Over the years we have been asked hundreds of times by customers “What size tip should I use?” Next to picking the right sprayer for the job is picking the right spray tip. If you look at a tip chart from Graco, Titan, or TriTech you will notice they have so many sizes to choose from. From a 106 to an 835 with every size in between. On Graco’s LTX Tip chart, they have 107 different tips. So how do you know which tip is right for your job?

When determining what size tips you will need to spray with there are a number of factors to look at. The first question we always ask customers is what type of material are you using? Paint is not always the same. There are some materials that have the consistency of water and there are some materials that are as thick as Elmer’s Glue. The thicker the product the larger the orifice will have to be for the product to spray through it. Stains, lacquers, and enamels are thinner products so they will spray through tips with smaller orifices. Block-filler, waterproofing, and drywall products are examples of products that are much thicker and will require tips with much larger openings.

Another factor to consider when purchasing a spray tip is the fan pattern. How wide do you want the tip to be when you are spraying? If you are spraying the spindles on a deck you would want the fan to be no more than a couple inches wide so you don’t waste your paint. If you were spraying the exterior of a house you would take forever with a tip with a 2″ fan. So not only do you need the correct orifice size but you want the perfect fan pattern to do the job quickly.

One last note to keep in mind. You will need to match your spray tip to the size sprayer you have. You’ll notice when you are looking for a sprayer that the manufacturer will give you a maximum tip size that your paint sprayer can handle. You will need to buy tips that have the same orifice size or smaller. For example, a Graco Magnum ProX19 found at the big box stores, will spray up to a .019 spray tip. So when getting a tip you will want one with an orifice .019 or smaller. Anything larger and your sprayer may not be able to pump enough paint through it to support the tip.

Understanding The Numbers:

Most tips on the market will have 3-4 digits that tell you all you need to know. The most common have three digits. The first number doubled tells you how wide the tips will be when sprayed one foot away from whatever you are spaying. So if you are spraying latex paint on a wall with the ProX19 mentioned earlier there are three factors to consider. 1) What is the maximum tip size I can use with the sprayer. 2) What size tip is recommended for spraying the latex paint. 3) How wide does the fan pattern need to be to efficiently spray this wall? So we know that the ProX19 can spray up to a .019 tip. Now we need to determine what orifice size I need for the paint. Usually that can be found on the back of the paint can. Most paint manufacturers will provide you with the tip size they recommend on the label. If it’s not on the label you can contact the paint store you purchased the product from or look it up on their website. To make it easy let’s say they recommend using a .017 tip. If that is the case then the paint is compatible with your sprayer. The last question to be answered is how wide you want the fan pattern to be. Too narrow and you will be spraying forever. Too wide and you lose a little control. Most sprayer manufacturers recommend a 10″ fan. So based on the three questions we want a tip with an orifice size of a .017 and a 10″ fan. So we want a 517. Remember the first number is doubled from one foot away. So to get a 10″ fan you would want the first number to be 5. If you want a 12″ fan then the first number needs to be 6. A 4″ fan you want the first number to be two.

Below we have provided a chart from Graco’s website to help you understand the sizing better.