Spray Tip Sizes: Series production of paint spray guns

Spray Tip Sizes Explained: How to Choose the Right Tip for Foam and Coating Applications

By Gregory Haddow
Jun. 17, 2025

Key Takeaways

Spray tip size determines fan width and material flow, impacting finish quality, efficiency, and coverage.
Foam applications use a unique round orifice system (00--05) and require pressure/temperature precision.
Protective coatings require large orifices to handle high-viscosity materials while minimizing overspray.
Use a spray tip chart to match the right tip size to the material thickness---light, medium, or heavy-duty.
Graco and Titan offer diverse tip lines tailored to specific coating needs; use their colour-coded systems and charts.
Proper tip selection and maintenance save cost, prevent clogging, and deliver professional results.

The spray tip is one of the most important pieces of a spray gun, as it's responsible for controlling the amount of fluid that's released, as well as what pattern is made. Selecting the right size tips for your spray coating machines ensures that the coverage and thickness of your application are correct.

Spray foam and protective coating equipment are particularly sensitive to what size spray tip is used. There are several key things to keep in mind when it comes to selecting a spray tip for spray foam, elastomeric coatings, paint, and sealants, including the spray tip number, the designed use, and the product's brand. By acquainting yourself with the information discussed below, you'll be knowledgeable about what tip size your application needs.

In This Article

Spray Tip Numbers: Understanding What to Look For
Choosing a Spray Tip Based on Application
Spray Gun Tip Size Chart
How to Choose the Right Tip for Foam
Protective Coating Spray Tips
Graco vs. Titan Spray Tips
Important Spray Tip Selection and Maintenance Advice
Find the Perfect Spray Tip Sizes at Bolair Today
FAQs About Spray Tip Sizes and Selection

Spray Tip Numbers: Understanding What to Look For

When purchasing spray tips, most consumers get confused by the 3-digit number that's used to differentiate one tip from another. You'll commonly see sizes like 415, 517, and 619. To better understand what these numbers mean, look at them as two separate values - the first digit and the last two digits.

The first digit, when multiplied by two, equals the fan width. For example, in a 517 spray tip, 5 x 2 = 10. This means that the tip will produce a 10" fan when standardly applied 12 inches from the surface. The second digit describes the orifice size in thousands of an inch. So for the 517 tip, the size will be 0.017 inches.

Knowing these two values is important, as it's the combination of the two that determines how thick your coating will be. The fan width corresponds to the coverage area, and the orifice corresponds to how much fluid leaves the spray tip. You can experiment with different numbers to get the desired finish quality for your material.

Choosing a Spray Tip Based on Application

Most of the time, you'll choose a spray tip based on your application. Each type of material has a different viscosity that will require a certain orifice size and fan width. See some general rules to follow below in the spray tip chart:

Spray Gun Tip Size Chart

Material Thickness	Light	Medium	Thick
Examples	Stains, sealers, varnishes, and polyurethane	Latex, acrylic, and enamel paints	Spray foam, epoxy coatings, and elastomers
Spray Tip Value Range	0.009-0.013	0.015-0.019	0.021+

How to Choose Right Tip for Foam

Spray foam tips (commonly named "chambers") are unique, as they're represented by a different numerical code, typically ranging from 00-05. In addition, foam spray gun tips normally have a round orifice, as this helps maintain consistent pressure.

The major thing to keep in mind when it comes to selecting foam sprayer tips is the application. For example, when spraying between stud walls, a typical chamber size would be an 01 or 02 for best control and yield. Conversely, for a roof or more wide open application, an 03 or larger might be the best choice for production speed.

If you're ever in doubt about which spray tip to get for your spray foam application, manufacturers like Graco and Titan are happy to answer questions.

Protective Coating Spray Tips

Protecting coating materials can range from thinner materials like paint to thicker materials used in fireproofing, such as elastomerics and polyurethanes. To select tips for your protective or powder coating equipment, the key is to find a product that manages viscosity and surface area. You want to make sure that the second value in your sprayer is high enough to handle the thickness of heavy-duty materials, while also finding an orifice size that doesn't contribute to overspray.

Graco vs. Titan Spray Tips

Two of the top manufacturers for spray foam and protective coating spray tips are Graco and Titan.

Graco offers a convenient color coding chart that makes it easy to identify the right tip for your application. At the top of each tip are letters that describe the style of the Graco spray tips and the numbers that describe the size. Graco's main styles include LP (low pressure), FF LP (fine finish low pressure), WR LP (wide RAC low pressure), LTX (latex), WR (wide RAC), and XHD (Xtreme heavy duty). Their color-coded options include:

Red Ideal for stains, varnishes, polyurethanes, and other light materials. Tip sizes: 0.006-0.013.
Blue Best for lacquers, enamels, and solvent-based paint. Tip sizes: 0.013-0.015.
Black Used with latex and enamels. Tip sizes: 0.015-0.029.
Grey Used with only the thickest materials like block fillers and heavy latex. Tip sizes: 0.029+

Titan has three main airless sprayer tip styles: reversible tips, fine finish spray tips, and HEA tips. Reversible tips are available in a wide range of sizes and can be flipped and sprayed to release blockages. Fine finish tips are designed specifically for lighter materials like stains and varnishes used in woodworking. Their HEA tips work best with low-pressure technology and are commonly used with architectural coatings.

Important Spray Tip Selection and Maintenance Advice

There are some general pieces of advice that can help with your spray tips. Overall, always try to match your tip to your sprayer. It's important to ensure compatibility with pressure ratings and gun technology. It's also important to know when it's necessary to replace your tip, as they do not last forever. Some signs to look for include flow rate deviation and inconsistent spray patterns.

For help finding the right spray tip for your project, check out Graco's convenient paint sprayer tip selector and the Titan spray tips chart.

Find the Perfect Spray Tip Sizes at Bolair Today

Choosing the right spray tip for your powder coating systems or protective coating equipment will ensure high-quality results and also help with cost-effectiveness. By knowing what specific size you need based on what materials are used, your spray gun will function exactly as intended. With this spray tip guide, there should be no questions about your next purchase.

Ready to get started? Reach out to our professional team at Bolair Fluid Handling Systems today to place an order for your airless spray tips.

FAQs About Spray Tip Sizes and Selection

1. What does a spray tip number like 517 mean?

The first digit (5) multiplied by two gives a 10" fan width. The last two digits (17) mean a 0.017" orifice. This combo determines spray width and material flow.

2. How do I know what spray tip size I need?

Use a spray tip chart that matches your coating material. Light materials use smaller tips (0.009--0.013), while heavy coatings need larger tips (0.021+).