Airless painting: secrets and methods of painting with airless spraying. All about equipment and paint application techniques

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Tags:Choosing a spray gunAirless spray gunAir spray gun

During the process of car repair, from time to time there is a need to paint local areas or the entire surface. For this purpose, use a brush, roller or spray gun - airless or air.

The debate about which spray gun is more effective - air or airless - does not subside; each option has its supporters and opponents. The answer to this question is extremely simple - which spray gun is better depends on the nature of the work being performed.

Below we will look at what airless paint sprayers are, we will analyze the principle of operation of such a device and talk about which spray gun is best suited for a particular task. This information will help you make the right choice if the question arises about what equipment to purchase for your garage.

Painting a car using a spray gun

See also:

The best models of Stab spray guns

Types of painting

Surfaces are painted in different ways - with a brush, roller, sponges, as well as with special painting devices.

Large ones are difficult to paint with a brush or sometimes even a roller.

• All that is required is an automated process, which uses time ten times more economically and significantly reduces paint consumption.
• Spray painting was first used by the American artist, writer and sculptor Francis Davis Millett in 1892.

Spray painting is possible using air and airless methods using special, rather expensive equipment.

The best pneumatic spray gun Wester FPG-30 pro

• LVLP spray;
• tank – 0.6 l;
• weighs 0.6 kg;
• costs 2950-3200 rubles.

The tool is included in the rating of pneumatic spray guns, as it guarantees high-quality and accurate surface painting, regardless of the composition. Works with a wide variety of materials: metallics, acrylics, water-soluble paints, also suitable for nitro enamel, liquid putties, primers and other non-viscous coatings.

The device transfers about 90% of the material to the surface being treated. Even an inexperienced master can handle it. A spray gun with a metal nozzle and needle is not afraid of corrosion processes, is resistant to damage, and will last for many years.

It can be safely recommended as a household assistant in repairs, as well as for car painting.

Reviews

The convenient gun is suitable for both beginners and more experienced users. The trigger operates smoothly, making it easy to achieve an even spray. Using this model, you can apply various paints: nitra, pearlescent, acrylic and others.

• universal, works with almost all materials;
• economical consumption;
• advanced LVLP spray technology;
• mobility;
• corrosion resistance.

Against:

• When the compressor is connected, the procedure is accompanied by loud noise.

Features of air painting

For air painting, pneumatic or electric spray guns are used. The tank in them can be top or bottom located. Also, forced supply of paint and varnish material can be carried out using a pump. The consistency of the paint should be uniform, without lumps or foreign bodies.

• Otherwise, the nozzle with a small cross-section will become clogged.
• There are sprayers for thicker and thinner paints with different holes.
• The movement of the substance occurs under the influence of high pressure, which is created in the tank or in a container with a pump.
• Flowing out of the nozzle cross-section, the jet becomes rarefied and atomizes at lower air pressure.

Spraying occurs in two directions - in the center and to the sides along a small diameter. Air is supplied to the spray gun in two directions. The coating is smooth, thin, and beautiful.

But due to the not very high pressure created by the compressor or pump, the paint particles, not reaching the required surface, swirl in the air, creating a foggy haze, and fall to the floor. Therefore, paint consumption is greater than with airless painting, although the quality is higher.

Correct airless spraying technology: how to apply paint without drips

Correct pressure is responsible for uniform distribution without smudges. Simply put, if the pressure is incorrectly adjusted, the paint will lie unevenly and may even leak. Pressure adjustment must be made before each job, as well as when changing paint. Here's how it's done:

1. Find a surface that you can paint without fear.
2. Hold the nozzle over it and try to apply paint.
3. Evaluate the result. Torn edges and gaps in paint indicate too little pressure.
4. If the paint is applied too thickly and leaks, the pressure is too high.

Keep the nozzle perpendicular to the surface to be painted throughout the entire process. If you tilt it forward or backward, the paint will be applied unevenly, and this can lead to smudges or weak staining of the area.

It happens that even at the highest pressure, the result of the work is still terrible - the edges are uneven, and gaps are visible on the painted surface. This problem can be corrected by changing the nozzle - take a nozzle with a smaller hole and test the pressure level again. The narrower the nozzle hole, the higher the pressure. Likewise, at the lowest pressures, leaks can occur if the nozzle opening is too narrow. Change it to a wider nozzle.

Another important point is that nozzles can deteriorate their performance over time. If you notice that the edges of the applied strip of paint are not straight, but rounded, this indicates that the nozzle is worn out. This drawback is not particularly important if you are painting the entire surface, but if you need an even and clear stripe, replace the nozzle with a new one.

Application areas of air painting

The air painting method is used where it is necessary to create a thin, in most cases glossy, beautiful surface:

• In the manufacture of furniture,
• Wooden windows,
• Doors;
• For painting cars,
• Buses,
• Passenger carriages.

Airless painting principle

For painting large flat industrial surfaces, the airless method is best suited. Using special equipment (for example, Graco, Wagner), the paint is supplied under high pressure (about 530 bar, 1 bar - 0.987 atm.) into a kind of spray gun and sprayed with a fan.

