Hi All, It's woodworking time again. Making some smaller bathroom free standing cabinets, and SWMBO wants Gloss White rather than the usual stain and wipe on oil stuff. So I need a sprayer. Ace has a HomeRight Pro 5.5 that seems like it will work. And within the budget.
Will this work for smaller projects? I won't use it for doing a house or deck, or a car. I will probably spray oil based stuff, varnish, urethane, and some Glossy White paint as well.
Just use rattle cans and you'll get about as good a finish. Airless is fine for painting houses, not so good for cabinetry.
This jobbie here actually works pretty well. Bit lightweight for latex but does fine with oil, varnish, and urethane.
Of course the right way to do it is to get a compressor and a proper spray gun with the right tip for whatever you're going to spray, but that may be more bucks than you want to spend.
I just used my little Graco (crappy 30 y/o electric spinner model) on a fence yesterday. They work OK, but I wouldn't buy another one. I had to thin and use Floetrol in it to get it to work better, and they drip enough to be messy.
Save some money. HF has one for $19 on sale right now.
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an HVLP for $99:
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This or a much nicer gun, the Earlex 5000. (Tell 'em, Swingy.)
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to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace. -- Robert J. Sawyer
IMO, it will work just fine. Especially if you practice with it a bit to learn to use it properly...correct atomization, volume and technique determine the results.
For the last 20 years I have used a similar one from Wagner. Everyone here will tell you those are total junk. All I know is it worked fine...used mainly for louvered doors but also to lacquer a whole bunch of kitchen cabinet doors and various other small projects. It finally died when I was painting a stuccoed wall around my garden. I will probably replace the Wagner with an inexpensive HVLP sprayer because it will suit my needs better.
The one you are considering has two things going for it...
It has an accessory nozzle on a stem that can be bent up or down (Wagner does too but it is an extra cost item). When using this kind of sprayer with the cup you need to keep the sprayer vertical enough so that the suction tube end is totally within the paint else it will spit gobs of paint. Keeping that position is easy enough when the cup is full, but not when the cup is close to empty. The bendable stem lets you keep the sprayer vertical but direct the spray up or down.
Optionally, it lets you draw paint directly from the can. Cups generally hold a quart and that quart weighs 2+ pounds...doesn't sound like much but it can get heavy. Sucking from a can is a definite plus.
For really small projects, rattle cans or Preval type sprayers are handier because of the lack of cleaning needed.
If you have a compressor with enough output (8 CFM @ 40 PSI minimum) take a look at the Harbor Freight:
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used one last month to stain over 100' of 6' high stockade fencing. At the time I bought it is was on sale for $9.99. I thought for that price I'd throw it away if it didn't work. I was surprised at how well it worked. Cleaning it is a breeze.
The gotcha is that Harbor Freight keeps changing the gun and discontinuing the parts, including the needles, nozzles, and caps, so when you change paints and need a different size you can't get it.
will sell you pretty much the same gun Harbor Freight does for about the same price and they'll provide you any needle/nozzle/cap you want now or later.
I got the HomeRight Pro 5.5 today, and will start the practice this weekend. It seems to have bendable nozzle, extension tube to draw from a can, and 3 different tips. Titanium and ceramic guts. I'm guessing practice will make good primer coats!
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