Follow these steps to thin paint for airless sprayers: 1 Pour your emulsion paint into a paint bucket. 2 Add half a cup per gallon of paint or follow the manufacturer's ratio if it's on the label. Then, introduce it slowly so you can gauge how it's thinning as you go.

Thin paint in small batches to maintain control over consistency. Gradually add small amounts of water or latex paint thinner to the paint while stirring continuously. Test the thinned paint on a scrap surface or cardboard to ensure it sprays evenly and covers well.

No. If you’re working with latex, water-based, or oil-based paints, you don’t need to thin them for an airless sprayer. Such paints are formulated for use without the need for thinning. The only exception is when the paint becomes too thick and leaves a bumpy mess instead of a smooth finish on the surface.

In most cases, thinning paint is unnecessary with large airless sprayers, as no matter what type of paint you use, they already come preprocessed. You can use this paint directly. However, for a small airless sprayer, thinning paint is necessary.