5.

Application Methods II

Contents Airless Spray ………………………………………………………...…. 5-1

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Application Methods II
Air Assisted Airless Spray ……………………………………..…….. 5-4
Hot Spray ……………………………………………………………...... 5-6
Recirculating Fluid Systems ………………………………...………. 5-9
Performance Characteristics of Spray Methods ....……………... 5-10
Air, Airless, Air Assisted Airless

Safety Warning: High Pressure Spray can cause serious injury.

Never point the spray gun at anyone or at any part of the body.
Never put hand or finger over spray tip.
Never try to stop or deflect leaks with your hand or body.
Always have the tip guard in place when spraying.
Always get medical attention immediately in the event of high
pressure injection injury

• Airless spray is a method of atomizing paint without the use of

Airless Basics compressed air.
• The paint is pumped under high pressure through a supply line to an
airless gun, and through a small opening called an orifice or spray tip.
• The tip restriction (orifice) forms a spray pattern.
• The breakup of material into small droplets is called atomization.

Advantages
Airless Spray • Less overspray or “ bounce back ” of paint material than with air spray.
• A thicker coat of material can be applied in a single pass.
• High viscosity materials can be atomized without costly
solvent reduction.
• Accommodates faster production lines.
• Good penetration can be attained on recessed areas of work pieces.

Disadvantages
• Hard to achieve zero defect finishes.
• Operator spray pattern control.
• Not a “fine finish” spray gun.
Adjustments
• The key factor to good atomization is the coating flow rate.
• Flow rate is controlled by the spray tip size and the pump.
• The spray tip orifice size also determines the spray pattern size and the
range of atomization.

Material Viscosity
There are two adjustments that can be made on the airless system once the tip
has been selected. The viscosity of paint can be lowered either by adding solvents
or heating.

Pressure
• The fluid pressure needed will vary based on the viscosity of the material.
• Use the least amount of atomization fluid pressure possible to attain the
best possible pattern.

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 Application Methods II

Shut Down Before servicing the tip or gun, and before disassembling the
Application Methods II

gun, always shut off the pump, trigger the gun, engage the
Warning trigger safety and open the pump drain valve (normally located
below the filter) to relieve pressure in the system.
Disconnect the fluid hose from the gun.

Common Problems with Airless Spray

TAILING (Reference illustration on pg. 5-4) DISTORTED PATTERN

Cause Cause
Fluid not atomizing totally--leaves heavy Plugged or worn tip.
edge tails. Material is too thick

Remedy Remedy
Increase fluid pressure. Clean or replace tip.
Change to larger orifice size, same pressure.
Change to smaller orifice size,
increase pressure. Reduce viscosity.
Clean or replace tip.

Selecting An How To Select An Airless Pump

Airless Pump Type of coating materials to be sprayed, size of job, and volume of air available are all
considerations which govern the selection of the particular airless pump that is right for
your application. When selecting an airless unit, answer these questions:

1. What type of material is to be sprayed?

Determining the general characteristics of the materials to be sprayed is an important
step toward proper pump selection.

Low viscosity materials such as stains and lacquers can be sprayed with small
orifice nozzles .007 to .018 (.2 to .5 mm).

Higher viscosity coating materials, can be sprayed with larger orifice nozzles; higher
ratio pumps are required. Refer to the Airless Nozzle Flow Chart on the following page
and select a nozzle range which is best suited for the material to be sprayed.

2. How much volume does the job require?

In the pressure columns of the Airless Nozzle Flow Chart, two sets of figures are shown:
An ounce (cc) per minute delivery rate and a CFM (CMM) figure. By dividing the ounce
(cc) per minute figure by 128 (128 ounces per gallon) or 1000 (1000cc per liter) you can
determine how many nozzles of a particular size can be operated from a 1 gallon or
1 liter per minute pump.

3. How much air should be available?

Adequate air supply for efficient operation is determined by multiplying the number of
nozzles to be used by the CFM (C.M.M. – cubic meters per minute) figure in the Airless
Nozzle Flow Chart. Allowance should be made for additional air operated accessories
such as agitators, etc.

