Spraying Roof Coatings from Acrylics to Silicone Roof Coating products – A Complete Guide
A couple times each week we talk with customers who are considering options to further their work with roof coatings, from which products to consider, to which type of sprayers will be effective at being able to spray roof coatings. This guide will highlight the different spray equipment that is typically used to spray the most common types of roof coatings from acrylics to silicone products. Please note that this is a general guide and for specific suggestions you should consult with us based on the roof coating you’re using or another person comfortable with roof coatings and spray equipment.
Spraying Silicone Roof Products
Silicone roof coating products tend to have a higher viscosity than acrylic products, as a result they need a lot of pressure to be able to create material break up at the tip of the sprayer that is used. They also typically require a hydraulic style airless pump rather than a standard airless pump which is directly driven. Additionally, it can be hard to get silicone coating to be picked up in a standard airless sprayer. These unique challenges cause special requirements for the sprayers used for Silicone roof products. The two main requirements will include how to feed material to the sprayer and having enough pressure to properly atomize the Silicone product.
Graco 675 DI Hydraulic Gas Sprayer
The Graco 675 DI Airless Sprayer is ideal for small to small-medium roof coating jobs where you have the option to use the sprayer closer to the work area. Generally, the rig will perform best for silicone spraying when you can have it on the roof or with minimal vertical elevation while spraying. This roof coating rig provides 6250 psi which along with its smaller GPM output is why it is ideal for smaller to small-medium sized silicone roof coating projects.
Graco 933 GH Hi Flo Setup
The Graco 933 Hi Flow Airless Sprayer with a 5:1 Feed pump is best for medium to larger/ full time roof contractors who want the maximum ability to spray silicone products. It also offers interchangeable pump lowers making it flexible for using multiple spray operators for acrylic roof coatings or to use with silicone roof coatings. The 5:1 pump helps ensure material is consistently delivered to the 933 and ensures you don’t run into inconsistent material delivery that can happen due to trouble getting silicone coating into the roof rig. The high-pressure output of this pump allows for the unit to be fixed on the ground and pump material out of a dedicated trailer, which is a popular option for high volume roof contractors. You can also potentially use this outfit with the direct immersion kit for less viscous silicone products.
The Titan Hydra M 4000 - 3.3 GPM 4000 PSI
This unit with the extra 5:1 remote 55-gallon pump included is also a good unit for spraying roof coatings up to a silicone type product, with some limits on vertical pumping and silicone product types due to the slightly lower PSI of the sprayer. To determine if this would be able to spray a particular silicone product you would check the data sheets for the silicone product you will want to use and verify if the 4000 psi pressure is sufficient for your roof coating. The unit also comes with the remote 55-gallon drum kit which includes a 5:1 feed pump which in general is ideal when dealing with silicone roof coating, as they tend to have difficulty siphoning through a standard pick up tube.
Spraying Acrylic Roof Coatings
Acrylic based roof coatings are much easier to be able to spray; they generally do not have a high-pressure requirement but will require a large tip size. Additionally, if you will regularly do roof coating work you will typically want a hydraulic rather than a directly driven airless paint sprayer because a hydraulic unit will hold up best for high volume work. A typical minimum tip that an acrylic roof coating will require is about a 31 thousand opening but can go up to a 41 thousandths or higher tip. So generally speaking, for an acrylic roof coating, you want a high GPM sprayer. Below are a few solid options for spraying acrylic roof coatings.
Hydraulic Roof Coating Sprayers – for frequent use and maximum performance
Graco GH 833 - 4 GPM 4000 PSI
The GH 833 provides sufficient pressure and volume to spray acrylic roof coatings, you can purchase the unit with a direct immersion kit for feeding directly out of large 55-gallon drums or use it with the standard 5 gallon pickup hose. You could also pair it with a 5:1 pump to allow the material to be pushed from a 55 gallon drum to the sprayer, this would be ideal if you want to leave the entire rig in a trailer and not move it out of the trailer during spraying.
Graco GH 733 - 4 GPM 4000 PSI
The 733 is similar to the 833 but costs a bit more, however it allows for changing out the fluid section to accommodate very high flow rates at slightly lower pressures, which can allow for spraying lower viscosity materials with multiple painters off the unit. This sprayer will tend to be a bit more versatile relative to the GH 833, but is pretty well the same as the 833 other than having options for different fluid sections as well as a faster change out fluid section in case you ever need to repack the pump or perform field maintenance.
Graco GH 933 - 2.5 GPM 7250 PSI
The 933 can also be used for Acrylic roof Coatings but gives you the flexibility to effectively spray silicone products as well, the fluid section is changeable to accommodate high flow rates at lower pressures with the extra fluid section which will allow for high production with acrylic roof coatings. If you want to do acrylic and silicone roof coatings at high volume this is the product to go with.
Graco 675DI
The Graco 675DI can also handle both acrylic and silicone roof products. This unit will generally require the pump to not pump vertically too much with silicone products but can pump acrylics up a roof. It is setup to feed out of 5-gallon buckets where the 833,733, and 933 can be used directly out of 55 gallon drums. Think of this unit as a roof rig that is more portable.
Titan Hydra Pro IV - 2.5 GPM 3300 PSI
This unit can also handle acrylic roof coatings for a single operator and comes with the optional 55-gallon remote kit.
Direct Drive Gas Airless Sprayers for Acrylic Roof Coatings
Powrbeast 7700 and 9700 Titan Sprayers
The Powrbeast sprayers can also handle Acrylic roof coatings though they will be best for lower weekly volumes compared to the Hydra series as the Hydra series is a hydraulic pump where the Powrbeast is a direct drive airless pump, making it a bit less ideal for high volume requirements.
GMAX 7900 RR - 2.2 GPM 3300 PSI
The GMAX 7900 RR also works well for acrylic roof coatings due to its high-volume pump. It is also more of a portable unit. It is not a hydraulic style unit.
Powrtwin Roof Sprayers
Titan also has the 6900di and 12000di sprayers which can both handle Acrylic roof coatings but also offer optional electric conversion kits which can enable you to spray interior materials by switching over to the electric kit, though you will lose some pumping volume by switching.
Air Powered Airless Sprayers for Acrylic Roof Coatings
Graco King Airless Paint Sprayers
The Graco King Airless sprayers can also handle acrylic roof coatings but does require a separate compressor to drive the airless sprayer. The pump comes with a variety of pressures and GPM outputs for your project.
Titan Powrcoat Airless Paint Sprayers
The Powrcoat Titan sprayers can also handle acrylic roof coatings. You will want to ensure you select a pressure and GPM output that is sufficient for acrylic roof coatings (generally at least a 40:1 ratio and 2 GPM or higher output).
Additional details to consider when spraying roof coating
A few additional details to consider is your overall setup. If you plan on using the sprayer in a dedicated trailer, you typically will want to choose a rig with the option of a dedicated 5:1 feed pump if you will be using silicone products, this will require a 20 cfm compressor in your trailer to provide air for the 5:1 pump. You always want to use different lines for silicone and acrylic products. If using a silicone product there is specially formulated thinner to prevent excess moisture in your lines, as silicone cures with exposure to moisture. For working out of a 5-gallon bucket you can use a standard pick up tube or direct immersion style pump. If you will be spraying silicone products you will need a feed pump for many silicone products or at least a direct immersion kit, most silicone products will not work with a standard paint sprayer pick up tube. For best results you should check the technical data sheet for your roof coating product and confirm that a particular equipment option will work well.
