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spray painting

greggo | Posted in Construction Techniques on February 12, 2006 10:34am

Hi All /Snow what snow? We got about 19″ of the white stuff in Hartford ,CT

Getting ready to paint the interior of  my new home and looking for some tips.

2400 sq ft colonial

all new drywall

9′ foot ceilings on the first floor,with a 13′ cathedral ceiling in the breakfast area

8′ ceiling on the second floor.

I have been surfing the archives for a good airless and on my findings I will be picking up a new graco 395 for $850 I’ll also grab a spray sheild and a  10″ and 20″ extesion tip too

primer and finish paint will be glidden lifemaster no voc 2 coats each

From what I can gather for priming, spray the ceilings first,back roll with an 18″ roller,then do the walls same way.

When it comes time for the finish coat(Color) should I do the walls first,let dry,then tape &1 mil poly the walls to cover them,then spray the ceiling?

also does any body have some tips on how to hang the poly and tape fast

Lead,Follow,or Get the Hell Out of the Way!

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  1. RW | Feb 12, 2006 10:59pm | #1

    Dont fight gravity. Spray ceiling. Roll walls. Good brush, cut in. Move the elbow, not the hand. Only thing you'll have to mask is the trim. Youll like the 395. If youre doing painted trim (I am assuming novice status on your part) get a different switchtip for that. You're probably shooting something like a 517 on your ceilings. Depending on which paint you use for other things (yes, labels matter) you're probably more like a 312 or 412 for trim

    "A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you." -Bert Taylor

    1. greggo | Feb 13, 2006 06:10am | #2

      RW: Yep novice,but I like to do things right.I was going to spray everything (primer)  (ceiling then walls )then back roll.Do I still need to cut with a brush or can I do it with a 3" roller

      No trim up yet but lots of windows.Can they be done with a paint sheild?

      I guess I'm confused about the finish (color) coat on the walls.If I spray the ceiling first.Then spray the walls ,how do I keep from getting the finish (color)wall paint on the newly painted ceiling?Does the ceiling  get taped off some how?I guess I thought it would be easyer to finish the walls first,poly the walls when dry,then do the ceiling?Lead,Follow,or Get the Hell Out of the Way!

      1. omaha | Feb 13, 2006 06:47am | #3

        Here is what we would do:

        Spray all the ceilings first.  Spray onto the top edge of the walls.  Spray your primer on the walls.  Use a shield to keep off the ceilings.  (I presume you are spraying white primer and white ceiling paint.)  Back roll the primer.  Let the primer dry and pole sand lightly.  Use a 517 rac tip for both the primer and the finish.  The extension will be very handy for the ceilings. 

        Now here is the tricky part if you are going to spray the finish on the walls.  Unless you are spraying white walls...almost never happens anymore... Spray up to within a few inches of the ceiling.  I would still shield while spraying.  Then hand cut the wall to ceiling edge with a brush.  Back rolling at this point is optional.  Sometimes the finish coat looks better not backrolled.  Depends on product, sheen, and color.  I say it is optional because it won't adhere any better or worse because of the primer coat.  

        If you decide to tape plastic on the walls and not hand cut the wall to ceiling edge here is my advice.  Use lightweight 1mil plastic.  We buy it in a box of either 9' x 400' or 12' x 400' Paper tape off the wall first using 9" masking paper and the 3M blue orange core tape.  This tape is for newly painted surfaces and won't pull the paint off.  After the paper tape is up, tape up the plastic with the same blue orange core tape.  We just "tack" the tape every few feet.  Once the plastic is up underneath the paper tape,  tack the paper to the plastic to keep the paper from "flying up" from the spray pressure. 

        Don't freak out from spending some $ on paper, tape and plastic.  The time it will save is worth the money.   Forget trying to shield the windows.  I would paper tape them off as well. 

        Happy spraying!

        1. greggo | Feb 16, 2006 03:26pm | #6

          Omaha thank you too for the reply

          Freak out over $ on paper and tape LOL,I just picked up the graco for  $850,rollers,brushes,extra tips,40-50 gallons of paint,spray shield etc.Heck whats a few more bucks on paper and tape.

          I guess I looked at it this way,the rocker wanted $2,000 to spray   not including the paint,bonus room,and garage .About $800 more for those.I'll find projects for the graco.The rocker was just going to spray ceiling white all over as the primer and ceiling finish. I wanted the new drywall primed better than that.

           

          Thanks again for the tips

          Greg Lead,Follow,or Get the Hell Out of the Way!

