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Sprayer or roller?

plplayer

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I just finished skim coating my entire garage and plan on using a gloss paint. I want the smoothest finish. What would be the best way to apply the paint?
 
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shmo

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Hands down, and airless is going to produce the smoothest finish.

SHMO
 

ddawg16

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Are we talking inside or outside?

Yes, the airless will give you the smoothest results.....BUT....it will also show up EVERY defect......
 

shmo

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As will that gloss paint, regardless of application.

SHMO
 
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plplayer

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It's going to be inside. I skim coated the entire wall 3 times and with a little light sanding and some hard light it's nearly flawless. I had already painted it a few weeks ago, but I wasn't happy with it, so I decided to skim it all and start fresh.
 

Leeboy20

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To get a really smooth finish....you need a HVLP , but a airless will work fine with the right tip. Also, depending on the brand of paint etc..A good exterior/interior gloss paint ( if you are using latex) or a slow drying enamel....OR even thin it down a tad. You want it to lay down before it dries. ..If you use a sprayer, and you need to do a touch up, a roller or brush will make it look crappy......I have heard people using tremclad and getting car finish style paintjobs. Always prime new drywall, wood etc to get a proper finish..... Lee
 
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plplayer

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I'll be using PPG Manor Hall interior/exterior gloss. I believe it's an acrylic. I have access to a Wagner paint crew airless sprayer. I'm also wondering how long I need to wait before laying down the horizontal stripes?
 

nate379

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The painter that did the work at my house sprayed and then rolled. I'm not sure why, but it came out nice.
 

nate379

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The walls in my house are satin so I suppose it wouldn't show? My garage I will be painting in semi-gloss for easier cleanup.
 

Leeboy20

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To save paint.

I'll be using PPG Manor Hall interior/exterior gloss. I believe it's an acrylic. I have access to a Wagner paint crew airless sprayer. I'm also wondering how long I need to wait before laying down the horizontal stripes?

I would give it a week or so....and buy the expensive tape. It will make a straighter line, less chance of bleeding through and wont pull the base color off...That cheap green tape *****. If your really picky about sharp lines, gently cut the tape edge with an exacto, and they will be perfect.
 

Leeboy20

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The painter that did the work at my house sprayed and then rolled. I'm not sure why, but it came out nice.

Also we used to do that for speed when i painted new houses....You could throw the paint on quick with the sprayer and then back roll...You never had to take time to dunk your roller just speed roll.....
 
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pcmeiners

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I painted the interior and exterior of my large house and others with an air less. If you have a professional grade airless unit, the walls come out incredible smooth in one coat, rolling would just rough up the surface and slow you down. Primed the entire interior of the two story in 1 day, finish coated all the ceilings in 1/2 day, final wall coating with 3 color changes in 1 day. Masking is a time consumer, used 3" tape, 1 long day.. get the best masking tape or the paint bleeds.
I would not (never) use gloss, it shows up imperfections in wall prep which you will need to inspect with a hand held light and by hand feel over every square inch of surface before spraying..sort of like auto body work, "nearly flawless" won't do it. If you must have a gloss your best off with an egg shell or satin finish, which will still require careful wall inspection/corrections before spraying, but 3x times less then gloss. As mentioned, any repair/modifications with a bush or roller will show. Lastly, if want smooth, you will need to spend about 20-30 minutes per room for a quick sand of the prime coat.
 
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shmo

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To get a really smooth finish....you need a HVLP .I have heard people using tremclad and getting car finish style paintjobs.

The painter that did the work at my house sprayed and then rolled. I'm not sure why, but it came out nice.

Wouldn't back rolling take away the smoothness?

A little maybe, you need to be at the right temperature so the paint doesnt tack up too quick and loose smoothness...also, a "little" thinning will help.

To save paint.

Also we used to do that for speed when i painted new houses....You could throw the paint on quick with the sprayer and then back roll...You never had to take time to dunk your roller just speed roll.....

So I could get away with out back rolling, right?



THE HARD TRUTH


The reason that most painting companies backroll is due to a couple of reasons. First and foremost is because it allows touchups. A sprayed surface is very unforgiving in regards to touching up any flaws or damage that might occur. A rolled surface on the other hand is easily touched up with a roller or brush. Therefore spraying is a great option for a ONE time paint job. If you think you will require touchups at some point, rolling or brushing is a better option.

