Best Paint Sprayer For Home Projects?

8,688 Views | 42 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by evan_aggie
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AggieGunslinger
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AG
I have the Graco TC Pro and really like it. I have the corded version, at the time I bought it I didn't think it was worth the extra money to go with the battery version, but now I wish I had
Bob_Ag
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I have one of those Wagner Flexico paint sprayers I bought from Home Depot a few years back for house painting. Honestly, I would never use it for that purpose again. I tried to tape and dropcloth everywhere, but it still was a mess. It does work well once you get the settings right.

It worked well for smaller projects like painting doors in the garage and I might use it to stain the fence. I think it was a little over a $100 and came with two heads. One is for larger jobs like walls and the other is for more fine work. Pretty sure it can handle oil based as well. It also plugs into the wall, so no batteries needed.
will.mcg
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AG
Do you have an air compressor? If so, just get the Harbor Freight gravity fed spray gun. Can be had for about $10 with coupon or on sale. I have used one for several different similar projects. I have not used it with stain so I cannot speak to it's performance in that application. Whatever route you go, get some paper or cardboard (a big piece of it) & practice painting a bit before you try your actual part.

You should be fine with one spray gun for different types of material. You may need a smaller size tip (if using an airless gun) or tip & needle (if using a conventional, HVLP, LVLP, HF gravity fed, whatever spray gun).

To determine correct tip & needle size for a non-airless set up reference page 10 of this link
Airless chart: Graco tip selection

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AggieGunslinger
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Painting some cabinets, some furniture, etc. It only holds 32 oz so you wouldn't want to paint more than a very small room with it. I already have a bunch of Dewalt 20v tools so battery life isn't an issue with the number of batteries I have. I really like the fact that there is not a lot of over spray. I started painting the kitchen cabinets last weekend and only had cover about 18" of wall at the edge of the cabinets. It just doesn't throw a lot of paint all over the place. I have also shot oil based paints and primers through it without thinning them and they came out great once I got the pressure adjusted. Another nice thing is that it works on a vacuum so you can turn the gun any direction and it will still pull paint from the cup, it makes spraying the bottom of shelves real easy. The only real downside is that the tips are a bit hard to find and are kinda pricey compared to some of the other Graco models that have been out longer. The clean up is actually fairly simple. We had one of the old Wagners and it was a PIA to get clean.
Builder93
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Look into HVLP systems. Check out the ones at Sherwin Williams. For fine finishes they the best and you don't have to suck the material out of a can and then purge the lines back into the can.
Ikanizer
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What is the air requirement for one of those $10 HF sprayers? I remember looking at that once and thinking it would mean buying a $500 compressor to use the cheap spray gun.
will.mcg
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AG
It should say in the manual which can be found online. Generally speaking different air caps require different CFM. But as a rule spray guns don't use much air volume.

Edit: 8CFM, 1-3 horse air compressor.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-fl-oz-hvlp-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-62300.html
one MEEN Ag
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third coast.. said:

Need a paint sprayer for small furniture projects and cabinets and things like that. Not too many projects a year. Do you need different sprayers for oil amd water based paints? What about for clear coats and stains amd things like that? I've never used one so any info is appreciated.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Graco-Magnum-X5-Airless-Paint-Sprayer-262800/100634354

You want an airless sprayer. Home Depot just had these on sale down to around $280, you might be able to call customer service and ask if they'll match the price after the sale.


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JeepWaveEarl
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AG
I just got an airless at Harbor Freight for $169 with coupon.

https://www.harborfreight.com/airless-paint-sprayer-kit-60600.html

Coupon: https://www.harborfreight.com/savings_coupons.html
(first one on second row)

I have a huge air compressor but wanted to be able to do more paint at once without stopping/refilling/etc.
JP76
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AGGODDESS said:

I just got an airless at Harbor Freight for $169 with coupon.

https://www.harborfreight.com/airless-paint-sprayer-kit-60600.html

Coupon: https://www.harborfreight.com/savings_coupons.html
(first one on second row)

I have a huge air compressor but wanted to be able to do more paint at once without stopping/refilling/etc.


