paint sprayer

[ymc226]

My wife wants a large bedroom painted. I'd like to buy a paint sprayer to apply primer and several coats of paint as the present one is loud and bright.

Are there any sprayers that would be better?

 

[Kaizen]

One room in a house with people? **** it up and roll it on. Not worth the protection and clean up after.


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[The Cobbler]

for anything worth using you will be upwards of at least a thousand bux. as previous poster said, just roll it.

 

[Catadj78]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wagner-HVLP-Control-Spray-0417005/206746895

I believe this is the one I have. Been a while since I used it but works well for what it is. But like others said, just roll one room

 

[tncatadjuster]

Buy good quality paint and roller and be done before you could mask for spray.

 

[Zeke]

Or rent an airless. It's cheap compared to owning and I wouldn't own one unless I used it at least a few times a year. Many times a year would be better. And try to rent from a paint supply where they know these things. I've owned a few and they require regular maintenance.

 

[FrancisJ]

Even with a paint sprayer you invariably end up rolling to "blend in"...........pros typically do this...........

 

[CKS1955]

As the above post mentioned, IMHO you must back roll the paint after is applied.

Jay

 

[Bill Bowman]

Most likely, the room could be rolled in about the time it takes to mask, unmask, and clean the equipment.

 

[Jess]

I just finished a rental suite and after some repairs, did a full prime and then one coat of top of the line paint. Cut in, rolled and cleaned up in less than two days for the whole place. My vote for one room is the conventional way. Roll it. Airless is useful for larger projects as a way to apply the coating and have someone chase you to back roll for better adhesion.

 

[txvwnut]

Just roll it. You spray it and you'll have overspray everywhere. Plus you still might have to back roll it so why do twice the work when you can do it once and be done. You'll be surprised at how fast rolling a room can go.

 

[Viper98912]

Not worth it. If you want to do it "quickly", start using 18" rollers. I've converted to 18" and only use 9" when painting a small room that doesn't have large areas (lots of doors/windows etc)

 

[larry4406]

I like the roller "paint stick" system. The handle is a giant syringe and the rollers are perforated. Easy to clean with the faucet attachment and quick to apply a lot of paint without use of a roller pan.

 

[Zeke]

You know guys, he wants to buy a spray outfit. The thing to do is show pros and cons, not tell the OP to **** up and all that ****. I say rent because you then know what it's all about and how well a certain brand works. Many who try an airless for the first time don't like it as they realy don't understand how to paint with it.

Properly used it will cover better with less paint. Back rolling is only for heavy textured materials like stucco and resawn siding. Now before you go on about how much you know about painting, consider that I was a union trained painter turned contractor and did this for years. While I was in the union I did mostly the spraying operations. I've used just about every type of gun with most paints and stains. We used to get our paint for production in 55 gal drums and I could empty one by lunch. Took a big air powered Graco President to do that running off a trailer mounted compressor.

 

[velillen01]

I picked up this one from Lowes ~2 months ago.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Wagner-Pow...ectric-Handheld-Airless-Paint-Sprayer/3562114

Its not the best or anything but i thought it worked just fine. I used it for my shed and it was definitely quicker (even with cleanup) than rolling it. But i didnt have to mask anything.

Couple things I learned

-The "see through" paint reservoir is pointless. Least with white/beige paint couldnt really tell the level as the paint coats the whole container
-You really dont want to run the sprayer "dry" as it will spurt when its empty.
-Paint goes all over. You really will want to mask/cover EVERYTHING you dont want paint on in a room.
-Clean up on the gun itself it a bit of a paint in the **** but i didnt find it to be that bad. I would recommend some mineral spirit/paint thinner (whatever the manual tells you to use) and a small bucket you can fill up with it. Get some rubber gloves (nitrile/latex/ect) for the small parts. I then poured that bucket into the paint reservoir to clean it out.

 

[Zeke]

I picked up this one from Lowes ~2 months ago.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Wagner-Pow...ectric-Handheld-Airless-Paint-Sprayer/3562114

Its not the best or anything but i thought it worked just fine. I used it for my shed and it was definitely quicker (even with cleanup) than rolling it. But i didnt have to mask anything.

Couple things I learned

-The "see through" paint reservoir is pointless. Least with white/beige paint couldnt really tell the level as the paint coats the whole container
-You really dont want to run the sprayer "dry" as it will spurt when its empty.
-Paint goes all over. You really will want to mask/cover EVERYTHING you dont want paint on in a room.
-Clean up on the gun itself it a bit of a paint in the **** but i didnt find it to be that bad. I would recommend some mineral spirit/paint thinner (whatever the manual tells you to use) and a small bucket you can fill up with it. Get some rubber gloves (nitrile/latex/ect) for the small parts. I then poured that bucket into the paint reservoir to clean it out.

