Fine Finish Airless Tips vs Regular Airless Tips (Includes Video)

Fine finish airless tips have been growing in popularity with painters for a variety of painting from cabinetry to woodworking and more. As a painter you may be wondering if a fine finish airless tip will be beneficial for you, this guide will cover the pros and cons of fine finish airless tips and help you decide if they are worth considering for your painting work.

Fine Finish Airless Tips – How they Function

Fine finish airless tips are slightly different than a standard airless tip. A fine finish airless tip typically has two restrictions or a slightly different design that the material is forced through with each slightly overlapping, a regular airless tip, on the other hand, has a single restriction that material is forced through. The additional restriction or design difference depending on the tip that a fine finish airless tip incorporates can help produce slightly finer atomization (break up of your paint) and/or reduce the pressure you have to spray material at.

Fine Finish vs Regular Airless Tips – The Benefits

A fine finish airless tip will generally allow you to spray at lower pressures which can reduce the amount of overspray you generate when painting. In addition to enabling spray at lower pressures, a fine finish tip can help provide better break up, though the better breakup you achieve will typically be noticeable mostly with thinner coatings like wood finishes.

Fine Finish vs Regular Airless Tips – The Drawbacks

While a fine finish airless tip can allow for spraying at lower pressures and better atomization, there are some downsides to a fine finish tip. First, with certain coatings fine finish airless tips can tend to plug more often, the frequency and likelihood of issues with plugging will typically depend on the brand of fine finish tip and the material your spraying with thicker material being more problematic than thin. Another limitation with fine finish airless tips is the opening and fan size that is available. In general, a fine finish airless tip is offered in smaller opening sizes and fan patterns making it limited in being able to spray material that is thicker.

Fine Finish Airless Tips – Final Thoughts

Fine finish airless tips can help keep your spraying pressures down and reduce waste. They are especially useful for spraying thinner to medium viscosity coatings like cabinet finishes, wood finishing, and similar uses. For thicker coatings they will generally not be ideal, fine finish tips also do not always produce much better break up than a standard airless tip in our experience so if that is the primary goal your results may vary.