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May 15, 2008
What's the story with paint sprayers?
I have a whole brownstone to paint -- lots of freshly spackled and primed walls, and lots of unprimed pine trim. Painter estimates are coming in around $10K, so we're thinking about painting ourselves.
Are paint sprayers the way to go? Are they much faster than regular rollers? Is the paint applies evenly/smoothly? Also, I see there are lots of different kinds (airless sprayers, high-volume low-pressure, etc.) -- which one is best for what use? I would be OK buying a relatively expensive sprayer since we'd still be saving so much money from not paying for a painter.
Thanks for the advice.
Comments
I would use rollers. I used a sprayer once to paint an exposed wood ceiling that had many different surfaces. It was good for that. But for walls I would think it would be a disaster. You have to mix the paint with spirits and then some of the paint from the sprayer falls to the floor because it is airborne. You better not have pets or children around and your apartment should be empty. To use a sprayer is a hassle if you are living there. Rollers way easier and probably just as fast and not as messy.
Posted by: guest at May 15, 2008 12:47 PM
I used a sprayer once, for about 15 minutes. Something to be said for the old fashioned methods.
Posted by: guest at May 15, 2008 4:55 PM
Just don't do it - I did it in my house thinking it would save money, and then had to pay someone to fix all the amateurish mistakes I made. There is a major noticable difference between a professional painting and a DIY job - now that we are in the market for a new place, I can easily tell the apartments that were painted by the owners (or by inexperienced painters) and those that were painted by professionals. You want the latter.
Posted by: guest at May 15, 2008 5:10 PM
I'm fine with sprayers when necessary. It will get the job done faster and it will look fine if you know what you're doing. However, think of all the masking you'll have to do on windows and floors and ask yourself if it's worth it. I prefer to spray exteriors. It's a bit messy indoors.
Posted by: rh at May 15, 2008 5:35 PM
you need have experience using sprayers to gt professional look on walls ceiling. your last wall painted will probably come out perfect. btw uses a lot more paint. Try the 18 inch rollers. covers large flat surfaces fast, leaves no roller lines. can find them at lowes
Posted by: guest at May 15, 2008 9:31 PM
Get a 'power roller' -- pipes paint to the roller. Paint sprayers require full masking, which doesn't work well if you have trim.
Posted by: thwackamole at May 16, 2008 7:35 AM
Use rollers. Never sprayers. If you have a steady hand and good eye for details there's no reason you can't paint it yourself. It's not brain surgery. I painted our apartment myself and it looked beautiful. I hired a professional to paint our new house in some rooms, but I painted the kitchen and upstairs bathroom myself and I did just as well if not better. I know plenty people who painted their brownstones themselves.
Just be sure to prep properly when you are taping, use primer, and use tinted primer if your paint color is more rich like any medium to dark tone. And always plan on two coats. Even for paler colors.
Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:19 PM
I love paint sprayers, but most professionals who use them will tell you that you have one person spraying, and one following along with a roller. It seems redundant, but it goes very quickly and once you get the hang of it, you can cover a room in minutes.
The cheap (Wagner) sprayers or power rollers are worthless, more aggravation than they are worth.
If you are using a lot of different colors, it is not worth it, to clean out the sprayer takes almost as long was the actual paint job.
Large space, solid color= Power sprayer with roller
Small space, several colors= Roller and brush
Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 9:07 PM
9:07 hit the nail on the head. The reason many high-end painters "back roll" is because the sprayer applies the paint too smoothly on a new wall. A low-napp roller will give a nice texture. You will spend as much time dipping a roller into the tray as you will actually rolling it on the wall. A good sprayer will cost $600 to $1200 dollars. The best place to find a used one is on e-bay or craigslist. Home depot and Lowe's both sell a 3 to 4 foot wide plastic thing that is mounted to a stick that a second person can hold instead of masking it off. This will speed up the job.
Posted by: southslope at May 17, 2008 6:23 PM
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