Spray paint or brush?

[MaryL]

I have a brick home with wood trim, and it is time to have the trim painted. I plan to use the same painters that I used a number of years ago. They did a good job, but I do have a question. I told them that I wanted it to be painted with a brush and not spray painted. They said they prefer to spray and then go over it with a brush (brushing the sprayed-on paint, not direct from a bucket). They claim that will do just as good a job and get as much paint on the wood. They would use the brush to make sure paint gets into any little cracks. I really don't remember what method they used last time because it has been a number of years.

Does this sound like the right method? I really don't know anything at all about painting, so I admit that my original request for brush painting was based only on what I saw at my parents' home many years ago.

I live in East Texas--lots of heat and high humidity. I did also say that I would like mildew protectant in the paint.

Thanks, MaryL

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, The key word here is just as good. Spraying is quicker. I painted always using good brush with good prep. work. Never used sprayer. Takes more time but IMO result is better.

[clare]

If they are using something like a Graco airless to get the paint on the wall it will go on unthinned - and brushing will (or should) make a job indistinguishable from a normal brushed job, but with less work, mess, and fuss - no dipping the brush, carrying the pail, etc.

[Kuskokwim]

The above is the correct answer.

(You might even end up with more paint per square foot if are they using a commercial sprayer.)

[trader4]

Except that a wall is not apparently involved. It's trim on a brick house. I've seen rollers following sprayers for wall work inside unfinished houses. That's because the rollers leave a nicer finish, while the sprayer gets it down faster. Also being unfinished, no taping for the sprayer. And a roller following a sprayer is matched in speed over a wall.

But given that it's trim work, the whole sprayer thing followed by brushing sounds rather dubious to me.....

[MaryL]

If they are using something like a Graco airless to get the paint on the wall it will go on unthinned - and brushing will (or should) make a job indistinguishable from a normal brushed job, but with less work, mess, and fuss - no dipping the brush, carrying the pail, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is basically what they said. They said they use premium brushes, and they power wash first.

MaryL

[MaryL]

Except that a wall is not apparently involved. It's trim on a brick house. I've seen rollers following sprayers for wall work inside unfinished houses. That's because the rollers leave a nicer finish, while the sprayer gets it down faster. Also being unfinished, no taping for the sprayer. And a roller following a sprayer is matched in speed over a wall.

But given that it's trim work, the whole sprayer thing followed by brushing sounds rather dubious to me.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Actually, there are areas that would be similar to a wall, although I did only refer to trim. There are 2 gables in the back of the house, 1 in front, and 1 on each side. Each of those has a fairly broad expanse of "wall" to be painted (not sure what term to use).

MaryL

[TomR]

I had the same thoughts as trader4 about wondering why they would use a sprayer if it was all just trim. But, since you have gable end areas etc. that need to be painted, using a sprayer seems fine to me. My guess is that they will spray the large areas and brush paint the smaller areas.

You said they did the job for you before and you were satisfied with their work. I don't think it would make any difference on your end whether they use a sprayer or not to complete the job.

[MaryL]

I had the same thoughts as trader4 about wondering why they would use a sprayer if it was all just trim. But, since you have gable end areas etc. that need to be painted, using a sprayer seems fine to me. My guess is that they will spray the large areas and brush paint the smaller areas.

You said they did the job for you before and you were satisfied with their work. I don't think it would make any difference on your end whether they use a sprayer or not to complete the job.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks. I was satisfied last time, and I consider them to be reliable. I just wanted to be sure that the paint job they described would last as long as brush painting. I do trust them, so I guess I should go along with their recommendation. I appreciate the input I received from this group.

MaryL

[EXT]

Make sure that they show you proof of liability insurance before you let them spray. Spraying outdoors has all kinds of hazards if the painters don't take care. All nearby non-painted surfaces should be masked off. There should be no wind of any significance, and all items, cars, outdoor furniture should be removed or covered as spray paint, even airless sprayers, can cause fine droplets of paint to drift and land and dry where you don't want it.

[MaryL]

Make sure that they show you proof of liability insurance before you let them spray. Spraying outdoors has all kinds of hazards if the painters don't take care. All nearby non-painted surfaces should be masked off. There should be no wind of any significance, and all items, cars, outdoor furniture should be removed or covered as spray paint, even airless sprayers, can cause fine droplets of paint to drift and land and dry where you don't want it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Good advice! Thanks.

MaryL