Robert Matthews
(NC)
I am running a Craftsman Single Cylinder Oil Free 6hp 30 gal compressor (8.6 scfm at 40 psi 6.4 scfm at 90 psi.)
My gun is rated at 9 scfm at 35 psi, 12 cfm at 43 psi. I have used this set up for over a year with no problems.
In the middle of spraying the other day the pressure of my gun started to drop while i was spraying. I released the trigger.
When I pulled it again the pressure was there but only for a sec or two. Then it would drop to almost nothing and paint would barely come out of the gun.
Every time I released the trigger for a few seconds and then pulled it again the same would happen. I hooked another gun up and the same.
My blow nozzle does the same but not as drastically.
Why is this happening?
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Robert, it seems that something is blocking the orderly flow of compressed air to your HVLP paint gun.
I suspect that your regulator is failing.

That, or, the ability of the compressor to maintain flow has been compromised… something else is blocking the air, but I still think it’s the compressor regulator failing.
You may have a regulator problem, but since I don’t know what else you have in the discharge manifold of your compressor, that’s only a guess.
I would remove the regulator from the circuit and see if that made any difference to the flow to the gun. If you have another regulator, replace the existing one as a test, perhaps?
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