The Basic of

Airless Spraying
Types of Spray Painting
 Type Pressure Advantages Disadvantages
Air spray / Max 7 bar • Very good finish achieved • Poor transfer efficiency: 60% waste
Conventional • Good control ability (overspray)
• You can use small amounts of material • Slow application rate
• Can only spray low viscosity paints
HVLP Max 0.7 bar • Approximately 80% efficient vs. air spray • Slow application rate
(High Volume Low • Good paint saving • Low viscosity materials only can be
Pressure) • Environmentally friendly sprayed
• Far cleaner application, & less
maintenance
Airless Max 500 bar • Fast application - 200 to 250 M²/hour • Poor control
• Good transfer efficiency • Reduced quality of finish
• Application of high build coatings  Incapable of partial triggering
• High film build  Susceptible to “tails”
 Fluid injection hazard
 Spray gun tip wear
Air Assisted Max 400 bar •More control, high production rates  No partial triggering
Airless /Airmix / •Better transfer efficiency  Requires extra air hose
Aircoat •Better quality finish  Fluid injection hazard
• reduced wear on fluid nozzle and pumps  Susceptible to lower transfer efficiency
than airless due to improper setup of air
and fluid pressure
Electrostatic • Greatly reduced overspray  Spray equipment more expensive
• Paint saving  Can produce minor shocks
• Low booth maintenance  Electrostatics can be easily deactivated
• Labor saving and thereby become more inefficient
• Less spraying ability required  Ungrounded areas will repel coatings
 Requires good ground, <1 meg ohm
X70 Light Cart
X50 X40

X70 Heavy-duty Chart

 Why Plural Component Airless Sprayer?
• Almost 90% of today’s coating materials are plural components, but applied
with single component sprayer.
• Today’s “solventless” coatings are high in viscosity. When 100% solids
components are mixed, then cross-link to form a solid. There is no solvent to
act as a “heat sink” and slow down the reaction. Reaction is subject to heat
generation (exothermic reaction) that shortens an already short pot life. Larger
quantities generate greater heat, leading to shorter pot life. Plural Component
system are usually equipped with heaters to reduce viscosity.
• 100% SBV or solvent-free coating material:
– Epoxy: A two-component material that mixes a base (resin or epoxy) with an activator
(catalyst, hardener, or converter).
– Polyurethane: A two-component, fastset coating formed by reacting (or mixing) an
isocyanate with a polyol resin.
– Polyurea: A two-component fast-set coating that is formed by reacting an isocyanate
with an amine resin.
 Plural Component Airless Sprayer
The base and activator are pumped to a mixer manifold or
plural component spray gun separately. They are then mixed
and applied immediately to the work piece via the spray
nozzle.
Advantages
– Labour saving
– Material saving
– Guarantee of correct mixing
– Allows short pot life materials to be applied
Disadvantages
– Can be difficult to use
Plural Component Airless Sprayer
XP35 XP50
XP70

XM70
XM50
XMPFP
Fast Set Curing Plural Components Sprayers
Reactor E-30i

Reactor E-XP1

Reactor H-XP2
 Plural Components Sprayers Accessories
XTR 7

Gun Splitter XTR 5

Standard heater Remote manifold
(Viscosity Control) Hopper

Mix manifold

Fusion gun
Electric heated hose
Externally controlled Viscon
Water-jacketed Heat Hose Probler gun

Complete Viscon HF Heater

with Manual Thermostat Control Heated Hose Controller
Spraying is simple but you must have the right equipment
What types of materials will you spray? Now and in the future?
The types of materials you spray will determine the size of the tips you use. If you plan
to spray a variety of materials you have to consider buying a sprayer with more
versatility.

How many gallons per week will you spray?

Purchasing a part-time sprayer to do a full-time job has disappointed many
contractors. In the long run, saving money on a sprayer that is inadequate for the job,
or not durable enough, will cost a lot in lost labor.

What power sources are available? Will most jobs be indoors or outdoors?
Your answers will help choose a unit family (gas, electric, or compressed air)
based on power sources alone.

What types of surfaces will you be spraying?

