Monday, April 30, 2007

Changes in Spray Painting

Over the years, changes have been made in the spray painting industry. New technology, advancements, and improvements, new laws and regulations, and more concern over pollutants are the forces behind the changes.

There are basically three qualities of spray paint equipment in the market:

1. Industrial Usage. Super heavy-duty equipment used daily, spraying an average of 50+ gallons per day.

2. Commercial Use. Heavy-duty equipment for businesses, used to spray houses, apartments, warehouses, etc.

3. Home and Hobby Use. Light duty usage. For occasionally spraying a house, a room, furniture, etc.

It’s possible that the traditional air-atomize spray painting gun often known as a high pressure paint gun that is the root of the industry will be essentially eliminated in the next ten years, to be replaced by spray guns that offer higher transfer efficiency (TE).

Under pressure from environmental authorities to lessen smog-causing volatile organic chemicals (VOC) emissions and from management to lower costs and improve efficiency, spray painters are changing their equipment-buying habits.

For most that purchase new spray painting equipment, TE is an important factor because of cost and environmental reasons.

Higher transfer efficiency (TE) eliminates pollution at its source and is especially important from a health and safety standpoint. Paints and coatings contain many potentially harmful chemicals—including isocyanates, solvents, and pigments. Concern for air quality from releases of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), like paint thinners, have prompted several state and local governments to take action. Breathing these dangerous chemicals can have negative effects on your health.

Transfer efficiency rates the ability of spray-painting equipment to put paint on the parts being painted rather than allowing it to escape as overspray or in other forms of paint waste.

If conventional air-atomize spray is used, it is possible that only 20 percent of the paint becomes a coating on the surfaces being sprayed, and 80 percent is wasted. That’s wasted paint, wasted money, and more pollutants. The paint isn't the only cost associated with poor transfer efficiency. Spray booth cleanup costs often equal the cost of the paint. Plus the fact that you may end up with waste that is either difficult or very expensive to dispose of.

In short, many are switching spray paint equipment for two important reasons-money and health.

To improve TE and lessen VOC’s people have been switching to:

· HVLP
· Electrostatic Spray
· Air-Assisted Airless Spray
· Powder Coating
· Waterborne Coatings
· High-Solids Coatings

High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP) paint sprayers are light, mobile, and provide a finish far superior to even your nicest paintbrush. They also make the job go faster and are less tiring than painting by hand.

HVLP is a variation of conventional air-atomize spray. The difference is that these guns are designed to atomize paint using a high volume of air delivered at low pressure. The lower pressure results in far less overspray and bounce-back. The HVLP spray gun has advantages over the rest: Better transfer efficiency results in less paint waste and lower cleanup costs. The exact TE depends upon the circumstances in your installation the booth design, spray techniques, the mix of parts, etc. However most experts agree that HVLP offers significant improvement. Operators that are used to conventional guns generally find it easy to learn how to use HVLP. It is much easier than painting by hand. Being light is also a good advantage. It’s easy to carry around, reach up or down, and to change positions.

Painting with an HVLP spray gun significantly reduces over-spray and as a result: Minimize the releases of toxic chemicals, helping protect you, your co-workers, and your shop's neighborhood and reduces the amount of paint you need to refinish a car goes down, saving your shop many dollars in paint costs.

Research has shown that HVLP spray guns can achieve far greater transfer efficiency (over 60% with good technique) than conventional spray guns. Higher transfer efficiency means less of what you don't want: paint overspray, mists that a painter might breathe, emissions to the community—and more of what you do want: savings on paint and an improved bottom line!
Over the years, changes have been made in the spray painting industry. New technology, advancements, and improvements, new laws and regulations, and more concern over pollutants are the forces behind the changes.

There are basically three qualities of spray paint equipment in the market:

1. Industrial Usage. Super heavy-duty equipment used daily, spraying an average of 50+ gallons per day.

2. Commercial Use. Heavy-duty equipment for businesses, used to spray houses, apartments, warehouses, etc.

3. Home and Hobby Use. Light duty usage. For occasionally spraying a house, a room, furniture, etc.

It’s possible that the traditional air-atomize spray painting gun often known as a high pressure paint gun that is the root of the industry will be essentially eliminated in the next ten years, to be replaced by spray guns that offer higher transfer efficiency (TE).

Under pressure from environmental authorities to lessen smog-causing volatile organic chemicals (VOC) emissions and from management to lower costs and improve efficiency, spray painters are changing their equipment-buying habits.

For most that purchase new spray painting equipment, TE is an important factor because of cost and environmental reasons.

Higher transfer efficiency (TE) eliminates pollution at its source and is especially important from a health and safety standpoint. Paints and coatings contain many potentially harmful chemicals—including isocyanates, solvents, and pigments. Concern for air quality from releases of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), like paint thinners, have prompted several state and local governments to take action. Breathing these dangerous chemicals can have negative effects on your health.

Transfer efficiency rates the ability of spray-painting equipment to put paint on the parts being painted rather than allowing it to escape as overspray or in other forms of paint waste.

If conventional air-atomize spray is used, it is possible that only 20 percent of the paint becomes a coating on the surfaces being sprayed, and 80 percent is wasted. That’s wasted paint, wasted money, and more pollutants. The paint isn't the only cost associated with poor transfer efficiency. Spray booth cleanup costs often equal the cost of the paint. Plus the fact that you may end up with waste that is either difficult or very expensive to dispose of.

In short, many are switching spray paint equipment for two important reasons-money and health.

To improve TE and lessen VOC’s people have been switching to:

· HVLP
· Electrostatic Spray
· Air-Assisted Airless Spray
· Powder Coating
· Waterborne Coatings
· High-Solids Coatings

High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP) paint sprayers are light, mobile, and provide a finish far superior to even your nicest paintbrush. They also make the job go faster and are less tiring than painting by hand.

HVLP is a variation of conventional air-atomize spray. The difference is that these guns are designed to atomize paint using a high volume of air delivered at low pressure. The lower pressure results in far less overspray and bounce-back. The HVLP spray gun has advantages over the rest: Better transfer efficiency results in less paint waste and lower cleanup costs. The exact TE depends upon the circumstances in your installation the booth design, spray techniques, the mix of parts, etc. However most experts agree that HVLP offers significant improvement. Operators that are used to conventional guns generally find it easy to learn how to use HVLP. It is much easier than painting by hand. Being light is also a good advantage. It’s easy to carry around, reach up or down, and to change positions.

Painting with an HVLP spray gun significantly reduces over-spray and as a result: Minimize the releases of toxic chemicals, helping protect you, your co-workers, and your shop's neighborhood and reduces the amount of paint you need to refinish a car goes down, saving your shop many dollars in paint costs.

Research has shown that HVLP spray guns can achieve far greater transfer efficiency (over 60% with good technique) than conventional spray guns. Higher transfer efficiency means less of what you don't want: paint overspray, mists that a painter might breathe, emissions to the community—and more of what you do want: savings on paint and an improved bottom line!