Airless paint spraying advice

[Jeremy Harris]

By a stroke of good fortune, I've just acquired a nearly new very high pressure airless paint spraying rig, complete with gun, pump, hoses etc.  According to the (rather basic) instructions, it looks to be fairly easy to use, but I've zero experience with this sort of spray kit; all I've used in the past is conventional spray guns and HVLP. 

 

I've had a look around YouTube, and there seem to be loads of American videos on spraying house interiors, but all the ones I've seen are a bit thin on detail.  It seems that this method of painting is common in the US, but not used as much here. 

 

I want to use this to paint the inside of our garage with white emulsion, as it looks as if using a high pressure (as in around 200 to 250 bar) sprayer is a very quick way of covering a fairly large area.  Has anyone here used one of these things, and if so, are there any words of wisdom that could be shared?

[Steptoe]

I've used them previously, not for spraying houses,

but cars and bikes,

Edited March 31, 2017 by Nickfromwales
Let's just say it was a typo.

[ProDave]

If it has a hose, then is it "airless" doesn't that just mean it comes with a compressor?

 

When I was a boy, my dad bought what I regard as a true "airless" sprayer. It was all in one. A hand held  thing that had a paint receptacle you filled and screwed on the bottom,and a mains flex. When you pressed the trigger, a motor whirred and it squirted paint out.  I don't recall it being very good, and he had to keep dismantling thr nozzle and unblocking it.

[Steptoe]

5 minutes ago, ProDave said:

If it has a hose, then is it "airless" doesn't that just mean it comes with a compressor?

 

When I was a boy, my dad bought what I regard as a true "airless" sprayer. It was all in one. A hand held  thing that had a paint receptacle you filled and screwed on the bottom,and a mains flex. When you pressed the trigger, a motor whirred and it squirted paint out.  I don't recall it being very good, and he had to keep dismantling thr nozzle and unblocking it.

it pressurizes the paint can @ProDave

rather than using the air to create a vacuum to suck the paint through,

there are other types available, rather cheap rubbish diy things, that are best left on the shelves of B&M or whatever tat shop they are in.

 

 

by far the easiest for DIY use is the gravity fed air type, ime, even I can get a good finish using one of those.

 

Edited March 31, 2017 by Steptoe
more info

[ProDave]

Just now, Steptoe said:

it pressurizes the paint can @ProDave

rather than using the air to create a vacuum to suck the paint through,

there are other types available, rather cheap rubbish diy things, that are best left on the shelves of B&M or whatever tat shop they are in.

 

That's probably the rubbish my dad had. But I see the principle now.

[Alexphd1]

I can't help on the operation side of things but will be very interested on your progress with the machine as I am eyeing up a graco 390 airless sprayer myself. What model is it?

[IanR]

No words of wisdom, but the decorators I've used have just finished the spray work at mine. 2 base coats of watered down contract emulsion and 2 top coats of Little Greene. Goes on very fast and the finish is first class. Seems to make the plastering look better as it gives few blemishes to focus on.

 

One draw back is future repairs by roller or brush will likely stand out more, although the decorator I used believes some paints are more forgiving than others.

 

The only thing I noticed is, just like for spraying cars, release the trigger as you change direction to avoid putting to much paint on.

[Jeremy Harris]

It doesn't pressurise the paint can, the can sits with the lid off and two hoses going in to it, a pickup hose with a filter, plus a return hose that's used to prime the pump.  The pump is a very high pressure unit, 250 bar maximum, or around 3600 psi, very like a low volume pressure washer pump.  The hose to the gun is a high pressure hose that only contains paint.  The gun is a pretty simple looking affair, with just a replaceable nozzle to vary the maximum paint delivery rate.  The pump has a pressure adjustment that sets the amount of pressure at the gun.

Edited March 31, 2017 by JSHarris

[Jeremy Harris]

2 minutes ago, IanR said:

No words of wisdom, but the decorators I've used have just finished the spray work at mine. 2 base coats of watered down contract emulsion and 2 top coats of Little Greene. Goes on very fast and the finish is first class. Seems to make the plastering look better as it gives few blemishes to focus on.

 

One draw back is future repairs by roller or brush will likely stand out more, although the decorator I used believes some paints are more forgiving than others.

 

The only thing I noticed is, just like for spraying cars, release the trigger as you change direction to avoid putting to much paint on.

