What's Inside a $1,479 Spray Gun? SATA jet X, Cut in Half

A $1,479 spray gun, cut in half SATA lists this spray gun at 1,479 dollars. So we cut it in half, to show what the money buys: an air valve, a needle, a head that splits the air in two, and one setting that only reads right with the trigger pulled.

Cut on its centre line Inside: one body with passages for air and one for paint, and a stack of parts on a single line. Air cap at the front, the material flow knob at the very back. This exact gun is in stock at autofxmart.com, link below.

Where the air goes Air comes in at the bottom, through a quarter-inch fitting on a swivel joint, so the hose can turn. Just above it is the air micrometer: a small valve you turn to set the pressure. Then the air goes up the handle to the air piston, which holds it back until you pull the trigger.

Stage 1: air before paint Pull the trigger to its first pressure point. That pushes the air piston off its seat in the cage, and air starts to flow, while the needle hasn't moved at all. SATA calls it pre-air control: the air cap is already blowing before any paint leaves the tip.

Stage 2: the needle opens Pull further, and the needle is drawn back off the 1.3 millimetre fluid tip. The paint was already waiting in the passage, fed down from the cup, and now it flows into the airstream. How far the needle can open is set by the material flow knob at the back.

Centre air and horn air At the head, the air splits in two. Centre air leaves through the ring around the fluid tip and breaks the paint into droplets. Horn air leaves the two horns and squeezes the round spray into a flat fan; the round-flat control on the side turns the fan from round to flat. An air separation ring keeps the two apart.

SATA's numbers: 325 litres a minute at 2.0 bar SATA's manual puts its air use at 325 litres a minute, at 2.0 bar on the inlet, about 29 psi, inside an operating range of 0.5 to 2.4 bar. It gives a working distance of 10 to 21 centimetres; the card here sits at 19. And the whole gun, display included, weighs 485 grams.

The adam X pro reads the pressure Why a display on a spray gun? SATA says setting the inlet pressure right is one of the keys to a colour match: too low or too high, and the colour drifts. So the DIGITAL pro carries the adam X pro on the hand rest. It reads the pressure at the handle, takes the number you want as a target, and flags you when it's 0.2 bar or more away from it. It also measures temperature and spray time.

Set it with the trigger pulled One catch. With the trigger released, nothing flows, so the display reads higher: your line pressure. Pull the trigger and it drops to the dynamic pressure, the one SATA's 2.0 bar means. So hold the trigger down, and turn the micrometer at the bottom of the handle until the display reads 2.0.

Get this exact gun AutofxMart carries this exact gun, the jet X RP 1.3 I DIGITAL pro, in stock. So is SATA's adam X unit for the jet X. Links are below.

What a spray gun really is So, three things to take to the booth. The trigger lets the air out first. The knob at the back limits the needle. And 2.0 bar means with the trigger pulled. Which part surprised you? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for the next one.