Best Airless Paint Sprayer for Latex Paint – Reviews and Guide in 2021
Airless paint sprayers are good not only for the professional sprayers but also for those with DIY paint enthusiasts. They are not only easier to use but also fast and efficient in covering a particular surface with paint. These airless paint sprayers ensure your surface is painted beautifully and with a smooth texture. This is something difficult to achieve especially when you are using paint roller or brush. What’s more, the best airless paint sprayer for latex paint are nontoxic hence ecofriendly.
Table of Contents
The 6 Best Airless Paint Sprayer for Latex in the Market
How Do You Spray Latex Paint with an Airless Sprayer?
An airless sprayer is usually easy to use as compared to other sprayers. It works by pumping paint at very high pressure. Once pumped, the paint moves through a thin pipe and gets out through the gun tip. The gun tip is usually designed to eject the paint through the small nozzles creating thin droplets for a smooth and beautiful painting.
Since it uses high-pressure pumping, you can spray a large surface within a short period of time. Therefore, it’s most convenient for large painting jobs such as drywalls. Therefore, the following is a step by step guidance on how to use the airless sprayers.
High Pressure – Himalaya Airless Paint Sprayer for Professional Latex Painting
Airless Sprayer with High Pressure for Latex Paint
But before we look at how to use an airless paint sprayer, let’s first understand some of its common features. An airless paint sprayer is made up of several components which includes pump/fluid section, motor, drive train, hose pipe, gun, tip, prime/spray valve, rod, intake tube to mention a few.
Airless Paint Sprayer Components
- Pump. The pump also known as fluid section plays an important role in the functionality of the sprayer. It creates pressure which aids in ejecting the paint as recommended. It’s always made of heavy-duty steel in order to accommodate the high pressure.
- Motor. The motor is probably the second most important component of the airless sprayer. It produces power necessary for running the pump.
- Drive train. The drive train acts like a transmission system and relays power from point of generation to the pumps
- Hose. The hosepipe helps carry the paint from the spryer at high pressures. It’s designed with sturdiness and strength in mind to serve its purpose effectively.
- Gun. The gun helps the sprayer to hold the pressurized paint in place until we need it. It also helps in a safe painting by controlling the amount of paint released at a go.
- Tip. This controls the spray fan size and amount of fluid that is allowed to come out.
How to Use the Sprayer When Painting Latex?
First, you need to prime the pump. Ensure you connect the prime tube and the suction pipe In a waste pail and a bucket of strained paint respectively. Add the spray valve to the connection then switch on the pump. Once you notice paint flowing from the prime tube, you need to move it to the paint bucket.
Remember to hold the sprayer gun over the waste bucket. You then need to pull out the trigger to facilitate a faster and steady stream of paint in the hose. When the paint is on a steady flow, you need to lock up the trigger to enable the paint to flow without using extra effort. Relieve the pressure before you install the tip guard.
In case you want to adjust the pressure, you can turn on the pump and move the spray lever to the recommended position. Then spray a strip of paint on a surface while observing the spray pattern. If you notice trails in your spray pattern, that’s an indication that the pressure is too low. For this situation, you can always adjust the pressure up.
Notes: Always avoid spraying with low pressure as it will lead to uneven spray pattern. Also, refrain from using too much pressure as it may lead to overspray as well as premature wear and tear of some parts.
Top 3 Best Airless Paint Sprayer for Latex Painting
If at all you are looking for airless sprayers for your latex painting, here is a list you can select from:
#1. Hot Pick – Gracio Magnum 262800 Airless Paint Sprayer
Best Sale Airless Paint Sprayer for Latex Paint
This product by Gracio Company is ideal for homeowners with DIY passion. It’s light in weight, extremely durable and portable. The affordable price makes it an ideal choice for those seeking to have a smooth and quality finish.
#2. Best Convenient – Titan ControlMax High-Efficiency Airless Paint Sprayer
Airless Paint Sprayer for Beginners
This is another top-rated airless sprayer that is not only user-friendly but also efficient in use. This sprayer makes your work look like a professional, even if you are a beginner. Also, it’s made with strong and sturdy materials hence provides long-lasting service.
It’s highly flexible and versatile. With this sprayer, you can always use a range of materials from stain, sealers to latex paint.
#3. Best Lightweight – Graco Ultra Corded Airless Handheld Paint Sprayer
Graco Handheld Sprayer for Latex
This sprayer is ideal for between 4 to 8-quart projects such as ceiling boards, doors, garage doors, shutters and smaller walls to mention a few. It requires no thinning and comes with a suction tube that provides a full motion of spraying in both directions without losing prime. Also, it comes at an affordable price but still served high-quality services.
What Size Tip Do You Need to Spray Latex Paint?
For those using latex paints, it’s very important that you pay close attention to the tip size. Selecting the right type and size of the tip ensures you have a quality finish as well as ease of use. As a rule of thumb, it’s always advisable to select the tip that isn’t too big for your pump.
According to experts, you should go for tips with full orifices. Also, with time, the tip will always wear and this will eventually affect the paint ejection/spray patterns. Therefore, the following are guidelines that will help you select the rightful tip for spraying latex paints.
