Thread: "airless" paint sprayers

I bought a $350 cheapie off eBay, exactly the same as this one 1.7 HP 3650 PSI NEW AIRLESS PAINT SPRAYER SPRAY GUN +2 x 600mm wand +5/17+5/19 | eBay

I bought it on the basis that the local hire place wanted $300 to hire one for a weekend, which would have been a real stretch, as I wanted to paint my house and shed roof (about 300sqm or so).

I had one minor issue with it, which was the thick needle on the inlet would stick every now and again, and would need to be freed with a finger or screwdriver (though this was noted in the instructions).

But overall, it was excellent. I could spray a coat of paint on one side of the house roof in 45mins. And with 20m of hose, it reached wherever I needed it to.

I used one of the ones similar to the one Dave shows a couple of weekends ago to paint a two story house with,, awesome, fast and relatively easy.

A few years ago I borrowed a very cheap unit from a mate to paint my roof, that was yellow and alot smaller unit overall, but it too was excellent. I can't remember what brand it was or how much he paid for it though,, sorry.

Just remember to either tape up windows etc well, or have a long piece of cardboard and a scraper handy

I'm going to have to do my eaves and fascia and end boards. What sort of overspray do you get from these? On to say the roof or bricks?

Originally Posted by stallie

I'm going to have to do my eaves and fascia and end boards. What sort of overspray do you get from these? On to say the roof or bricks?

Not a great deal at all, though you clearly need to spray when it's as still as possible for the best results!

We use real estate boards at work. You can tape windows up but the boards do well. 5/17 thou tip is adequate for most external applications, or maybe a 4/15 if you cutting your teeth.

FWIW (1) Make sure the pump is suitable for acrylic paints (e.g. carbide piston), and (2) that the paint itself is suitable for airless spraying.

Acrylic paint formulations are very complex.The manufacturer essentially grinds the acrylic plastic material into a very fine powder which is then "suspended" in water/oil/pigments/binders etc and put through a homogeniser. The end product is designed to be applied with a brush or roller.

With an airless spray gun, you force it through a tiny hole under great pressure and effectively turn it into an aerosol, so there is a chance you will screw the formulation and cause the physical components to separate...so it breaks down and you get a mess. While modern acrylics are generally designed to accommodate airless spray application, but nevertheless it's very important to follow the manufacturers' instructions regarding viscosity, dilution etc ...