Airless spray equipment applies a variety of coating more efficiently than traditional rollers and brushes.
Airless paint spray equipment, or rigs, include an airless paint pump, a length of high pressure hose and an airless spray gun. This equipment differs from traditional compressor-based equipment because it pumps and sprays the coatings without the use of compressed air. Airless spray equipment features many advantages for the professional house painter. This equipment doesn't create the paint overspray as does a compressor-based system and it's designed to spray heavier-bodied coatings quickly.
Airless Paint Spray Equipment
Airless spray equipment is most commonly used by professional house painters. Airless rigs are easily transported in the back of a truck or commercial van. The equipment sets up quickly and can apply a wide variety of coatings. Airless paint systems are well suited to apply heavy exterior latex house paints and fine-bodied wood finishes. When painting a wall by hand, even an experienced painter can only apply paint at 120 to 150 sq. ft. per minute. An experienced painter can apply paint with an airless spray rig at more than 500 sq. ft.
Interchangeable Spray Tips
Airless equipment is so versatile because the high quality spray guns are designed to accept interchangeable tips. Metal tips are made with tungsten steel inserts, into which are carved a small opening or orifice. The tips are inexpensive and by changing the tip, a painter can change from latex to solvent-based paints in a few minutes. An investment into a single paint spray rig equips the painter to apply a diverse array of paints and coatings.
Matching Paints to Tips
Heavy-bodied paints and coatings, such as latex enamel wall paints and exterior house paints, require tips with larger orifices than thinner viscosity, oil-based coatings. As the paint passes through the tip under high pressure, the paint is atomized and coats the wall surface evenly in a fine mist. Because lacquer and alkyd oil paints are thinner, they require a tip with a smaller orifice. In every application, by matching the size of the orifice in the tip to the type of coating, a painter can create a perfectly finished surface.
Tip Size Nomenclature
Spray gun tips are described by a three digit number. The first number in the sequence represents the size of the fan that the paint covers as it passes through the tip. The second two digits are the size of the orifice in the tip in thousandths of an inch. Tips are labeled 415, 417, or 515 and 517. These tips spray an 8-inch fan and a 10-inch fan, respectively. The difference between a .015 and .017 orifice involves the viscosity of the paint. The .015 tip is used for lighter-bodied latex paints, such as flat latex and PVA primers. The .017 tip is better suited for house paints and latex enamels.