 

Thanks, that supports everything I've read so far.  This method seems very popular in the US, perhaps because American homes tend to be pretty big.

 

The model I've acquired is a Spraytech, not sure of the model number, but it has an 800 W pump unit, with a gun that looks near-identical to the Graco.

[ToughButterCup]

@JSHarris, and when you've done the garage, how about the car as well?

[Jeremy Harris]

1 minute ago, recoveringacademic said:

@JSHarris, and when you've done the garage, how about the car as well?

 

Not sure whether you can use this thing for spraying high gloss finishes or not.  There's mention in the manual about using a "finishing nozzle" for fine finishes, but I've not heard of anyone using one of these for painting something like two pack.  Both the cars I've built, and a couple of home built aircraft, were sprayed with my ancient DeVilbiss, that must be 40 years old by now.  I'm comfortable using that, but this airless system is very different, especially as there are all sorts of dire warnings about not pointing the gun at skin, as it will blast paint into your bloodstream..........  It's the first gun I've seen that has a safety catch on the trigger, to prevent it being operated by accident.

[Alexphd1]

@IanR did the painters back roll after the first coat? 

[Steptoe]

1 minute ago, JSHarris said:

 

Not sure whether you can use this thing for spraying high gloss finishes or not.  There's mention in the manual about using a "finishing nozzle" for fine finishes, but I've not heard of anyone using one of these for painting something like two pack.  Both the cars I've built, and a couple of home built aircraft, were sprayed with my ancient DeVilbiss, that must be 40 years old by now.  I'm comfortable using that, but this airless system is very different, especially as there are all sorts of dire warnings about not pointing the gun at skin, as it will blast paint into your bloodstream..........  It's the first gun I've seen that has a safety catch on the trigger, to prevent it being operated by accident.

 

that does sound like a simple pumped system like what @ProDave mentioned earlier,

although probably evolved quite a bit since then

so not really a proper 'spray' gun as such, just a posh pumped painting method.

[Mr Punter]

I have had a couple of projects done with these.  They are fine with emulsion.  Thinner paint is easier.  Cleaning is vital.  If the nozzle clogs you can rotate it 180 and clear out the crud.  Only worth using if you have a large area.  If you are spaying plaster / plasterboard, the finish is excellent but future blemishes can't be covered with a roller or brush.  Fantastic for a mist coat on new plaster.

 

It works on almost the opposite principle of the HVLP kit.

 

Your garage should take less than an hour to paint.

[Russell griffiths]

10 minutes ago, Alexphd1 said:

@IanR did the painters back roll after the first coat? 

 I sprayed our last house inside and out, we backrolled the last two coats. 

House was 360m and it took no time at all. 

We are positively stuck in the dark ages in this country. 

Sprayed all ceilings, walls and interior woodwork. Including doors. 

Even spayed all the facia as we couldn't get the colour we wanted. 

 

Advice for @JSHarris buy lots of masking tape and brown paper, I guarantee the bit you don't mask will get overspray on it. 

 

Who said if if you have 8 hours to cut a tree down spend 6 sharpening your axe. 

This is so true for this spraying lark you will spend 3/4 of the job time in prep and a 1/4 chucking the paint about. 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

8 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

I have had a couple of projects done with these.  They are fine with emulsion.  Thinner paint is easier.  Cleaning is vital.  If the nozzle clogs you can rotate it 180 and clear out the crud.  Only worth using if you have a large area.  If you are spaying plaster / plasterboard, the finish is excellent but future blemishes can't be covered with a roller or brush.  Fantastic for a mist coat on new plaster.

 

It works on almost the opposite principle of the HVLP kit.

 

Your garage should take less than an hour to paint.

 

Thanks very much indeed for the tips, much appreciated.  I've watched a YouTube video where the guy (American) went through the cleaning and re-lubricating stuff, but hadn't realised that you could just reverse the nozzle to blow it out.  I've just had a look and it seems the nozzle works like a key, and can be just turned through 180 deg, very handy.

 

Painting the garage in an hour sounds like magic!

[Jeremy Harris]

1 minute ago, Russell griffiths said:

 I sprayed our last house inside and out, we backrolled the last two coats. 

House was 360m and it took no time at all. 

We are positively stuck in the dark ages in this country. 

Sprayed all ceilings, walls and interior woodwork. Including doors. 

Even spayed all the facia as we couldn't get the colour we wanted. 

