*
Hello All
I am planning on painting the entire interior of a house and was considering renting an airless paint sprayer from a local rental center (cost $50 per day; $75 for a long weekend). The entire house is the same color – off white (e.g. walls, ceiling and trim). Can anyone recommend a good sprayer (brand name, cost) to buy? At the rental rate I would be more than half into the purchase price ( some models at Home Depot @ $250) and I am sure with my wife more painting is in my future to offset the remaing costs. Also any pros/cons using for interior work? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I plan on using Sherman Williams paint – is this a good choice for sprayers? Does it matter? Thanks in advance for your thoughts
Shawn
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
From plumbing failures to environmental near disasters, OHJ staffers dish on our worst and best moments.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
*
I've never used a sprayer indoors, but I've seen it done for new construction and re-painting apartments after tenants have departed. You wrote "a house," so this isn't yours, I presume. I'd never consider this for my own house, because it seems to be a potentially messy approach, I have multiple colors in the rooms, and the walls I've seen sprayed always had an odd feel to them -- could be the cheap contractor paint, I don't know. I would also think that you wouldn't get a thick enough application. The brand of the paint isn't significant, I wouldn't think, since what's probably a less than ideal application method is being used. I suppose you should consider thinning the paint with Flood Floetrol to make it spray better and not clog.
*Shawn;It all depends on what you'd rather do: either you spend 8 hours masking and one hour painting, or 8 hours rolling and one hour with drop cloths.I love using an airless inside, provided I've done enough masking. If you have very intricate features to mask, then brush/roller is probably best. I often spray, then roll to distribute and event out the texture. I like the Wagner G09 gun, although many others are similar. You'll probably spend 400-500 for a rig with that level of quality gun. If you get the plastic guns, you'll be replacing them on job 2 or 3.BTW, i aso have an additional gun for laquer. Lots of interior work with sherwin williams acrylic laquers. I've also sprayed polyurethanes for wood finishes as well.Sherwin williams makes good paint. They also make lower grades. Compare the features/tech specs. Not just mfg. name.
*
Hi...
As an amateur painter, i have tried various guns, rigs, etc.I have found that the Wagner power painters are basically useless, except when shooting right from the cup.The backpack rig is useless, unless shooting VERY thin paint.
When I shot my house, i rented a big (3/4 horse)aieless from Home Depot, and was VERY satisfied..it DID take 1 day of masking, but the resultsa were fantastic, and i shot a 32' X 60' house in about 4 hours.This included moving the ladder, going out to buy more panit, etc.This was the EXTERIOR of the housse tho..i have done interiors with airless sprayers, but mostly it is a wash..if you are in the house presently, the masking involved will make it not worth it..the paint will be on all sorts of things you would rather not have iot on..and the mate will be furious..don't ask me how i know.
A better deal, IMHO, is the Wagner power roller...it did cut painting time by about half..and although hard to clean..worth every cent.
Just my $.02
Erik
*
I am currently building a house for my wife and I and am considering doing some or all of the interior painting myself. Perhaps there would be less of an issue of masking in a new house? The turn-key bid for the interior is around $10K for 3K sq.ft. with some 10' ceilings. It's hard for me to believe that the materials could cost more than $3K?
Ceilings will be white, most rooms will be beige with off-white trim - lots of painted trim. No stain except the bottom stair tread/riser and the hardwood floors in 3 or 4 rooms which I will hire out. Wife has picked "decorator colors" for 2 or 3 rooms. Generally, I hate painting, but can probably stand anything for 3 or 4 days and good at caulking and not bad with a trim brush but slow.
For this situation, should I get an airless, or go the power roller route mentioned above? At the very least, I could "blow" through the primer in a hurry. Or am I crazy to even consider doing it myself?
Also, should I prepaint the trim?
