How to choose a spray gun for home and car painting

Any repairs, regardless of their nature, very often end with painting works, on the quality of which the appearance and perception of the work done depends a lot. There are a great many ways to apply paintwork: you can apply paint in the old way with a brush or a roller, you can use a compressor and a special nozzle used by car painters for this purpose. And you can resort to using the spray gun - a compact device that provides uniform paint application and allows you to achieve the maximum quality of paint work.

Content

1. The best manufacturers of spray guns - which company to choose
2. Types of spray guns
3. Spray gun selection options
4. Which spray gun to choose
5. Cost of spray guns

The best manufacturers of spray guns - which company to choose

It's no secret that the best equipment for painting are professional, often highly specialized models, which have received many positive feedback from the masters in this field. You can recommend for purchase products of the following manufacturers:

1. Makita

2. Wagner

3. Bosch

4. Devibiss

Before you give preference to one or another model of the spray gun, you should carefully familiarize yourself with the assortment of models represented in the catalogs, as well as study the feedback from people who have tried the specific model in action and formed their own opinion about it.

The device and the principle of operation of the spray gun

The principle of operation of any spray gun is based on the uniform spraying of paints and varnishes in the form of a continuous fountain of spray. For this purpose, the design has two independent channels: the first is responsible for the supply of air under pressure, the second, covered with a needle, supplies paint. When you pull the trigger first air is blown in, and only then paint. As a result, the paint is mixed with the air mass and in the form of a so-called torch is fed out, lying down in a uniform layer, devoid of subsidence, sagging and smudges.

1. The design includes the following main components and assemblies:

2. Spray;

3. Reservoir for paintwork;

4. The unit that regulates the initial pressure;

5. A filtering element for paint and a special nozzle for its uniform supply;

In addition to the above nodes, for the full functioning of the spray gun may need to connect an external compressor or an electric pump.

Types of spray guns

Mechanical Spray Guns

The simplest devices that do not differ in the complexity of the design and are unable to produce an excessively high quality of painting, but are suitable for domestic needs and general construction works with interest. The use of such models does not require any special devices - the air pressure is injected into the tank with the help of a simple hand pump, and when a pressure of about 1/2 MPa is reached, a check valve is actuated, supplying paint.

Virtues

• Simple and unpretentious design;

• Low cost;

• Great for general construction;

• Do not require special skills during operation;

disadvantages

• Very mediocre quality of paint application - not suitable for automotive work;

• The need to constantly pump air manually;

Pneumatic spray guns

Devices that are most common in our time. Simple and easy to use. All mechanical work is performed by the compressor, which injects air into the tank. They are able to give high quality painting and are also very economical - the degree of emulsion transfer to the surface being painted reaches 75-80%. As a rule, they are almost always made of lightweight metals that are not susceptible to corrosion, and therefore they are very comfortable, functional and durable.

Virtues

• Easy to operate;

• High degree of emulsion transfer to the painted parts;

• Provide high quality painting;

• Comfortable and durable;

disadvantages

• High price;

• The need to connect the compressor to work;

Air type electric spray guns

In contrast to the models described above, the air is forced in here using an electric pump, which makes the electric spray guns quite compact and convenient to operate. These devices operate from a standard 220-volt outlet, unpretentious in care and maintenance, which makes them extremely popular devices in everyday life.

Virtues

• Compact dimensions and low weight;

• Low cost;

• High device performance;

• Convenient, reliable design;

disadvantages

• The quality of painting is lower than that of pneumatic devices;

• "Binding" to the electrical network;

• Noisy work of the electric pump;

Airless Electric Spray Guns

The specifics of the operation of this type of device are in many respects similar to the models described above, however, there is a significant difference in them. These models do not have a high boost pressure, and a separate device - a plunger - is responsible for supplying the air mixture. Thanks to him, paint consumption is significantly reduced. These are compact, tiny devices, convenient in daily operation both in the apartment, and on the seasonal dacha. Another undoubted advantage is the fact that the plunger suction system allows you to do without a tank and suck the paint directly from the bucket.

Virtues

• Compact size, light weight;

• Democratic price tag;

• Very little paint consumption during operation;

• Unpretentious in care and cleaning;

disadvantages

• Very mediocre painting quality;

• Not suitable for use with all types of paints and varnishes, many manufacturers recommend using only with synthetic and acrylic paints;

Battery Spray Guns

The most miniature and convenient to use devices, the appearance of which resembles a classic screwdriver. By their principle of operation, these devices are not much different from ordinary electric spray guns, the other is only a power source - in these devices its role is performed by a compact battery. This feature makes it very compact and mobile - you can work with the device even where there is no outlet. Add to this a small amount of paint and a very high-quality installation - and you will see, perhaps, one of the best devices in its class.

Virtues

• The smallest size and low weight;

• Extremely comfortable and do not require special skills during operation;

• Independence from external power sources;

disadvantages

• Low battery life;

• Relatively mediocre painting quality (when compared with pneumatic models);

Spray gun selection options

In addition to the design and principle of operation, there are a number of criteria that you need to pay attention to when choosing an airbrush.

Device power

1. Devices with power up to 450-500 W are classified as low-power and are recommended for use in domestic conditions. Such devices are demanding on the composition of the paintwork and poorly “friendly” with thick, poorly diluted compounds.

2. Spray guns with a power exceeding 500 watts can be classified as professional equipment. They easily cope with any type of paintwork and give a quality, uniform coating. The disadvantage of such devices is one - high price;

3. Separately, mention should be made of pneumatic spray guns, the power for which is a secondary parameter, entirely dependent on which compressor is connected to one or another device. In general, it can be noted that the power range of pneumatic spray guns varies between 0.5 - 2 kW.

Issued peak pressure

1. Low-power devices (up to 1.5-2 atmospheres). Domestic appliances, giving the quality of painting a low level;

2. Devices of average power (2-4 atmospheres). Among the painters they are considered the golden mean - the ratio “quality of painting / consumption of paints and varnishes” for these models can be considered optimal;

3. Spray guns of high power (over 4 atmospheres). Professional devices used by auto parts. Allow to provide the maximum quality of painting. The price for it is high consumption of paints and varnishes.

Which spray gun to choose?

1. For home use and one-time painting works that do not require a perfectly uniform and high-quality paint layer, simple mechanical paint sprayers are perfect;

2. If you come up with the need for paint work regularly, and the quality of paint application is critical for you, you should pay attention to electric spray guns. These devices are compact and mobile, they are powered from a regular home outlet and do not require the purchase of additional equipment;

3. In the case when painting work is your main source of income, and the quality of the applied coating is the main criterion for you, you should choose pneumatic spray guns.

Cost of spray guns

Cost is an extremely variable value that directly depends on which type or other device it belongs to:

1. The cheapest are mechanical spray guns. Their price tag starts from 600-700 rubles;

2. The cost of classic electric spray guns and their plunger counterparts is at a comparable level - from 2,000 to 6,000 rubles;

3. Cordless spray guns, in view of the opportunities they give a painter, are significantly more expensive - their price tag varies in the region of 10 thousand rubles;

4. The most expensive are professional pneumatic spray guns. From that what functionality this or other device possesses, also its price varies. The cost can reach 40-50 thousand rubles.

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Attention! This material is the subjective opinion of the authors of the project and is not a guide to purchase.