This is a knockoff graco.
I've had 2 of these in the past 8 years and have put hundreds of gallons through them with very little issue. The tip it comes with is junk. Go to sherwin Williams and buy Titan tips for professional results. With good tips the results are on par with rigs that I have used that are $1000+ . Also make sure you break the gun down every single time and clean it thoroughly.
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JeepWaveEarl
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AG
Thanks for the info on the tips... I would have never known and am about to move into a new house and repaint pretty much the entire thing. I have read something about putting some sort of primer in it once it's used/cleaned...can you elaborate on your breakdown/storage routine?

Which of these do you recommend?

Titan SC-6+ Airless Tips

List Price:
$22.49


Titan TR1 HEA Airless Tip

List Price:
$43.99

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/SearchDisplay?categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=11051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=list&beginIndex=0&searchType=1000&pageSize=15&globalSearch=true&searchTerm=Titan%20Tips#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&contentBeginIndex:0&orderBy:&orderByContent:&pageView:list&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&
JP76
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First one burned up after years of heavy use. First month i had it i put 40 plus gallons through it. Some months 60-80 gallons. This sprayer is different than a Graco as the pump doesn't require pump armor and is sealed. The problem with a lower end Graco is if the piston and seals go bad, you are looking at $200 minimum to rebuild one. They also have an extended warranty on the harbor freight one. 2 years is like $39. For a homeowner/diy person with proper cleaning this would easily last many years compared to the abuse I put one through.
JeepWaveEarl
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AG
In case the OP is wondering the 2 years was $54 and 1 year was $42 for warranty -- anything wrong other than theft and misuse you take it in and it's replaced free.
JP76
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AGGODDESS said:

Thanks for the info on the tips... I would have never known and am about to move into a new house and repaint pretty much the entire thing. I have read something about putting some sort of primer in it once it's used/cleaned...can you elaborate on your breakdown/storage routine?


The directions on mine say to unscrew the hose at the pump and to put a few drops of 3 in 1 oil and turn on to cycle through the pump before storing over 30 days. Mine rarely sits 30 days without being used but when I know it will be idle I do add the oil.


The rig comes with a 515 or 517 tip and they are not good quality

I run Titan tips in mine. Around $20 at any Sherwin Williams.

For latex primer and latex flat paint I run a 515

For latex on exterior siding 515

For exterior of doors I use a 515

For interior doors I use a 311

For base, crown and small trim
And inside cabinet boxes 211

For cabinet doors a 311


A good tip only last for about 20-30 gallons before it gets enlarged and distorts the pattern.


For more tips on sprayers, techniques etc this guy has some really good videos posted






JP76
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AGGODDESS said:

In case the OP is wondering the 2 years was $54 and 1 year was $42 for warranty -- anything wrong other than theft and misuse you take it in and it's replaced free.



Make sure you break it down completely everytime when you clean it or they can void your warranty
JP76
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I run the SC 6 tips
one MEEN Ag
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third coast.. said:

Care to go in to detail? This sprayer is in sale on prime day so it intrigues me. Was a little more than I was expecting to spend but seems like it could last a lifetime without major issues.


About the sprayer? It's a great sprayer. You want airless because it does down a lot smoother than the air assisted sprayers. The paint just atomized coming out of the tip. I've used the sprayer before and thought it was great.

About calling Home Depot? That's a little more begging and pleading customer service. I don't think they'll spot you that price because it was an online only sale. But if it's on prime day sale, I would totally jump on it. I personally consider buying tools long term 'investments' that pay off project after project.

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TMoney2007
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AGGODDESS said:


Which of these tips do you recommend?

If you're doing something like a furniture project where you want a fine finish, I would use the green one. It looks to be similar to the green graco tips. The other style would be used for larger areas.

Whatever airless sprayer you buy, you may have to buy a tip guard to match the brand of tips you are using. They're not very expensive and they're pretty much universal as far as how they connect to the spray gun.

I think both of the ones you listed would work with a Titan guard (which you could buy for whatever brand machine you buy). Graco's standard RAC-X guard will let you use the fine finish low pressure (green) tips as well as their regular ones (blue).

The tips you can use will depend on the pump you buy. I got a graco magnum pro x 19 and put a 515 tip on it (10" wide fan with a 0.015" orifice" and it was just about all my pump could handle with latex paint. I got a 210 and a 310 FF LP tip (green) to paint some cabinet boxes, doors and baseboard (before it is installed.)