TIA
*A new home is much easier to paint with an airless. Make sure there's no carpet nor hardware. I'd spray then roll. Don't skimp on primer..wallboard just sucks it up. If you don't seal it, the finish coat will show it.make sure you coordinate with other trades. I do primer asap, followed by ceiling/walls that are off white. If there is no electric top-out done, you life is easier. Semi-Gloss trim and wall colors follow.Costs are mostly labor, but if you are careful you can supply the labor yourself. buy a professional grade airless, with a good metal gun. You can also buy a roller attachment for this system, so forget the "power roller". An airless with a gun will do the corners! and then you just roll out the flats. If you can find em, an 18" roller is nice for BIG walls. Have Fun
*
Shawn,
Owned a Wagner. Not again. Bought a Campbell-Haufeld from Home Whatever. Not the airless sprayer that a pro would use, but I don't run it every day. Works for me. Given the rental costs, it paid for itself in one season.
Spraying an interior is easier if you can get in before the millwork goes on. I did the back of my house this season. Lots of masking and we were DXing the carpet so I didn't have to be that careful. The furniture was in the living room.
What would I do differently - don't bother masking the trim. Blow everything and use the wall paint as a primer for the trim. Then go back and paint trim with a semigloss. We were going from Navaho White (dirt color) to Ultra White, so two coats were needed. The kitty litter ceilings were a breeze with an airless. Having also rolled them, I know what I want to use. Blew them first, then switched to wall paint and did those.
BTW - I wear a Racal filtered powered air supply when doing this sort of thing.
Next year - the living room. Carpet stays, so I better be good.
*
Adam:
Thanks very much for the reply. Now that you mention it, I do recall seeing 'em using thoes big 18" rollers.
I'll have to go price the airless paint rigs. I'm thinking I've seen them at about $300 or $400 which is kind a pricy, but next to $5K+ for labor on a paint job, $400 would be a good deal.... hummm....
*toolbear:When you say "Spraying an interior is easier if you can get in before the millwork goes on." is that to say that there is going to be stained millwork?
*I have had your problem for a couple of years. Essentially, I brought some airless sprayers when they first came on the market and found them to be of crappy design, cheap and otherwise a waste of time. I remember 1 day spent with one of the first models from Wagner and it did not spray but moreso urinated on the walls. I urinated to say the least. I am happy to report that I brought a Campbell Hausfield 3/4 hp whole house painter which holds the 5 gallon buckets and 1 gallon as well. I am throughly impressed. I works well and is consistent. My personal opinion on the history of these things is that they required strict adherence to the cleaning and lubrication procedures. Nowdays the instructions are easier, the parts are more available and less pricer. They really work now! Be religious about your cleaning and storage procedure. This is one machine you can not clean enough. I also brought the HVLP for trim work because the 3/4hp spray pattern is large for a trim and have been equally as happy! Also for taping issues, buy a Tape gun and save yourself 50% of the time taping and then feel smart as you pull off the tape from a completed job and your work is looking marvelous!!!!!!
*I noticed two negative comments on Wagner, and thought I'd add my two cents. First airless I bought was a cheaper Wagner. Plastic Gun and a shuttle "plunger" pump. Didn't last one exterior.Upgraded to a Wagner 3/4 hp with a rotary driven cam which displaces an diaphragm pump. Rebuilt the diaphram after around 1000 gallons of latex and lacquers. Replaced guns 4-5 times. After the gun starts "leaking" with lacquer, I use it for latex. When it can't hold latex, I toss it. My thoughts: Don't by cheap Clean it religiouslyOh, and although you can't miss the warnings, you really don't want to inject paint into your body, so watch the hands. Seems obvious, but the ease of shooting paint can be seductive and you can get careless. A fried who is an ER doc had a particularly gruesome tale of how this type of wound is treated (surgical exposure, etc)Happy Painting
*
Hello All
I am planning on painting the entire interior of a house and was considering renting an airless paint sprayer from a local rental center (cost $50 per day; $75 for a long weekend). The entire house is the same color - off white (e.g. walls, ceiling and trim). Can anyone recommend a good sprayer (brand name, cost) to buy? At the rental rate I would be more than half into the purchase price ( some models at Home Depot @ $250) and I am sure with my wife more painting is in my future to offset the remaing costs. Also any pros/cons using for interior work? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I plan on using Sherman Williams paint - is this a good choice for sprayers? Does it matter? Thanks in advance for your thoughts
Shawn