How To Mix Paint For HVLP Sprayer

Are thinking of redecorating or creating an artistic masterpiece of your own? Paint is one of the most economical ways you can achieve it. While you can hire a professional to do the job, you could alternatively save yourself some money if you know how to mix paint for HVLP sprayer.

HVLP guns are known for having a less overspray and higher efficiency regarding paint transfer. In this guide, we look at the steps you can take to achieve that goal using latex paint.

Prep Properly: How To Mix Paint For HVLP Sprayer

When you want to use quality latex paint, you must thin it first. That’s because it’s thicker than other common paints and will not work properly with any HVLP spray in that state. If you fail to thin it, it will fail to come of out the spray gun or come out as messy blobs. To avoid that from happening, you need to mix the latex paint with water in the right proportions.

While the amount of water required will vary from brand to brand, the procedure to start thinning is the same. Add 10% water, mix thoroughly, and if the paint still appears thicker, add 5 percent more water and some thoroughly again. Avoid adding more than 25% water to any paint. Otherwise, the excessively thinned paint will fail to adhere properly to the workpiece surface and fall off when it dries.

Additives

Sometimes thinning with water alone will not work. Instead of adding more water and exceeding the 25% limit, you can use a latex paint conditioner to decrease viscosity. The conditioner is designed to improve the paint’s viscosity without affecting its adhesive properties.

Straining

When you are filling the HVLP sprayer reservoir, always use a standard paint strainer. That is important because the nozzle is only 1.4millimeters and gets clogged easily with even the smallest debris commonly found in paints.

Once the nozzle is blocked or clogged, the standard procedure is to disassemble the gun and remove the blockage. You will also need to filter the remaining fuel to remove the remaining debris. If you do not have a strainer, the find a similar substitute and strain the fuel.

Hose Length

When the HVLP is running, the turbine generates heat. When a short pipe is used, there is little time for the heat to dissipate before it gets to the paint. The incoming air transfers the heat to the paint during atomization. Warm paint dries faster and does not get enough time to spread and level out. It also does not seep into cracks to anchor itself firmly. Using a pipe that is six feet long allows the air to cool and therefore alleviate that problem.

Technique

When painting, you should hold the gun’s nozzle about eight inches from the work surface. That allows the spray pattern to transfer the optimum amount of paint with minimal waste. When painting vertical surfaces, you should start from the top and then progress downwards. If you are painting horizontal surfaces, then paint from one edge and paint to the opposite edge.

Make sure that a section is completely wet before you decide to move to the next section, otherwise, you will have to go back and spray some parts that seem to have received less spray. That will make the whole paint job look unprofessional when it dries, and it is obviously wasteful and time-consuming when you have to keep repeating a paint job.

Test and Practice

The factors for giving the paint the right viscosity are temperature, turbine output, humidity, the paint’s physical characteristics. You will need to carry out several trials before you get the right mix. To get the best results, you will need to test each spray on a scrap or cardboard every time you thin it.

For any changes, you make to the sprayer setting, you must record the resulting spray and document it for future reference. Once you get the right consistency and setting, note it and use it every time you buy a particular paint. That approach will be more affordable and less wasteful than having to remove a whole paint job because you did not do it right.

Overall, you will need to do a few tests before you get the right balance. What’s important to keep in mind is that all paints are different. What works for one brand may fail with a different brand. We hope this article has been informative and we wish you all the best in your painting.