Airless paint sprayer

[Larry]

I'm thinking about buying a airless paint sprayer.  The most use will be to paint drywall in the house I'm building...after that I may retire it or resell.

Any suggestions for one in the $200 to $500 price range?

[florida]

Home Depot sells a Graco unit for about $400.00 that works well and Lowes has a Titan in the same range. They are both bottom end units but I've used my Graco a lot and it's still going strong.

[ksu_chainsaw]

A friend of mine had a Campbell Hausfeld airless sprayer that sucked out of the 5 gallon buckets- I sprayed 3 coats on a 960sf house in one weekend- about 18 gallons.  It worked well, and I dont know how much it cost to begin with, but if it is like the rest of their tools, the cost wouldnt be that prohibitive.

I know that most of the pawn shops around here have lots of airless sprayers, just buy a brand that the box stores sell so that parts are still available- I know that the suction strainer on his sprayer was extremely clogged up, but after leaving it soaking in paint thinner for 2 days it cleaned up well.

charles

[SwampDonkey]

Larry, when you said airless I thought you was looking for a paint brush.  ;D :D My compressor came with a paint sprayer, which I intend to use this summer and put a finishing coat on my sled.   

We had a Wagner power paint sprayer years ago to paint machinery that carried fertilizer. Iron and salty fertilizer don't go well together. ;D

[Norm]

Sherwin williams sells the titan which is really a graco. I have one of their mid priced ones and it works great.

[Stephen1]

I have a wagner power painter, had it for years... used it on many projects, from painting the barn, cottage furniture... parts are available everywhere, the only complaint I had was trying to set it up to suck out of a can,, It never did it, I think it is to small a unit. If I was going to buy one again I would make sure you can suck the paint out of a can

[SwampDonkey]

The Wagner we had, used a paint reservoir to suck out of.

[zopi]

when I painted my barn, I used a 20 dollar camp-haus automotive spray gun...just thin and strain..five gallons goes quite a aways that way...Horror fright (harbor freight) often sells these little astro hvlp guns for 12 bucks...and I always buy a couple...can paint with them until they get to be  a pain in the butt and toss em....pretty good mileage...

I'm going to do our downstairs bedroom the same way...then mask and paint the 130 year old trim...it's pretty easy and you don't have to deal with flushing paint hoses...

[clearcut]

I attempted to paint the house exterior (T1-11) using the Wagner with the paint reservoir. Even though I  strained the paint the Wagner clogged frequently and the filter is located in the bottom of the reservoir. Absolutely useless design, having to reach through the paint to clean the filter. I returned it and bought the least expensive Graco (about $250). It worked great and was less expensive than renting a  unit for the 3 days it took for a coat of primer and 2 top coats.

[keddle123]

Hey there Larry
I'm a painter and for my money I only buy Airlessco paint sprayers you can get them at the home depot rental dept  they sell off there rental equipment about once a year check it out
also i use only Graco two finger contractors guns much easier on the hands at the end of the day
good luck hope that helps some
Mark

[Larry]

I called Sherwin Williams today just to make sure whatever I bought would spray there acrylic latex as it is quite heavy.  He said to get a machine that would spray one size bigger nozzle than what is recommended for there paint.  This allows for nozzle wear.  Talk turned to the best machine for the dollar and surprise...he said area pawn shops have the really high dollar pro paint sprayers on sale...so many painters have went belly up.  With my lack of knowledge I figured I would pick the one and only dud in the pawn shop.

So...I ordered a factory reconditioned Titan XT 330, along with extra tips, extension pole roller, and some other gadget.  It's right in the middle of there DIY'er line up.
Titan XT 330

[SwampDonkey]

Gotta love advertising and labeling, eh?  Nothing against your choice, but you just gotta love that name, Titan. Gotta be good. ;D

[Kcwoodbutcher]

Just make sure you setup a big enough job to make the clean-up worthwhile. You can spend more time cleaning up the unit than painting if you just do small areas.

[Larry]

First time to try it was today.  Painted the inside of a big double car garage in 30 minutes and that included back rolling.  Used about 4 gallons of latex.  Spent an hour cleaning up the sprayer.