Will you be spraying on drywall, exterior siding, or concrete? You have to
consider the tip sizes needed as well as the quality of finish required in order to
choose the best sprayer for the job.
.
Spraying is simple but you must have the right equipment
How many spray guns will you use at one time, now and in the future?
If you plan to use more than one gun at a time, then you have to purchase a unit that
has the ability to handle multiple guns.

What types of jobs will you bid?

Each job has its own requirements. New construction, maintenance work, and
commercial jobs all vary in terms of: coatings used, crew size needed, and power
sources available.

What hose lengths will you use?

Hose length depends on the job site, material being sprayed, tip size, and hose
diameter. Your sprayer must be able to support the length of hose.

How much do you want to spend on a sprayer?

Buying a sprayer is an investment. You do not want to over-buy or under-buy. Keep in
mind the cliché, “You can pay now or pay later”. Downtime resulting from an
undersized, overworked sprayer or poor quality equipment can quickly wipe out any
savings from the initial low purchase cost of the sprayer.
 Airless Spraying Techniques
Adjusting the Pressure
It is best to spray at the lowest pressure that completely atomizes the coating. The pressure
control should be set at a low-pressure setting and slowly increased until the paint is completely
atomized. If the spray pattern has fingers or tails, then the pressure should be increased.
If the maximum pressure of the sprayer is not enough to achieve a good spray pattern, a spray tip
with a smaller orifice should be used.
Airless Spraying Techniques
Aiming of the spray pattern
The spray gun should be held approximately 12
inches (30.5 cm) from the surface, and aimed
straight (both horizontally and vertically) at the
surface. Extremely large tips will require you to
move further away to achieve a good
spray pattern.

The spray gun should move across the surface

with the wrist flexed to keep the gun pointed
straight at the surface. “Fanning” the gun to
direct the spray at an angle will cause an
uneven finish.
 Airless Spraying Techniques
Triggering Technique
The spray gun should be triggered after
beginning the stroke (lead stroke) and
released before ending the stroke (lag
stroke). The gun should move during
both the trigger squeeze and trigger
release. This technique prevents
blotches of thick coating at the
beginning and end of each stroke.

Overlapping Technique
This technique ensures that an even amount of coating
has been sprayed onto the surface. The spray gun
should be aimed so that the tip points at the edge of
the previous stroke, overlapping each stroke by 50%.
 Common Spray Technique Errors
Pressure Set to High
It is easy to just crank up the pressure control to the maximum and slap on the
material. For professional results, turn down the pressure as low as you can
without getting tails. You will:
– Reduce wear on your pump
– Reduce wear on your spray tip
– Spray a more consistent even finish
– Reduce the amount of overspray (wasted paint)
Holding Down the Trigger too Long
It is easy to just pull the trigger and keep moving up and down or side to side, overlapping
and moving down the wall spraying constantly. If you are not triggering the gun every time
you change directions you will have at least double the mil thickness in every spot you change
directions. In the right light or over time, your customer may be able to see these heavy
areas. As explained earlier, you should trigger the gun on each stroke and be moving into and
out of each trigger pull.
 Typical QAs
• Can an airless sprayer be used to spray a car?
Answer - No, airless sprayers air unsuitable for automotive applications, the flow of material
or paint is too high and the finish would not be satisfactory. Automotive spray painting is best
done using an air compressor and air spray gun.
• Can an airless sprayer be used as a water blaster or high pressure cleaner for cleaning
driveways etc?
The average airless sprayer would be unsuitable for use as a high pressure water blaster
because the average machine would not have enough water flow to be an effective cleaner.
Using an airless sprayer as a water blaster would lead to premature wear of the seals and
components.
• Do I need to thin the paint to spray with an airless sprayer?
Generally no, thinning would only be required if you wanted to change the finish of the spray,
some painters may thin the paint to produce a 'stipple" type of effect in the spray finish but
thinning the paint in general terms will simply reduce the coverage of the paint on the
surface.
• How long will an airless sprayer tip last before it is worn?
The life of an airless sprayer tip will vary between coatings, but an airless sprayer tip is
considered to last for between 500-1000 litres of paint before being worn to the point that it
should be replaced.