What is the spray pattern?
Simply put, the air spray gun uses compressed air to convert the liquid paint into tiny particles and uses the small holes in the air cap to form the corresponding atomized shape.
How to understand the spray pattern?
There are two common spray pattern types: olive-shaped 3-stage atomization zone and long strip-shaped 2-stage atomization zone.
Olive type 3-stage atomization zone: center wetting area, atomization area, and overspray zone. Please, see the figure below. The central wetting zone is whole, the atomization zone is uniform, and the overspray zone is small, which is suitable for automotive refinishing painting.
Long, 2-stage atomization zone: atomization zone and overspray zone. Uniform and light atomization zone and long spray width for waterborne paint and wood spraying.
The spray pattern’s width, the atomized particles’ distribution, and the overspray area’s size are the criteria for evaluating whether a spray gun is professional. So, what factors affect the spray patterns?
1. Different atomization technologies
The standard atomization technologies are HVLP, LVLP, and APR, divided according to the amount of compressed air and the pressure sprayed in the gun head. HVLP has finer atomization particles than APR; APR has a more extended spray width than HVLP, and LVLP requires less air consumption.
2. Different nozzle sizes
The smaller the nozzle size, the shorter the spray width. You can not require the spray width of 0.8mm nozzle size to be as longer as 1.3mm. The larger size, the larger the wetted area in the center atomization zone, which is good at coverage.
3. Different nozzle shapes
We called the regular nozzle named C-type. The atomization pattern of it is generally oval or olive-shaped. While the V-type is different from the nozzle, it only has two stages of spray pattern, and the atomization area is more uniform and thin.
The shape of the atomization for spraying is not that important. What is essential is to choose the right atomization for the spraying job. When purchasing a spray gun, you need to select the right spray gun and atomization for the size and target of the sprayed object. If you need a custom professional atomization, we will also be happy to help you with that.
