3 Benefits of Using an HVLP Spray Gun for Automotive Painting

In your auto painting career, odds are good that you’ll do much of your work with a high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) spray gun. This technology offers a few advantages over the older high-pressure paint guns that were once common, and will let businesses do their painting even quicker, and with better cost effectiveness. They even offer a few improvements that contribute to the safety of the painting professionals who use them.

Curious about what sets HVLP guns apart? Here is a look at the biggest advantages automotive painting professionals will enjoy while performing their day-to-day responsibilities with one of these tools.

1. Pros in Auto Painting Careers Know That HVLP Guns Have Less Overspray

One of the biggest benefits of HVLP guns is that they can get a paint job done with less paint. This is largely because they have less “overspray,” which is a phenomenon in which excess paint collects on and around the surface being sprayed. HVLP guns spray in a way that avoids this kind of accumulation of extra paint on the surface.

As a side bonus, having less overspray means that automotive painting professionals will have to spend less time getting the overspray off of a vehicle. This process sometimes involves using solvents and specialized tools to remove the excess. This takes time, and requires a good deal of care.

Saving money, both on supplies and labour, is a great point in favour of HVLP guns. For both of those reasons, expect to use this kind of applicator in your automotive painting career.

2. HVLP Guns Offer Better Transfer Efficiency During Automotive Painting

Not only do HVLP guns do a better job of not spraying excess paint onto the surface of a car, but they also have better “transfer efficiency.” This term refers to the amount of paint that is shot out of the gun and that then sticks to the surface of the car. Higher-pressure delivery systems will cause paint to bounce back off of a car, whereas HVLP guns do not have as much of that problem. According to Hotrod, the difference can be as much as a 65 per cent transfer efficiency rate for HVLP versus a 25 per cent rate for high-pressure guns.

3. HVLP Guns Shoot Less Paint Into the Air, Which Is Better for Your Health

When paint guns of all kinds are used in auto painting careers, a cloud of microscopic paint droplets is released and breathing this in is very bad for a person’s health. This is why auto painting professionals wear a breathing system when working on a car, though residual paint in the air means that safety can still be a concern even after the job is done.

HVLP guns shoot less paint into the air than high-pressure guns do, which cuts down both on the paint that a mask needs to take care of and on the amount that hangs around afterwards. Overall, it’s a pretty big advantage for you, and a great reason why you should use an HVLP gun. Of course, standard warnings still apply. You should always paint in a well-ventilated area and use a breathing system when using an HVLP gun.

Are you considering auto painting, or other careers in the auto industry?

Visit Automotive Training Centres for more information, or to speak to an advisor.