Choosing the Correct Air Cap Set
Choosing the correct air cap set for your HVLP spray gun can sometimes be a chore. Not to mention when your selection may be the wrong one, then it would become a headache.
Some of our customer inquiries at Fuji Spray are related to air cap selection. Therefore, over the years through trial and error and by speaking to our distributors and customers we have compiled a few simple guidelines when selecting the correct air cap set for the job you are finishing.
For the most part when answering such customer questions we often suggest one of the following air cap sets:
- 1.0 mm
- 1.3 mm
- 1.8 mm
1.0 mm Air Cap Set:
The 1.0 mm which is our fine to medium output is great for most fine finishing including many water-based / borne coatings. It allows for a thinner, wet coat to be applied. It is also good when using nitrocellulose lacquers, sealer, cellulose, acrylics, synthetics, polyurethane, stains, varnish, and primers.
1.3 mm Air Cap Set:
Our standard air cap set is the 1.3mm which is ideal for most fine finishing products. This air cap set is also great for when using nitrocellulose lacquers, water-based finishes, varnish, urethanes, enamel, latex for louver doors, trims and cabinets, and oil based paints.
1.8mm Air Cap Set:
The 1.8 mm is our high output air cap set. It is ideal for larger surfaces, and thicker layers. It is also great when using catalyzed lacquers, primers, varnish, urethanes, enamel, industrial coating (higher viscosity), sealers, polyurethane, oil based paints, epoxy enamels, plastic, adhesives, floor paving paints, latex (walls), splatter paints and multi fleck paints.
Over the years we have found that for the most part set ups ranging from 1.0mm-1.5mm should be ideal for most fine finishing applications.
To take the headache out of guessing wrong, located on our website at https://www.fujispray.com/parts-accessories/ is the completed Fuji Quick Reference Sheet illustrating the guidelines and finish usage for air cap set ranging from 0.8mm to our highest at 2.5mm. You can also find additional information on finish problems & solutions, viscosity cup index and spray patterns.
Not every setup will be identical for every user. Other considerations include; percentage of thinning, temperature, humidity, location, elevation above sea water, strength of the turbine motor, and distance of the spray gun from the work in progress.
Always remember that these are guidelines and experimentation is always the best way to decide which set up works best in the end.
Happy Spraying!