• Moving at high speed, all the dust particles of paint purposefully reach the surface to be painted.
• There is no fog, which ensures much less paint and varnish material consumption.

Airless spray guns can spray thicker paint, which saves solvent and time, since there is no need to apply multiple layers of paint.

Equipment selection criteria

When choosing a model, you need to pay attention to the diameter of the nozzle. It should be of such a size that a torch with a diameter of up to 80 cm is formed. A larger diameter is found in professional models, but they consume a lot of paint - 200-500 ml/min. Non-professionals are advised to choose a device with lower consumption; the power of such devices is 400-1000 W.

Important parameters of spray guns include the ability to spray paint material of acceptable viscosity. For water-based mixtures this figure is 50-80 Din.

Equally important for ease of use are the following criteria:

• comfortable handle;
• low noise level;
• the presence of a flexible nozzle attachment;
• Possibility to adjust spray power.

Devices that meet the listed requirements perform well in repair and construction work.

Where is airless painting used?

The airless painting method is used mainly in construction for repair and finishing work. This method is universal for applying paint to the interior and exterior of houses, roofs, fences, garages, warehouse metal structures, large tanks for liquids, and freight cars.

• This is a very effective way of painting cargo ships, barges in shipbuilding.
• When producing windows and doors, a primer is applied in this way.
• Airless spray guns are of great importance in the work of organizations ensuring fire safety.
• Fire retardant coatings are characterized by a fairly thick consistency.
• Airborne sprayers cannot be used to apply them.

. The high pressure of airless spray guns is the best way to apply flame retardant, viscous substances.

Device

The design of the unit consists of the following elements:

• Aluminum or plastic housing;
• Filter;
• Nozzle holder;
• Nozzle;
• Material supply hose;
• Electric drive;
• Safety system;
• Fuse bracket;
• Lever;
• Swivel mechanism on some models.

Airless spray gun device

Advantages of airless painting

The airless painting method allows you to reduce the time required to complete the job by tens of times.

• When painting large surfaces, effort is saved many times over. Getting the job done becomes much easier with an airless spray gun.
• Material savings are ensured: solvent - an airless painting apparatus works with liquids of different consistencies, so there is no need to constantly ensure that the paint is liquid by adding solvent. With a thicker paint coating, an even layer is formed, for which it is not necessary to apply several layers.
• When using an airless spray gun with high pressure, all drops of paint adhere to the surface being painted without being released into the atmosphere. There is much less pollution of all kinds. No mist is formed from parts of the paint. It is easier to work without inhaling spray particles.
• High spray speed prevents air and foreign particles from entering the paint.

An electric paint sprayer does not require a compressor to operate.

Paint sprayers, spray guns, paint blowers, paint throwers

In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GSE), published almost half a century ago, a spray gun is called “an apparatus for spraying ... colorful compositions.” From the article dedicated to spray guns, you can find out that they come in manual and electric types.

Dictionaries define a spray gun and a spray gun as synonyms, adding to them a paint blower, a paint thrower, and simply a spray gun and a spray gun. In English, the expressions paint air brush, paint spraying machine, paint spray gun (or, if we are talking about a pneumatic spray gun, ─ pneumatic spray gun) are used to denote a spray gun. That is, literally “air brush”, “painting spray device” or more brutally ─ “painting spray barrel”. The latter in Russian “transcription” sounds like a paint gun or spray gun due to its external resemblance to this type of small arms.

Let’s not forget about airbrushes that spray paint and varnish materials with extreme precision due to the small size of the nozzle diameter. Thus, an airbrush has a nozzle diameter of less than 0.5 mm, while “ordinary” paint sprayers have ─ 1.3, 1.4 mm (for enamels), 1.7, 1.8 mm (for primers), more than 2 mm for putty.

Paint sprayers are the most important component of painting equipment used in the process of spraying paintwork materials.

The term “spray gun” (“paint spray gun”) refers both to the painting apparatus as a whole (for example, in airless spraying ─ to the sum of devices, including a paint container, pump, drive, spray gun, nozzle tip, pressure gauge), and to a gun with a nozzle tip directly “responsible” for the spraying process.

Difficulties and disadvantages of airless painting

The result of painting is not always aesthetically pleasing: excessive layers of paint are possible and it can slide off. Thickened layers are formed and fine-grained elements appear.

It is necessary to select the right nozzles with holes for a coating of a certain consistency so that it does not flow or form clumps.

• Equipment for airless painting is expensive. If it is necessary to use it, you must contact specialized organizations that professionally use such technical means of coloring.
• Difficult maintenance of airless painting equipment.
• Solvent consumption during complex and time-consuming washing of equipment after work is completed.

Preliminary atomization is used using special devices to obtain powder particles.

Before painting large surfaces, you need to think about what the result should be, make the right choice between air and airless painting, and select the appropriate equipment. Only in this case the work will be completed quickly and efficiently.

Photo of airless painting