- Spray pattern
One factor to consider when spraying latex paint is the spray pattern. Tips that have small fans are found to be good for refined applications. This is because they do provide added control and reduce the chances of overspray to some significant level. However, those tips with full fans are often recommended for large spray tasks as they cover large surfaces.
Also, it’s important to keep in mind that tips with more fans are more likely to overspray as compared to those with smaller fans.
Best Electric – Graco Airless Sprayer with 0.015″ Tip and 0.021″ Max Tip
Graco Electric Sprayer with Airless System
- Materials
Another factor to consider when selecting the tip size for your latex paint is the material. When we talk about the tip size, we basically refer to the size of the orifice as well as that of the fan. Usually, the orifice size informs the painter on the amount of material that will pass through the tip per given spray time. This, therefore, helps you determine the amount of material you would want to pass per minute while you are spraying.
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Note that the amount of material set dictates the quality of finish as well as time spent. Thin and low viscous materials can be applied effectively using tips with small orifices. Some of the materials that fall under this category include stains and lacquers.
Put in simple terms, materials play a crucial role when choosing the tip size. Therefore, before using your airless sprayer, always countercheck the type of paint you want to use. For latex paints, you can select medium-sized tips due to their thickness and low viscosity.
Do You Need to Thin Latex Paint for Airless Paint Sprayer?
Basically, thinning your latex paint won’t have a significance on your airless paint sprayer. Therefore, you can decide to thin or not to. However, one thing with thinning is that it changes the color of your paint as well as the drying time.
Thinned latex tends to dry much faster than thick latex. Also, when too much water is added to your paint, it will force you to use many coats so as to achieve the desired finish.
Generally speaking, when using airless sprayers, you don’t necessarily need to thin your latex paint. This is because the majority of paint manufacturer’s do produce latex paint with a viscosity that can work for a wide range of average applications.
However, since average doesn’t work in all situations, you may sometimes need to thin the paint whenever necessary. Therefore, before thinning your latex, it’s always good that you assess the viscosity of your paint.
Can I Use Latex Paint with an HVLP Spray Gun?
Yes. High volume low pressure (HVLP) spray guns are getting popular each day due to their efficiency in applying paint indoors. However, according to expert opinions, these HVLP guns are not recommended for heavy-bodied latex paint.
The primary reason being the heavy latex paint does have high viscosity. Therefore, it is usually hard for the paints to be broken down. In other words, you can find it challenging lowering the pressure turbine in order to atomize the material into smaller particles that produce smooth desired finishing.
Alternatives to Using HVLP Spray Gun with a Latex Spray
Nonetheless, if you run out of options but still want to use the HVLP system for your spray, here is what you need to do.
- First, use a good 4 or 5 stage turbine that will provide you with the necessary power to atomize the paint.
- Secondly, you can use a larger nozzle let’s say 1.8mm wide. Along with that, you can add a pressurized cup which will help in pushing the fluid through the nozzles. The cup basically acts as a pump which is witnessed in most professional airless sprayers.
- Thirdly, you can consider using a fine finish tip. The fine tip usually helps in improving the atomization process as compared to the standard tip.
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Is It Better to Use Oil Based Paint for an Airless Paint Sprayer?
In most cases, we do ask whether or not it is better to use oil-based paints in an airless sprayer. Well, however much some people may use oil-based paints in an airless painter, it isn’t designed for that purpose. Nonetheless, both the oil-based and the latex paints can work in airless sprays but only if you do it properly.
Best Portable – Wagner Handheld Airless Sprayer for Oil and Latex Paint
Wagner Oil and Latex Paint Airless Sprayer
Switching from water-based sprayers to oil-based sprayers can be difficult. Therefore, you need professional guidance to maneuver your way through successfully. Failure to observe certain steps can affect the whole operation including getting your pump being filled with chunks that can be difficult to remove. Therefore, if you want to use oil-based paint in an airless sprayer, you can follow the following guidelines.
Ways to Switch Water Paint to Oil Paint
First and foremost, flush the pump of the airless sprayer with water. This ensures that your pump picks up the oil-based paint without any problems.
Secondly, you need to flush the hose pipe as well as the gun with water to ensure it’s free from blockages. After clearing the pump section, you can proceed and switch the prime spray valve and spray continuously until you see the oil-based paint coming out. If the paint starts to come out, then this is an indication that the airless spray gun is free from water-based products.
After flushing out the water-based products, you can now insert the pickup tube into the container containing the new oil-based material. Once the new fluid section is primed, you can then for ahead and switch the spray on and spray until the new oil-based paint is sprayed from your gun.
Basically, airless sprayers are designed to work best with latex or water-based paint materials. Therefore, it’s not best to use them with oil-based products. However, if you are to use them with oil-based products, it’s important that you flush out the existing paint material before bringing in the new one. You don’t want both of them to clog within the system.
Conclusion
There is no doubt the airless sprayers has improved the world of painting. It does not only save time but also ensures you have a smooth and perfect finishing.
What’s more, are designed mainly for latex paints. However, because of their versatility and flexibility, they can sometimes be used to paint oil-based products. Therefore, get yourself a chance and have this new and amazing experience of painting using the airless sprayers.
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