Paint Sprayers

[Mt. Gomer]

I've got a good deal of painting to do on my rental unit. Given the time frame I'm wondering if it would be wise to look at one of the consumer grade paint sprayers or powered rollers that are constantly being advertised. Can anyone offer any advice on these? Are they worth the money? Do they save time or are they more hassle then they're worth? I was particularly intrigued by the Ryobi One sprayer and the backpack roller/sprayer system as I've already got the other tools and batteries. Any advice, suggestions, and/or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and, does anyone want to attend a painting party next week??????

Travis

 

[Glennbear]

About 5 years ago I bought this gizmo:
http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Power-Products-515000-Sprayer/dp/B00009YUHK

I bought it to paint the exterior of my NJ house prior to sale. I had tried one of the "buzz guns" but found them useless :nah:. This unit made quick work of the two story house in NJ and the interior and exterior of my shop here in VA (24x24) The drawbacks are one spends a lot of time masking off windows, doors, floors etc. and equipment clean-up does take some time. The Wagner gun is the same one used with commercial airless sprayers so it is high quality and replacement parts are readily available. To avoid having to move the unit too often I bought a 25' extension hose.
As far as the powered roller, a free attachment came with my sprayer but after a friend who is a commercial painter had some very unkind words about powered rollers I have not tried it.
Here is a video about the Wagner unit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl2-lzYlZP8

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Alas, to far for me. I do love painting and there are very few things as wonderful as a fresh coat of paint. I have painted acres of walls for art spaces over the years and those walls needed to look flawless.

My take is that most of the time is in the wall prep and taping work. Paint sprayers and power rollers work well during the construction phase when you can be a bit more lax with the overspray and paint drift.

Then there is the cleanup time and sometimes the solvent use for the machinery plus possible parts replacement. I have always felt the savings in time was minimal except in industrial situations.

If you can get a couple of people who know how to cut in edges and a couple of people on large rollers you can paint a house interior in no time. Getting the walls (and ceiling) ready to paint will take the bulk of the time.


Make sure your brushes and rollers are good enough quality that they don't shed.
That is just ugly when that happens.

Just my $ 0.02

 

[Tim Sherwood]

I will agree with Mark . Since 90% of painting is prep, why bother trying to save time on 10% of the job? Washing the walls and trim, sanding, spackling,and taping is what will get you a good , lasting paint job.
I used a Wagner backpack unit a few years ago. It did a fair job on the walls. But it clogged every 10 minutes when I painted the ceiling. After all the masking , cleaning the gun, backpack and hoses , it really wasn't worth it.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! I'm tempted to try out the Paint Crew (found a refurb online for $99) sprayer but I really don't think it will save me much time given the type of job I have to do.... Guess I"ll stick with the roller...

Thanks again,

Travis