Airless paint sprayers

[jstroede]

I have been toying around with buying a used airless paint sprayer to do some projects with. I know absolutely nothing about them, and hoping someone could shed some light on them. I want to use it to paint some garage cabinets and panel doors, possibly my new shed in the spring, etc. I found a Graco ES190 with a new gun on CL for $300. That seemed like a decent price, but I don't know. Anything specifically I should look for or ask? Thanks.

John

 

[lowbucktruck]

I rented a Titan 440i airless paint sprayer from my local hardware store to paint the front of my house (siding repair)... it made the job go so much faster! Thinking about buying one myself. Check the wand and spray tips/nozzles with the unit, and the availability of replacement tips. I would ask if they cleaned the Graco on a regular basis (supposed to do that after every use). Looks like the Graco you are looking at puts out about 1500 GPM, not bad. Some of the other guys here who do painting for a living could probably give you more advice than me.

 

[Barry Tucker]

I have the 440 i and am really pleased with it. If you can afford the extra cost, get a piston pump over the diaphram pump. It is much quieter and I think a better pump. Regards Barry







.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

Stay away from that little graco es - not worth the $$$ they are asking, these days - go bigger for the price, rebuild/packing kits for the pistons are readily available from most authorized retailers, pistons/seats/ball intake valves are also available.

Open up the control box on any older sprayer and look for burnt wires or charred pc boards, make sure the pressure switches work.

Pick up a 5000psi pressure gauge and hook it up to a gun/hose and run some water through any sprayer you intend on buying - it should cycle up to 3000 or so psi depending on the model and HOLD pressure for AT LEAST a minute or two before having to cycle again. If the pressure drops more than 100psi the pump should cycle, if it doesn't hold pressure then the fluid section (piston/packings) will need to be attended to.

Use factory repair kits (graco, titan/speeflow, spraytech, etc...) - cost a bit more than the knock-off Bedford kits, but are worth the $$$ in long term use.

The electric motors are rebuildable at any good e/m service company - pretty straight forward... also make sure the plug has the ground prong intact (its a big deal)...

DO NOT PURCHASE THE CHINA MADE AIRLESS SPRAYERS FROM THE BOX STORES - they are junk and are not worth rebuilding.

Do not point the spray nozzle at you or anybody else - site injection poisoning is no joke and can turn into an amputation if not attended to immediately. these sprayer will go up to 4-5k psi on some models and are dangerous if not properly handled.

Gun tips make all the difference when doing finish work - if you have a sherwin williams or other propaint store in your area that sells sprayer tips and accessories, go talk to the manager (he/she will know a whole lot more than the part timer)...

 

[Underdog]

I've got a Graco ultra 395 airless. Works great but they are a pain to clean. Water base latex is OK (water is free) but if used with oil paint it takes a ton of paint thinner to clean properly then what to do with the dirty thinner? I only use it if I'm going to spray 5 gallons or more, if not then I reach for my old school spray gun.

 

[lowbucktruck]

Ditto on what T-Monk said... the gun tips make a huge difference in paint coverage/application.

 

[scott37300]

I bought a titan 440i a couple years ago. I did a lot of research and the titan 440i is the staple for pro painters. They are rebuildable and from what I read it's not that expensive to rebuild them, so even if you buy a used one that is in rough shape it is easy to get it to new again. Cheap sprayers are junk and will end up costing you more in the long run since most can't be rebuilt and don't last like the good sprayers. This is one things where if you are going to buy you need to spend a little money to get the good stuff, otherwise you are better off renting.

 

[jstroede]

I understand that bigger is better, but what can I do with this? It will never be used to paint a house. I have vinyl siding so I don't have to mess with that. The biggest project would probably be a 10x12 shed. I'm thinking more in terms of smaller projects that are a pain to brush paint, like raised panel doors, cabinets, etc. The same guy has a brand new Graco 390 for $550, but that is really a little more than I would like to spend. Also this is going to be used for Latex only, if that matters.

