Understanding tip wear and when to change the Graco spray tips

Line Marking
Understanding tip wear and when to change the Graco spray tips

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In this series, we look to understand tip wear and when to change the Graco spray tips and how to prevent this from happening on a regular occurrence. Tip wear is a common problem we encounter when using the Graco line marking machines regularly. This is when the spray tips performance has decreased and become obsolete, and requires replacing.

The two main causes for tip wear are the gun’s working pressure (PSI) and the paint being used. It is IMPORTANT never to exceed max pressure (PSI) required for that tip and paint, as that will wear the tip out far quicker, and paint won’t spray as required.

The type of material you spray is also key, so make sure you are using the correct tips that Meon offer. Using a worn tip increases labour and cost, which in the long run is much more expensive than just ordering a new replacement.

You can tell when the tip is starting to wear by the fan size decreasing and an increase in paint flow. For example, when the fan width decreases, you end up doing more passes than necessary, which in turn means increased labour for the operator. When the orifice size increases due to wear, more paint comes out, leading to wastage of paint and more material cost.

spry tips and wear

It is essential to clean your spray tip using either Meon’s UltraClean X792 Aerosol, which comes in a 500ml can and is used in the cleaning of solvent-based products from smaller items such as spray tips. For MMA products, use UltraClean X795 and for water-based products, use UltraClean.

If you want to know more about our Spray Tips, you can find additional technical data in our machine and Spectrum brochures.

Check out the website for all downloadable resources or if you wish to speak to someone over the phone, email or even face to face, please get in touch by calling 023 9220 606 or email us at mail@meonuk.com as we would love to help.

If you missed our first part in the series on “The benefit to Graco line marking machine spray tips”, then click here to take a look.