The benefits of converting from a conventional paint spray gun to an HVLP spray gun are generally assumed to be positive based on the principal behind the design of HVLP guns. An HVLP spray gun delivers a high volume of air using low pressure. This combination is known to reduce 'bounce back' of paint, resulting in more paint staying on the part being painted, and therefore less wasted paint. Quantitatively, the benefits vary greatly between models of HVLP guns, as well as the type of painting system used and the way the painting system is set up.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program independently analyzed three models of HVLP spray guns: DeVilbiss Gti-600G, DeVilbiss FLG-631-318 and Sharpe Platinum 2013. The ETV reports are available through the EPA's ETV webpage at www.epa.gov/etv/index.htm. The published transfer efficiencies for such guns were used in developing the cost calculator.

The key to using paint effectively and developing a high quality finish is increasing the transfer efficiency. Transfer efficiency (TE) is measured by the ratio of paint that leaves the gun compared to the amount of paint that ends up on the part being sprayed. The IWRC has developed tools and training methods to increase TE.

One of the tools is the LaserPaint® which uses two targeting lasers to guide a painter's effort in maintaining the optimum spray distance while painting. In maintaining the proper spray distance, one achieves greater TE. To learn more about the LaserPaint^™ device, visit the LaserPaint® page at www.laserpaint.us

The IWRC has devoted much effort to the analysis of painting techniques. From our quest to provide reliable methods to reduce the toxicity of paint-related solid waste, we fully developed a training program called the Spray Technique Analysis and Research (STAR) Program (www.iwrc.org/STAR). The STAR Program has built a solid reputation in the painting industry and has documented many benefits for those that complete the training process. The most impressive benefit of the training is an average increase in TE of 27%. This average was used in the development of the cost calculator.

A list of HVLP spray gun manufacturers can be found by searching the IWRC's Vendor Database (www.iwrc.org/newvendor/index.cfm). The IWRC does not endorse specific manufacturers, however the database is meant to be a resource for locating vendor information.

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A Service of Business and Community Services at the
University of Northern Iowa
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