor' messages, and they keep saying it's been dispatched and giving me a courier reference number, they've even phoned me to ask if I had it as they had two bits of info saying both it had been sent and I had it, and that it hadn't been sent.
But the tracking number still just tells me the courier hasn't got it yet. So I am not happy as good spraying days are dwindling and we have a spell of decent weather at the moment. I've sent a final message saying I want it now and that they are still showing lots in stock and I could have it on Friday if I ordered today on Amazon. So where's my effing unit then?
The bass body keeps suffering from small bubbles and pits in the paint. I've been retouching bits with a paintbrush and have just about got those defects filled and the paint level, but I also keep sanding through on a couple of edges. So I really need to put a couple of coats on top of the manually applied cover-up, but I can't do it until the new compressor arrives.
Frustration in abundance.
At least the neck is 99% complete, frets levelled and finish all polished.
Just the Hipshot string tree to add, and I can't do that until it's strung up to ensure the position is correct.
The Drop-D Xtender key looks a bit wonky, but that's because the plate it's on rotates and needs the string tension to keep the key upright.
Having worked on compressor maintenance for a few years, compressors can be a real pain if you don't understand a few precautions that you can take to make life easier and cheaper. Duty cycle in a compressor can be either the description of the compressor capacity or the motor. Duty cycles in reference to the motor of 50% means it runs for the same amount of time as it is off but when talking of the compressor capacity you can have 100% duty cycle and the motor only runs once as the reservoir has enough reserve to enable you to perform what ever you are doing in just one fill. Having halved your reservoir capacity can lead you increasing your motor duty cycle. I hope when you decided on the new compressor capacity you took into account the CFM, cubic feet per minute, required by your spray gun as that dictates what compressors CFM capacity minimum should be. If you get that wrong then you can expect to replace the unit quicker. The pressure that is delivered still has to be taken into consideration but when spraying you normally don't run at 100 PSI and is performed at what is considered low pressure. To help reduce running time for the compressor make sure all joins are sealed with some type of sealer. The less time spent tightening joins means more time using the unit so if you can reduce the number of fittings you have to loosen each time you use the unit the better. You should be able to get by with only loosening the fitting that goes into the gun for cleaning. The fittings are generally either a sealing thread or mating face type. Mating faces are either 2 faces that are the same angle, as in compression, or a tapered face with a round mating face. Both of these types you use a sealer. Don't ever use a sealer that hardens as any movement can break the seal and compressors can generate vibration that can make a hardening sealer useless. I always use a clay based product, I use Hawkins that comes in a green can, and you only need a smear over the full face as it takes up any irregularities in the mating faces and doesn't harden. Don't go crazy with it as too much is never good. Never use Teflon tape on compression fitting threads as the threads don't seal, the mating faces do. If the faces don't seal using tape on the threads wont help. If the fittings are tapered thread type then you use Teflon tape as it takes up the space between the 2 threads. Tapered fitting are known as self sealing but I have never come across one that seals as there are always clearance on the mating parts. Never overtighten either types of join as that is worse than having them loose as you can damage the sealing faces and they will never seal without some sort of sealer and may even need to be replaced. If you use the unit with loose fittings for a length of time that can damage the seals so whenever you use the compressor make sure all the fittings are tight, never assume, and your unit will be virtually maintenance free for a longer period.
Builds :
# 1 - Non PBG ES-335
# 2 - Non PBG Tele Thin line
# 3 - Non PBG LP
# 4 - Non PBG SG
# 5 - RC-1
# 6 - TL-1
# 7 - ST-1 Custom
# 8 - SGB-30 + Non PBG SG
# 9 - Custom JRM-1DC 12 String
#10 - Custom ST-1 with P90's
#11 - Custom TL-1 with 27" Bari Neck
#12 - Custom JZ-6 Jazzmaster
#13 - AG-1 Factory Second
#14 - Custom JZ-6 Bass vi
#15 - EX-1R Factory Second
#16 - AGM-1
#17 - EXA-7
My current compressor was bought based on my full-sized spray gun, (which I gave up on after my first attempt and got a mini-gun instead) and I made sure there was a good margin between the gun cfm and the compressor cfm. So with the mini-gun rated at half the cfm of the big gun, the compressor hardly ran when I was spraying.
The new compressor has a smaller receiver but is the 2/3 the cfm. A better match for the mini gun but still with extra capacity. Plus I’m normally only spraying for 2-3 minutes max at a time, with at least 15-30 minutes in-between sprays.
By cancelling the first order of the compressor and ordering again, the new compressor arrived yesterday (in the specified two days), and works well. It's a lot smaller and a lot quieter (old compressor with 50l tank shown behind the new 24l tank unit). You can tell it's on, but it's more like a quiet diesel car idling than a small pneumatic drill at 20 metres.
And as yesterday was a great spraying day, I applied yet another three coats to the body. It's looked rather like this for the past 3 months, so I'm really keen to get this finished!
Tomorrow I'm going to lightly sand down the roughest parts of the paintwork (it was basically flat before spraying to start with) and then spray some clear coats on top. I normally wouldn't clear coat over a solid colour, but I've now used up the last of the Sonic Blue, so if I sand through on an edge again then I'll need to buy another another tin of paint. So as I've got lots of clear lacquer available, some extra protection for the blue it shall be!
Looking good Simon and the clear will also give some extra protection. If all you are using is a mini gun/touchup gun that tiny compressor is all ya realy need. I did pretty much the same thing because after moving from a 4 bedroom house with a big back yard, a nice workspace in the garage and under the house to a 2 bedroom villa with a neighbor sharing a wall (so no noise in the garage) and my work space being a tiny courtyard. The 24l is almost silent compared to my 100l 3hp monster, and I don't need a 15 amp socket for it! Still spray quite happily with the free air flow when the tank runs out.
Glad to see you're moving forward again. Good news on the compressor situation too.
Is that a Direct Drive? You & Rabbit got me rethinking my 2.5HP, 50L, 155LPM unit. I don't use any air tools and haven't used my big gun since I got my Star mini-gun...
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
Dood, unless you have noise issues or your compressor is about to cark it, there is no point in changing your current rig. The larger compressor will run at a lower duty cycle and last longer.. save the money and use it to finish your guitarsOriginally Posted by McCreed
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Simon, that's looking great! Another reason I'm looking forward to eventually bulding my own shed will be to set up a proper spray rig so I can practise and hope to get quality like this.
I've got an old 25L that blows too much oil, and an older 50L that's buggered and will be getting turned into a forge. Oil free direct drive looks like the way to go for sure.
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