Rotary airless paint sprayer?

Have you ever thought to thin the paint before spraying? I used to mix latex with hot water 2:1 and never got a clog.

Numerous pro crews have no problem with quality airless sprayers. If you're trying something like a Wagner Power-painter, forget it. You have to at least go with a $300 or so Graco to have a chance. As noted you also have to thin paints appropriately for the sprayer and most paints have such thinning instructions on the label these days.

I used a Wagner a few times, but I had a 15 gallon portable air compressor & spray gun that gave me the desired texture.

Yup. I've had good luck with my dirt-simple micro sprayer and very thin paint. That gun is much too small for the space I need to paint now, though. I'm very curious about the Rotary Airless because of that.

--Winston

Thanks for the recommendation.

I actually had very good luck with a cheap Campbell Hausfield airless. It was time-consuming and complicated to prime and clean but for the money, it worked pretty well. I gave it away because I just knew I'd be able to get my hands on a foolproof rotary sprayer in the future. (Oops.)

--Winston

Yup. I struggled manfully with the Ryobi clone of that ....product. Never Again! Yeesh.

--Winston

An air spray gun is a lot different than an airless one and much more prone to clogging.

Not in my experience, but I dumped the airless crap in a hurry. I never had a clog with my compressor & gun, no matter what I was painting. But then, I mixed & filtered every batch before filling the gun(s) Another thing i did was to have the regulator right at the gun, and everyone laughed at the way it looked. Now, they make very small regulators for guns, and even with a digital readout. I had a lot better results with the regulator at the gun than I ever saw with it at the other end of the hose.

I'm an HPLV kind of guy. My cheapie $90 CH rig Lasted 12 years (until I abused it with varnish and didn't clean it out quick enough. My bad).

But the replacement was on sale for $70, so...

I've heard good things about those, but I've never even tried mine. My dad gave it to me when he sold his place and didn't have room to take all of his stuff. The antique radio guys like them for refinishing radio cabinets. I hope ro have enough repairs done to my shop by winter to be able to build some new kitchen cabinets, and reface the rest to match. Then I'll give it a workout. :)

Y'know, an airless gun is _real_ easy to clean out from a clog, if you just get the reversible/self-cleaning tips.

I've got a low-volume DeVilbis given to me because "it doesn't work anymore." A new diaphram and ball-check was all it took to fix properly. I ended up buying a good gun for it to alleviate - in part - just what you guys have been bitching about.

That, and putting it to bed with "pump saver" in it, and it's a fine machine.

None of the spray rigs are worth a damn on a 1-can paint job, though. You spend more time cleaning up afterwards than you did painting.

LLoyd

Mine was produced by Graco about 30 years ago. I was thinking about buying one of these when I couldn't find the cup a couple months ago, but I found it. The Graco likes slightly thinned latexes, so I used some Floetrol and warmed the paint before use. (paint gun in a tub of hot water)

wonder how much better these are than "the damned Wagners" people are always screaming about. Cheaper to buy than rent, eh? ;)

-- Win first, Fight later.

--martial principle of the Samurai

I never set up the sprayer for small jobs. In fact, I used a cheap bleader gun with GUNK more than I ever painted. I didn't have to worry about clogs with it, and could spray at angles that I couldn't with a rattler. :)

(...)

'Nuther vote for Graco. I persist in my search for that foolproof rotary, though.

It couldn't be much worse!

Stunningly so. I got so much attitude from my local rental place that I just stopped giving them money.

--Winston

My rotary IS a Graco. I looked for it yesterday and couldn't find it, or I'd have given you a model number to look for.

HF (and most of the Chinese) wouldn't be caught dead hanging around with the likes of the W people. They, at least, have face to save.

Ditto here. He's nice enough, but he doesn't answer his farkin' phone. I last tried for 3 days and then finally went in on my way by. He claimed to be there all the times I called.

-- In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. -- Albert Camus

I used a Wagner Power Painter before. The kind that sprays similar to a professional painter and has a tank on the top of the motor/pump assembley for paint. I never had much issue as long as I poured the paint through a filter into the painter after mixing. I didn't like it much though because it seems to use twice as much paint as other power painters.

Now I have a Spray Tech with the pickup tube that goes right into a five gallon bucket. I have filter bags that go over the pickup tube, and again. No real problems with it. It also does a good job of covering and uses less paint than the Wagner by an order of magnitude. I got the Spray Tech as a factory recon unit for about $175 a few years ago. Its not bad for personal use, but if I was going to do large jobs or use it everyday, I'ld probably spring for the big chunk of cash for a Graco.

The key is you need to filter the clumps and skins no matter how well you mix it. Latex IS hard to spray. You may still get some clogs. On my Spray tech I just reverse the nozzle and shoot the clog out into the drop cloth. Once in while I may need to pull the nozzle, but they come out in seconds and go right back in as easily.

The other big deal, is taking care of your sprayer. You need to run a LOT of water through it when you are done to thoroughly clean it out, and then you need to fill the pump with seperating oil. If you don't you will have a horrible time taking it apart and cleaning it before you can use it again.

That *is* interesting! I'd appreciate knowing the model number if it should happen to appear.

(...)

It'd be funny if a $19.00 HF airless performed acceptably where a $80 Ryobi of the same general description fell down. :)

'Like throwing money away. I don't understand the attitude.

--Winston

Yup. The C-H airless I gave away was like that. It worked Okay, though priming was always an exercise.

--Winston