AIRLESS SPRAYING TIPS AND EQUIPMENTIf your looking for airless spraying tips, the kind you insert into the gun of your airless paint sprayer, try an ASM uni spray tip, they work with most quality paint sprayer guns and are a great price. Otherwise, below you will find airless spraying tips the information kind, techniques, and advice pertaining to paint spraying equipment, along with sprayer product advice regarding the best type of coatings to use, on your paint spraying projects. Airless paint sprayers are considered by most painting professionals as the workhorse of the paint contracting world. By using the appropriate equipment, making informed product choices, along with practicing your spraying techniques and reading the advice that follows, you will find airless sprayers can be used for both large commercial jobs, or smaller, more intricate work. Ok! lets get spraying. Of course when it comes to airless paint sprayers, there are "tips", for the end of a paint sprayers gun and the other kind of "tips", the kind that helps you accomplish those spraying projects. Lets get started with the helping kind. Here's a good idea to add to your list of airless spraying tips, If you no longer have the owners manual for the paint sprayer your using, you can in most cases download a copy from the manufacturers website. Also, be sure to follow any paint or paint product guidelines and safety instructions suggested by the manufacturer. Another thing to keep in mind when spraying is that some coatings may not work well with your machine. Check local paint stores or paint equipment supplier's regarding operation of your paint spraying machine. Use recomended solvents for thinning in regards to the product that is being sprayed on, and strain most coatings before application. A paint screen will clean your paint and save you some grief in the long run. With that said, thinning your paint is usualy not necessary with an airless system but straining is. For quality results, use the designated size of paint spraying machine and gun tip for the job at hand (ask your local coating dealer) in relation to the material applied and viscosity of the coating being used. Keeping your airless as far away from the intended project but close enough to give you the ability to work freely will protect the machine and it's motor fan from being covered or cloged with dried paint. Place a paint screen in a clean five gallon pail. You can buy a screen from your local paint store or use an old pair of pantyhose. If using pantyhose, cut the legs off, then tie what's left of the cut ends in knots. With the pantyhose knotted, stretch the elastic waste of the hose over your paint pail. Once the pantyhose are over the pails lip, use masking tape (around and around)to secure the hose. Be sure your pantyhose are attached properly to the pail, otherwise your newly made paint strainer will end up falling into the paint bucket. The legs that you cut off the pantyhose(depending on size) can be used to go over a one gallon can of paint in the same fashion as the top of the pantyhose fit over a five gallon pail. Cut a small hole paralell to the screen and the paint pail's edge. Place the paint sprayers suction end into the hole you cut in the pantyhose. Now, pour your stirred paint into the screened pail. You will find that spraying strained paint, no matter how small the airless spraying tip used, should be a little easyer since the coating being applyed is free of chunks and debris. With the paint sprayers switch set to off, plug in your machine. GUN AND AIRLESS SPRAYING TIPS Prior to starting your project, be sure to select the airless tip size that's appropriate for your chosen coating product. Check to see that the metal seat and rubber or teflon seal are placed properly into the airless spraying tips housing. Insert the tip into the hole on the side of the tip housing and then turn the tip housing onto the gun by hand. The housing should be tight enough so as not to leek, yet, you should still be able to turn the tip from a horizontal to vertical position without to much difficulty. The spray tip, must be properly installed in the housing.You must fully understand all of the pre-mentioned tip attachment instructions or you will end up with paint everywhere. Read your paint sprayers instruction manual in regards to changing of the guns airless spraying tips, housing attachment, pressure knob operation, and insertion of seals, etc. When selecting an airless spraying tip, a good size to start with, is one that's made for latex paint. In most cases, a tip size in the 310 to 314 range (Titan and Grayco) will work well for beginners. The first number, of the tip size represents fan width in inches times two. In the above mentioned case the 3 in the 310 means a 6 inch fan width or (3 x 2 = 6). A 4 would mean an 8 inch fan (4 x 2 = 8) and a 5 is 10 inches of fan width (5 x 2 = 10). A tips last two numbers, like the 10 in the 310 example, stands for the size of the tips orifice. The bigger the last two numbers, the more paint you will see coming out of the spray tip. A 110 tip size, will produce 2 inches of fan, with a small amount of product. A 720 tip would give you a 14 inch fan, with a very large blast of coating. Smaller tips tend to give slower application rates, yet have more control and are excellent for fine finish work. Larger tip sizes, work best with thicker paints or quicker applications. Talk to your local paint representative, regarding the sprayer, coatings and tips to use in relation to the project being done. It's also always a good idea to practice with the product and equipment being used. Another