AIRLESS EQUIPMENT INFORMATION

Let's discuss using the spray rig.  The suction tube or set is put in the gallon or 5gal. can of paint and the machine plugged in and turned on.  They all have a prime/spray knob which has to be set on "prime" and the machine sucks the paint into the pump area and then discharges it through an outlet tube back into the paint can.  After watching the paint start coming out of the outlet tube take off the spray head on the gun and turn the knob to "spray".  The paint will cease coming out of the outlet tube and build pressure in the line or hose going to the gun.  If the machine has water or paint thinner in it from previously cleaning it out, point the gun into an empty bucket and pull the trigger to pump all the previous material out till paint starts coming out. Let the paint pump back into the can (of paint) so the viscousity is the same for a few seconds. Now put the spray tip (head) back on and you are ready to spray.  Keep the gun 90 degrees to the surface and 12 inches away and start moving from left to right and then pull the trigger.  A little practice and your on the way.  Not moving fast enough will give you a mess, running down the wall.  Too fast and no coverage.  Clean up is pulling the machine's suction tube out of the paint while it is running in prime mode, to pump out whats in the tube and pump, and then I brush off the paint sticking to the tube before putting it in a bucket of water (or if using oil (paint thinner)).. When the material comes out the overflow tube take the spray head off, turn the knob to spray and pump the paint in the line (hose) back into the paint can.  When the water (or thinner) starts coming out of the gun stick the gun back in  bucket of water (or thinner) and let it circulate for a couple of min.  Repeat the process with another bucket of clean water.  Spray head back on clean the tip by shooting a little water through it and you're done (as long as the water circulating is clear)..  I leave it stored with the gun  in the water and water in the lines for months (for my diaphram pump, piston pumps need to have paint thinner sucked up to prevent rust internally if stored longer than a few days).  Put a cup of thinner under the pump suction area and allow it to run out of the overflo.  Follow manufactures storage directions for long term storage or things will rust up.  They also need separating oil or throat seal to lube the piston with each use as this keeps paint from drying out on the parts and damaging the packings. I use it on tips and gun moving parts also.

Do's and Do Do's:  When using a spray gun, paint in a fine mist goes everywhere so if you don't  want it on your oak entertainment center it needs to have a sheet, or plastic tarp, or? covering it.   The spatter from a roller at the floor is much bigger and wetter than spray dust but it is way faster to cover things than clean them.  I don't cover windows though.  If you sponge mop the window (after taping) with water the spray dust won't stick and a quick wipe with sponge will clean the windows after the room is done.  The clean up includes vacuuming and cleaning the fixtures with orange cleaner so I don't worry too much about blowing the dust etc. around earlier.  If doing multicolor rooms I do the ceiling first then work down as spray dust falls.  I do mouldings in gloss (crown, baseboard and doors and jambs with the sprayer as it is a lot faster; if doing the whole house.  I use a sheild as I explained earlier. The exterior gets the trim sprayed also at the same time as doing the body color so it gets an extra coat. You have to be careful not to spray the roof shingles and fireplace chimneys as it's almost impossible to remove paint from these porous surface's.  I use the shield to protect them and lay a tarp on roofing to do a wall section juting up from the roof. Watering things down helps to keep paint from sticking.

The  pressure washer doesn't need lots of psi or gpm.  I used a 500psi 2 Gpm unit many years and although slower at blowing loose paint off it worked.  Mainly its purpose is to clean cobwebs and dirt and show where the loose paint is (for scrapping).  Applying TSP to a section and following with the powerwasher leaves a nice clean surface for the latex to adher to.   The cheap Kartchers, (my father in law got 1 yr of occasional use out of his) and I suspect- Cambell Hausfeld, and Husky electric units work fine but don't last very long.  The  low output one I use (still-15yrs old) is heavy duty Teal commercial.

The power washer on left is karcher 5 hp honda powered, with a dirt-blaster nozzle that is 2400psi @2&1/2 gpm.  Works great.Don't get too close (>6") to soft or rotted wood or you blow holes in it. The strongest spray tip is the straight pencil 0 degree followed by 15 deg.,25 deg., etc.  The dirt blaster is a 0 deg. that swivels to make a small circle allowing for more area to be covered and still be strong. The middle airless is a spraytech 3/4 hp. .42gpm piston pump.  The hi-boy style cart is great for moving it with 5 gal. of paint around the house.  I mostly use a .017 tip,10"fan.

