How to choose the right paint for a spray gun

 

Anyone who has decided to paint walls and ceilings or any objects wants to do it quickly and as efficiently as possible. It is for this reason that many home craftsmen refuse to use paint rollers and brushes in favor of spray guns. This unit allows you to produce high-quality coloring in the shortest possible time. But to get the desired effect, you need to know some rules for using sprayers. Today we will talk about those of them that help to choose the right paint for the spray gun and dilute it to the desired consistency.

Why is it so important to be able to properly dilute the paint for the spray gun?

Preparation of paint for use in a sprayer is a very important skill, without which it is impossible to perform high-quality coloring. The correctness of this statement is proved by the following reasons:

If the paint is too thick, it will be very difficult to evenly distribute it on the surface. The master will have to increase the thickness of the layer, which will lead to overspending of the material. The drying time of the paint is also increased.

When the staining is not carried out in a horizontal plane, then streaks are necessarily formed. If they can be corrected, it will only be by re-coloring.

The spray gun will not be able to cope with the supply of too viscous paint. This is especially true for inexpensive models. The internal parts of the unit are clogged too quickly, and the jet with the coloring substance becomes uneven.

It is impossible to get a smooth and even surface using thick paint. It has a reduced fluidity, poorly fills irregularities, and small cracks. Even if you have prepared the surface perfectly with the help of soil and putty, problems may still arise.

Too liquid paint will also create certain problems when applying it. The layer applied by the spray gun becomes too thin. To get the desired result, you will have to increase the coloring time.

An important point is that the paint for the spray gun must have the appropriate quality.

Choosing a spray paint

There is a great variety of paint and varnish materials. Most of them are suitable for spraying with a spray gun. To refuel the spray gun, you can safely buy paint of the following compositions:

• alkyd;
• nitroemali;
• water-based emulsions;
• acrylic;
• oil-based.

When choosing a paint, you should be guided by the goals set:

1. When painting a car, alkyd mixtures and nitroemals are most often used.
2. The walls of houses and industrial premises are covered with acrylic, alkyd and water-based compositions.
3. Acrylic and oil paints are usually chosen for wood.

The choice of paint is influenced by many additional parameters. These include durability, resistance to physical impact, the attractiveness of color shades, harmfulness to health and, of course, the price of the paint itself.

Solvent selection

To properly dilute the paint, it is necessary to use a suitable solvent. The criteria listed below will help you make a reasonable choice. You can go a simpler way. On the packaging with the paint, the brand of the solvent that is ideally suited to this coloring composition is usually indicated. Using the recommended branded solvents, you can significantly save time and nerves, but not money.

Component composition of paints

The paint is a mixture consisting of a solvent and a certain amount of a coloring substance. Based on the percentage of these two components, there is a generally accepted classification of paints:

• low
• -filled medium-filled high-
• filled

What do these designations tell us? Low-filled paints should not be diluted with a large amount of solvent. Up to 30% solvent can be poured into highly filled formulations. Sometimes a special marking on the package informs about the fullness of the paint. If these symbols are arranged in the order of decreasing the indicator, they will look like this:

• VHS
• UHS
• MS
• HS
• HD
• LS

Ambient temperature

The temperature regime at which the staining will occur is a very important factor. It must be taken into account already at the stage of diluting the paint. There are various devices that allow you to find out the rate of solidification of paint and its viscosity. One of them is a viscometer.

There are three types of solvents:

• quick ones;
• normal (universal);
• slow;

This gradation is based on the drying rate of paint diluted with a particular type of solvent. There are certain usage rules for each of them:

1. Fast solvents are suitable in cases where the staining will be carried out at a temperature below 17 ° C.
2. Solvents of normal types are used at temperatures from 20° C to 25°C.
3. If the temperature exceeds 25 ° C, then slow solvents should be used.

There are also general rules for matching different types of solvents to certain types of paint. You can use them if you are in doubt about your choice.

1. Special solvents (P-12 or P-651) are available for acrylic paints.
2. Alkyd paints are diluted with toluene, xylene and P-4.
3. If you want to dilute the nitroemal, you can use special solvents recommended by the paint manufacturer. The P-464 is also suitable.
4. To dilute the water-based paint, it is necessary to use alcohol, ether or ordinary distilled water.

The amount of solvent added to the paint should not exceed 25% of the total volume. The consumption of the same paint is usually indicated on the package. Using a spray gun, you can slightly reduce the consumption of the coloring agent.

Using a spray gun is not so difficult. An instruction is attached to the unit, which will allow you to thoroughly understand the mechanism of its functioning. Just in case, conduct a trial coloring to avoid mistakes during the main work.

Instructions for using the spray gun

When using the spray gun, you should follow certain instructions. This will help to avoid many mistakes and will allow you to achieve the maximum quality of coloring.

1. The surface intended for painting must be carefully prepared. Eliminate small defects using a special putty and sandpaper with fine grain.
2. Wipe the surface with a special composition. If you plan to use acrylic paint or latex paint, then treat the plane with a soap solution.
3. Wipe the surface with a clean, damp cloth, finally removing the remnants of foreign particles.
4. Protect everything that is not intended for staining with a film. Also use universal respiratory protection products and open skin areas.
5. When applying paint to the ceiling, try to constantly move the spray jet from one area to another. This will not allow the paint to accumulate in one place and form streaks.
6. Paint in such a way that the jet is constantly perpendicular to the surface.
7. When applying multi-layer paint, each previous layer should dry well. This usually happens within 6-12 hours.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you were able to ge
t acquainted with the basic rules for using the spray gun. Before starting the painting work, thoroughly study the technical characteristics of your spray gun, evaluate its pros and cons. It is very important to be aware of the level of your training to work with this unit. Perhaps, painting with a spray gun will be the only right solution for you, which will help to perform repair work with maximum quality.