Choosing The Correct Spray Painting System - An Overview Of The Three Main Options

Spray painting has many advantages over brushing and rolling including the finished result, the coverage and the speed in which a project can be finished. When choosing a spray unit you need to understand how the system works and whether it is suitable for what you are wanting to do. Over the next few posts I will try and give you a greater understanding of the different systems so you can choose the one that will work the best for you.

There are 3 basic forms of spray painting, Compressed Air, HVLP and Airless Spray Painting, understanding these will help determine the correct system for your application.

Let's have a look at the 3 different set ups:

This is the traditional system and involves having an air compressor supplying compressed air to a paint source, when the trigger on the gun is pulled the air and paint mix and the paint is released from the gun in a mist form. Compressed Air spray painting allows for the widest choice of spray guns. These choices include the style, suction, gravity or pressure fed, the spray pattern, the nozzle size and the overall gun size.

See Our Range Of Compressed Air Guns Here

High volume low pressure differs from conventional spraying by using a turbine to supply the air, the spray gun itself requires a lower pressure (LP). A higher volume (HV) of air is used to propel the paint at this lower air pressure, vastly reducing over-spray and increasing the amount of paint applied. The turbine produces warm, dry and clean air resulting in no moisture problems and faster paint curing. As with Compressed Air Sprayers this system also offers a wide variety of guns. 

See Our Range Of HVLP Spray Equipment Here

The spray guns for both compressed air and HVLP systems are divided into 3 main types:

A/ Suction Fed Spray Gun - The paint is held in a container under the gun.

B/ Gravity Fed Spray Gun - The paint is held in a container at the top of the gun.,

C/ Pressure Fed Spray Gun - The paint is sourced from a remote pressure pot. 

As the name suggests this system does not require an air source. Airless systems utilize either a diaphragm or piston pump to take the paint directly from the bucket, sending it through a hose directly to the gun. The airless system provides a very fast application rate. 

See Our Range Of Airless Spray Equipment Here

This is a very simplified look at spray painting systems and there are variations to these including air assisted, LVLP, electrostatic and automatic to name a few. The three systems that I have highlighted here are the most commonly used by tradies and DIY alike, other setups provide very specific solutions. 

Purchasing a spray unit is an investment and an expensive one at that, if you have any questions, doubts or just want some no pressure advice please get in touch. Contact Matt