Air Compressors

psi would be the required pressure needed to atomize the paint into the air stream.

cfm is that amount of compressed air needed per minute (cubic feet per minute) for continuous application/operation.

Try to Google "Kobalt" + the model number, you should be able to come up with the CFM of the gun.

A general rule of thumb is you want a compressor with a cfm rating 130% of what the gun requires.

The cfm is normally expressed as "normal cubic feet" of air and relates to the volume displaced by the piston in the cylinder.

29 psi is about 2 bar. That is the pressure you will need to apply to spray with that gun. It will also use air to (suck up - or) transport -the paint and spread it the way you want it.

Your gun uses air for paint transport and a second circuit for a air knife to direct the paint - horizontally or vertically, depending in which position you turn the spread part of the head.

You can spray with little thin paint and use less air than with a little thicker viscosity paint and more air.

The CFM is what the compressor must be able to deliver for continuous use. You can also spray with a smaller one, after filling up a bigger tank.

14,5 psi gives you 1 volume of air and each 14,5 psi adds the same quantity.

As you see, time is important too

cfm is the cubic feet per minute that your compressor produces. psi refers to the pounds per square inch of air required to push the paint through your gun properly, 29 is probably the minimum required air pressure. The size of the compressor is not as important as the size of the holding tank. I spray paint all the time and use a devilbiss compressor, 4 hp electric with a 30 gallon tank, the cfm is 11.4 that the compressor produces, it will maintain 8.8 scfm @ 40 psi. It works well for painting, but not for running pneumatic tools, however, if this same compressor was hooked up to a 1000 gallon tank it would increase my working time considerably due to the volume of compressed air at my disposal. After my initial wait for the 1000 gallon tank to be filled up to 125 psi, of course. You didn't mention if your Kobalt is an HVLP gun, high volume low pressure, if it is it will use much less air than a standard conventional cup gun. I would recommend something like my setup. The small compressors with small tanks, like for running nail guns are probably not going to keep up with a spray operation.

PSI and CFM = pressure and volume of air

I use a Binks style pot gun that is NOT an HVLP. It uses 2-4 CFM at up to 60 psi and requires a 2 to 3 HP compressor to keep up with it.

The higher pressure is for thicker paints. Thinner finishes such as stains require less. I spray lacquer and stains around 30 psi. Enamel paints depend on how much I thin it out. I keep 2 guns around. One for color (enamel paint) and the other for clear (lacquer and stain). This way if I fail to clean the gun perfectly I don't have to worry about a slight New Holland Blue tint to my Cherry stain.

You need the CFM value to be able to solve your problem.

The maker usually specifies this value with the required PSI for atomising and moving the paint through the nozzle.

The only other way to get the CFM is by trial and error OR someone experienced with spray guns or this particular model.

I am not. Sorry.