Hi guys, I posted this question at the Fine Homebuilding/Breaktime forum and got no input at all. Perhaps those of you who occasionally paint a house can help:
“My significant other is going to team up with his brother to paint their dad’s house. He was asking me about Wagner sprayers, which I know nothing about, other than that I’ve seen them at HD. Any recommendations as to what would be a good system to get for this project??”
(Every time I try to type “paint” I get “pain” instead. Could this be a Freudian slip?)
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
Dear Forest girl,
Alas, I work at the "HD" as you put it, and I can tell you a thing or two about the Wagner power painters. First, the pictures on the box showing Miss Carol Brady painting her white picket fence with clean clothes, Khaki slacks, and wandering if her roast in the oven will be juicy enough - is a horrible MISNOMER. The Wagners are tempermental contraptions that "spit" paint rather than spray it. Some times it works, more than sometimes it doesn't. Sure, you can paint your house with it, but when your done, when youv'e finished the job and your body is crying out for some type of alcoholic stimulant, you may find yourself wishing you had tried a different route. HD sells, and in some places rents, high-quality contractor-grade airless sprayers. These usually start around a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand, depending on the ability of the tool. These dudes work well, and can cover alot of ground (wall) in a short time. Rent one if you can. Or purchase an inexpensive one. It may be worth it in hindsight.
PS> what's with the qoute? Cute, but what's it mean????
Joe
"Hide not your talents, they were for use made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?"
- Benjamin Franklin
Edited 5/31/2002 11:44:47 PM ET by Joseph & his coat of many colors
Hi Joe, thanks for the info! I'm copying all the responses here and emailing them to my sig-o, who's on the other side of the mountains.
I made the quote up, so I guess it's my quote! It means my spirit lives in the forested lands of North Carolina -- great childhood memories there, and if you stick me in LA, Florida, Davis (CA) or anywhere else, I'm still a forestgirl :-) (Reside in Puget Sound now)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Dear Forest girl,
Thanks for your reply. I really liked how you use your quote to describe yourself. It sounds like you really have a soft place in your heart for where you grew up. Hope things are going well for you there in Puget Sound. Must be great weather.
Regards,
Joe
"Hide not your talents, they were for use made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?"
- Benjamin Franklin
Hi Joe. Thanks!
Weather? Great today and yesterday, which makes our 3rd or 4th great day in the last month or so. We're all anxiously waiting summer, as spring seems to have passed us by! Fortunately, here on Bainbridge Island, I'm surrounded by trees and critters, which I love!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
F_G Last Saturday I went to HD with my little darling with intent to grab some serious bootie,but she took the check book away from me again.I must get a look in my eyes or something, she reads me like a book.I did however get a new prehung mohog door for my tool room and lock set. All was not lost. I was expected to go plant shopping after though.It was 48 deg. and raining I was seriously thinking that spring and summer had skipped a year.Lets look at today it was 91 deg and humid,Put siding on the shop and baked.Tommorow its expected to be 58 and storms.They say if you do not like the weather in Wisconsin wait a day.IT sounds to me like you are experiencing some of the same .Tommorrow will be a cold critter day fer sure,Ever see a six pack of Tabbies all fighting for the same lap.
Enjoy the day Rick ADESIGNS
Hi Rick! Boy, the weather in Wisconsin sounds like a true test of patience. Reminds me of the business trip to Denver I went on several years ago -- it was 90-some-odd degrees on Day 1 and snowing the next. Couldn't believe it!
You gotta have a talk with those kitties -- they're supposed to keep you warm, not vicie-vercie!! Those weather swings must make wood-acclimation a real challenge. Have a good one!
PS: I cleaned and waxed (actually Boeshielded) the "cast iron booties" tonight :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Dear Forest Girl,
Are we insomniacs or what? Well yah, your name is very nice and meaningful. For a while there I had this image of you as the girl in that film with Jodie Foster, "nell" I think it was called. Boy was SHE ever a "forest girl". If you didn't see the film you probably don't get it. Nice to hear you are in such good communication with nature up there. Don't become too disolved into the land though, or you'll turn into a female version of Roy Underhill. You will consider your "axe" as a worthy alternative to that brand new Festo router or a shovel as every bit as good as that fancy Powermatic 66 that the "city-folk" like to show off with.
