Different paints have different application air pressures suggested for spray painting. The sprayer pump is what pressurizes the paint to be applied for the specific use-case. There are a variety of categories for spray painting that we can look at, for instance exterior spray applications, interior, commercial, and even latex coatings.
Overall 2000 psi is a common starting point for a number of operating pressure spray painting applications, although this is for pressurized paint purposes.
Where HVLP (high volume low pressure) is concerned, lower PSI from 0.1 to 12 psi is common, which can also be expressed as CFM(cubic feet per minute)
Highly Pressurized Paint Applications (Commercial Grade Efficiency)
The following refers to the pump of pressurized paint systems (fluid pressure), brought to pressure by a motor on the sprayer unit. Typical pressures are noted here, where, if the hose length increases for instance, you might need higher pressures.
Exterior High Pressure Painting
Exterior: Generally going to be applied at an operating pressure from 2000 psi to 2500 psi for exterior purposes.
Interior High Pressure Painting
Interior: Generally going to be applied at an operating pressure 2000 psi or more for an acrylic latex interior spec paint.
Commercial High Pressure Painting
Commercial: About the same but for an operating pressure 2000 psi up to 3000 psi with higher pressures more common.
Latex Coatings
Latex coatings: Typical have psi ratings above an operating pressure of 2000 psi.
High Pressure Painting in Detail
Different types of paint may also call for different tip sizes. PSI ranges for spray paint can go from 500 to 5000 in some cases. It depends on the applications. Most commercial type spraying setups will have higher pressure.
Different settings for low and high pressure applications are also achievable with spray painting systems. But typically the more advanced and expensive the spraying equipment the higher the maximum pressures the equipment can achieve. Some equipment can allow maximum spray pressures up to 8000.
Spray guns have controls for spray pattern adjustment, fluid control adjustment, and air pressure adjustment. Depending on the paint, too little air pressure can result in less application of paint and too much air pressure can result in a poor spray pattern (over-spray). Utilizing techniques that can reduce over-spray such as coverage, paint-protection, nozzle-adjustments (spray-pattern), can help, but not in the way that is better with air pressure.
Depending on the surface, such as stucco painting for exteriors, multiple passes at different angles are required, regardless of the substrate being painted.
Key Terms
A couple of key terms for review in regards to spray painting…
Tailing: If pressure is not turned up enough then the paint can show stripes in the application of the paint on the wall.
Atomize: Occurs when air mixes with paint violently to create a mixture of spray droplets for application onto the wall.
High Volume Low Pressure Painting
High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP) - Smaller Scopes of Work and more Attention to Detail
Some latex paints are not going to be able to be utilized with HVLP applications (depending on the sprayer). They are preferred for millwork, kitchen cabinet painting, smaller jobs, doors, trim, staining services, and other more detailed painting work.
An HVLP system operates at a lower pressure, known as the maximum atomization pressure. You can also get higher production HVLP systems which have a higher operational pressure, again, into the thousands and produce CFM(cubic feet per minute) of paint delivery at pressures of ~30 psi for instance.
Line Painting Equipment
A separate category of spray painting equipment, specific to line painting operates again at a range into the 3000’s psi of delivery. These equipment are specific to painting lines in parkades, parking lots, on roads and anywhere line painting is required to delineate traffic or parking and road instructions.
Conclusion
Spray painting, depending on the application, can have a multitude of psi for application and operational pressure. This means the actual psi that you should run your machine at really depends on the type of equipment, and a multitude of other factors.
Firstly, the type of paint or product comes into consideration. Then other factors like the spray gun itself and the adjustments on that piece of equipment, in addition to the equipment purpose. For example, higher pressure commercial equipment can reach ranges of up to 5000 psi operational pressure and more. Lower pressure HVLP (high volume low pressure) equipment produce results at lower pressures, maxing out at around 10-12 psi. Then again line painting equipment can have high pressures too depending on the equipment, into the thousands of psi for operational pressure.
When in doubt, trust the professional services of a Winnipeg painting contractor to meet your needs.
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