AFA overspray goes, if you paint is the right consistency and the tip the right size, you can control the overspray more than you think.

First of all, never spray an outside corner where some of the spray pattern blows past the corner. Makes no difference whether you hold the gun sideways or upright. 2ndly, your hand with the gun in it must remain 100% perpendicular to the surface. No fanning. No pointing down or up. You have to be squared to the surface at all times. To go lower, hang your hand down with the gun upside down. To go higher than you can reach square, get on a ladder, scaffold or use a gun extension with a rotating tip.

Personally, I never spray w/o at least a 2' extension.

If renting you may have to buy that.

 

[Davefr]

My wife wants a large bedroom painted. I'd like to buy a paint sprayer to apply primer and several coats of paint as the present one is loud and bright.

Are there any sprayers that would be better?

Are you experienced in airless spraying of heavy bodied acrylic paints?

It might look easy but it requires a lot of skill/experience to get a consistent paint film applied according to the manufacturers recommended film thickness specs.

Rolling is much more forgiving.

 

[MikeF2316]

...
Personally, I never spray w/o at least a 2' extension.

If renting you may have to buy that.

What's the advantage of the extension?

 

[rburke65]

There is no way I'd buy a sprayer for a bedroom......well maybe if she was real *****....no I would just roll that room and be done with it.

 

[Viper98912]

I like the roller "paint stick" system. The handle is a giant syringe and the rollers are perforated. Easy to clean with the faucet attachment and quick to apply a lot of paint without use of a roller pan.

I've used the Wagner paint machine ($100 or so at HD/Lowes) and used to swear by it. Definitely makes painting MUCH easier without having to go up and down to the pan. Saves your shoulders and arms. BUT, if you are painting with a low quality or thin paint, you may have leftover "dots" that are the pores in the roller (for paint to come out). Also, the Wagner frame is plastic, which can flex a little too much if you're someone that uses a lot of force on the roller frame. Also, the rubber seal leaks (which I remedied by putting an o-ring under the U-seal, and fixed the issue).

In the end, while the Wagner is definitely a help, I'm now of the opinion to invest the $100 in an 18" roller frame ($25), 18" rollers ($10/ea), and some 18" pans ($6/ea, or $8/ea + $30 bucket). 18" is the way to go...

 

[Kaizen]

You know guys, he wants to buy a spray outfit. The thing to do is show pros and cons, not tell the OP to **** up and all that ****. I say rent because you then know what it's all about and how well a certain brand works. Many who try an airless for the first time don't like it as they realy don't understand how to paint with it.

.

One great thing about this forum is we sometimes save us from ourselves.
I've had many a great idea and posted a question and responses sent me in a better direction. If we had told op to get graco's 200 dollar set up from hd he would have used it. made a terrible mess. had to paint the ceiling over. get a new carpet. etc.

 

[Zeke]

What's the advantage of the extension?

Imagine if you had a 5 foot long arm. And if spaying an 8 or 9' ceiling you don't have to hold your hand over your head all day. I just hold the gun near my head and walk back and forth with the gun wide open. Once N and S and once E and W while it's still wet. On walls I turn the tip to face the wall and run the top portion left and right. Then flip it and do the base. Fill in the middle.

Seriously, I worked with a guy that sprayed out a carpeted apt with no drop cloths. He did drop the wood handrailing in the stairs area because of the odd walls ans ceiling. I cut in around door and windows out to 6" as instructed. I rolled out to a foot on either side of outside corners so he didn't have to spray those. He used a series of large shields at the base boards which I kept wiped off and handed them back. He never wore a hat and his hair was not full of paint at the completion. He'd run an upright vacuum on the carpet before leaving. There was a little dry dust from the minimal bounce-back. Always used new tips. Wide pattern and held no more than 12" from the wall.

This was 40 years ago and we still talk about this guy.

 

[GarageGuy89]

To the OP:

From my experience, I have not used or owned a handheld airless like you mentioned, but I do own a Graco airless Sprayer. I've heard the handheld units are bad paper weights, unless you buy a $1,000 dollar version that actually can hold paper down.