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 Application Methods II

Airless Nozzle

Application Methods II
AIRLESS NOZZLE FLOW CHART
Flow Chart Delivery in Ounces Per Minute and C.F.M. Required
ORIFICE 500 P.S.I. 1000 P.S.I. 1500 P.S.I. 2000 P.S.I. 2500 P.S.I.
(mm) (34.5 bar) (68.9 bar) (103.4 bar) (137.9 bar) (172.4 bar)
WATER
.007 (.18) 4. oz. - .5 cfm 5. oz. - .66 cfm 6. oz. - .8 cfm 6.7 oz. - 1.4 cfm 7 oz. - 1.7 cfm
.009 (.23) 4.5 oz. - .58 cfm 5.7 oz. - .76 cfm 6.8 oz. - .87 cfm 8.4 oz. - 1.8 cfm 10 oz. - 2.7 cfm
.011 (.28) 6.5 oz. - .8 cfm 8.5 oz. - 1.1 cfm 12. oz. - 2. cfm 14. oz. - 2.9 cfm 15 oz. - 3.8 cfm

LACQUER
.013 (.33) 12. oz. - .8 cfm 15. oz. - 1.1 cfm 19. oz. - 3. cfm 22. oz. - 4.5 cfm 26 oz. - 6.4 cfm
.015 (.38) 13. oz. - 1.1 cfm 19. oz. - 2.5 cfm 24. oz. - 4. cfm 27. oz. - 5.7 cfm 32 oz. - 8. cfm
.016 (.41) 14. oz. - 1.3 cfm 22. oz. - 2.9 cfm 29. oz. - 4.8 cfm 34. oz. - 7. cfm 39 oz. - 9.7 cfm

LATEX PAINT
.018 (.46) 12. oz. - 1. cfm 19. oz. - 2.5 cfm 26. oz. - 4.2 cfm 35. oz. - 7.4 cfm 44 oz. - 10. cfm
.021 (.53) 14. oz. - 1.2 cfm 24. oz. - 3.5 cfm 32. oz. - 5.3 cfm 46. oz. - 9.5 cfm 56 oz. - 13. cfm

PLASTISOL
.026 (.66) 21. oz. - 2.7 cfm 34. oz. - 5.7 cfm 51. oz. - 11. cfm 65 oz. - 16. cfm
.031 (.79) 26. oz. - 3.3 cfm 48. oz. - 7.4 cfm 65. oz. - 14. cfm 85 oz. - 21. cfm
.036 (.91) 32. oz. - 4.2 cfm 68. oz. - 11. cfm 95. oz. - 20. cfm 126 oz. - 31. cfm

COAL TAR EPOXY

.043 (1.1) 31. oz. - 4. cfm 61. oz. - 10. cfm 105. oz. - 22. cfm 143 oz. - 36. cfm
.072 (1.8) 72. oz. - 9.5 cfm 112. oz. - 18. cfm 151. oz. - 32. cfm 190 oz. - 46. cfm

NOTE: There are variables in equipment and fluids which cause this chart to be approximate; however, it is sufficiently accurate
for proper equipment selection. The C.F.M. (C.M.M. – cubic meters per minute) ratings are maximum under continuous duty
conditions.

CONVERSIONS: cc = ounces x 29.6 cc / ounce

CMM – (cubic meter per minute) = CFM x .028 meters3 / ft3

Tips are selected by their orifice size .007 to .072 inches (.18 to 1.8 mm) and fan angle
Airless Tip (10 to 80 degrees). The proper selection is determined by the fan width required for
Selection the specific job and the orifice size that will supply the desired amount of fluid and
accomplish proper atomization of the material.

For low viscosity fluids, smaller orifice tips generally are desired. For higher
viscosity fluids, larger orifice tips are preferred. The quantity of fluid sprayed is
determined by the size of the orifice; the thickness is determined by the orifice and the
fan angle. Note that two nozzle tips having the same orifice but different spray angles,
deposit the same amount of paint over a different area. Note that orifices are not circular
but are elliptical in shape. The diameters referred to are equivalent to a circular diameter.
A good rule is to determine the largest fan angle and the smallest orifice that is
practical for your specific fluid and application method.

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 Application Methods II

Air Assisted • Three basic methods used in finishing application to atomize materials:
Application Methods II

air spray, airless spray (hydrostatic) and centrifugal.

Airless Spray • Air assisted airless concept uses the air and airless methods.
Basic Concept
• A pump is used to force material through a small orifice or tip at low
How it Works hydrostatic pressure.
• Airless pressures are typically 2000-3500 psi (138-241 bar). Air assisted airless
operates at pressures generally under 2000 psi (138 bar).
• Usually, low airless spray pressures form “tails.”
• To complete the atomization and eliminate tails, low pressure 10-30 psi (.7 to 2.1 bar)
compressed air is added to the airless spray by an air cap.

With the air assisted airless concept, materials can be atomized with full spray patterns
at low pressures. This provides a low turbulence of the material on the part surface and
overspray conditions are minimal, increasing the transfer efficiency of the material.

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 Application Methods II

Fluid Tip Identification

Air Assisted

Application Methods II
• The orifice size of all Graco airless tips is determined by the
Airless Cont. last two digits of the six digit part number.
Example: 182-211 = 0.011 (.28 mm) Orifice
182-215 =0.015 (.38 mm) Orifice
• The minimum fan pattern width and degree of the angle of the
fan is designated by the fourth digit:
• Double the fourth digit for minimum fan width. Example: 182-211
= 4” (10.2 cm) minimum
• Add two inches for the maximum fan width:
182-211 = 4”+2” = 6” (10.2 cm + 5.1 cm = 15.3 cm) maximum
All dimensions are based on 12” (30.5 cm) from work surface.

