Gravity Gun vs. Cup Gun

I recently had a co-worker ask me..."What's better

for spraying cabinetry...gravity or pressure feed cup gun ?"

The differences between each gun are largely physical

and cosmetic, as both require air-mix to atomize coatings so the

process remains the same for fluid delivery to the substrate.

The real difference between gravity gun and pressure fed cup

guns comes in operator comfort and easing of spray fatigue.

If you load up a pressure cup gun full, it can get heavy after

1 hour of spraying, leading to operator fatigue early in a job,

as well as the fact that cup guns don't perform well when

angled over or leaned to the side. You will find that most

pro spray finishers love gravity guns because they are lighter,

easier to change out colours (with a minimum of cleaning),

and respond well when leaned on a 90 degree angle to spray

things like kickplates and cabinet bases.

Cleaning a gravity cup is also much easier with the pre-inlet

strainer easy to pop out and clean prior to refit with a new

colour or just maintenance cleaning to store before the next

project.

While it is my .02 cents I am sharing here, anyone trying

out a new compressor and spray gun, opt for a cheaper gravity

gun with at least a 2 button dial for optimizing liquid delivery

and spray fan pattern...you will thank me down the road instead

of complaining about how difficult cup guns are to clean and maintain

and how the needle sets don't always work well when retrofitted.