It's getting close to main event time.  In the house I want to spray flat white on the ceiling and either satin or semi-gloss white on the walls.  The gun gives a pretty sharp edge.  Do you guys think I can skip masking between the ceiling and walls?

[tcsmpsi]

Titan's been around a long time.  I've had one the last few years.  I like it.  I have used others and owned others.  Get plenty hose and never skimp on or hurry cleaning.

Would be hard to determine here at the screen about masking between your ceiling and walls, Larry.   :D  I don't.  Push comes to shove, generally quicker/better (for me, anyhow) to leave a bit and brush the wall corner. 

[Norm]

No you won't be able to Larry but you can buy a shield and use it instead. They look like a huge putty scraper with a long handle. Wipe it off after every pass.

[DouginUtah]

I'm not a painter but I have painted a few houses (inside). It never occurred to me to use different paint on the ceiling than on the walls. Is there some reason for doing this? (My ceilings have all been textured and I generally use semi-gloss, although years ago I used to use eggshell.)

I have used white for some of the shops I have painted but never would I use pure white in a house--off-white or desired color only. Just my opinion.

DAMHIKT, remove everything from the room being painted.

[Larry]

Just my thoughts as a painting amateur.  The greater the sheen the easier it is too clean, but also shows all the poor sanding or not quite right butt joints.  Higher sheen also is higher in price.  On a ceiling we never clean it, so that property is not essential and I like saving a few bucks.  The real reason is from some angles, a ceiling with high sheen is just a glare.  Our great room has cathedral ceilings which will make the glare even more noticeable/objectionable.

The garage and bathrooms will be semi-gloss for easy clean up.  Rest of the house will be satin on the walls and flat on the ceiling.

FYI I found a great primer.  Its called USG First Coat.  Really cheap but covers better than anything I have ever used...even the expensive stuff.  Really preps virgin drywall for the finish paint.  Using Sherwin Williams paint for the finish. 

[Ernie]

We bought a Wagner with reservoir, can't recall the model.  Jan said that since we have a lot of trees and since we need some fencing done and since those black post and rail fences on the horse farms look so great and since we have a sawmill, I should do a pile of fencing.  We bought the Wagner for spraying creosote.  Put through about 900 litres so far and still going.  No problems at all.  The roof is on the list for next summer.

[shelbycharger400]

 (norm)...

Sherwin williams sells the titan which is really a graco. I have one of their mid priced ones and it works great.

.... 

NOT even close norm..       Proshot/truecoat line is no relation to wagner ..  I build parts for the proshot/truecoat,  I work in the area, and once and a while on the line. Small jobs they are the ticket, bigger ones...consider  then theirs magnum line sprayers, ultra, st...    it goes,  all are set for market/ application.   I have used an older ultra sprayer, bout 3 years ago,   painted one of my sheds thats 8 x12 with 8 ft walls. ,  it was windy that day, put on the widest tip,  and i went around and hit it up 3 times,  dialed it at near max pressure,  stayed back about 2 to 3 ft,  and was painting a pattern that was 12-14 in wide, and i was moovin!    3 times around,  sides, sofit and facia.. didnt even need a ladder to get the gables   used up 5 gal of sherwin williams outdoor,  but that shed was bone dry!   it looked awsome with no sags,   its time to do it again now.

[SwampDonkey]

The only time I would use white is for priming a new surface. Eggshell, yellow, or a light green and other pastel tones are common colors up here.

[Patty]

When we built this last house, we painted (sprayed) the entire house white, including trim. It looked really cool with the wood floors. Now, slowly, we are adding color, although the kitchen and great room ? next to it are still white on white with oak floors. I really like the clean look.   Go for it, Larry!!

[Raider Bill]

I use flat on ceilings to cut down on glare. Eggshell or satin on walls, Semi for trim.

I always use Sherwin Williams Super Paint outside as it's almost a rubber texture.

Can't remember the interior blend maybe something 400.

[shelbycharger400]

i just picked up 6 , 5 gal pails of pro classic for my interior.,    a100 is exterior

[Larry]

Picked up a spray shield little bit ago.  Thanks Norm.

Amazing what a guy can learn only on the FF.