We've been getting bids to have the trim on our house repainted. Two of the bids were, we assume, for traditional brush-and-roller application of two coats (along with all the extras - pressure washing, etc.).
A third came in a lot lower, because the guy thinks he can do it in one coat. He uses a sprayer instead of rollering it on.
Will a sprayer give us good enough one-coat coverage that we could feel comfortable going with this bid? This painter was recommended to us by someone who observed that the houses he painted in a certain neighborhood stayed looking good much longer.
If it matters, we're going from a pale yellow color to an almond.
I have sprayed about 100 gallons with an airless. For some jobs, it is the only way to go. The problem is that it gets so much overspray on everything, it is next to impossible to spray it without getting everything messed up, even if you were an expert masker and took exceptional care. I sprayed large areas and block walls.
The time involved to properly mask a job, and take exceptional care makes the job last so long that the bidder has to up the price to cover all the extra time. Sure, you will get a thicker coat, but it will be thicker on everything. Roof tiles, windows, doors, you name it. Things you don't want painted. Then you have to clean it off, or paint that stuff with another brush. Thicker paint also runs.
For big areas, a sprayer is good. But, for cutting in, trim, doors, and windows, you cannot beat a brush or roller.
yesterday,I walked by a house that had been sprayed. Much masking of windows and so on. Some overspray on surrounding vegetation. Very uneven paint coverage. I have had our house painted a number of times over the last 25 years. I cannot imagine spray painting trim. TB
Yeah, you can get coverage with one coat sprayed, but there'd be so much masking involved in spraying trim it's not even funny. And if they don't mask well you're bound to have something oversprayed. I'd go with brush and/or roller.
I've used both a brush and rollers, and an airless sprayer. I was able to avoid overspray problems, and the sprayer gave better coverage with less paint.
S> We've been getting bids to have the trim on our house repainted. Two
On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 21:21:25 -0500, tmac scribbled this interesting note:
You've had several responses, but I'll chime in as well.
Airless sprayers are excellent for getting paint onto a wall. If the surface to be painted is smooth and has no irregularities (something like hardiboard or similar smooth surface) then spraying with an airless is all that is required for the large areas.
You encounter problems wen using an airless to paint irregular surfaces, something like wood siding that has been painted and has peeled and been scraped and repainted many times. In this instance, the airless is still a good, time saving tool, but not the only tool you need for the job. Use the airless for the same reason you use the roller-to get the paint on the wall. Then use the brush to insure even and complete coverage.
As for painting trim, the airless is not a good tool for that. After using the airless to prime the entire surface and paint the large areas, it is time to put it away and break out the good paint brushes and spend a little time.
Done this way, the house can get sufficient coverage such that one coat will work fine. Two would be better and make certain you get the best results. Of course it also takes more time.
How long a paint job lasts has nothing to do with the method of application and everything to do with proper preparation of the surface to be painted and the quality of the paints used. So long as comparable paints are used with similar coverage and the surface is prepped correctly each method should last just as long as the others.
As for over spray, drop cloths in the right areas and the knowledge of how to use painting shields, contains most of the over spray you will encounter.
-- John Willis snipped-for-privacy@airmail.net (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
I hired a painting contractor to paint the exterior of my house a few years ago. He sprayed, then rollered over for better coverage (called back-roller). The trim was painted with brushes. Ron
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