What is HVLP?
A higher volume (HV) of air is used from the compressor to disperse and propel the liquid at lower air pressure (LP) through the spray gun. This results a maximum amount of liquid hitting the target with minimal overspray. In situations such as auto painting, minimal overspray is critical because of the toxicity of the solvent-based paints. In the case of spray tanning, wasted overspray is not such a great issue since the solution being used is a relatively safe, water-based substance.
The justification for choosing an HVLP tanning system over an airbrush tanning system is speed. The speed of any system is primarily determined by the spray pattern width and the size of the needle opening (throughput), not just straightforward power. An airbrush pattern has a general width of less than 2 inches while a spray gun pattern is anywhere from 4-8 inches, which, in mathematical terms, means using a spray gun automatically cuts the tanning session by at least half. However, there is a downside to spraying such a wide pattern - whereas someone might finish spraying in record time, hard to reach areas and natural creases in the skin can be easily overpassed. But this issue can be overcome without much difficulty by closely observing the solution coverage while spraying or slightly overlapping the edges of the spray pattern.
Many sunless spray tan websites carry something called an airbrush spray gun or a pistol grip airbrush, an example being our SparMax GP-70 TurboSpeed Tanning Airbrush. To clarify for the sake of this page, these are revolutionary airbrushes designed to perform at a greater speed than traditional airbrushes, but are compatible with the same compressors that use standard airbrushes. These airbrush spray guns are incompatible and will not function correctly with an HVLP compressor due to the high volume power being too much for the airbrush to handle.
So what makes the UltraMyst so special?
The HVLP conversion technology typically found in body shops are supported by large, bulky compressors. Since they are used to operate air tools, these compressors have very high airflow rates and very high airflow pressures and utilize spray guns that may require up to a 2 horsepower compressor. Due to the magnitude of power passing through these systems, they are not appropriate for spray tanning.
Most HVLP conversion systems adapted for spray tanning continue to use the overpowering, impractical compressor in their design. This is evident in the off-the-shelf conversion models that do not perform effectively when spraying water-based tanning solution. The guns paired with these systems are also not suited for spray tanning, as they require too much pressure from the compressor to function adequately. The UltraMyst is specifically designed, not just adapted, for spraying tanning solutions at the perfect atomization, assuring its spray tanning performance and ability.
What makes the UltraMyst so different from other HVLP systems is the use of two smaller compressors that work in tandem to provide a high volume of airflow as opposed to one large compressor pushing out too much power. This provides the system with the power needed for spray tanning without the overwhelming power, clunkiness or noise of a standard HVLP unit. The spray gun, also specifically designed for tanning solution, is an HVLP conversion touch-up gun that provides the perfect combination of speed and detail capability needed to dispense the spray solution successfully. This was chosen for this compressor because of its unmatched ability for fine atomization while delivering a soft spray.
What about the price?
This distinct system is not alone in breaking the HVLP barrier between the body shop and the tanning salon. Other systems can be found on the tanning market (we even sell other HVLP systems at our store), but they do not have the flexibility, portability or more reasonable price of the UltraMyst. Other quality systems can cost upwards of $1,000 and are not always explicitly configured for spray tanning. Our TurboAir UltraMyst is a revolutionary advance in spray tanning.
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