Paint sprayer/power roller: Wagner vs. Graco?

The rental Graco is a top notch professional unit that sells for $700 or so.

As for the two you are interested in, Graco has an excellent reputation for professional sprayers. Wagner has a terrible reputation for making crap in the consumer line. These two units may not fall into either category, bit I'd still take a Graco first.

I would not give a plug nickel for ANYthing that has the words Wagner on it. The Graco magnum is a quality piece of equipment. Total apples to onions comparison.

Another note: I've not had ANY over spray problems with our magnum if it is adjusted right and you are using the right tip for the job/material.

You can use a roller on the grooved plywood. You can also spray it, by renting a Graco XR9. In both cases, have a paint brush ready and handy for touch-up.

I paint by hand before I would spend a penny on a waggler sprayer.

I bought a Graco XR7 on ebay for $250. It was used, but only slightly. I have used it to paint house interiors, exteriors, stucco walls, and block walls. A good airless is the cat's meow. BUT not for everything. You have a ton of overspray, so spraying during construction or spraying outside is about all you can use them for. They will put paint on fast, and it is good to have someone with a thick nap roller to backroll at the same time.

Save your money on a Wagner. They are a toy that will soon wear out or just quit.

My Graco wouldn't work. I disassembled the pump myself and discovered that over time, layers of paint had hardened in the inside. I cleaned it out, and it works like a charm. I don't think Wagner even has any use serviceable parts.

Buying a pump roller may be okay if you were going to do a lot of it. I investigated it, and found out that I could actually do it with regular hand equipment in about the same time and for a lot less. And waste less paint.

YMMV

Steve

Wagner is a toy low quality line made for the big box mart.

Graco does make quality stuff. The big box version may be a toy version so I would check if their version is the same as the rental version.

For siding spraying is best. Renting a unit is not a good idea unless it is a small house and you know what you are doing, you must spray without wind and cover what you dont want sprayed, some houses are not worth spraying because of size, trim, neighbors, wind etc.

For that much money you can buy a (smallish) air compressor and the parts for a spray application.

I would think that spraying would be better for grooved plywood than a roller. Spraying is certainly less work.

You'll also want a hand-held masking shield. They look like a pizza oven paddle, only not as long. You put it up to the brick or other area you don't want sprayed, apply the paint, and move on.

As an aside, here's a trick I found useful. When choosing a color, pick one from the spray-can selection that's close to what you want. Spray some on a bit of wood, then tell the guy at the paint counter to match the color. What you end up with is the ability to touch-up your work in the future by using what's in the spray can: a screw or nail head, electrical conduit or breaker box, a ding from the lawnmower, a replacement facia board, whatever.

At first I though this was a good idea, but, after a year or two of exposure to the elements, the paint on the house may be significantly different in color from that in the spray can -- and even from what's left over from what I actually used on the house.

Perce