Last Updated on June 27, 2022
Are you a professional painter? If the answer is yes, you must have given a thought about using an airless paint sprayer. My experience with an airless paint sprayer has been through the roof. It is the only device that is both purposeful and fun to use.
While a painter makes effective use of airless paint sprayer professionally he faces unpleasant situations either jammed trigger, thick coating, cracked surface, pump-priming, congested tip, or excess spraying. Sometimes suction tubes can be problematic due to not getting enough pressure.
There are many good aspects of painting a surface with a
sprayer. From saving your precious to giving the project a beautiful finish, this device has got it all covered. But even the neatest things have their drawbacks. Here we will be discussing some of the problems with utilizing professional airless paint sprayers with the necessary solutions to them.
Usage process of paint sprayer
Before jumping straight into the minus points of using an airless paint sprayer, let’s learn first how to use them. Although it may be a piece of cake for the professionals, there is no harm in revising the process once more.
An airless paint sprayer looks like a glue gun but with more intricate construction. The paint gun has a reservoir where you put the paint for further use.
The sprayer comes with a trigger and a tip. The tip starts spraying paint on the desired surface after pushing the trigger.
Certain pressure buttons will control the speed and type of spray. The paint gun is airless because it acts without air and against high pressure. The electric pump is what keeps the paint sprayer going. You have to plug the sprayer into an adapter to start the process.
There is some paint sprayer that comes with long rod-shaped connectors. They connect the paint gun with the reservoir.
The main plus point is that you will not have to use any ladder to reach the high ends of a surface. Long connectors will assist with painting even the roof while standing on the feet.
One of the most fundamental things you have to do before using a paint sprayer is to wash the surface with a pressure washer.
Dust and the dirt-filled surface will not give you your expected artistic finishing. The surface has to be let dry before starting to spray.
You also have to wrap the surrounding areas to save them from the spray paint. You can use plastic or other wraps to do so.
Some predicaments
Professional airless paint sprayers have been stealing the hearts of many painters for some time now. Arguably, it has one of the best ways of delivering paint on a surface. It is easy to use and fun to play with.
When paint sprayers first came to market, many people thought this would be the ultimate device replacing the age-old brushes and rollers forever. Here are some of the highlighting problems with utilizing a professional airless paint sprayer which is proving them wrong:
Excess spraying:
As mentioned earlier, an airless paint sprayer works by using high pressure against air. When you are triggering a liquid with high pressure, it will break down more liquid than expected.
One of the main problems with using a paint sprayer is that it overspray due to this fact.
As a result, there is almost 20-40% of paint wastage. This amount of waste will cause you to buy more paint for a single surface. It can be costlier and uncultivated at the same time.
Congested tip:
While using the paint sprayer, the paint will come through the tip of the device on the surface. Sometimes the paint can get dried inside and clog the tip. But how do you understand that the tip has been blocked with paint?
The paint sprayer will suddenly stop working and delivering paint. It is a basic indicator of a clogged tip of a paint sprayer.
Pump priming:
Many times people face the problem of an inoperative pump. Since a paint sprayer is an electric device, the pump must work just fine. The pump will help with forcing out the paint.
The main reason behind the pump not working on the first go is that it has not been primed properly. Pump priming is a must before using a paint sprayer.
Jammed trigger:
The mechanism of an airless paint sprayer starts with pulling the trigger which will spray paint on the surface. But sometimes the trigger seems to not work even after pulling it with the highest pressure.
Thick coating:
If you are using an airless paint spray, you will be expecting a smoother finishing than a brush or roller does. I mean, isn’t it the whole purpose of switching to a paint sprayer?
But, many times, you will find yourself in a position with overlapped coating on the surface. This type of situation is quite frustrating since it does not come with any cure. It occurs due to not applying proper pressure on the trigger.
Sometimes the tip of the device also plays a role in the case of thick coating. If the tip does not fit the gun perfectly, the coating will be breaking down more often.
Cracked surface:
Utilizing an airless paint sprayer is very amusing. So exciting that we often forget how to use it in the right way rather than making it a fun object. As a result, there is this particular mistake when we hold the device closer to the surface than it should be.
In such cases, the paint sprayer does not provide the dream finishing the painter expects. There are running and cracked surfaces on the face. You can also see a thin streak in between the painting coats.
Not enough pressure:
When you are doing everything properly, from plugging in the device to pulling the trigger from the right distance, it can still build a bad spray pattern on the wall. It is due to the fact that enough pressure is not building upon the tip of the device.
It occurs when the inlet or the tip gets clogged. The suction tube can also be problematic. For example, if the suction tube does not connect with the unit correctly or there is a hole in it, you will know why pressure is not building up.
Easy solutions for the problem
Each problem can come with plenty of solutions only when you are smart enough to make the move. Before you decide to dump your current paint sprayer and throw your money on a new one for the above-mentioned problems, consider giving it a second chance.
Here we will be giving out some solutions for the problems we discussed earlier for a better experience with your professional airless paint sprayer.
- Make sure to use the proper size of the tip and spray fan for the paint sprayer. It will prevent both bad spray patterns and over-spraying. A larger tip and wide spray fan will not deliver a higher amount of paint. Rather it can make the liquid overlap with a heavier finishing.
- The excess spraying pattern cannot be reversed completely, but you can minimize the aftermath. Adjust the pressure of the device suitably to do so.
- Tighten the tip of the spray gun before pulling the trigger to avoid dribbling the paint. You can use a torque wrench to tighten it.
- The safety switch has to be on before using a paint sprayer. It will also prevent the trigger from getting jammed.
- The distribution tube, inlet tube, and the tip of the gun can get clogged easily. Check for any sort of congestion in these parts before starting with the project.
- Put the spray valve in a priming position to prime the pump. An unclogged inlet valve is also necessary for such situations.
- Check for a proper plug-in of the device. Otherwise, no matter how much you pull the trigger, the device will not start.
- In the case of an uneven surface or a bad finish, you have to wait until the paint gets dry. When it does, you can utilize sandpaper to discard the excess paint.
Even after applying all these solution points, if your airless paint sprayer is still not working, you can always consider replacing it with a better one.
Also, do not forget to use a safety mask and specs before using these to prevent harmful allergic reactions and inhalation of lead materials.
Read More: Benefits of airless paint sprayer
Final thought
Painting, no matter the form, is always relaxing and calming for the soul. The typical brush or roller paint or the new age paint sprayer, of them, has its essence. A painting brush may not have any technical issues but it surely takes a lot of time to finish a large project with it.
A paint sprayer, on the other hand, has made things much more effortless. You may have to spend some extra money to get it but the results are awe-striking. Even though it comes with some issues, you just have to know a smarter way to reverse that.
Hopefully, this article will be helpful enough to solve the problems by utilizing a professional airless paint sprayer with flying colors.
I am extremely happy to share with you my experience throughout SprayerBoss. As a painter, I like to experiment with new sprayers from different brands. Since my first painting, I love to learn new things every time I doing a painting project for my own or clients. I have painted fences, walls, furniture, cabinets, cars, etc. but painting furniture is more challenging to me. Hope you will get the easiest way I found myself to overcome the difficulties towards a better finish. My hunger is to find the best paint sprayer that took less effort but budgets friendly.