Its very interesting to see the changes in the equipment and tools used today and the tools used in the past. The paint guns used years ago achieved the same effects that our new guns do today. The air is mixed with the fluid and a spray mist is created.
The two guns on the left are what we call siphon feed guns or cup guns or conventional guns. They were used in our industry going way back and probably are still being used today in some parts of the country. But do to the EPA restriction in some cities we are not allowed to use the siphon type guns anymore. Why? The siphon guns use a tremendous amount of air to siphon the paint up to the gun nozzle where it is mixed with air creating a large amount of over spray to disperse into the air causing pollution and waste.
The siphon gun has been our friend for a long time, but we now have the HVLP.
The HVLP gun seen on the right is our choice of gun today. It also can be called gravity feed. Notice the paint cup is at the top. The paint does not have to be forced to the nozzle by air, its already right there ready to be atomized into a mist. HVLP stands for high volume low pressure. The EPA loves the minimum amount of over spray generated by these wonderful HVLP guns. The paint departments over time find a nice little savings in materials also, since the unused over spray now can be going on the job.
