Wagner Flexio paint sprayer plus thoughts on spraying house paints.

[bing98]

I have a small ranch with a 1 car attached garage. I am in the process of re-staining the shingles and painting the trim. Approx 15 years ago I applied solid stain using a small Wagner power painter. Due to time and money constraints I did it in sections so I didn't get and use an expensive airless sprayer. The time and money constraints haven't gone away so here I am about to do the same thing again. Solid stain on the shingles and paint on the trim. BTW the first time with the Wagner came out perfect.

As much as I would like an nice airless sprayer it's not very practical. I'm doing the house in sections and the whole job will most likely carry over to next year. Setting up a Graco or HF airless each and every time I do a section just doesn't make sense.

That all said, I tried the Graco 360 VSP handheld on my living room trim. Decent gun, but I got frustrated with it. I tried multiple times with different settings and always walked away unhappy. I was using a semi-gloss water based enamel on the trim. The frustration came in the form of runs and dry spots. Maybe it was my technique, but the gun sprayed so heavy that you had to nail the gun speed, distance and overlap every time or you would get the runs, horrible orange peel or dry spots. When i nailed it the finish was great. I'm sure it's a good gun in the right hands. While I have sprayed many times I'm not a pro.

Lowes was nice enough to let me return it and I replaced it with a Flexio 3000 on the recommendation of a professional painter I bumped into. Watching videos online really makes me believe the Flexio is much more forgiving. Does anyone have any experience with these guns?

I have a 60gal 2-stage air compressor. Along with the Graco i tried spraying the same paint with 2 different HVLP guns. One had a 2.5 mm tip and the other a 1.4mm tip. I did multiple tests as well as attempts using various viscosities(measured with a Ford #4 cup), air pressures and gun settings and was equally frustrated. I thinned with water and/or Floetrol. Naturally the 2.5mm was better than the 1.4, but I ran into issue on vertical surfaces. The paint sagged in spots. I think due to the Floetrol, but I could be wrong. I was painting the radiator covers with the HVPLs so I was attempting to lay a smooth finish without much orange peel. This required a "wet coat" so it would flow out, hopefully. Of course that's when I ran into the sags.

I have also been looking at the Earlex HV5000 spray station. Looks very nice, but the hose is only 13 feet long which might present a challenge painting a house.

I haven't opened the Flexio. Before I do I wanted to see if anyone might suggest a better option.

thanks

 

[wil]

I have used the Wagner old 300 series of airless sprayers to paint BIG houses and
fences. I spent more time moving the ladder than painting!
Wagner still makes an airless model (https://www.wagnerspraytech.com/products/paint-sprayers/power-painter-max-ez-tilt-paint-sprayer/) that pulls from the
attached quart container, a paint can, or a backpack gallon canister.
Only a 5 foot hose and a gun to clean. Beats cleaning a 25' hose and machine!

Do you really need HVLP to paint outside?

 

[bing98]

That Wagner reminds me of my old Power Painter.

I don't need to use an HVLP. I just want something that doesn't cost a fortune, but lays a nice finish. I'm open to all suggestions under $300.

Thanks

 

[Sticky Grips]

I used one to spray paneling and cabinets in my kitchen. It's not a bad machine, but the latex paint tends to dry on the nozzle parts relatively quickly, so i ended up with a gun that stuck open.

Once you get past that, it was ok.

It took a little bit of time to thin the paint correctly.

Also remember, the fan always runs, so if you have plastic masking material it will flop around quite a bit.

 

[bing98]

Thanks Sticky. How smooth was the finish? Assuming there is some orange peel. Would you it’s acceptable or better than acceptable? Is it better or worse than what you would get using a roller?