      2. RW | Feb 13, 2006 07:13am | #4

        My argument is dont spray your walls. Roll them, and cut in by hand. In my mind, the only time spraying a wall is efficient is when the wall and ceiling are the same paint, same color. Rare, that.

        The window comment has me wondering, why are you trying to paint before the trim is in? If you don't finish the trim on the wall, it'll just end up looking, well, like prefinished trim. "A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you." -Bert Taylor

        1. greggo | Feb 16, 2006 02:52pm | #5

          Thanks for the reply RW

          I sent another reply  to you but it wouldnt post for some reason.I'll be spraying for speed.I need to get this house finished,and I'm a one man show.This house is 3100 sq ft total and I have done the electrical,plumbing,heating and about a dozen other trades.

          I thought that doing the trim separate was the way to go.I was going to spray the trim in the garage

          Thanks GregLead,Follow,or Get the Hell Out of the Way!

        2. Shaken_not_Stirred | Feb 16, 2006 06:49pm | #7

          RW:   You say "look like prefinished trim".  What does that mean vs not prefinished trim?

          I am not a pro and have seen trim done both ways.  I should say, seen it from afar (not really studied it).  I see pros adn cons of doing it both ways.  But interested to hear from a pro which is really the nicest job.

          1. RW | Feb 16, 2006 08:45pm | #8

            I'll give you my opinion but I will also say I realise not everyone shares it. So take it as my opinion, period.

            It might not be realistic to finish trim on the wall on 100% of the jobs we take, but whenever practical, I do. First, when you fit joints, are they always perfect? No. Even the best trimmers will have a handful of spots in each house that require tuning with sandpaper or a file or or or. Outside corners, scarfs especially. Not really practical when the stuff is already finished, which more often than not means that those little details just go by the wayside. You cant sand the finish, and if you do, pretty hard to patch a sanded hole in the finish without that showing like a sore thumb.

            There's also the way that finish goes on and holes get filled. If you're doing prefinished, when you punch a hole or cut a joint, anything you cut or poke through has no finish. So holes can show more, slipped miters show. When you finish on the wall, you're staining those holes, you're getting stain into any little gap in a joint so that if ten years from now it opens, its not raw wood showing. If you're filling nail holes after finish, it shows much more than between layers of finish, because hole filler hasn't the same sheen. No sheen really. But if you finish it on the wall, after the sealer, filler goes in, then sanded with the sealer, then the top coat. Done right, you can't find most of the holes.

            Most of it is trivial little details. Nevertheless, those details set apart tracts from houses you'd want to live in. Prefinished trim looks like a mobile home to me. So thats my opinion. "A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you." -Bert Taylor

  2. bc | Feb 17, 2006 01:38am | #9

    Here is what I buy/use and how I do it. House must be above 65F. tried all paint brands/caulk/brushes/putty.
    Use 395 sprayer...
    >B.Moore primer if needed about $45 for 5 gallons
    >Then I caulk/putty/sand
    >B. Moore ceiling white...use widerac tip (1215?)
    >Spray trim w/ B. moore Impervo latex satin finish... looks gorgeous (best trim paint well worth the beans) finish tip (208?)
    >then roll the walls with B. moore Matte finish use those small rollers at HD like 10 for $14 (cheap and good) ... dont reuse rollers.
    The slightly shiny molding and the matte walls makes the trim pop. Paint has ceramic beads which gives it the durability of an eggshell.
    >Putty-Crawfords
    >Spackle-Crawfords
    >Caulk-white lightning w/ silicone...
    >Purdy Nylon brush
    >Stick to all latex paint easy clean up/doesnt change colors over time (like oil)
    fyi...takes about 1 qt of paint to fill the sprayer hose.

    1. greggo | Feb 20, 2006 06:22pm | #10

      Thanks BC and everyone else who replyed

      Primed the ceiling and walls the other day ,went well once I got going.4 hours for 1200 sq ft 1 st coat of primer.

      Second coat less then 2hrs with the DW back rolling.Sanded in between coats.

      I will spray the finish ceiling this week,I probably will just cut and roll the walls. I never figured in the time to tape or cover the walls along with the extra time to clean the spray gun because of all the different colors in the different rooms. 

      The graco 395 was easy to use once I figured out that the motor dosent constantly run unless the pressure is down (DOH)I had a diaphram pump I use to use years ago that  motor always ran.

      Thanks Guys GregLead,Follow,or Get the Hell Out of the Way!

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