Understanding airless spray tips 

In the paint spray industry these are referred to as tips or spray tips, they are also incorrectly called nozzles. When you are talking with an airless spray equipment dealer be sure to call these “tips” or “spray tips” otherwise they may think that you are talking about nozzles for low pressure air spray guns such as Atomex, DeVilbiss, Iwata and Star. 

 

Understanding the number on an airless spray tip

Many people get confused with the different size spray tips available. To understand what size tip to use, you must first understand what the digits on the tip indicate. 

All tips have three digits in the size, for example 517. 

The first digit is the fan size or the width of the spray, this digit is always doubled and measured in inches. For example, a 517 tip will spray at 10 inches wide, a 417 tip will spray at 8 inches wide and a 317 tip will spray at 6 inches wide. These calculations for the spray width are based on the gun being held 12” inches from the surface being sprayed.

The second two digits indicate the size of the orifice and are measured in thousandths of an inch. For example a 517 tip will spray 10 inches wide, through an orifice size of 17 thousandths of an inch. A 515 tip will spray 10 inches wide, through an orifice size of 15 thousandths of an inch and a  513 tip will spray 10 inches wide, through an orifice size of 13 thousandths of an inch.

Understanding what tip size for which coating 

As a general guide the list of tip sizes below is handy to work out what spray tip you need for the coating you intend to spray. We have also included a gun filter recommendation for each size tip. 

Coating

Tip Size

Filter Mesh Size

Stains

0.07 – 0.011

150 Mesh

Clear Lacquer

0.07 – 0.013

100 Mesh

Oil Based Enamels

0.011 – 0.015

100 – 150 Mesh

Water Based Gloss

0.011 – 0.015

100 – 150 Mesh

Water Based Acrylic

0.015 – 0.017

50 – 100 Mesh

Roof Paint

0.017 – 0.023

30 – 50 Mesh

 

You will notice that thinner coatings such as stain and lacquer use smaller size tips because the coating is thin and runny. Heavier coatings such as roof paint require larger size tips because the product is thicker.

You need to match the correct tip size for the coating that you plan to spray, you may find that in some cases you can use a smaller tip then we have recommended and in other situations a larger tip. It’s really about what works best for you and it’s ideal if you keep a range of tips sizes on hand. 

If you are planning on spraying a coating that you are unfamiliar with we always suggest to purchase additional tips, one size under and one size over the suggested size. Doing this could be the difference between a day of successful painting or a day wasted with tip blockages and frustration. 

It is best to check with the manufacturer of the coating to determine the correct tip size. Many paint manufacturer’s produce product data sheets that will have airless spray specifications.

 

Understanding the type of spray tip to use 

Now that you have an idea of what tip size, you need to know what type of tip to spray with. Basically there are four types of airless spray tips available in the market place.

 

Standard or Contractor Airless Spray Tips 

These are the most common airless spray tip used in a wide variety of industries such as new home construction, metal fabrication and roof coatings. 

See below examples of the most common standard tips sold in Australia 

Brand

Tip Type

Colour

Atomex

X-50CTContractor

Black

Graco

RACX LTX

Blue

Wagner

Trade Tip 3

Yellow

Standard airless spray tips require a minimum fluid pressure of 2000psi or higher to correctly atomise the paint. Most standard airless spray tips will have a maximum of 5000psi pressure rating. 

Common coatings sprayed with standard tips are water based acrylic in low sheen and flat suitable for painting house interiors and exteriors. The most common size used for this application is the famous 517. The 517 has the right amount of flow and the right spray width and nearly all airless sprayers sold inAustraliawill come with a 517 tip on the gun as standard. 

Most people will spray using standard airless spray tips, they will produce a good finish and reduce over spray. It is important that you keep in mind that tips do wear, you should consider changing your spray tip after spraying between 500 - 600 litres of material. 

 

Fine Finish or Low Pressure Airless Spray Tips 

Fine finish tips come in a variety of forms from different manufactures. 

Atomex produce the X50-FF (Fine Finish) spray tip. 

Graco produce FFLP (Fine Finish Low Pressure) and LP (Low Pressure). 

Wagner produce Trade Tip 3 Fine Finish,HEAPro and Control Pro tips. 

All of these tips function the same way and produce similar finishes. Fine finish tips simply have a pre-orifice at the rear of the tip that slows down the paint flow and allows the paint to atomise more softly. The pre-orifice restricts the paint flow going through the tip and producing a lower, finer pressure of fluid leaving the tip which in turn will reduce over spray. The old rule with over spray always applies, the lower the pressure the less over spray you will get. 

See below examples of the most common fine finish tips sold in Australia 

Brand

Tip Type

Colour

Atomex

X-50FF Fine Finish

Light Brown

Graco

RACX FFLP & LP

Green

Wagner

Trade Tip 3 Fine Finish

Purple

Wagner

Control Pro &HEAPro

Green

Fine finish tips can spray material at lower pressure, depending on the material being sprayed, you can get down as low as 1200/1300psi while still maintaining a good spray pattern. The only problem with fine finish tips is that they can block more easily and more often than standard tips because of the pre-orifice. It's important to use a finer filter when spraying with fine finish tips. 

