Paint Sprayer Preferences?

[JJC]

I did some poking around on the web and in the newsgroup archives already. Seems there is a preference for Graco over Wagner in the paint sprayer arena. It looks like Wagner sells their homeowner/light duty units at Lowe's under the name Spraytech, while Graco does the same under the name Graco at HomeDepot. All I (think that I) need is a very light duty machine like the Magnum DX or Spraytech 1420.

We just had an 1100 sq ft home floor redone in white oak, I replaced all the doors, half the windows, and the kitchen cabinets. I need to paint the casings for the windows/doors, paint the doors, and the new baseboards. I did the first three window casings in the kitchen "by hand" so I wouldn't have to do them after the cabinets and countertop were in. It was time consuming, and I wasn't thrilled with the results.

For the remaining doors/casings/baseboards, what I am thinking of doing is spraying the stock outdoors and then installing it and then filling and touching up the nail holes. I plan on using a semi-gloss white latex on all trim. I have never used a paint sprayer before. I rolled the paint on the interior walls - I don't want to deal with all the masking inside.

So, one broad question - does this sound like a good plan? Any advice? And one specific question - will either the DX or 1420 suffice for the job? Is there are clear preference of one over the other?

Thanks,

[cm]

The DX is a great sprayer for the money.

1. Clean the unit out as soon as you are done.
2. I always store my spray gun soaking in a mixture of antifreeze and water = ratio is not important. I also run this solution thru the pump and leave some in the pump for storage. It stops rust and lubricates the unit.

AZCRAIG

[IBM5081]

I own a Graco and am very pleased with the results.

When you plan to paint "outdoors" there are all manner of foreign particles that seek out wet paint and imbed themselves in the wet surface. That's why most trim for new homes is painted in the garage.

Since you have not used a sprayer before, I recommend some practice spraying. You will find that paint tends to "pile up" very quickly when the sprayer is: a) suddenly stopped, b) reversed direction or c) used to touch up a light spot without swinging across the area. Follow-through is necessary - keep the spray head moving as the trigger is released.

[JJC]

Thanks for the advice. With the non-stop rain up here in the Northeast, I gave up on trying to spray the paint on. I couldn't clear out the garage to paint in there, so I got a can of oil-based semi-gloss. It takes a day to dry, and it's slow - but it looks nice. A couple more days of painting and I'll be done. Oh, and since my labor hours are free ;-) it has been much cheaper!