I am purchasing a new home and have decided to use this opportunity to justify the purchase of a new tool. (Old trick)
My first thought was to buy an air compressor and associated tools. My thought is that I can use a spray gun to paint the interior walls of the house with much less effort than a roller. I can also use a nail gun for molding and other things.
Question: Given my intended use of this particular item, can somebody recommend a size/brand/or other advice related to this? I'm new to air tools in general and would like some advice in this area.
With nailers, pretty much any compressor will do. For spraying, you need quite a lot more cfm capacity, and you also need to take into consideration the requirements of the spray gun, which will vary quite a bit, for example some guns can run on 4-5 cfm, other guns may require two to three times as much. You'll also need to take into consideration the duty cycle of the compressor. If a compressor puts out 10cfm at a 50% duty cycle (usually rated at max run time per 30 minutes), and you plan to spray continuously over a long period of time, you'd ideally get something that has double the cfm required to run your spray gun.
For spraying thoughout your house, you might want to consider a compressor with wheels for portability. With nailers you can run very long lengths of hose, for spraying a shorter run helps maintain the higher airflow needs for spray guns. A compressor similar to the Porter Cable 6025 would be a good starting point. It's not an industrial quality compressor, but it covers most of the needs of home users. Plus, it's very quiet compared to most.
Latex paints can be tricky to spray because of their high viscosity. Most painters who spray a lot of latex use airless spray guns (very high pressure fluid delivery) or pressure pots, and even then, sometimes thinning is required. If you go with a non-pressurized spray gun, you'll need to get it with a large nozzle set to be able to spray latex. To spray clear coats, lacquers, and other solvent-based paints, you'll need a smaller nozzle set.
I already have a couple of spray guns and a half-assed compressor, but if I was going to spray a house I'd rent a Kremlin or similar airless system. The fluid delivery and fan width are significantly greater than most HVLP conversion spray guns, and airless units typically have a lot less overspray, even compared to the HVLP guns. You could probably do more in one day with an airless than you could in two or three days with an HVLP gun.
You can still justify a spray gun/compressor setup to do all your doors, casing, moldings, etc.
A good resource for spray equipment is
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and their forums at
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are as knowledgeable as anyone else in spray equipment and techniques. I've dealt with them before and their service is great, their support is very good, and they can customize a setup for you based on your specific needs.
I purchased the Ingersoll Rand Model #TS4L5. Why IR? Being the innovators of air technology and seeing all the contractors tow the IR trailers behind them in the city, I figured I couldn't go wrong. And I didn't. For portable operations I also went with IR. I purchased Model #1WF69 twin tank compressor. As a home owner I can use any air tool you throw my way and then some. From running an IR 3/4" drive Impact Gun to a delicate Bostitch headless pin nailer.
I recommend using an airless sprayer for house painting. I bought the mid-range unit (Magnum X5, I think) at Home Depot for about $400. It sprays VERY fast -- once a room is properly taped off, you can do the walls and ceiling in a few minutes. And it doesn't require thinning, which most HVLP guns would.
So, hget a sprayer for latex, AND a nice compressor. Once you have the compressor, you'll find all sorts of uses for it.
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