Airless paint spraying advice

[Jeremy Harris]

I've sprayed both Wickes Trade matt emulsion and Leyland Vinyl matt emulsion and both seemed exactly the same as far as I could tell.  I did have problems until I realised just how very thoroughly the paint has to be mixed.  Ten minutes of very vigorous stirring with a power drill and decent paddle stirrer seemed essential, as I did have problems initially when the paint just wasn't well enough stirred.  I would guess that stirring, to get rid of even the very slightest trace of thicker areas of pain in the can is probably the most critical thing.  The adjustment of spray pressure, nozzle size etc, seemed relatively tolerant to errors compared with mixing.

[ragg987]

Auro 321 sprays well. The cheaper 320 also works but there are bits in the paint that clog up the filter so it needs flushing our frequently.

[Ferdinand]

I spent some time chatting to the Valspar people at B&Q yesterday; that can be sprayed. Slight care needed as they have different 'contract' paint for new plaster, and another one for going over existing paint.

 

 

F

[Alexphd1]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Graco-Ultra-Max-2-695-Airless-Paint-Sprayer-110V-with-extras/253418992148?_trkparms=pageci%3A6d7f5ef4-1180-11e8-ae6c-74dbd180bfdf|parentrq%3A943ba5911610ab6af42523fefffb8f68|iid%3A1&_trksid=p2481888.c100651.m4497

 

came across this. maybe of a interest to somebody looking 4 a machine.

[Pete]

Great piece of kit, I have the slightly smaller version. 

[Glynn]

J S Harris do you still need advice❓

[Jeremy Harris]

18 hours ago, Glynn said:

J S Harris do you still need advice❓

 

 

No thanks, I probably have all the knowledge needed now, having used the thing a lot.  It wasn't hard to learn how to use, really just a bit of trial and error, together with a look at a few US Youtube videos.  It probably took me around an hour to get adept at seeing the effect of different nozzles and pressures, and working out the settings to use for each, and after that it was pretty much plain sailing.  I did have a fair bit of conventional and LVHP spraying experience, from painting cars and aeroplanes, so at least the gun technique was familiar.  It might take someone with no previous spraying experience a bit longer to learn, but I doubt it, as it's really pretty simple once you understand the basics, I found.

 

I painted the interior of a friends house with it recently, and have to say it did a better job than the very good decorators that did our self-build using rollers and a brush.  I did the whole interior of a 3 bedroom house in a day, with virtually no mess and just some assistance with the messy stuff, like cleaning out the pump, hose, filters and gun, and ensuring the paint was mixed up really, really well.  I think once these things catch on here, as they seem to have in the USA, then they will become the standard way of decorating walls.

 

I was going to sell my airless kit after I'd used it last year, but think I'll hang on to it and just keep it full of ethylene glycol/sodium nitrite inhibitor in case I need it again, or someone else wants to borrow it.

[Plumbersmateuk]

15 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

I painted the interior of a friends house with it recently

Just out of interst what paint did you use this time?

[Jeremy Harris]

1 hour ago, Plumbersmateuk said:

Just out of interst what paint did you use this time?

 

 

The same stuff, Leyland from Screwfix mainly, plus two rooms where the walls were done with the Dulux Durable stuff.  I can recommend the latter, it really does do what it says on the tin, and seems a heck of a lot tougher and easier to wipe marks off than normal emulsion, even the vinyl bathroom and kitchen stuff, plus it has a matt finish.  The Dulux Durable sprayed just the same as the Leyland stuff, no change to any settings on the pump and I used the same nozzle.

[newhome]

Not sure how this one measures up but Aldi are selling these just now and they have a 3 year warranty

 

Aldi airless paint sprayer

[Moomoo]

On 17/08/2017 at 09:32, JSHarris said:

Further to the above, I've been digging out prices if anyone wants to mix their own pump corrosion inhibitor.  It seems that the Graco Pump Armour is a bit pricey, at around £16 per litre, so it's worth looking at a cheaper option.

 

For those that want to make their own "pump armour", then here's a recipe, using stuff from ebay.  Bear in mind that this will produce the same concentrate as the Graco product, so needs to be diluted in the same way before use.  This is actually a 60% ethylene glycol, ~1% sodium nitrite corrosion inhibitor mix, so near-identical to pump armour, and at least well within their production tolerance, right at the upper end, so it will, if anything, be slightly more effective.

 

Buy 5 litres of 100% ethylene glycol (around £20 from ebay) and 250g of sodium nitrite (also from ebay) for around £5 (this is more sodium nitrite than needed, but it's cheaper to buy 250g).