Generally fine finish tips are better for lacquers, water based gloss, enamel and 2k (high quality finish coats) where a smaller more detailed area is being sprayed. Larger size fine finish tips such as the Atomex X-50FF in a 518 size give fantastic finishes when spray ceilings and walls, the orifice size is not so small but you can reduce the pressure of the airless sprayer which will reduce over spray while giving you a superior finish. 

Lately manufacturers have been using fine finish tips as a way of selling really low powered airless sprayers such as the Graco Ultra Hand Held and the Wagner Control Pro as normal airless sprayers. Both of these machines will not function correctly using standard airless spray tips because none one of these machines can produce more than about 2000psi and they have very low flow rates. If you use either one of these machines with a standard tip they will not spray correctly. 

Fine finish tips are also marketed cleverly by manufacturers with considerable effort taken to convince you the consumer that their tip is better. Keep in mind that they all work roughly the same way and that they all produce the same result. Which ever tip brand you choose and like is the right choice. 

Again fine finish tips will wear out at the same rate as all other tips so be sure to replace them regularly to ensure you get the best results when spraying.

 

Heavy Duty Airless Spray Tips 

Heavy duty airless spray tips are most commonly mistaken for lasting longer, this is simply not the case. The tungsten carbide in heavy duty tips is no different to the carbide used in standard tips and I am sure manufacturers will argue this with some clever marketing and sales spiel. 

Heavy duty spray tips are designed specifically for pressure up to 7500psi, standard spray tips are only rated to 5000psi. The difference between heavy duty tips and standard tips is the way that the carbide tip is retained in the tip barrel. Standard tips usually have an insert fitted into the rear of the barrel in front of the carbide, this is pushed in and machined to the same diameter of the barrel. Heavy duty tips have a threaded insert screwed into the rear of the barrel, the screw insert is designed so that when the tip is reversed to clear a blockage the higher pressure does not push the carbide out through the rear and become a projectile. 

The entire design of heavy duty tips is based around safety to ensure that when an applicator clears a blockage, the entire guts of the tip are not shot out from the end of the gun which could seriously hurt a person nearby if it were to hit them. 

It is important to ensure that if your airless sprayer produces more than 5000psi of fluid pressure that you use heavy duty tips that are rated to 7500psi. 

See below examples of the most common heavy duty tips sold in Australia 

Brand

Tip Type

Colour

Atomex

X-75HD Heavy Duty

Blue

Graco

XHD Heavy Duty

Grey

Heavy duty airless spray tips require a minimum fluid pressure of 2000psi or higher to correctly atomise the paint but they can be used with fluid pressure up to 7500psi unlike standard airless spray tips which can only be used at 5000psi. 

Common materials sprayed with these tips at higher pressures are zinc, 2k epoxy and 2K epoxy high build. Generally machines with fluid pressures between 4500psi and 7250psi are used for these coatings. You can also use heavy duty tips for general spraying as you would with standard tips, the results will be the same.

 

Line Stripe or Line Marking Airless Spray Tips 

Line stripe or line marking tips are designed to produce a sharper edge when sprayed giving the painted line a more crisp finish. Standard airless tips tend to make the painted edges feather so when each coat is overlapped the finish appears more even. 

Most three wheeled line markers such as Graco and Wagner will use this type of tip where the gun distance from the surface is about 10 inches (25cm). The height selection of the gun will have some adjustment of the sprayed line width but you will need to have a few different size tips on hand for varied line widths. 

Many factors will effect the quality of the line produced - 

  • Surface condition, smooth even surface will produce a nicer line than a rough uneven surface. A rough surface will also make the machine bounce more thus causing additional vibration on the gun arm. 
  • Machine vibration, this is a big factor. Some low end American made three wheel line markers that are built to a price and not quality have horrible vibration due to poor design and pumps that are really too small for the job that need to be run flat out in order to keep up with the spray tip. The combination of poor design with a small pump that has to race in order to keep up will cause vibration at the gun. Add a rough surface to the formula and you will get a horrible finish of the sprayed line. 
  • Rubbish in the paint, this is the most important choice - always use high quality clean line marking paint. Particles in the paint can cause the obvious tip blockage when nothing comes though, but what is more annoying is partial blockages where the paint flow is constantly interrupted by small particles of debris which distorts the even paint flow. People often mistake this for the machine or the tip having an issue but it's actually rubbish in the paint that causes problems like "jaggered edges" or "waves" in the sprayed line edge. 

We recommend Damar Industries Line Marking Paint, it's always clean and we have seen few problems with the product. We have serviced a few line markers over the last 27 years and that's our recommendation.   

See below examples of the most common line marking tips sold in Australia 

Brand

Tip Type

Colour

Atomex

X-50LS Line Stripe

White

Graco

LL5 Line Stripe

Yellow

Wagner

Trade Tip 3 Line Stripe

White

Line striping tips will wear out at the same rate as all other tips so be sure to replace them regularly to ensure you get the best results when spraying.