Hi, I usually hang out at Knots, but have a house-related question am hoping you can help me with. My significant other is going to team up with his brother to paint their dad’s house. He was asking me about Wagner sprayers, which I know nothing about, other than that I’ve seen them at HD. Any recommendations as to what would be a good system to get for this project??
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
I like a good Purdy paintbrush.
Wagner paint sprayers are very loud. It takes longer to get them adjusted to spray right and run extension cords and mask off stuff and then clean them up than it takes to just paint with a brush. And the brush does a much better job. Your arm gets just as tired holding that paint filled hollering thing as it does moving the brush. You'll get more paint on the house and less paint wasted with a brush.
Depending on the siding of the house being painted, a pad or roller might be a good addition to the above mentioned Purdy. If they insist on overspray, send them to the nearest rental shop, cheaper than buying and normally it is a higher grade of equipment. You do realize that most good spraypainters brush afterwords, don't you?
Dan
Forest girl,
Are you a Stumpie?
I am.
T
Do not try this at home!
I am a trained professional!
The little Wagner sprayers work for small jobs,
but are noisy and ineffective compared to a real
sprayer. If you insist on spraying, rent a BIG
airless unit that dips into a 5-gallon bucket.
These work well. You must brush afterwards anyway.
There are drips to get rid of. Also, for some reason
paint sticks much better when brushed. The job will
not last as long or protect as well if you don't brush.
Also, quite difficult to get paint up under clapboards
and into the tight spots with just a sprayer.
??? drips? technique will solve all the problems you have listed ( after the 5th or 6th house :) )
The Wagner stuff....gadgets that ends up taking up just as much time when you consider followup brushing and thorough flushing and cleaning of the machine afterwards. This is especially so for folks who may use it once or twice and put it away.
I was a fool to try the Wagner roller thingy but it ended up being far more tiring then using the good ol' entension pole and a roller brush.
I need to include it in the yard sale next time.
f_g
I just finished painting a house and used a campbell hausefeld airless. There is technique involved, especially getting under clapboards and such. I do agree about using a brush afterwards, there are always runs or drips. Depending on the size of the house, number of windows, and desired quality of finished paint-job, masking off windows or trim can be almost eliminated. But don't take my word as gospel because I am far from a professional painter. I like spraying because that is how I finish any furniture I build. Finding a good paint store with knowledgeable personnel helps a lot. That's my 2 cents.
Mitch
FG,
Ah you followed me here :). If its one of those 100 buck wagner airlesses I would run not walk away from them as far and as fast as I could. I tried one of those about 8 years ago and got more overspray on everything but the walls I was trying to paint. If its a interior paint job ya want to do use rollers and a good brush.mif its exterior, My advice would be to go rent a quality sprayer here they go for about 50 bucks a day, with a big pressure pot thats about all you'll need it for. Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
Another pro says to rent a big nice airless, but ; be ready for it . Have the cover and masking on . Have the facier boards done, with any cutting that would need to be done. Some times you can get by with a half day if spraying is all that is left.
Tim Mooney
Good for your brother and SO to paint their Dad's house! Bravo that they're helping out. That being said...my first piece of advice is to stay the HELL OUT OF HOME DESPOT or BLOWES! Their paint, advice, service, and equipment ####. Even their top of the line (and I wasn't sure if you were talking about a PowerPainter or a larger airless unit), is nothing like the equipment the rent or sell at paint stores and rental yards. My advice is to go to a REAL paint store (Ben Moore, Sherwin Williams, etc.), and get their advice...and if they decide to rent or buy a machine, they'll have it...plus they'll have the tools, paint, and expertise to make the job not only better, but trust me, easier. We run Graco and Titan sprayers...and truly, you probably won't find one that will run unthinned, quality latex under about $1000. So take everyone else's advice (and mine), and either do it by hand, or rent the equipment you need. Finally, remember everything really is in the prep...do a good job at scraping, sanding, filling, caulking, and priming, and the actual painting part is sort of an afterthought--a downer.
If they feel that they have to spray it, rent an airless. If you buy a Wagner, be ready to listen to a lot of cussing!
An airless is likely to use twice as much paint as a brush job so figure the cost.
And for God's sake, remember that the quality of any paint job is in the prep work. Scraping, filling, caulking and sanding, followed by quality primer can make the final product last twice as long.
I guess where your at there is not wind... otherwise give the paint sprayer a second thought. I've got one and unless you want to paint the windows, the neighbors house, and car in the area and the dog, I wouldn't use a sprayer on a house. Might go with a roller if the siding is smooth, but I generally prefer a good paint brush. It actually goes quicker than you think compared to a sprayer...you usually need to back brush anyway with either a sprayer or a roller. Also with either a container on the sprayer, or a long hose, there's a lot of weight with a sprayer and it is very tiring to hold this for any length of time. Also, prep is proably the most important step if you want the paint job to last.
Thank you, thank you thank you!! The info you've all provided has been most illuminating, and my sig-o passes along his thanks. I think he's going to check with the rental people and paint experts, and either rent a real sprayer or do it by hand. Again, you're the best!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 6/4/2002 12:54:28 AM ET by forest_girl
PS: It the outside of a small duplex, wood siding I think, built in the 1940's. Roller-ing is moving up the list as we speak :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forest_Girl,
I just painted my 2750 sq. ft stucco house with a wagner power roller. This thing cooks! You just press the button on the handle and it pumps paint through the roller (wagner perforated rollers). You can paint about as fast as you want. It comes with a 15 foot hose, an extension handle, and an extension hose that can be used with a 5 gallon bucket of paint. I think I paid $129. After painting the my living room / dining room (7 gallons of paint!) with the 20 foot walls, I wouldn't use anything else. Hope this helps.
Terry
Hi Terry, thanks for the info. My sig-o's just starting the prep work this week (and it's in the 90's over there, aaach!) I'll pass the word along.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)