If you're painting things in/on your house, I would get an airless. I just painted the inside of a 2000sf house in 2 days (not counting masking/prep) and we just have some touch up work to do around the ceilings.

For small furniture projects, I would get one of the gravity fed guns because you're going to be using much smaller quantities of paint/stain and it is easier to clean up. For an airless system, 50 ft of hose and the pump is going to take probably a tenth of a gallon to fill up before you can even start spraying.
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one MEEN Ag
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third coast.. said:

Yea I'm thinking that getting the airless might be a bit overkill. The largest project I imagine we would do is our kitchen cabinets, and MAYBE our kitchen, but there is not much to that. That would be a one time thing only though. My wife frequently does small jobs so something that can use less paint per job. Would probably be best.
Not to be a airless sprayer salesman here, but the airless sprayer's biggest advantage is how nicely you can put paint down for things like cabinets. No brush marks. And usually you can do everything in less coats with minimal sanding.


If you're thinking of maybe doing the cabinets later, yeah don't worry about it. But if your other half is planning on doing it soon, I would consider it.
FamousAgg
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I have a used Harbor Freight airless painter that I last used about a year ago, if your interested in it let me know. I followed the directions for long term storage, but haven't played with it for quite a bit. I'm in the BCS area.
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one MEEN Ag
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third coast.. said:

Oh the cabinets are getting done for sure. We MIGHT paint the rest of the kitchen as well.

She is the one that wants a sprayer for the rest of the small stuff she likes to do though so if it takes a tenth of a gallon just to get paint out of the nozzle then it isnt practical for most of the stuff she wants to do. I guess we could get a shorter hose.
Oh man if you're signed up for painting the cabinets and then maybe the walls, you need an airless sprayer. Just the speed you can move with an sprayer is unmatched. Plus the finer finish and usually requiring fewer coats.

Search on youtube airless sprayer and go watch some of the videos of guys using the grayco x5. IdahoPainter is one good channel. Those guys fly. Painting a door in 15 seconds. Walls in 45 seconds.

With this sprayer you'll be able to complete your DIY projects within the time frame you initially tell your wife.







TMoney2007
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AG
If she paints furniture and stuff like that, I would just look at a gravity fed gun you can hook up to your compressor or a turbine HVLP setup if she's a little more serious about it.

You'll be able to paint the boxes and the doors/drawer fronts with something like that and get a good finish.

You can rent or borrow an airless for bigger projects. On top of how much paint it takes to prime the system, the intake tube doesn't allow you to drain the whole can so it doesn't really make sense to use it if you're only spraying a gallon or two.
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TMoney2007
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one MEEN Ag said:

third coast.. said:

Oh the cabinets are getting done for sure. We MIGHT paint the rest of the kitchen as well.

She is the one that wants a sprayer for the rest of the small stuff she likes to do though so if it takes a tenth of a gallon just to get paint out of the nozzle then it isnt practical for most of the stuff she wants to do. I guess we could get a shorter hose.
Oh man if you're signed up for painting the cabinets and then maybe the walls, you need an airless sprayer. Just the speed you can move with an sprayer is unmatched. Plus the finer finish and usually requiring fewer coats.

Search on youtube airless sprayer and go watch some of the videos of guys using the grayco x5. IdahoPainter is one good channel. Those guys fly. Painting a door in 15 seconds. Walls in 45 seconds.

With this sprayer you'll be able to complete your DIY projects within the time frame you initially tell your wife.
I watched some of the IdahoPainter videos before I bought a sprayer and did these projects.

If you're doing volume, you can't beat an airless sprayer. My and my BIL painted almost 900 feet of baseboard (before it was installed) in well under 3 hours.
JeepWaveEarl
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I'm starting to get nervous about using this in the house with existing carpet, etc. anyone used it to paint walls in a house with carpet you're keeping? LOL just drop cloth the hell out of everything or what?
TMoney2007
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AGGODDESS said:

I'm starting to get nervous about using this in the house with existing carpet, etc. anyone used it to paint walls in a house with carpet you're keeping? LOL just drop cloth the hell out of everything or what?
Drop cloth the floor and hang painters plastic to close off the area. You're aerosolizing paint, its going to float around for a minute.
AggieGunslinger
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I try to create airflow out a window by putting a filter over a box fan and setting it in an open window that is taped up real good. It works okay...
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