Paint sprayers worth it?
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I paint professionally Any new homes i spray primer and finish on ceilings and trim. Spray will speed up production and give a better finish. I still cut and roll the walls. As far as the sprayer i would get a Titan 440 Impact or a Greco 395. Nothing smaller my self.
How about the roller attachment for the sprayer?
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I started out with the Graco X9 and got years f use from it before rebuilding it. It fact still have it and use it for small jobs. As far as the power roller I just used mine on a stucco extra. as one side of the house opened on the swimming pool so it was covered. Had 3 windows, 2 glass sliding doors, a outdoor bar, made spraying difficult so I used the power roller and really liked it. Don't know what Wolf means by mess there was none at all. I used a large nap roller and it worked great on the rough stucco.
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As a pro who DOESN'T spray a lot, I can say that it is definitely worth it! If you're doing a home a year, it will pay for itself in short order. An empty (new construction) home makes a sprayer a go-to option that will save a good bit of time. I don't spray too much because of liability issues with my insurance carrier. I had a claim that upped my liability to the point of it being "not worth the risk" but I do spray things like the underside of decks, basement ceilings (joists) and the like. If you just use it to do a room or two every so often, well, it won't be worth it because you won't save any time (prep work).
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I personally wouldn't buy anything smaller then a Graco 490 and it can be had for $800, including a few free tips when you wait for a sale. PPG just had their Mega Event a month ago. SW has sales as well once or twice/year.
Definitely a huge time saver to spray versus cutting and rolling, especially new construction. Average size home takes me less the a day to prime walls, ceilings and closets plus finish the ceilings. Trim gets usually primed before installation and finished when i spray the rest of the trim.
Time savings are huge and you'll get your money back on the first new house you paint.
Correction: the 395 was $799 and the 490 was $1049
Definitely a huge time saver to spray versus cutting and rolling, especially new construction. Average size home takes me less the a day to prime walls, ceilings and closets plus finish the ceilings. Trim gets usually primed before installation and finished when i spray the rest of the trim.
Time savings are huge and you'll get your money back on the first new house you paint.
Correction: the 395 was $799 and the 490 was $1049
Go away!
Old thread, but further to @woodco 's comment I will give my experience.
Spraying is not as easy as the YouTube videos would have you think. First there is the cost of the sprayer. The cheap ones aren't good and the good ones aren't cheap. I bought a Graco Ultra hand-held, which is a "good" one, so not cheap. Then there are the consumables --- strainers, Pump Armor, replacement seals, vacu-caps, flex liners, pump (one of these days), and seems like every time I start a new project I need to buy a new size tip (not cheap). You will also likely use more paint because of overspray (which a pro can likely minimize with correct settings, but you are not a pro). If you are using cheap Home Depot paint, I guess the cost of the paint doesn't matter. If you are using good stuff, it does. When brushing, I only need to put a piece of cardboard under the project --- when spraying, I need to protect basically the whole room.
On the New Desk thread in Project Showcase, I sprayed the clear polyurethane. In the end, the sprayer did what I bought it for --- I got the smooth finish that was never going to happen with a brush. But it wasn't fast, it wasn't easy, it wasn't cheap. The upper surface of the desk-top has seven coats of clear on it. The plan was for four coats. First 3 coats went on fine, but on the fourth coat, the sprayer starts spitting (do a search - that's a common problem with spraying). So, let dry, sand down the imperfections and put on 5th coat... oops also some spitting. .... and 6th coat. Seventh coat went on nice and I was done. Seven coats of satin actually looks real nice on that desk-top.
Spraying is not as easy as the YouTube videos would have you think. First there is the cost of the sprayer. The cheap ones aren't good and the good ones aren't cheap. I bought a Graco Ultra hand-held, which is a "good" one, so not cheap. Then there are the consumables --- strainers, Pump Armor, replacement seals, vacu-caps, flex liners, pump (one of these days), and seems like every time I start a new project I need to buy a new size tip (not cheap). You will also likely use more paint because of overspray (which a pro can likely minimize with correct settings, but you are not a pro). If you are using cheap Home Depot paint, I guess the cost of the paint doesn't matter. If you are using good stuff, it does. When brushing, I only need to put a piece of cardboard under the project --- when spraying, I need to protect basically the whole room.
On the New Desk thread in Project Showcase, I sprayed the clear polyurethane. In the end, the sprayer did what I bought it for --- I got the smooth finish that was never going to happen with a brush. But it wasn't fast, it wasn't easy, it wasn't cheap. The upper surface of the desk-top has seven coats of clear on it. The plan was for four coats. First 3 coats went on fine, but on the fourth coat, the sprayer starts spitting (do a search - that's a common problem with spraying). So, let dry, sand down the imperfections and put on 5th coat... oops also some spitting. .... and 6th coat. Seventh coat went on nice and I was done. Seven coats of satin actually looks real nice on that desk-top.
I agree fully. Spraying takes a bit of practice, spitting, bubbles, streaks... once you get the hang of it ... it's great . But overspray is terrible , especially on inside corners. I spray lacquer , and that is more difficult than house paint, but you still have the same problems. With the Grayco type sprayers, I always wondered how much paint is wasted in filling that 50 foot tubing.. plus the cleanup afterwords has to be terrible.
If you want to try it, I would rent one first just to see if it works for you.
An airless is great for new construction and/or commercial work but most diyers don't need an airless and would be prone to get into trouble with one. They pump/spray a lot of paint - even the small units.
On small jobs it's usually more economical to brush and roll than go thru everything involved with spraying.
Not sure if I've ever used a pump that only had 50' of spray line. Mine have 100"'each and I've worked for outfits that would run 300' While some paint gets wasted during clean up it's not that bad, you chase the paint with the appropriate thinner and either pump the last of the paint onto the wall or back into the bucket. It does take a good bit of thinner to clean it up although it's not a big deal if the coating is latex.
On small jobs it's usually more economical to brush and roll than go thru everything involved with spraying.
There is some annoying setup and cleanup overhead. You are going to waste some paint just to prime the system, but the more gallons you're painting, the smaller a percentage that is.
I will say this: with a good sprayer, most people would be absolutely amazed at how fast you can paint with a sprayer, once set up. If you're putting primer on the walls and ceiling, you can do that first. Then you can spray the ceiling, and spray the doors and all the trim. Then the cut in and walls I would do by hand. Of course you will want proper safety equipment and care (injection injuries are not good.)
I will say this: with a good sprayer, most people would be absolutely amazed at how fast you can paint with a sprayer, once set up. If you're putting primer on the walls and ceiling, you can do that first. Then you can spray the ceiling, and spray the doors and all the trim. Then the cut in and walls I would do by hand. Of course you will want proper safety equipment and care (injection injuries are not good.)
That discusion came up the other day and I recalled a painter I worked with 40+yrs ago. He had a sports injuring and during the operation they pulled out some paint that had been injected under his skin via an airless yrs earlier and was never tended to properly. That's why every new airless comes with safety instructions regarding injury.
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Painting a car is not as easy as one might think. Nothing like painting a house. Requires much skill,otherwise high risk endeavor.
I did that when I was a kid. The result is still funny.
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