I've painted more things than I would like to admit to, including re-painting and re-re-painting. I am by no means a professional painter, the only reason I have an airless is because I bought the whole setup from a guy for $50 and all it needed was a new switch.

With that being said, airless spraying is not hard but rather takes a lot of experience of spraying and seeing the different effects of what you've done. Any handheld you buy sub $500 is going to be a waste of your money, not to mention there are filters, tips, and storage fluids that get rather pricey for just using it a couple times a year. Also, my biggest cringe when spraying small jobs is that it wastes a-lot of paint just for priming and cleaning the lines.

I have only used my sprayer a handful of times and every time I wish I would have used a roller because I just don't have it down yet. The only time I have gave it a thumbs up is for priming and painting things I don't care what it looks like (sheds, dog houses, etc). Even then, I've heard from the pro's that you still need to back roll because it "works the paint in", don't know how true that is. If you go to touch up later, a non-back-rolled vs brushed/rolled application, it can be distinguished side by side by the slightest color/texture differential. Regardless, I think you always need to back roll a spray job. I think the only time a sprayer is worth while is if you have a second hand behind you to back roll as you spray, otherwise I think you'll be disappointed.

Basically what I am getting at is spraying sounds and looks like it will always be a faster and better product. But the reality is....the pro's make it look easy.

Your money is better spent throwing what you were willing to pay for the spraying into better brushes/rollers and paint. You'll be amazed at what top end painting equipment and paint does....

 

[velillen01]

AFA overspray goes, if you paint is the right consistency and the tip the right size, you can control the overspray more than you think.

First of all, never spray an outside corner where some of the spray pattern blows past the corner. Makes no difference whether you hold the gun sideways or upright. 2ndly, your hand with the gun in it must remain 100% perpendicular to the surface. No fanning. No pointing down or up. You have to be squared to the surface at all times. To go lower, hang your hand down with the gun upside down. To go higher than you can reach square, get on a ladder, scaffold or use a gun extension with a rotating tip.

Personally, I never spray w/o at least a 2' extension.

If renting you may have to buy that.

I completely agree with you. I was just giving my honest "I bought this thing and have never in my life used it before" experience. Especially since I was trying to go as pretty cheap on it (ie ~100 bucks) so didn't really want to invest in anything other than the gun itself.

 

[ymc226]

Thank you all. I will give up my desire to buy another tool.

The 18" roller is a great idea. I'll start taping up the bedroom. My daughter picked hot pink for the bathroom and bright green for her bedroom. Will paint it over with a neutral white with a hint of silver.

I assume no matter how bright or dark the original color, a good quality primer will only require one coat before the expensive new paint is applied?

 

[hefnerconstructionlc]

Use a primer, tinted to the color of the wall color that you would like. That will save you a bunch of time. Preferably a stain blocking primer tinted to the topcoat.

 

[tthornto]

Ummmm, This sounds like something I would like to avoid at all costs, but if thats what your into then +1 on the rubber glove recomendation.

.
-Clean up on the gun itself it a bit of a paint in the **** but i didnt find it to be that bad. I would recommend some mineral spirit/paint thinner (whatever the manual tells you to use) and a small bucket you can fill up with it. Get some rubber gloves (nitrile/latex/ect) for the small parts. I then poured that bucket into the paint reservoir to clean it out.

 

[Kaizen]

Using a grey primer is recommended as it covers a lot. However I was covering up a red with a light beige and I got a tinted primer the same color. Lowes paint chick argued with me but one coat of primer covered fine.


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[GarageGuy89]

If you can afford the price, go to a paint store to buy your paint. Where paint is their business. I've re-painted enough HD/Lowes colors to know their color and quality aint up to par.

When you go to the paint store just tell em your covering up bright colors and they will hook you up with the right primer. I would think a thin coat of primer is all you need.

 

[MikeF2316]

Imagine if you had a 5 foot long arm. And if spaying an 8 or 9' ceiling you don't have to hold your hand over your head all day. I just hold the gun near my head and walk back and forth with the gun wide open. Once N and S and once E and W while it's still wet. On walls I turn the tip to face the wall and run the top portion left and right. Then flip it and do the base. Fill in the middle.

Seriously, I worked with a guy that sprayed out a carpeted apt with no drop cloths. He did drop the wood handrailing in the stairs area because of the odd walls ans ceiling. I cut in around door and windows out to 6" as instructed. I rolled out to a foot on either side of outside corners so he didn't have to spray those. He used a series of large shields at the base boards which I kept wiped off and handed them back. He never wore a hat and his hair was not full of paint at the completion. He'd run an upright vacuum on the carpet before leaving. There was a little dry dust from the minimal bounce-back. Always used new tips. Wide pattern and held no more than 12" from the wall.