A backrolled finish is basically a "rolled finish" so it is not as smooth as spraying alone.

Some materials require that you "work" the product into the substrate to insure proper saturation and adhesion. Backrolling or brushing is often used after spraying for this reason. Most interior/exterior latex and even oil base products do not require that however.

The only other reason I know of for backrolling, is speeding up the application. However, that is totally inconsequential. It is just a side effect of backrolling for touchups which is the real reason it is done.

Spraying requires more paint than rolling alone.

Spraying (properly) produces a smoother finish than any other type of application.

No painter in the world can reproduce an automotive quality finish with interior or exterior latex or oil based paints, regardless of application.
 
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plplayer

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can't wait to see it finished..... be sure to post pictures.

Definitely, regardless of how it comes out. I really appreciate all of the advice. I have a good feeling about this, I have the skim coat as smooth as paper right now. I plan on spraying the primer either tomorrow or the next day, depending on the weather.
 

Costner

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Backrolling generally helps bond the paint to the wall better as well. The vast majority of professional painters I know will spray and then back-roll for better adhesion.

However if you want the smoothest finish possible you could add a paint additive like flo-trol to the paint which will make it flow better and thus "lay down" on the wall. Additives will reduce roller markers, brushstrokes, and orangepeel.
 

tcianci

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Even though, you have done a spectacular job on your drywall, you need to take into account the wall system, more than likely you are painting a wall that is wood framed with a drywall interior, while you are doing a good job on the tiny details the whole wall is not a continous, smooth plane and that is going to show BIG TIME when you spray with a high gloss paint. There are slight variations in stud dimension and placement and then there's ALWAYS the little bow, warp or twist that is going to come back and bite you with that finish. So while you may have a really nice wall when you're looking at the small details, the wall as a whole probably wont meet with your expectations. At the very least, backroll the wall...if it is as good as you say it will look great, bury any small problems and enable touch up.
 

Steve in Mi

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It's going to be inside. I skim coated the entire wall 3 times and with a little light sanding and some hard light it's nearly flawless. I had already painted it a few weeks ago, but I wasn't happy with it, so I decided to skim it all and start fresh.


Skim coat over paint - will it stick?
 

nate379

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If you have what I call a "working garage" or shop I guess would be a better word I don't think a little bit of wave or imperfections in the mud here and there is going to matter.

I'd rather have a gloss paint so when oil, mud, water, grinding mess, etc is sprayed on the wall it can wipe off fairly easy.

I did a mud job myself in a garage a few years ago. No clue what I was doing (still don't) and it came out pretty nice. I painted the whole place with gloss white and unless you were shining the walls with a halogen light and really looking for imperfections it looked great.
 

tcianci

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To Steve's question "skim coat over mud, wilit work?" If he is skimming with joint compound, it will work just fine.
 

Steve in Mi

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To Steve's question "skim coat over mud, wilit work?" If he is skimming with joint compound, it will work just fine.

Thanks. I skim coated some OSB with joint compound before painting and wished I had done a bit more in that same room but had already painted before seeing how rough a couple more sheets were. I doubt I'll go back over it but wondered if it would stick to the paint.
 
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plplayer

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Thanks. I skim coated some OSB with joint compound before painting and wished I had done a bit more in that same room but had already painted before seeing how rough a couple more sheets were. I doubt I'll go back over it but wondered if it would stick to the paint.

I skim coated over gloss paint no problem. I decided to take the easy route and get this tool called the "magic trowel," and it really sped things up. On the directions for it, it actually recommends rolling on a layer of semi gloss before skimming.
 

tcianci

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Oops! I mis quoted! the question was skim coat over paint, will it work? Yes it works fine. The comment I usually make about joint compound is that **** will stick to AIR! We do it all the time it's SOP for interior wall repairs. As far as skimming over OSB... It wil probably work. I know we skim luan mahogany and oak flush doors prior to painting them because the grain is so open, you can never bring up a good finish without some sort of grain filler. I have even skimmed a section of the concrete wall in my basement with joint compound like a filler to smooth out the concrete. Painted it us years ago, it's stil there and its still holding paint just fine.
 
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