 

Mix 50g of sodium nitrite to the 5 litres of ethylene glycol and then add 3.3 litres of water and stir well.  You now have 8.3 litres of "pump armour" concentrate, for the princely sum of about £25 (with enough sodium nitrite left over for four more batches).  Dilute and use in the same way as pump armour.  The only differences between pump armour and the above mixture is that pump armour costs over five times more, and this home made version doesn't have the blue dye and bittering agent that's added to stop people drinking the stuff.  Chemically it will do the same thing, and provide the same, or better, level of corrosion protection.

 

If you don't want to bother making the stuff, then buy blue antifreeze concentrate (not the red or purple stuff) and use that.  Any decent brand of blue antifreeze concentrate will be around 40% to 50% ethylene glycol, and will have sodium nitrite as the corrosion inhibitor.  The red or purple antifreeze is not ethylene glycol, and may contain silicates and be based on OATs, so is not suitable for this purpose.  Decent quality blue antifreeze is about half the price of pump armour, so still a significant saving.

 

[Moomoo]

On eBay I can only find food grade sodium nitrite. Is this what you use? I expected a liquid not a powder. 

Thanks

 

[Jeremy Harris]

Doesn't really matter if it's food grade or not, but yes, sodium nitrite is a powder, that's dissolved in the ethylene glycol/water mix.

[K78]

I’m considering picking one of these up over the weekend. 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wagner-control-pro-350m-electric-airless-paint-sprayer-520w/8314x

 

Is it a good choice? Or is the Graco a better option?

[Alexphd1]

I have no 1st hand experience of that machine but it looks like top of the range DIY version and it's pretty expensive. I took a punt on a very cheap second hand graco machine but it was recked so needed a rebuild. It was pretty expensive rebuild but I have ended up with a almost new machine at 2nd hand value (inc rebuild cost). I think if I was in your shoes i would keep a eye out for a good condition 2nd small commercial machine or rent one for a week. Sprayplantuk are about £120 for a week hire. A small graco (graco is just a make there are other equally good makes) hold their value pretty well. 

[K78]

The professional Wagner machines are £1600. A bit misleading putting “pro” on a diy machine. 

 

Ill have a look on eBay ?

 

 

[Alexphd1]

Normally if you see "pro" on a power tool it's usually the DIY version?

[K78]

15 minutes ago, Alexphd1 said:

Normally if you see "pro" on a power tool it's usually the DIY version?

 

True. 

 

I usually avoid domestic tools but these are pricey.

[K78]

On 07/06/2019 at 18:28, Alexphd1 said:

I have no 1st hand experience of that machine but it looks like top of the range DIY version and it's pretty expensive. I took a punt on a very cheap second hand graco machine but it was recked so needed a rebuild. It was pretty expensive rebuild but I have ended up with a almost new machine at 2nd hand value (inc rebuild cost). I think if I was in your shoes i would keep a eye out for a good condition 2nd small commercial machine or rent one for a week. Sprayplantuk are about £120 for a week hire. A small graco (graco is just a make there are other equally good makes) hold their value pretty well. 

 

‘What model Graco do you have?

 

Ive stumbled across a “prostep” for sale. I think it might be a older model. 

[Alexphd1]

It's the mark v. Oversized for just spraying it can also spray plaster!!

[K78]

11 hours ago, Alexphd1 said:

It's the mark v. Oversized for just spraying it can also spray plaster!!

 

Ive got my eyes peeled. The ability to spray plaster would be useful. 

[K78]

Is anyone familiar with q-tech?

[bassanclan]

I've got the Qtech QP019. 

I bought it second hand and found it hugely frustrating in that it keeps getting blocked after about an hours use and seems to use far too much paint.

I gave up and used a roller in the end!

[K78]

10 hours ago, bassanclan said:

I've got the Qtech QP019. 

I bought it second hand and found it hugely frustrating in that it keeps getting blocked after about an hours use and seems to use far too much paint.

I gave up and used a roller in the end!

 

Thanks for that. It seems the bearing is a issue and it takes 30 mins to get to it.

 

seen one for £200 on eBay and thought it might be worth taking a chance. I’ll give it a miss. ?

[K78]

The entry level Titan machines (400, 440 etc) are badged as Wagner in the Eu. That’s why Titan machines seem to have disappeared from uk websites. 

 

Annoying that Graco are so expensive here compared to USA. Dealers can’t ship to the uk either under their licensing agreement. Uncle Donald needs to sort that trade agreement.