Emulsion spray painting

[Glynn]

I’m new to this forum, I noticed that someone had asked about spray painting. 

I am a spray painter. In other countries spray painting walls and ceilings is very common but, as yet not in the Uk. 

It is better, a lot faster and usually works out significantly cheaper.  Defying the “House Builders Bibles” theory of the triangle. 

A typical three bed semi can be prepared and painted with two coats in one 8 hour day by one person.  

It does have restrictions, best on new plaster, best at New build, full refurb, extension, & basement or attic conversion, i.e between first fix and second fix. Afters Plasterer’s but before Electrician’s second fix. 

Search on Facebook or punch in Emulsion spray painting on YouTube. 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Nickfromwales
Link to business removed.

[newhome]

We tried to do this on the external walls (we had intended to do the internal walls too). The spray painter (which wasn't particularly cheap) packed up after 4 hours so it went back and the money refunded so we resorted to old fashioned tray and roller, and gazillions of hours painting . 

 

 

[Pocster]

I’ve got a ton of painting to do in my new build and I looked into this . It’s difficult to find someone who does it internally . Can you do it yourself ? Or is that asking for trouble ???? ?

[Mr Punter]

Takes an age to prep.  OK for a mist coat but it is difficult to touch in any bits later, so you will end up doing the final coat with a roller.

[Ferdinand]

There is a good thread here with a lot of experience

 

I have standardised on spraying but am still in search of an ideal paint for the finish coats for refurbs. 

 

We have not yet achieved the speed quoted above but it os certainly very quick. The thread describes my experience and others.

 

I would be interested in the comments of a pro like @Glynn - especially on kit.

 

Perhaps a thread merge?

 

F

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Ferdinand

[Jeremy Harris]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

Takes an age to prep.  OK for a mist coat but it is difficult to touch in any bits later, so you will end up doing the final coat with a roller.

 

 

My experience was that the wall/ceiling prep was no different at all.  Prepping the paint is a little more involved, as it has to be very, very thoroughly stirred, far more that most would bother to do when painting with a brush or roller, but really just a matter of using fresh cans of paint and a drill-driven mechanical paint stirrer well.

 

Flat surface are dead easy, corners less so, but I found that swapping out the nozzle for a smaller pattern one and doing all the corners first, then fitting a wide nozzle to do the walls etc, worked fine.  I used a large painters george as a hand held mask for edges, very quick and easy to do once you have the knack.  Getting the pressure right for the paint and nozzle was a bit of a knack, too.  Too much pressure and you get some bounce back that creates dust, so best to dial the pressure down so it's just enough to get an even pattern.

 

By far the biggest issue if the clean up time required for the airless sprayer unit, hose, gun, nozzle and filters.  I found it takes as long to clean the kit properly as it does to paint a whole room, so best to plan to do as much painting in the same colour as possible in one go, that way you only get the clean the system up once, rather than several times.

 

I never found a reason to use a brush or roller, and managed to practice enough to be able to spray pretty precisely with a good surface finish.  It would now be my first choice for a big emulsion painting job, for sure, but then I detest painting anyway...............

[Declan52]

It doesn't really take that long to prep as the only thing that needs covered up are Windows and the front/back doors. As glynn has said it's done before the sparks put anything in that you would usually have to tape of. There will be no internal doors or skirting either so just your door frames if you are going for oak that will need taped of.

[nod]

Quite a lot of the sites I work on they two coat the ceilings and most coat the rest in white 

Really nice finish

 

[Glynn]

5 hours ago, Glynn said:

I’m new to this forum, I noticed that someone had asked about spray painting. 

I am a spray painter. In other countries spray painting walls and ceilings is very common but, as yet not in the Uk. 

It is better, a lot faster and usually works out significantly cheaper.  Defying the “House Builders Bibles” theory of the triangle. 

A typical three bed semi can be prepared and painted with two coats in one 8 hour day by one person.  

It does have restrictions, best on new plaster, best at New build, full refurb, extension, & basement or attic conversion, i.e between first fix and second fix. Afters Plasterer’s but before Electrician’s second fix. 

 

4 hours ago, newhome said:

We tried to do this on the external walls (we had intended to do the internal walls too). The spray painter (which wasn't particularly cheap) packed up after 4 hours so it went back and the money refunded so we resorted to old fashioned tray and roller, and gazillions of hours painting . 

 

 

on Facebook or punch in Emulsion spray painting on YouTube. 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Nickfromwales

[Glynn]

2 hours ago, nod said:

Quite a lot of the sites I work on they two coat the ceilings and most coat the rest in white 

Really nice finish

 

Hi again 

Firstly I should say that spraying emulsion paint on to interior walls and ceilings is at least semi skilled and That these machines operate at very high pressure therefore can be dangerous if not used properly. 

Mix the paint in a 30 litre bucket, 20 litres of good quality paint to 6 -8 litres of water, stir with a paddle on a drill for 2-3 minutes. 

If you do the painting at the optimum point in the order of works this minimises the need for too much masking. I usually just mask the windows and external doors with sticky back film and tape and chuck a dust sheet over any stuff that is in the room. Overspray will go on the floor and on to skirtings and architraves, as long as these are pre primed then a light sand and top coat later the overspray is covered. 

Its not a deal breaker if sockets and switches are on, it takes about 30 seconds to mask a socket with 50mm tape. 

Setting up the machine is a bit too complex to explain just with words. A typical room can be first coated in about 5 mins. 

