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Airless paint sprayers come in many different configurations and designs but all have the same general features and controls. The basic idea behind how a sprayers works is that it pumps the paint and forces it out a very small tip on the spray gun. There is no air or air compressor involved, hence the name "airless" paint sprayer. They will apply a lot of paint very quickly and can make a tedious job very easy and quick.



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    Prepare the surface for painting. Cover any and all things that are not to be painted, including yourself. When spraying, there will be misting/fogging and this paint will end up everywhere. It has the same characteristics as fine sheetrock dust and will float and settle. Light synthetic coveralls should be worn along with spray hood, safety glasses and respirator.
    • If painting inside, cover/mask floors, walls, light fixtures, doorknobs, hinges, light switches, etc.
    • If painting outside, the paint you spray 15 or 20 feet (4.6 or 6.1 m) up onto a second story can float and carry in the wind. Cover all landscaping, neighbors' house, fences, etc.
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    Release the trigger and then stop motion of your hand to stop painting.
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    When you are finished painting, thoroughly clean the sprayer. All the paint must be cleaned out after each use.



  • Never mix oil-based paint with water or latex paint and never mix paint thinner with latex paint.
  • The tip where the paint comes out is extremely small and prone to clogging. Any small piece of dust or sand or dried paint will clog the spray tip. To help minimize this problem strain the paint whenever possible with a synthetic paint strainer (never use cheesecloth). When renting or buying a sprayer, always get one with a reversible tip installed. If you get a clog, this allows you to quickly reverse the spray tip, clear out the clog, reverse it back and proceed with painting.
  • Treat your airless sprayer like a tool that can cause a mess. Be careful to keep children and untrained people away.


  • Airless paint sprayers operate at very high pressures and can very easily cause injures if you were to spray your skin or any part of your body. You may actually inject paint into your tissues or bloodstream through your skin without having an obvious cut or bleeding. The skin can open up and allow the passage of the paint through and then close off again making it appear that nothing is wrong. This is a "fluid injection injury", and should be treated by a professional immediately.
  • Even when a sprayer is off and unplugged it can have pressure trapped in the machine until it has been released. Always make sure that each time you turn off the machine, you release the pressure in the system by opening the prime valve or by pulling the trigger on the spray gun and spraying into an empty bucket.
  • Airless Paint Sprayers are able to spray a wide variety of paint products but do not spray coatings with textures or grits.

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Categories: Painting

In other languages:

Español: usar un pulverizador de pintura sin aire, Deutsch: Eine Airless Spritzpistole verwenden, Português: Usar um Pulverizador Para Pintura Sem Ar, Русский: пользоваться безвоздушным краскопультом

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