I've got some rooms I'm remodeling and more walls and ceilings to paint than I want to think about, but this is going to be done in stages over many months. I was thinking about purchasing an airless paint sprayer but wanted an opinion on what brands to look into. I don't want to spend more than $400.00 new and don't want to buy used, also don't want to bother renting. I don't think I need a high volume commercial unit either since this will be an occasional use item.
Most of the surfaces will be either cinder block or drywall, some plywood as well. Any suggestion would be appreciated. I'll be using interior latex paints if that info is important.
It sounds like you should stick to rollers. Painting w/ an airless is worthwhile only if........
1) there is a lot to do, &
2) overspray is not a problem (IOW, not a lot of masking to do),
3) you have the skill......... yes, there is a skill to it.... otherwise you get sags, overspray all over the place and, could inject paint into your eyes or skin.
4) painting w/ a roller equals the time it takes for MASKING....... SET UP ..... & CLEAN UP. If you are doing a lot of rooms in stages........ a wall or a room, now & then, go w/ rollers.
Organizing the job is important. For instance, if you can shoot ceilings & walls BEFORE carpet, doors jambs & cabinets..... that's ideal....... o'wise you have to mask doors & cabinets ......... it's a lot of work & it isn't cheap.
I've had a Grayco airless for 30+ years and just bought a new Grayco for $1500. My first one lasted 30 years because I took good care of it........ cleaned it meticulously after each use, which takes 45 min to an hour.
I use an airless on apartments in which I'm going to replace the carpet. Otherwise, rollers are faster. It's important to only use SEMI-GLOSS interior latex........ it's much more durable than 'flat' and nobody seems to notice that the walls are a little shiny.
Drywall......... use 5/8" ALL the time - the benefits out weigh the cost diff. w/ 1/2" Here's a real time/ energy saver......... both Hamilton and USG have a product that acts as both a final skim coat and as a primer....... it's GREAT. They have different names for it & I don't know if Home Depot has it. You may have to go to a "drywall/ stucco supply." Basically it's like a heavy, fast drying water base paint........ I roll it on, for remodels. For bigger jobs you spray it on w/ an airless & then go over it w/ a roller for texture............. get it?? - skim coat, primer, texture - all in one!
$400 isn't enough to get set up w/ an airless capability. There's a lot of other stuff you need to go w/ the machine.
Steer clear of cheap Campbell Hausfeld units. I bought one from a home center and when it came time to replace the filter in the gun I couldn't find one. No one seemed to have them for sale. I wound up buying a Grayco gun to replace the original one (which is nice also in that it has a swiveling hose connection). Come to think of it, the sprayer itself didn't work when I bought it, and so I had to return it for a working unit.
Oil based paints are more difficult to clean out of an airless sprayer than water based ones, which is a pain in any event. I wouldn't break out the airless sprayer unless I could save more time on the painting job with it versus a roller than I would lose in the clean up.
I would also suggest that you stay away from the self-contained sprayers like the Wagners. The trouble with them is that you have to swing your paint supply and pump and motor with your arm extended. This is fatiguing. If you'll be painting on a ladder then you'll be doing a lot of climbing in order to refill the pot.
One more tip: Get the longest hose that's practical for your work area. The 15' one that came with the sprayer I bought was woefully inadequate, forcing me to constantly stop and reposition the sprayer (of course I was painting the exterior of a 4 story building, not interior rooms, so a 100' hose was just about right for me).
Painting w/ rollers: Do the cut-in (edges) w/ a 3" trim brush (angled bristles)..... get an expensive brush...... they hold paint better & have more 'body'...... faster to work with. Keep the paint pan on the FLOOR. Most Important..... Use an extension pole on the roller. To get set up for airless, think in terms of $2000. (I hate to paint...... painting is a real ass-kicker)
On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 13:52:08 -0500, Artemia Salina vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
The one I had was horrible to use. No control, really. It was a Wagner (320?..not the bottom of the range, anyway).
Not many people who use them like them. They are not up to the pro models. Parts are very expensive, compared to the unit. They have to be kept _meticulously_ clean. They don't like abrasive water-based paints.
IMO they are good "paint hoses". I did a boat with one. The finish was not all that good. But then part of the problem may be the people that try to use them, rather than the machine? They are marketing to people who nothing about spraying with _any_ method.
OOI, actually you _could_ use it from a pot, by placing a long hose in the pot, and waiting for about 1/2 hour for the paint to get to the gun (and yes I had about a 1/4" hose). But I reckon they are a "have".
Thanks to all who replied to my quesion about the airless paint sprayers, some very good points were presented and after further concideration I've decided to stick with the old manual methods for now.
I bought a Graco Magnum low end sprayer off of ebay for around $225 iirc. If I had it to do over again, I would have bought a new one to avoid the hastle of dealing with missing parts, leaks, etc. The low end Graco's are still better than any Campbell Hausfeld and Wagner IMHO, but I have not used either of their 'commercial' offerings.
I needed to spray an exterior for a buddy getting transferred to Washington and his house had to be ready to sell *quickly*. Rollers were not an option. I definitely agree with the other poster about good commercial equipment being worth every penny. However for the occasional user, say a few houses a summer, this Graco hit the spot. New I believe they are $300 complete, though an extension for the nozzle would have been nice. I tried his Wagner power painter - the house wouldn't have needed painting if it weren't for that Wagner. Not to mention very loud and your hands are numb after a while from the vibration. The paint needed thinning to run properly through it and went on too thin last time around (only 2 or 3 years prior) and did not hold up. Plastic junk. The same money as the Wagner would have rented a commercial sprayer and saved the cost of repainting at a shorter interval.
I also used a roller system with a clear plastic paint syringe for a handle for the trim, holds enough paint to make one trip up the ladder between repositioning and it was about $25. I would have paid more after using it.
Also mentioned earlier, the cleanup and masking are critical but when you have a lot to do...
Today, I got a wild hair to paint a block wall. I pulled out my Graco XR7, and went to Home Depot to get the paint. We got back and started painting at 1230. We used ten gallons of paint, which, by their conversion chart said would cover about 2,000 square feet. I doubt we covered anything like that because we put it on heavy. Bottom line, at 430, were done and cleaned up.
Say what you want about airless spraying. They ain't for every type of painting. They ain't for every person. They have their upsides and downsides. But when you use the proper airless on the right type of work, they are a joy.
Mine cost $500 at Home Depot, and I bought it for $278 on ebay. With the time I saved today, I am going skiing tomorrow.
I remember seeing a home improvement show once where a pro was using a sort of hand-held blade to prevent overspray rather than masking. IIRC it was shaped similar to a miniature snow plow, about 2.5 feet long, curved, with a hole to form a handle. It seemed to be made of sheet aluminum. The painter just held it in place to shield areas where he was cutting-in. He was moving quite fast and the job looked pretty nice when done. Not much use up on a ladder though, I suspect.
Oh, it works well on a step ladder. That's how I painted my house last time. You have to have some finesse when you're spraying where clapboard joins window frames, but it's all a matter of angles. It's a snap to mask soffits and so on that way.
I'll let you know if I can still do in around June. I'm painting the sucker again this year.
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