Kinda OT-review-Wagner Wide Shot

[Phil Crow]

I sprayed a deck and a block wall today with a Wagner Airless Paint Sprayer today.

It was the mid-grade one (about $85 at the Borg--and I got a $25 rebate) with the 2200psi rating and I bought it so that I could finish a job that my neighbor (a painter by trade) started, but couldn't finish. He fell off a ladder at about 6 feet and broke his heel when his wife showed up to ask him if he wanted to go to lunch. Just goes to show you, huh?

Anyhow, I was shooting Sherwin Williams Woodscapes stain. At least, that's what the bucket said. I didn't really notice any difference between solid-body stain (my neighbor's words) and reg'lar ole latex paint.

This joker worked almost flawlessly. I had a few drips, but I was able to spray a 400sf deck in about 90 mins. Next to cutting-in each board edge and rolling out the rest, this was a huge time-saver. Also, unlike John's commercial-grade airless sprayer, I got little if any overspray. With the two-speed feature, I could even do balusters, finials, etc. without fear of getting paint on the neighbor's house or the flora near the deck. Just remember to catch the drips with a brush, but they only seem to happen when the cup runs out of paint, or you've just filled it.

After the deck, I sprayed a cinder-block wall about 7x12 feet and it took all of 20 minutes, and a good bit of that was moving buckets and drop cloths. I also bought one of those three-foot paint shields (a

3x1-foot piece of aluminum with an adjustable 2-foot broom handle), and that's all you need to cut-in around doors, outlets and concrete slabs (that's what I cut-in around today). If I had used a roller, it would have been a good hour, and I still would have had to cut-in.

The unit itself is kinda noisy and it gets heavy after about, uh, 30 seconds or so, but what do you want for eighty bucks? If you're doing or planning to do any painting, esp. outside, I would highly recommend it. I'll be trying it soon with WW finishes (it came with a fine tip as well).

Hope this helps someone,

-Phil Crow

[Leon]

Nice review Phil.

And, you are only the second person that I have ever heard say a positive comment about any Wagner product.

After the spayer has sat up for 1 month unused, can you provide us with another review and your feelings about the sprayer? I have in a period of about 7 years purchased 2 Wagner Power tools for painting and both worked decently the first time used. Both failed miserably on the second outing. AND both were cleaned immediatley after use until clear water was the only liquid being dispensed.

It will be interesting to see if Wagner has improved its quality and life of its products.

[Phil Crow]

Like yourself, Leon, my neighbor, the painter, had not much positive to say about Wagner. My dad, however, painted the exterior of his house (which is about 3500sf) with a Wagner Wide Shot. I borrowed said airless sprayer after it had sat up for an undeterminate amount of time--he may have used it in the interim, but I borrowed it about 3 years after he finished painting his house. I used it to paint about

10 sheets of T-111, and his also worked admirably. I'll talk to my dad, but I think the key is the little spring-loaded swirl-valve dealy-bob just in front of the piston. According to the manual, that little valve wears out after only 7-10 gallons of latex paint. Fortunately, a replacement valve only costs a couple of dollars.

Also, lubrication is apparently very important to these little sprayers. The owner's manual states that after you clean out the gun, you should put some 3-in-1 oil into the mechanism and run it for a couple of seconds to lubricate the entire, uh, thing.

Mainly, I guess I was impressed more by the "sprayer" part than the "Wagner" part. I'm no painter, but in 6 hours of use, this thing paid for itself (if I were a painting contractor).

I'll be sure and let you know about the long term test, though.

-Phil Crow

[Leon]

Yeah.. with the initial time savings already you could pitch it and buy another new one when you need to paint again.. ;~) Now that is a thought.

Thanks.