 

Advice for @JSHarris buy lots of masking tape and brown paper, I guarantee the bit you don't mask will get overspray on it. 

 

Who said if if you have 8 hours to cut a tree down spend 6 sharpening your axe. 

This is so true for this spraying lark you will spend 3/4 of the job time in prep and a 1/4 chucking the paint about. 

 

 

Thanks, Russell.  Luckily I don't have a lot of masking, as I've held off fitting out the garage, so the only masking will be around the doors, the cable inlet box, earth rod box, consumer unit and a single metalclad socket (I'll just take this off the wall I think).

 

We do seem to be lagging well behind other countries with stuff like this.  I spent a good couple of hours searching YouTube and every single video I found about this kit was American.

[Steptoe]

4 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

 I sprayed our last house inside and out, we backrolled the last two coats. 

House was 360m and it took no time at all. 

We are positively stuck in the dark ages in this country. 

Sprayed all ceilings, walls and interior woodwork. Including doors. 

Even spayed all the facia as we couldn't get the colour we wanted. 

 

Advice for @JSHarris buy lots of masking tape and brown paper, I guarantee the bit you don't mask will get overspray on it. 

 

Who said if if you have 8 hours to cut a tree down spend 6 sharpening your axe. 

This is so true for this spraying lark you will spend 3/4 of the job time in prep and a 1/4 chucking the paint about. 

 

 

one of the truer statements said on this forum.

 

[Ian]

1 minute ago, JSHarris said:

Painting the garage in an hour sounds like magic!

Sounds brilliant!

 

It took me, wife and No1 daughter 4 full weekends to paint our really small 71m2 bungalow the old fashioned way. The worst part was doing the cathedral ceiling and the transition lines between wall & ceiling colours.

[Jeremy Harris]

6 minutes ago, Ian said:

Sounds brilliant!

 

It took me, wife and No1 daughter 4 full weekends to paint our really small 71m2 bungalow the old fashioned way. The worst part was doing the cathedral ceiling and the transition lines between wall & ceiling colours.

 

Part of the reason I bought this was to keep it for the time when our vaulted ceilings need re-painting.  The ceiling in the hall is over 6m up, right to the ridge, and the bedrooms are room-in-roof with ceilings that go right up to the ridge as well, so almost 4m high.  Hopefully, spraying will be quicker and easier when the time comes to redecorate, especially  if I buy the optional extension spray nozzle, that works a bit like a pole on a roller.

Edited March 31, 2017 by JSHarris

[jamiehamy]

29 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

 I sprayed our last house inside and out, we backrolled the last two coats. 

House was 360m and it took no time at all. 

We are positively stuck in the dark ages in this country. 

Sprayed all ceilings, walls and interior woodwork. Including doors. 

Even spayed all the facia as we couldn't get the colour we wanted. 

 

 

 

Hi Russell, 

 

Can you share a bit more about this? Something I'm interested in - we have a LOT to be painted! What paint, equipment, did you paint onto gyproc or plaster?

 

Thanks,Jamie 

[Russell griffiths]

6 minutes ago, jamiehamy said:

Hi Russell, 

 

Can you share a bit more about this? Something I'm interested in - we have a LOT to be painted! What paint, equipment, did you paint onto gyproc or plaster?

 

Thanks,Jamie 

The last house I built was in Australia, so materials may be different 

all bare plasterboard, plaster was sprayed using a board sealer, it's basically an acrylic base coat just like a thin watered down emulsion. 

Im sure any plasterboard sealer would do the same. 

The top 2 coats where standard semi flat ceiling paint that was rollered as it was being sprayed. 

The reason as I was told for the back rolling is to actually make the finish worse. 

The spray finish is so good that if you ever have to do a repair and a touch up you can never do it without having to re spray the whole ceiling. 

 

I do do have hundreds of photos, but they are all stored on an old laptop that has decided it doesn't want to turn on ?

[IanR]

3 hours ago, Alexphd1 said:

@IanR did the painters back roll after the first coat? 

 

Nope, only time a roller was used was around a large roof light as it would have been near impossible to mask off.

 

 

[Oz07]

I saw one used on a job last year. As has been said the finish was so good I pity the bloke who has to touch up when done

[Jeremy Harris]

Thanks for all the positive comments, I shall probably have a go at painting the garage next week.  Getting used to using the thing in the garage seems a good idea, as I'm not really fussed about the finish, I just want to brighten it up with a couple of coats of white emulsion.