With a 50' line (less is not enough) you can do the whole side of a 2 storey house or the whole interior of a 1200 square foot house without moving the machine.  The end diaphram airless is a .33gpm 1/2hp Cambell Hausfeld airless and they work good except are a little more temperamental and won't shoot as thick a paint.  They are cheaper to maintain though. The cheap used cambell and wagner diaphram pumps can be had used for as little a $100.  The wagner home-owner piston pumps are $200- $700, and the commercial wagner, graco,&  titan's can be >$900 new.  Ebay has some good prices. I look for a unit that isn't covered in paint as getting a newer unit means not having to rebuild it,etc.  You will get much more value buying a contractor grade (titan 440i, spraytech 2105, graco 190) machine for $5-600 (new or new new) than a DIY graco or wagner in the same output range for $5-600 new. Using a reversible tip will greatly reduce your fustrations as small particles will clog the tip.  In a flat tip this means using a razor blade to try and slice through the obstruction and blow it out.  If that fails I take the tip off and suck out the particle from the back of the tip- YUK!  With a reversible the tip is able to be turned around and the paint pressure blows the particle out then the tip is turned back to resume spraying (a time saver).  I use a 3' extention pole to quickly do high ceiling areas,etc. The tip is attached to the pole, the pole to the gun and viola!  Now I can reach quite a bit more area from a ladder or?  With 3' you can still do something in front of you but with a 6' pole you can't.   The hand held sprayers are not worth using for any serious spraying.

Using machinery is a blessing and a curse.  There is the time spent learning what is wrong when it doesn't work, and having to repair them.  If you use an airless occaisonally and clean it well it should last many years.  After sitting often times the inlet carbide ball will be stuck to the seat (stick a toothpick or pencil in to lift it off).  To get thousands of gallons sprayed it will have to be used constantly as just like a car, if you let it sit for years just because it does'nt have any milage on it, it will be ruined all the same.  So because of this I would get a DIY homeowner pump to start with and if you wear it out then go for a contractor grade.  The smallest piston pump units will pump straight out of the can (not thinning) and produce just as good results as a $4000 unit.  It wont last as long in continuos service, wont apply paint near as quickly and will need rebuilding more frequently but it will cost far less in the long run decaying in the corner of your garage, or you wont lose as much on the depreciation when selling it.  The Wagner twinstroke piston pumps are rated @ 50 to 100 gallons (spoke to tech) before haveing to rebuild the fluid section. This varys as flat paint is more abrasive than gloss.  You might get up to 500 gallons (tech) if cleaned well,etc., but don't count on it. The old 935 wagner contractor series are rated at 600-1200 gallons before repacking so there is a huge difference in service life.  The current market DIY choices are Graco Magnum @ h.d. (aren't built as well as Wagners), Wagner (sells both diaphram and piston-I prefer piston), and Cambell Hausfeld (diaphram).  The diaphrams require more coaxing to get to prime and you have to learn their idiosyncrasies but are very inexpensive to run and easier to fix.  So initially the piston (DIY) is less confusing to use out of the box but down the road more of a problem to fix.  The cheapest piston pump is the wagner PaintCrew- disadvantages: pump isn't rebuildable meaning when it start leaking pressure it is a throw away (maybe 100 gallons). Avantages :cheap, good rebuildable gun included.  To paint rentals or ? I would look at the cost of the included items i.e. spray gun, length of hose, cart and maximum tip size and get a used contractor grade machine..  I figure one size down from max tip size will be what works although I recommend trying the largest tip size possible.

Spraying Tips If  the paint is coming out but not atomizing well or leaves "tails" (paints well in the center and then will leave a line at the top and bottom) turn the pressure up and if that doesn't help add water to thin it down usually a qt. per 5 gal. to start.  I like to use as low a pressure that atomizes the paint as I can as this is easier on the machine and blows less paint around in the air. The piston pumps will handle thicker paint better, and the diaphrams like thinned paint.  As the diaphram constantly circulates the paint it will heat slightly after awile which thins it.  I paint straight out of the can first.  Sometimes cheap paints especially flat paint has a lot of clay that needs to be removed by pouring through a strainer bag ($1,available @ HD or paint stores).  Always start by using a drill and sheet rock mud stiring paddle to mix the paint well before starting to paint. If after awhile the output drops off radically after pulling the trigger the suction tube will be found to be clogged with dried paint chunks or ? not allowing the machine to suck up the paint.  Remember most guns have an inline filter in the handle that also needs cleaning (once a day)or output will suffer.    There are techniques I use to prep for spraying , and for tips for spraying  in the pages on interiors, and exteriors.

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