What is HVLP Spray Painting
HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) spray guns and sprayers are becoming increasingly popular with painting and decorating professionals for four key reasons: better health and safety, transfer efficiency, precision control, and cost-effectiveness.
HVLP guns take up large volumes of air to direct and move the paint but atomise the paint at low pressure. This means the paint leaves the gun nozzle and hits the target surface at a much more gentle and controlled speed. The result is an extraordinary degree of paint transfer efficiency — up to 80 or 90% with minimal overspray. In other words, you get great paint coverage with minimal waste. Thanks to the low pressures used with an HVLP gun (around 10psi) you can obtain highly professional results with an exceptional degree of precision and control.
Such an efficient transfer of paint with little wastage means an HVLP gun is a real investment especially when you’re working with expensive paints and coatings. Remember that an airless sprayer averages around 50% paint transfer efficiency so an HVLP gun can potentially be 30 or 40% more cost-effective. The low level of overspray also makes clean-up faster and easier. And an HVLP gun requires less prep work too — a real time saving on some of those intricate jobs.
HVLP Turbine Sprayers
HVLP turbine sprayers use a turbine rather than a compressor or piston to drive paint up into the gun or gun cup. A higher number of fans (or stages) indicates a better turbine efficiency. Advanced professional models typically feature 3, 4 or 5 stages. Good turbine design offers features such as heat and noise-reducing technology as well as turbulence control to avoid blowing dust around the room. You can reduce and control the pressure at the gun nozzle or by using a gravity cup.
Turbine systems offer the same advantages as other HVLP sprayer systems including:
• Fine control and minimal overspray
• Safer, environmentally friendly spraying
• Easy portability
• Minimal prep and clean-up time
• You can couple a turbine sprayer with a gravity gun or a suction gun.
Ideal for spraying paints such as:
• Gloss and wood primers
• Cellulose coatings
• Solvent-based topcoats
• Wood preservatives and other similar coatings
Whether you choose to go with a suction or gravity-fed gun HVLP guns offer true precision, control, and efficient paint transfer. It’s those qualities that make an HVLP gun coupled with a high-performing turbine sprayer that makes this the ideal tool for professional painters and decorators as well as keen DIYers.