With regards to those who say that the finish is so good that it is a problem then this is a nice problem to have. 

I’d say get everything two coated for speed, move in, then when you’ve got more time paint the walls in your chosen colour or special finish with a brush and roller. 

I hope this is helpful. @Ferdinand

Edited March 17, 2018 by Glynn

[Pocster]

What about a roller with pump ?

this a good compromise??

[Glynn]

@pocster

yes, it is an option. You can buy a roller attachment for airless sprayers, it ooozes paint through holes in the sheath. Useful if you painting outside. 

Spaying is way faster though. 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Glynn
Humour

[Mr Punter]

16 minutes ago, pocster said:

What about a roller with pump ?

this a good compromise??

 

We had someone do 3 houses for us.  He sprayed the ceilings and the first and second floor walls and used a roller with pump for the rendered ground floor walls.  They really took a lot of paint, so not having to visit the paint tray made the job loads faster.

[Plumbersmateuk]

43 minutes ago, Glynn said:

 

Mix the paint in a 30 litre bucket, 20 litres of good quality paint to 6 -8 litres of water, stir with a paddle on a drill for 2-3 minutes

Thanks for the info, it is my prefered method, airless spray that is.

What ratio would you suggest for new plaster?

[Glynn]

@Plumbersmateuk

for every 10 litres of paint I’d go with 4 litres of water for the first coat on new plaster. 

I use Johnstones Jonmat. 

Mix well. 

[Pocster]

?

Edited March 17, 2018 by pocster

[Plumbersmateuk]

11 hours ago, Glynn said:

for every 10 litres of paint I’d go with 4 litres of water for the first coat on new plaster. 

I use Johnstones Jonmat. 

Mix well. 

Many thanks..........can you leave the set up overnight (I see on utube that the nozzle is kept in water for short periods of time),  the  gun nozzle in water and the paint coverd? or have you got to clean it all each evening?

 

[Ferdinand]

38 minutes ago, Plumbersmateuk said:

Many thanks..........can you leave the set up overnight (I see on utube that the nozzle is kept in water for short periods of time),  the  gun nozzle in water and the paint coverd? or have you got to clean it all each evening?

 

 

I think ours is left in a bucket of water overnight and is fine. Would not leave it for several days, but the amount of masking means that I would block-schedule it anyway.

Edited March 18, 2018 by Ferdinand

[Nickfromwales]

15 hours ago, Glynn said:

I use Johnstones Jonmat. 

Cracking paint, but not the cheapest. I use leyland Trade High opacity for the obliteration, but admittedly that's not via a pump / sprayer. 

[Glynn]

@Nickfromwales

spot on Nick,  the Leland paint is also very good. Tool station and the likes now stock Leyland quite cheap but I don’t think that it’s the same quality as when you get it from a Johnstones shop. 

[Jeremy Harris]

I used Leyland OK in my airless sprayer.  Only snag I found was that the stuff I had from Screwfix had been standing around a long time and took a fair bit more mixing, as it had settled a lot at the bottom of the can.  Not really a problem, just meant more time mixing.

 

As for storing the gun etc without washing it out, I found that leaving the gun dunked in a bucket of water overnight worked, but that I still had to take the nozzle off, the nozzle holder and the curved seal thing behind it off and clean them all carefully before re-use.  Cleanliness is next to Godliness with these things.  Keep them very clean, lubricate them every time you use them and store them filled with a mix of 60% ethylene glycol, 1% sodium nitrite and 39% water, pumped through the unit several times via a bucket, then the system will stay free from corrosion etc and remain ready to use after a good rinse out with water when you next use it.  The sodium nitrite is the main corrosion inhibitor,  Using this mixture is the same as the "pump armor" stuff, that's sold at hefty premium by the likes of Graco.

[Glynn]

@Plumbersmateuk

@Ferdinand

I’m pretty sure that the manufacturers would frown on leaving the machine full of paint over night but I have done it before now. 

But it does only take 5 mins to run the machine through with water. 

If you do leave it overnight then make sure you depressurise the hose and the prime tube for safety and switch it off at the socket. 

Yes, leaving the nozzle in water would help but better still I think is to turn the tip 90 degrees so it is not exposed to the air. 

Also make sure to put a few drops of TSL, Throat Seal Lubricant, I use the one made by The manufacturer on to the piston after every job or every 50 litres of paint put through the machine. And clean the filters regularly. 

[Plumbersmateuk]

2 minutes ago, Glynn said:

Throat Seal Lubricant

Oh I could do with some of that right now

Many thanks for the advice it sounds a bit technical so I will have to do a bit more investigation and reading

[Ferdinand]

8 minutes ago, Glynn said:

@Plumbersmateuk

@Ferdinand

I’m pretty sure that the manufacturers would frown on leaving the machine full of paint over night but I have done it before now. 

But it does only take 5 mins to run the machine through with water. 

If you do leave it overnight then make sure you depressurise the hose and the prime tube for safety and switch it off at the socket. 

Yes, leaving the nozzle in water would help but better still I think is to turn the tip 90 degrees so it is not exposed to the air. 

Also make sure to put a few drops of TSL, Throat Seal Lubricant, I use the one made by The manufacturer on to the piston after every job or every 50 litres of paint put through the machine. And clean the filters regularly. 

 

I meant the spray gun part, and empty of paint. SO the only thing that is not done is the full half hour cleaning routine,