Ailress Gun Filter Q&A

For The Airless Gun Filter Comments :
Gun filters are a good accessory to add on if you are purchasing an airless sprayer, or airless spray gun. Having an extra pack of filters on hand greatly reduces the chance of on the job down time. Gun filter’s main purpose is to keep “trash” (hard particles of pigment/fillers or dried up paint) from clogging the spray tip. The filter mesh needed is determined by the tip size being used.

Q. How many should you purchase?
A.-Consumers/Homeowners can usually do well with 1 pack of airless filters that match their units stock tip size. And a pack of filters to match any optional/additional tip sizes purchased. Here are a couple of examples to help the first time airless user:

Example 1: Your unit comes with a 413 (.013”) or 415 (.015”) airless spray gun tip; purchase at least 1 pack of Yellow-Fine.
Example 2: You unit comes with a 517 (.017”) tip; purchase at least 1 pack of White-Medium.
Example 3: You unit comes with a 517 (.017”) tip and you buy a 413 (.013”) to go with the unit; purchase at least 1 pack of White-Medium, and at least 1 pack of Yellow-Fine

A. -Professionals/Contractors, they know these filters cost so they usually purchase 2-3 packs of all meshes (except for the Green-Coarse ones as they are not used that often).

Q. How often do airless spray gun filters need to be replaced?
A. This will vary greatly on how much “trash” (virtually all latex paint has some trash in it) is in the paint and the mesh size of the filter. (In general the finer the filter, the more often it needs to be replaced.) The filter meshes are made of stainless steel mesh to eliminate rust. So you almost never replace them due to what you would consider wearing out. What happens is either the filter becomes so clogged that it is not worth your time to clean them. Or if the user forgets about the filter and lets enough trash build around the filter that the airless’s 2800-3000 PSI pressure has no choice but to blow a pin hole in the filter. Once a pin hole has formed, the filter must be replaced as the pin-hole will allow “trash” to pass through and thus constantly clog your airless spray nozzle.

Q. How often do gun filters need to be cleaned?
A. Normally every time the sprayer is cleaned is all that is needed. Exceptions would be,
1: Your paint has an unusually high amount of “trash”.
2: When using a small tip and the Red Extra-Fine filters. In these cases you may need to clean the gun filter during a spray job. For example if spraying a latex paint with a small 211 tip with the Red-Extra fine gun filter; you may need to clean the filter every 2 to 5 gallons. (How often will GREATLY depend on how much trash is in the paint) Easy way to tell the filter needs to be cleaned during spraying (or replaced if in a hurry) is the reversible tip starts to constantly clog.

Q. What would happen if you used the wrong filter for the tip?
A. Using a larger mesh filter with too small of a tip would result in constant tip clogs. Using a smaller mesh filter with too large of a tip would result in unnecessary paint flow restriction.