Is a A Turbine Paint Gun Better than an Air Compressor HVLP Paint Gun?
Since the early days of “powered painting” we’ve been using a paint gun that uses compressed air from an air compressor to spray paint. Naturally paint guns have progressed and we now have it down to a science. What this has meant is that paint gun companies have been working to make it easier for you to paint. Turbine spray guns aren’t that new of an idea but in recent years there has been a big jump in the quality and size of work possible with a turbine paint gun system. We decided to cover the pros and cons of both an air compressor-style paint gun and a turbine HVLP paint gun system.
How Does a Turbine Paint Gun Work?
Unlike an air compressor a turbine paint system doesn’t use a piston-driven engine to compress the air. It uses a motor much like vacuum cleaner and a turbine to atomize the paint. These units are often quite small with single gun kits normally being about the size of a suitcase.
Air Compressor HVLP Paint Gun Advantages
An air compressor driven paint gun generally sprays at a higher pressure than a turbine paint gun would and it puts out more paint in a pull of the trigger or pass over a panel. Because of this you will get greater coverage over a large area and a wider effective spray fan pattern. This is great for coverage on large panels like roofs, hoods, trunk lids, etc. Because of the higher rate of coverage you can work very quickly around a car or panel to offset paint runs, dry spray, and other issues. An air compressor HVLP paint system is only limited by the size of your air compressor and the paint gun you use as far as how much or what you can spray. Large professional paint guns do require a large air compressor that outputs a high CFM. If you’re spraying with a compressor that doesn’t output a high CFM you may want to look at the Eastwood Concours Paint Gun line that is specifically designed to spray at lower CFM’s.
Turbine HVLP Paint Gun Advantages
A turbine gun has a lot of upsides for a small shop or home hobbyist. First of all it doesn’t require an expensive air compressor and is self contained so you can easily take the paint system to the job. The lower pressure to spray equates to less over spray and paint usage/waste. This means it will take less paint to spray a part and saves you money in materials! Also a turbine paint system usually produces very little oil/water in the system because it isn’t piston-powered. With this self contained system you can paint anything from small parts to large full resprays of a vehicle. The Eastwood Turbine Paint Gun System allows you to easily spray at home or in a small shop from small parts to a full paint job. You can also find larger, more professional Turbine Paint Gun Systems from Apollo and Earlex HERE.