Advantages
• Reduces overspray
• Operator control of spray pattern width
• Less operator fatigue
• Reduced air consumption
Disadvantages
• Air entrapment potential
• Fluid pressure too low, over compensate with air pressure.

Air Assisted Air Assisted Airless Atomization

Airless
Systems Air Supply
With and
without Fluid
Line Heater
Air

Siphon

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 Application Methods II

Air Assisted Air Assisted Airless (Heated)

Application Methods II

Airless
Systems Air Supply
With and
without Fluid
Line Heater
Cont. Air

Heater
Siphon

Back
Pressure
Valve

Understanding Cold Spraying First

Hot Spraying When cold spraying a material, solvents are normally added to the spray paint
formulations to produce the following conditions:
• Break down the cohesive nature of the material by lowering its viscosity.
• Solvent additions cause the material to be atomized finely.
• The solvents are generally blended so that most of the solvent evaporates before the
paint particles reach the surface.
• The paint particles adhere to the surface while the solvents evaporate; the particles
are wet enough to flow out, but not cause sagging.

Advantages of Hot Spraying

Hot spraying was developed to overcome some of the problems associated with the
use of solvents in thinning paint for spraying.
• Constant viscosity of the material being sprayed, regardless of fluctuating ambient
temperatures.
• Accurate control of the material temperature throughout the day regardless of ambient
temperature.
• Material is thinned with heat instead of solvents.
• Material formulations use less solvent and are less expensive.
• Less fog and rebound because material can be atomized at lower pressures, thus
larger material savings are possible.
• Increased production – operator makes fewer passes over the product and still gets
the required film build.
• Faster flash-off time between coats.
• Uses less solvents – more environmentally friendly.

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 Application Methods II

Hot Cautions

Application Methods II
Spraying • Not all coating materials will accept heat at the same rate, and each material has its
own specific heat capacity.
Cont. • If heated, catalyzed materials will generally have a shortened pot life, and possibly
will set up prematurely in the equipment.
• If materials are heated too high, the physical properties may change by thermal
degradation or even change color.

VISCOSITY VS. TEMPERATURE

THERMOSET RED ACRYLIC TOPCOAT
35

30
VISCOSITY (SECONDS)

25

20

15

10

0
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
(10) (16) (21) (27) (32) (38) (43) (49)

TEMPERATURE IN FAHRENHEIT
(DEGREES CELSIUS)

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 Application Methods II

Airless Spray Airless (Hydraulic Atomization)

Application Methods II

System With
and Without
Fluid Line Air Supply
Heater
Siphon

Filter

Fluid

Airless Atomization (Heated)

Air Supply

— Fluid
Siphon
Heater

Heater

Filter
Fluid Fluid

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 Application Methods II

Recirculating Single Circulating Spray Stations

Application Methods II
Fluid Systems
Single &
Multiple
Spray Sta-
tions

Multiple Circulating Spray Station

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 Application Methods II

Performance
Application Methods II

Air Spray Airless Spray Air-Assisted Airless Spray

Characteristics Finish Appearance Fine. Coarse. Good.

Of Spray
Methods
Transfer Efficiency Low. 20-30% better than 30-35% better than air
air spray. spray.

Limited to very low Limited to high and Wide range of flow

to medium flow very high flow rates: normally from 5fl.
Fluid Flow Control rates, usually less rates, normally over oz/min (148 cc / min) to
than 30 fl. oz/min. 25 fl. oz/min. over 50 fl. oz/min.
(890 cc / min) (740 cc / min) (1480 cc / min)

Lots of overspray and Less overspray and Least overspray and

Booth Maintenance
fog, so booth fog, booth fog. Booth maintenance
maintenance is high. maintenance is low. slightly lower than air-
less spray. yes. (limited)

Pattern Adjustment Yes. No. Yes. Adequate

(Limited)

Tip Plugging Virtually none. Yes. Adequate Yes. Adequate filtration

filtration required. required.

Very long, because High tip wear and Less tip wear and
Equipment Life fluid pressures are shorter pump life longer pump life
low. because very high because substantially
fluid pressures lower fluid pressures
required. than airless spray.

Energy Poor efficiency in Most efficient way of Most efficient way of

Consumption atomizing liquid. High atomizing fluid. Very atomizing fluid. Very
air consumption. low air consumption. low air consumption.

Noise Noisy. Quiet. Quiet.

Emission Level High. Low. Low.

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