thing to keep in mind is, a spray tip will plug no matter how clean you may think your paint or coatin is. To unplugg a sprayer tip, you will need to turn the tip in the housing so that you can spray the clog out. Read your instruction manual on how unglog a tip. Keep a pail handy for spraying the clog into. CLEANING AIRLESS PAINT SPRAYERS When an airless spraying tip has a peice of debris lodged inside the gun, or the equipment itself is pluged, then the sprayer can cause you, the operator many hours of frustration. Due to each piece of equipment being different, follow your specific machines cleaning instructions. As mentioned above, airless paint sprayer manuals, can be downloaded or ordered from the majority of paint sprayer manufacture's web sites SPRAYING INSTRUCTIONS Depending on how you will be moving the gun, if horizontally for example, you will need to turn the tip housing in a vertical position or visa versa. Start moving the gun across your test material, then pull the trigger. Keep the gun six to twelve inches away from the spraying surface. Drop down and overlap the next pass by half of the first. Keep spraying in a strait even pattern with the guns distance as consistent as possible. AIRLESS PAINT SPRAYERS OVERVIEW The key to an excellent spray job, is knowing what type of surface is being sprayed, understanding the equipment your using and having familiarity with the coating material being applied. Expanding on that, ask yourself, what type of surface is this. Is it oak, maple etc. How should the surface be sprayed. Was the paint strained. Is my spray equipment of good quality and well cleaned. What sprayer tip would be best in relationship to the product being sprayed, project accomplished, or sprayer that I'm using. Is the spray machine's pressure knob adjustment correctly. Do I keep the gun absolutely perpendicular to my surface and at the same distance from the project when applying product. Is the gun being improperly arced, towards, then away from my project in a C shaped fashion. Am I using the best speed when passing my gun across the surface. Was overlapping done as per product instructions. Most importantly is practice, practice, practice. Keep testing by finding the best type of coating to spray, learning the equipment and finding the proper size of airless spraying tips that work well with the job and sprayer your using. Use this spraying with an airless for information on how to spray with a paint spraying system. After reading the airless paint spraying page, return here to learn more about airless spraying tips and equipment. Problem Paint is bubbling or letting off gas. Solution Surface being sprayed has been improperly cleaned. Clean the surface using a product recommended for the specific material being coated. Some surfaces can not be properly cleaned. Trial and error is the only way to find out. Problem Running or sagging coating product. Solutions This is a good reason for using a practice sheet of cardboard. Light paint applications with three or more coats works best. To large of a tip (airless spraying tips come in different sizes, select a smaller sized tip). Thinning with an excess amount of solvent or thinner is one of the reasons for this problem. Airless paint spraying, in most cases does not require paint thinning Having your gun to close to your project when operating your paint sprayer can also cause sags or runs. Hold the gun at least eight to twelve inches from the surface being sprayed. Excess overlapping of the material being applied. Be sure you have an understanding, of how much overlapping is needed, to complete your project properly. Practice is the key. Reducing the flow of fluid, by turning the sprayers flow control knob down, can sometimes help eliminate excess being applied. Problem Defects in sprayed coatings. Solutions Use top of the line coatings only. Not knowing what primer to use, or how to operate an airless paint sprayer, along with moisture can cause blistering. Watch for these problems when spraying. Finally be sure your material is not contaminated or the project that you're doing isn't improperly prepped. A little sanding, filling and cleaning can save a lot of headache. Problem Dried finish has missed or thin areas. Solutions Check that the fluid line from the beginning of the airless paint sprayer to the tip of the gun is not plugged or the equipment being used is not damaged. Practice overlapping and speed of gun passes until there are no runs, sags or missed areas. The amount of distance that one moves the gun for your each pass, can be less (in some situations) or more (in others) than you may think. Practicing on a throw away surface like thick cardboard, then moving up to disposable pieces of wood is the only cure for paint spraying problems. In closing, having clean, quality equipment, that works, and using recommended products and spray tip sizes for the job at hand, ends up being crucial for superior airless project. Check to see that nozzles, airless spraying tips, filters, and hoses are not blocked, have worked loose, or contain nicks and holes. Be sure moving parts are not damaged or stuck. Know your material being sprayed and practice with the tools and airless spraying tips you will be using. Looking for decorating solutions other than information regarding airless spraying tips. Maybe a design idea kitchen or ways to re-paint house siding. If so click the home link. You should be able to find a decorating or painting idea by reading the text. If I have missed something, or you would like to ask a question, e-mail me. 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