How to mount an airless paint sprayer tip to the gun is a very important skill for anyone involved in the business of painting. It is a way that one can make sure that the spray pattern is correct, and the equipment lasts longer. Read on and find out how to go about it.
Understanding the Airless Sprayer Tip System
An airless spray tip is a small metal nozzle at the end of the spray gun that controls the flow and spray pattern of your finishing material. The spray tip is used for atomizing paint by squeezing the paint into it using very high pressure.
The most common systems of modern airless spray guns come equipped with tips that can be reversed to facilitate unclogging of blockages without dismounting the tip. The guard is the housing where the tip is housed, as well as a safe anchoring for your spray gun.
Safety First: Depressurizing the System
Prior to installing the new parts, it is important to ensure that your airless sprayer is totally depressurized to avoid the risks of being accidentally injected by high-pressure fluid. Switch off the machine and trigger the spray gun into a waste bin to depressurize it. Lock the gun safety mechanism after total depression of pressure. It is important not to ignore this safety measure because tips of airless spray guns operate under pressure capable of injecting paint through skin.
Ensure that there is zero pressure left by triggering the gun again with no paint coming out of it. Turn off the power to your airless sprayer for safety reasons. Place a rag on the tip portion to collect paint residue.
Removing the Old Airless Sprayer Tip
Now that the system is depressurized, find the tip guard retention nut/locking device on your airless sprayer gun. Turn the tip guard until the arrow/marker shows that the position is now at “unlock” or “remove.” Remove the tip guard from the body of the gun by sliding it forward. By following this method, you will prevent the twisting of the tip guard thread and gun barrel.
Loosen the retaining ring of the airless sprayer tip using either your hands or the wrench supplied. You need to remove the tip from the guard by taking note of how it was attached before and the orifice size of the tip. Make sure that the sealing washer or O-ring in the tip guard is still intact to avoid leaks in your airless sprayer..
Selecting the Correct Replacement Tip
Selecting the right tip for an airless paint sprayer is just as important as its installation. The size of the tip can be determined from the numbers that are written on it. The first digits represent fan width while the last two numbers give the orifice size. In case of interior walls and a paint sprayer for latex paints, use of orifice sizes ranging between 0.013 to 0.015 with a fan width of 308-310 will work best.
For stains and lacquers, you need an orifice range of 0.009-0.011 while for heavy paints such as elastomerics and block fillers, you’ll have to use an orifice range of 0.017-0.023.
Installing the New Airless Sprayer Tip
Fit the airless sprayer tip to the guard housing, ensuring that the tip faces towards the end of the spray gun barrel, in the direction of flow of the spray. Ensure that the tip is well seated on the housing while the retaining ring is in loose engagement with the housing. Tighten the retaining ring hand-tight; however, do not tighten it too much as this could lead to thread damage.
Push the tip assembly onto the spray gun barrel till it is fully seated. Then turn the guard so as to lock it into place; it should not be able to pull off easily.
Verifying Correct Tip Orientation
Prior to the operation of your airless sprayer, ensure that the tip is oriented correctly. Normally, the spray orientation position will have the tip parallel to the guard arms or displaying a spray symbol. The reverse (unblock) position, on the other hand, will have the tip facing an angle of 180 degrees with an arrow pointing away from the gun. This helps avoid damaging the tip right from the outset during spraying.
For some models of spray guns, there are spray directions marked either with symbols or even raised markings. Ideally, the orifice of the tip should run horizontally for a vertical fan and vertically for a horizontal fan.
Testing After Installation
Once you have re-pressurized the spray gun and installed the new airless sprayer nozzle, spray a practice sample on a sheet of cardboard to check the quality of the spray fan pattern. Make sure the spray fan pattern is even and that there are no tails or streaks on the spray fan.
If your spray gun pressure needs to be adjusted, increase it or decrease it until you obtain an evenly atomized spray with minimum overspray. Lower pressure will cause tails, whereas higher pressure will result in too much mist. Practice installing and adjusting sprayer tips is an essential painting technique.
Conclusion
Learning how to put a spray gun tip on properly can be considered one of the easiest skills, but one which provides a lot of advantages. This way you make sure that everything works efficiently, safely, and the finish will look professional. If you need a paint sprayer for your walls or you work on more complicated projects, this is what you have to pay attention to. Have a look at the full Tiesprayer line of airless spray gun tips.