"Hide not your talents, they were for use made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?"
- Benjamin Franklin
LOL, Joe! I love to watch Roy Underhill work, but have no delusions of ever being able to emulate him. Electricity is my friend!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Couldn,t agree w/Joe any more. A couple years ago my wife bought a "top of the line Wagner" to do some 'paining'. This is the kind that has a tube to "suck" the paint from the can to the sprayer. Right. What a gross waste of a dollar!
I ended up borrowing a commercial grade airless,which I'm sure you can rent. This had a cart designed for a 5 gal. paint bucket and the sprayer takes the paint right out of the bucket-worked great! I've painted several houses and was kinda' reluctant to try this thing(especially after our Wagner fiasco). Just wanted to use rollers and brushes, you know the old fashioned way. These things are fast. Real fast.The only way to go! wb
Forest Girl,
Many moons ago (around 1980 or so) I painted my house with a Wagner. It is VERY temperamental, but unlike the others, I (finally) got mine to work pretty well. I found the "secret" to be to thin the paint a little more than Wagner recommends and to keep the nozzle absolutely clean.
Would I buy another? (The ex got the house, the dogs, the boat...) No! Not because I couldn't get it to work, but because of the NOISE! The commercials also show Mrs. Brady painting her house without a whisper from the Wagner. Actually it was undoubtedly the loudest tool I've ever had the misfortune to own. I shouts out the most terrible, the most awful, the most annoying, the most ear assaulting GGGGRRRRRRR you ever heard. (Come to think of it, the noise might actually be in its favor. Use it several times and it will make you deaf. Then you couldn't hear it.)
If the noise wasn't bad enough, mine vibrated horribly. In addition the mechanism would get blistering hot--so hot it would get very uncomfortable to hold.
With the noise, the vibration, the heat and its temperament it's a loser. IMHO your sweetie would be much better off renting a big commercial version, one where the mechanism stays on the ground and all he would have to hold is the hose and spray head.
Alan
Anybody ever hear of a PAINT BRUSH?!!!!!
Pros: Requires little if any skill to use, inexpensive, comes in a wide variety of sizes, little maintenance required, makes no noise, and provides one time for contemplation....
Cons: None
Dano
Cons: Takes longer. No time to contemplate here, gotta get the job done as efficiently as possible. This painter is an engineer, not a college student earning summer $$$$'s.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie,
Kinda of figured I'd get the "efficiency" line. ;-). Then have him hire a professional and I don't mean a college student. Chances are very good that the pro and his crew will show up with ladders and brushes. In my homebuilding days that's what my painters would use. I've run airless and HVLP, they ain't no substitute for a brush, IMO. Oh, you want cheap too............heheheheh. Efficeint and cheap; let's see......what will be missing from the equation? He's an engineer, I'm certain he can figure it out.
'Course, I'm one of those oddballs who actually enjoys painting....:-)
Dano"Form and Function are One" - Frank L. Wright
FG,
You got about the same responses over a FHB, I think dont rent a wagoner but rather run from a wagoner that thing will put paint on everything you dont want it to. Go rent a pro one with a big pressure pot. Here they go for about 50 bucks a day. It will save you and BF a lot of head aches . But if your doing the interior of a house ( i dont think you specified, i would cut in the corners and roll the rest. Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
Hi forest girl,
If he is dead set on spraying forget the wagner it is a disposable tool. If you rent stay away from diaphram type sprayers ( to much room for error, the diaphram is easy to blow) Go for the piston type machine.
The down side of spraying, lots more prep work
The up side, less time actual painting and in my opinion a better finished product.
I'll bring attention to the prep-time factor, see if he thinks it will outweight the advantages of the sprayer. Thanks for the tip on piston vs. diaphragm.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forest Girl,
Here's a couple of random thoughts from someone who has used an airless sprayer.
Airless followed by someone brushing is fast.
Overspray is a problem/hassle.
Brushing alone puts on a thicker, longer lasting coat.
How many stories? Bungalow, no problem. 2 stories+, major pain.
I'm not a professional, nor have I played one on TV. Just enough experience to be dangerous.
Putting the "Big" in "Big Daddy"
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