HOW DO I ADJUST MY LVLP SPRAY GUN?
How Does it Work?
LVLP stands for Low-Volume-Low-Pressure, meaning these manual spray gun models operate at a low pressure in order to atomize the material (compared to HVLP - High volume, low pressure). The best thing about LVLP FPro spray guns is that they don’t require a pro-level air compressor - with a reduced air consumption - but can work with almost any affordable compressor units. Material viscosity is also an extremely important factor to consider for your applications. Many people make a common mistake of using thick materials with low-pressure guns
How to adjust a LVLP spray gun: 3 steps to be followed for great results!
Start the air compressor and set the regulator to desired pressure. Do not exceed the maximum recommended air pressure. Test the consistency by making a spraying test. If it appears too thick, add a very small amount of thinner (not included) and mix thoroughly. Use the correct thinner for the type of paint. The main thing here is not to skip this particular step as it is one of the most easy and essential for good results. Failing to do so will result in uneven coats, overspray, paint wastage, and an overall underwhelming experience
Set the fluid flowrate depending on your tip size:
- For finest spray quality, we need a particle speed at the nozzle in the range of 1.5 to 5.0m/s
- This particle speed can be easily converted into an optimum flowrate with a formula using the diagram (flowrate, particles speed, nozzle diameter)
- The best Spray Quality can be reached with a particle speed of between 2.5 to 3.5m/s with a flowrate of 118 cfm, the best nozzle or tip size choice would be 0.9mm or 1.0mm.
In the case of a Gravity cup or Suction cup manual gun, you don’t have to adjust the fluid pressure, it is done automatically.
For pressure fed Manual gun (without cup, fed by a pump or a pressure pot) , you have to adjust the fluid pressure to get the right flowrate (cut the Air inlet for that, just change the fluid pressure)
Note: The FPro SAMES KREMLIN lightweight models for professionals benefit from a Restrictor (patented). This can be added to manual pressure guns to control the correct flowrate.
Set the Atomization Air :
Adjusting the air pressure is of utmost importance. In case you don’t have a regulator at the base of the gun, you can use the flow valve at the base of the handle. You have the choice between different aircaps. The 2 most important criteria for choosing the aircap is the purpose (round fan, flat fan,specific for glue, etc…) and the maximum fan width.
The fan width achieved in the end can always be reduced thanks to the set valve on the gun, but it will never be bigger than the max fan width given in the Sames Kremlin datasheets.
For a premium Spray Quality, we advise not to turn the set valve too much (do not reduce the fan width more than 50%) because the fan balance will worsen, except if you turn the set valve completely to have a round fan perfectly balanced
Once the aircap has been chosen, you need to set the air pressure at the gun handle. Generally, we recommended (with set valve fully open) :For HVLP and LVLP: 2.0 to 2.5 Bar at the handle
Set the fan width:
The fan regulator is also one of the crucial things one must properly adjust. With the fan regulator turned off, air flows only through the center of the cap. By opening the valve, air is introduced to the wings of the cap which consequently flattens the spray. The fully-closed pattern is mainly used for painting edges or narrow areas. As you start opening the valve, the pattern becomes wider. It’s important to remember that by using a narrower pattern less material is wasted. Turning the wings of the air cap into a vertical position will give you a horizontal pattern and vice-versa. to do so, change the direction of the fan from horizontal to vertical, turn the nozzle 90°.
Pattern Adjustment
- Once you set the Atomization Air pressure, the last setting is the fan width. Thanks to the set valve, you can reduce the fan width
- The set valve is moving forward or backward, reducing the air passage to the cap ears
- This set valve will be set in live during the spray
Check the pattern after each adjustment.
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