# Forum Home Renovation Painting  AIRLESS PAINT SPRAYER for DYI

## Bigmorgs

Hi All,  
I'm currently renovating my house and need to repaint the whole house in the coming months.  
My budget won't allow for me to pay for professional painters. 
So my plan at the moment is to buy a cheaper Airless sprayer. Has anyone got any experience or knowledge of this types of machines?   SPRAY PRO - 1.5HP AIRLESS PAINT SPRAYER and Spray Gun (eBay item 250754088433 end time 08-Feb-11 01:01:46 AEDST) : Home 
The thought of rolling the whole house is painful.  
Thanks for the advice.

----------


## mark53

G'Day, I don't know that I would go down this path. Plenty of hire companies hire airless spray units, which from my limited experience, are well maintained. What type of surface are you intending to spray and how high are you going to be?

----------


## Master Splinter

> The thought of rolling the whole house is painful.

  Think a bit on how long it will take to mask and prep to spray.  If the house isn't empty, you'll be getting very friendly with dropsheets everywhere.

----------


## Strom

Hi..
Those airless paint sprayers are Rubbish..
Non repairable if something goes wrong with the unit throw it away..
If airless spray is the path you want to go down then you are better of hiring as advised above or if you will have more than one Job for it looking for a decent Second hand unit..
In My vast experience I would be staying away from electronic models and looking for a decent Diaphragm pump.. 
The pros & cons of airless spaying have been debated many times on the Forums
Do a search on airless spraying you will find plenty of good advice.. 
Goodluck..  :2thumbsup:

----------


## Ricardito

Had a friend who is a fencing contractor explaining how the machine should be operated. He says that apart from  expensive they must be kept really clean no clogging should be allowed and there is quite a bit of waste of paint before air regulated and spray control settings and during spraying to keep the spray flow consistent. He uses this applicator for painting fences rather than an air compressor unit that will take too much space in his ute.

----------


## jago

Ricardito  has fallen asleep on his keyboard hence the multiple posts :brava:

----------


## Bigmorgs

Hi All,   Thanks for the replies.   I have a two story house and the entire lower level has freshly been sheeted there is no finished (Concrete) floors cabinetry or light fittings in as yet.   I had suspicions that the cheaper airless spray guns might be nasty.   The attached gun does come with a warranty so sure it would get me at least through the Job.   Kennard's hire there spray guns for $200 a day. That just seems steep to me.   If I was going to pick up a second hand gun what are the brands to look for?   Thanks again.

----------


## d00biez

my two cents - for the cost / setup / time getting used to the sprayer / wastage, i'd just go with rolling. its easy, much quicker and more consistent and next to no wastage. get a few 230 and 270mm roller heads, a pack of *decent* replacement rollers and an extension handle for it and youre set! and if you can get one or two others to help, you'd be very surprised how quick you can roll a room once its been cut in. 
good luck whichever way you go. 
doob

----------


## Pulse

Graco make good machines, I have an ASM 2100 which was bought out by Graco. I bought my in the US as a 240V model, cost about $1000 total including shipping. Prices look like they have gone up since then. 
I think they do save a lot of time especially in a new paint and if you paint the ceiling and walls the same colour. They save time on cutting in in corners of walls and around cornice too. On the flat it is much the same as a roller. I also have the power roller for the machine but haven't used that yet. 
Cheers
Pulse

----------


## ALLROUNDER

Airless are useless, bought one years ago to do a fence and gave up before finishing a single paling.  Tried on another job and spent heaps of time getting the paint thinned correctly but still a poor result, spend a bit more and use compressed air or just roll!

----------


## Strom

> Airless are useless, bought one years ago to do a fence and gave up before finishing a single paling.  Tried on another job and spent heaps of time getting the paint thinned correctly but still a poor result, spend a bit more and use compressed air or just roll!

  You will definitely not get a good result using compressed air with latex acrylics..
Let alone how much overspray you will create.. 
You bad experience comes from lack of knowledge/experience with this method..

----------


## Strom

If you still have your heart set on airless spraying.
(Honestly as an amateur painter you will achieve a better result with a Roller)
I would be looking for a decent used diaphragm pump.
Preferably a Wagner they do come up on ebay quite often..
Just make sure it is in good working order as repairs on these machines are not cheap..
Like I said unless you have enough work to justify the outlay stay away from purchasing and only hire..
You can hire these machines from paint suppliers / Bunnings etc on a weekly rate..

----------


## ALLROUNDER

Strom- re my lack of experience/knowledge led to the problems I had with airless, seems a bit negative considering you bag airless as well.  I was using a cheapo unit and the question did revolve around time & budget. 
I have only used compressed air with 2 pac with great results so can't comment on other paint types sorry for bothering to mention my experience with airless and now and will go back in my box.

----------


## Strom

Allrounder..
My comments where not a dig at your ability's as a painter..
& I certainly do not bag airless. My advice was to stay away from using airless internal unless you are very confident using airless.
Using an Airless to paint a fence (Especially picket fence) is the ideal situation for a beginner.

----------


## Geoff2005

If you are spraying everything including windows, light fittings, GPO's, plumbing etc with the same paint. go for it, otherwise the amount of time you will spend covering and masking will be significant. 
I have been using an airless (old fence sprayer) to do doors in acrylic.  http://www.renovateforum.com/f207/pa...76/index2.html 
I have put plastic up around the walls and drop cloths on the floor of a section in my shed, about 6m x 3m, that I have used for a spraybooth. If there are any gaps in the plastic sheeting around the walls the very fine paint will get through and depending on roughness/porosity of what is underneath will stick or just be like dust that wipes off.

----------


## Wombat2

When our place was first built the painter had a guy come in with a sprayer to do all the ceilings - which took not quite a day two coats all over - two stories - then he and his off sider did the walls and trim with rollers and brush.

----------


## The_Fixer

> Hi All,   Thanks for the replies.   I have a two story house and the entire lower level has freshly been sheeted there is no finished (Concrete) floors cabinetry or light fittings in as yet.   I had suspicions that the cheaper airless spray guns might be nasty.   The attached gun does come with a warranty so sure it would get me at least through the Job.   Kennard's hire there spray guns for $200 a day. That just seems steep to me.   If I was going to pick up a second hand gun what are the brands to look for?   Thanks again.

  I'd be keeping clear of the big national name hire companies. They are usually best suited to professional guys with accounts and they charge a bomb. Up here we have a mob that charges nearly half the rate.

----------