This was 40 years ago and we still talk about this guy.

All I could think of was that you made something one handed into something you stood back 2 more feet and needed to use both hands...

 

[Zeke]

.........................................(snip)...............................................

Even then, I've heard from the pro's that you still need to back roll because it "works the paint in", don't know how true that is. If you go to touch up later, a non-back-rolled vs brushed/rolled application, it can be distinguished side by side by the slightest color/texture differential. Regardless, I think you always need to back roll a spray job. I think the only time a sprayer is worth while is if you have a second hand behind you to back roll as you spray, otherwise I think you'll be disappointed.

Basically what I am getting at is spraying sounds and looks like it will always be a faster and better product. But the reality is....the pro's make it look easy.

Your money is better spent throwing what you were willing to pay for the spraying into better brushes/rollers and paint. You'll be amazed at what top end painting equipment and paint does....

This is a pretty good analysis of the situation. I would only add that when spraying and back rolling you get the best of both worlds. The spray gets into every crack like on ship lap but the rolling does work the surface paint.

Sometimes spraying is only an efficient way to move paint from the bucket to the wall/ceiling. Obviously when doing ceilings this can be a time and back saver. Sometimes like when shooting lacquer on cabinets it's the only way to do it. Interior doors and some trim can be sprayed out very nicely. There will be no surface dirt in the finish.

BTW, you can get a double orifice tip that atomizes the paint much the same as a conventional gun does. Yes, it's more messy so you have to cover up and mask accordingly. Many times we took doors and drawers to a make shift paint booth and sprayed them out while attending to the rest of the job inside by more hand methods.

High end custom painters today almost exclusively spray all trim and millwork and then do the flat work by hand and roller. Seems like the more high end the house the more trim and millwork details.

 

[Fishplate]

I have an older Graco sprayer that someone gave me...kind of likethis: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Graco-Prolts-170-Electric-Stationary-Airless-Paint-Sprayer/1000004900

I've used it for exterior spraying,and it's great. But obviously I'm no pro - probably would have helped to do a bit of backrolling.

Where it shone was on the popcorn ceilings in my house...you couldn't roll them without the popcorn coming off on the roller -- but only 75% would come off. The sprayer got every ceiling in a 3000 sf home in a couple of hours. Of course, that was after a day and a half of taping and hanging plastic. and another half day of cleanup.

For one room? I roll.

 

[Pen & Wrench]

I did a bunch of looking around on exterior spraying. I ended up buying a Graco 395 and we beat the weather, and got our house painted in less than a day. The fact that we got the job done before it got too cold made it worth it just to get our house done. Plus I have other buildings and will end up using it 2-3 times a year at the most. Graco does make a power roller attachment, and they also make a Jet roller which is a spray gun with a back roller. You set the spray pattern to be as close to the roller as you can, and it greatly reduces overspray and back rolls. Well, the dealer talked me out of the jet roller for spraying exterior on my original cedar shingle siding. It sure is fast but for one room inside, I agree, rolling would probably take less time. I'd like to try a jet roller if I have to repaint the entire interior of a house. But for one room, I wouldn't even set up the sprayer, I'd just roll it like others have said.

 

[John in OH]

Roll it.

I bought a Wagner airless several years ago with the intent of painting the outside of a small shed. What a POS!! I tried to use this Wagner piece of **** and it was a disaster. I literally took that thing and threw it in the trash! What a waste of money!

 

[JRC3]

My wife wants a large bedroom painted. I'd like to buy a paint sprayer to apply primer and several coats of paint as the present one is loud and bright.

Are there any sprayers that would be better?

Roll it.

I don't use a roller less than 12" unless it a bathroom or other small room. I use 18" for larger jobs. Recently Wooster has come out with a 14" roller and pan that I like. It's a good compromise and the roller and pan work really well.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wooster-14-in-Sherlock-Roller-Frame-00R0170140/204354026

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wooster-14-in-Plastic-Sherlock-Bucket-Tray-0BR4140140/205745979



I have a Titan 440 sprayer and the only thing I use that for is painting large exterior, awkward jobs. I've tried it inside on jobs and it just isn't worth the hassle and effort. When you keep a roller loaded just right you can quickly put a lot of paint on a wall.


No matter what, buy the best paint brush and roller you can get. Pay for the paint also.