Worst POS Tool You Ever Bought

[shinola9]

Here's my vote: ANY Wagner homeowner's paint sprayer. I bought the expensive one (The Paint Crew) first and then tried the $100 "Wide Shot". The sales help in the BORGs know nothing about any of these products, because, they tell me that Wagner has no reps and nobody to demonstrate or teach the products to them.

The Owner's Manuals are disgustingly bad but I followed the directions to the best of my ability. I thinned the (latex) paint to the maximum allowed by the manufacturer. I strained the paint through a paint strainer, all just like they said.

First of all "The Paint Crew" couldn't pump the paint at all. Even when it was thinned per manufacturer's specs. I continued to thin until the unit could actually pump but by that time, it was so thin that it just ran right off the work piece. Brought that one back. Got the "Wide Shot".

This one actually worked with the thinned and strained paint - for about ten minutes until the first clog. Cleaned out the pickup tube and got 5 more minutes till the next clog. Cleaned again, got 2 more minutes. Thoroughly cleaned entire gun of all paint and started up again. Got 5 more minutes before it clogged again. Gave up, and returned this POS to the store. They didn't even bother to ask what was wrong, they just gave me the refund. I am sure these units will be repackaged and back on a shelf near you within a month. Never Wagner, ever again!

Chuck

[Toller]

You haven't lived then. My Wagner actually works, and isn't bad for the price.

My PC444 on the other hand... If it was $10 I would say fine, but not for $100.

[Leon]

I have foolishly bought 3 different Wagner products over the last 25 years. I agree, If it has the name Wagner on it, it is probably not going to please you.

[David]

Agreed! I've got a Wagner sprayer sitting in the attic where it belongs until some noob buys it off me at a garage sale.

Runner-up: Rotozip. Mostly I use it to grind my dog's nails down.

Dave

[Locutus]

I recently purchased the Wagner Paint Eater to take paint off of siding.

Worked GREAT.

[gw]

Must be the new stuff. I have 2 Power Painters that work great. Painted 2 houses and stained another one with them. Had to thin latex some, but not a whole lot. Did you thin with Floetrol?

My worst purchase was a DeWalt jigsaw. To replace my old (back when they weren't crap) B&D jigsaw. Completely useless. Start a cut, the blade jams in the wood, and the saw reciprocates up and down on the wood. Yes, I tried different blades. Solved it with a Bosch. Next in line would be the Delta 9" bandsaw.

[dpb]

Don't know about the "expensive" Wagner, never tried it. Have one of the really cheap hand units that works ok but is, of course, way too small for anything sizable...

If you want/need a decent but not terribly expensive spray unit, try the lower-range Grayco that HD sells (or at least did a couple years ago--haven't been back to see since it's 2-hr drive to get to one). Have done the entire barn and house w/ oil primer and latex topcoat w/ no problems. Wasn't cheap, but not terribly expensive, either. About $200-250 iirc...

OBTW, I don't recall now if it was the cheapest Grayco or another I looked at at the time, but avoid any of the ones that expect you to dump the paint into their container instead of out of the can or bucket--they're invariably almost impossible to clean unless you use the liners which are a pita (to use the technical term :) )...

[Locutus]

I used my Rotozip over the weekend to cut out the sink hole in a formica countertop. In woodworking it doesn't get much use, but I don't know what I would do without it when I am rehabbing houses.

[jimmy]

Years ago I bought a BIG top of the line Craftsman jigsaw that was absolute crap. It vibrated so badly it was useless, and kept shearing off a tiny pin inside that kept the head connected to the motor . It was HUGE but just like using a $29 cheapie. Then a couple years ago I decided to buy a Craftsman belt sander. It's useless with course 50-80 grit paper because it won't track them once they contact to wood and runs the paper into the housing chewing it up. Never again...

Bought the Mastercrap Spinsaw, thought it might be handy cutting electrical box holes in plywood that went back a day later.

My Bosch jigsaw is one of the best tools I've ever bought.

[David]

It does have some uses, but I had to repair mine early on, and other than cutting sheetrock (an unholy mess, unless you use the vacuum attachment, which I picked up at Sears), I've not found much use for it. My comments about it are purely from my personal POV. There must be SOME use for it, or I'd expect it to have been pulled from the market.

Dave

[Charlie M. 1958]

I bought a Wagner power roller many years ago. Pre-use setup and post-use cleaning took way longer than any time it might have saved in the rolling process. Plus, the infernal noise of the compressor running almost constantly left me with ringing ears and a splitting headache.

I couldn't sell it at three garage sales.... but the insurance company finally paid for it when Hurricane Katrina flooded my house!

[Doug Miller]

There's a problem in general with almost all gadgets that are intended to make painting faster: they're speeding up the wrong part of the process. _By_far_ the most time-consuming aspect of doing a proper paint job is the prep work: patching, washing, scraping, sanding, masking, etc. The actual application of the paint goes quickly by comparison.

[Markem]

On the airless sprayers I agree, but I got a HVLP Wagner which for a $100 was a bargain (spraying fencing was it first job).

Mark (sixoneeight) = 618

[usenet]

Never tried any Wagner. I've borrowed a professional ($800) paint sprayer from a neighbor, and it works GREAT.

My vote: A cheap Sears router (1/2 or 3/4 HP) from the early 90s. Height adjustment is done with a plastic ring that's clamped onto the base, and goes all the way around the motor. The motor itself is in a plastic housing, and has a spiral plastic thread that engages the height adjustment ring - or not, depending on the phase of the moon. And the height adjustment ring isn't tight, so it spins around by itself. All this gives rise to ...

ARHA - a feature available only on Sears routers:

Automatic Random Height Adjust

[B A R R Y]

So true!

[dadiOH]

My vote is with "user error".

I bought a relatively inexpensive ($100), small (quart cup) Wagner sprayer around 20 years ago, no problems ever. Mostly, I use it on louvered doors but on cabinets too. I've used oil, latex, lacquer, stain...sprays them all. Only problem is that it will spit globs if I let the cup get too low but that is user error.

I also bought a bigger, more expensive one when I built my house to paint the interior. I sprayed close to 80 gallons in three days, sold the sprayer for almost what I paid. I sold it not because it didn't work well - it did - but because I had no further use for it.

[Charlie M. 1958]

Only used it once - would have definitely worn ear protection the second time. As I recall, there was no mention of that in the instructions - the compressor was only supposed to run intermittently. But the thing didn't seal properly - that was another problem.

But, alas, taking the drudgery out of painting is a much more elusive goal than building a better mousetrap.

[cselby]

Your way too hard on Wagner.. Some 30 years ago my brother bought one (about 40$) and offered to paint my car with it. Being dumber then than now, I agreed. The paint job actually looked good - from across the street, in the dark, and if you squinted .

All spray painting is now done with an air compressor powered gun.

Pete

[Leon]

My experience was that the product works great the first time. After that they never worked correctly.

[jimmy]

I have a Wagner, I inherited it a few years ago and it's never let me down. I've never tried it, and never plan to try it. :)