Another question, can these things be used for staining? Like a fence or deck?

John

 

[Theloniousmonk]

I understand that bigger is better, but what can I do with this? It will never be used to paint a house. I have vinyl siding so I don't have to mess with that. The biggest project would probably be a 10x12 shed. I'm thinking more in terms of smaller projects that are a pain to brush paint, like raised panel doors, cabinets, etc. The same guy has a brand new Graco 390 for $550, but that is really a little more than I would like to spend. Also this is going to be used for Latex only, if that matters.

Another question, can these things be used for staining? Like a fence or deck?

John

You can pump whatever you want through them... just match the pressure an tip to the job. The smaller one w/b fine for what you want to use it for, but I think the price is a bit too high for the es.

 

[GDA]

Another question, can these things be used for staining? Like a fence or deck?

John

I used my Graco Pro LTS 17 to stain both sides of about 180 linear feet of 9 foot high fencing and a 20x40 deck this summer. Absolutely the best tool investment for that huge job. Cleanup is easy and quick with the Graco too.

 

[scott37300]

Here's what I learned while researching before I bought. First of all I don't use mine that often either, but I hate renting things so I bought one. But I found that anything under pro level isn't worth spending the money. They don't last, they aren't rebuildable like the higher end models, etc. So if you don't want to get a "pro" model then just rent. The cheaper ones(even the 400 dollar ones at homedepot) just aren't build good at all and not worth the money. This really isn't a case of bigger is better, it's more like cheaper isn't worth it. Kind of like if you only need to tae your tire off a couple times a year you need a 1/2" drive breaker bar, even though you only do it a couple times a year a 1/4" isn't going to work good. Everything I read said that the cheaper units just don't last, pretty much a couple time use machine. That is why the better models are worth the money, the will last forever if properly maintaned and if they do go bad you can rebuild them for cheap instead f buying another cheap unit.

If you are just looking for something to spray raised panel doors and cabinets you might want to look into a HVLP conversion gun like this http://www.gleempaint.com/hvcongunnew.html. I have one of these also that I used for spraying kitchen cabinets and it worked great. Just hook up to compressor and go to town. I've sprayed latex and oil based paints and stains with it and am very happy with it. And it's a lot easier to clean than an airless.

 

[jstroede]

I have a HVLP gun, but have heard horror stories about using them with latex, from having to thin to needing extenders to keep the paint from drying too quickly. What was your experience?

John

 

[Bo Heck]

I got one of the "cheap" (nearly $300) graco sprayers from Lowe's to paint my barn. It worked great, but was a pain to clean.

 

[scott37300]

I thined the paint with water or paint thinner depending on latex or oil base and it works great. I did my moms whole kitchen last summer. Started out doing the cabinets by brush and roller, even used floetrol in the paint to get rid of brush and roller marks and didn't like how things were turning out. Bought that HVLP gun and set up one of those portable car tents in the driveway as a paint booth and started spraying. Was the best investment I made for cabinets and trim work. Sprayed polyuerathane good also.

For small projects airless sprayers waste a lot of paint because everything in the 50 ft. hose is flushed out when done.

 

[scott37300]

I just checked ebay and there are a bunch of titan 440 sprayers from 200-400. And the rebuild kit is only 60 bucks. So if you want an airless you can find them at good prices. I would take a used 440 over a new home depot or lowes sprayer anyday.

 

[Bunk]

This --> http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32044 has been a great airless sprayer for me. Never any clogging issues spraying heavy primer or just regular latex. Sure it takes a while to clean, but ANY sprayer will if you want to come back to a tool that works.

So far so good, but no way could I justify spending $400 for a sprayer on my budget.

Bunk

 

[terabyte]

Have a graco x9 and I love it! Painted the interior of my new house with it and it really made like easier. 20 gallons of primer and probably about the same in paint.