7
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SPRAY GUN
HINT:
HVLP technology produces warm air through the Air Cap (3) allowing the paint to dry quicker
which can enhance the final effect and allow you to apply additional coats if necessary much sooner
although you should follow the paint manufacturer’s recommended drying/curing times where possible.
We recommend you spend some time practicing on cardboard, newspaper or scrap wood to
familiarise yourself with how the spray gun works and the flow rate (i.e. how fast the material
will spray) before starting any work regardless of experience level.
The spray gun has 3 spray patterns which can be changed by the external Spray Direction Plate (4)
from either a horizontal fan pattern, to a round detailed pattern or to a vertical fan pattern. When adjusting
through patterns you will notice the oval fan pattern width reduces and increases as it moves from
horizontal to vertical positions. This is useful when you have particular size items you need to spray.
The maximum width you can spray is 20cm down to 2.5cm on the round detailed pattern.
HORIzONTAL SPRAY PATTERN
– is ideal for vertical spraying up and down.
1) To achieve a vertical application (Fig. 6) move Spray Direction Plate (4) (as shown) then
>>
pull the trigger and move your arm up and down.
VERTICAL SPRAY PATTERN
– is ideal for horizontal spraying left to right.
2) To achieve a horizontal application (Fig. 6) move Spray Direction Plate (4) (as shown)
>>
then pull the trigger and move your arm left to right.
ROUND SPRAY PATTERN
– is ideal for detailed areas or small objects.
3) To achieve a round application move Spray Direction Plate (4) (as shown).
Spraying with your unit is very intuitive and through a little practice you will very quickly become a good
sprayer. When practicing – adjust the Paint Flow Adjuster (9), and spray patterns to see the effect this
has (Fig.5).
TECHNIqUE
When spraying always keep your spray gun at the same distance from the
surface, avoid moving your wrist as this will give you an uneven paint
distribution. You should spray a maximum distance of 25 - 30cm from a
surface, this will give you your maximum spray width (Fig.7/8).
BE CAREFUL NOT TO APPLY TOO MUCH PAINT IN THE SAME AREA
AS THIS WILL LEAD TO SAGS AND DRIPS –
APPLYING LIGHT COATS IS ALWAYS BETTER UNTIL YOU GAIN
CONFIDENCE AS YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK OVER WHAT YOU
HAVE SPRAYED.
Let go of the trigger at the
end of each spray
movement to avoid
excessive paint and drips
Fig. 9
The most commonly used technique for painting a large surface is the ‘criss-cross’ hatching technique
(pictured on right), i.e. you spray the paint in a horizontal strip and then cross over these strips by spraying
the paint in vertical strips (Fig 9).
