New love for airless

[Tom King]

For many years, when I built new houses, I needed an airless sprayer a couple of times a year, so I just rented one.  Before I understood about the tips wearing out, the ones I rented never worked right like they did in years past.  If I had known, I probably would have just bought my own tips, but I bought a spray rig instead, in 1995 (I think).  They cost more in actual number of dollars then, than they do now-I expect since they weren't made in China then.  It has shot MANY gallons of paint since then.  The pump is a .33gpm 2750 psi Graco.

 

The gun that came with it did okay, but it finally got to the point that it needed to be replaced, so I ordered the newest, top of the line Graco gun, and a bunch of different sizes of tips, including a number of Fine Finish tips.  Also, it was always a little bit of a fight with the stiff hose, so I ordered a five foot long, 1/8" whip hose.

 

Long story shortened, this thing is amazing.  I had bought an air assisted/airless fine finish rig earlier this year.  It's a little slow for spraying a ceiling, but great for cabinets, and furniture.  With this airless gun, I can do the same quality job on a large area, that can be done on a smaller area with the air assisted.  The tips are interchangeable with the air assisted, but I never used many different sizes before.  In playing with the different sizes of tips this afternoon, they absolutely do make a difference for a specific job.  If anyone wanted a car painted with Pro Classic or lacquer, I think I could do a factory quality paint job on one. I used up scrap cans of finish just playing with it.  If I have to paint all the doors in a house, this airless will get the job.

[ArnoldAmorós]

Which gun model number and how much was it?

[Tom King]

I don't remember the model number, but it's a two finger trigger Contractor gun that uses RAC X tips.  I don't remember the price of the gun by itself, but by the time I bought several sizes of tips, it was something over $400.  I've used it several times since I posted this, and it still surprises me how good it works.  I've done two fairly large beaded board ceilings, a number of walls, and not a single sag, run, or drip anywhere with probably something over 20 gallons of paint.  The fine finish tips make a noticeable difference.

 

I had a Graco AAA rig that I bought about a year ago, but I just don't see the need for it anymore, so I sold it.

[ArnoldAmorós]

I'd love to have something like that. Now I need to figure out how to get notifications from this forum. Didn't realize you had replied till I had to find the original post.

[DaveT]

I'd love to have something like that. Now I need to figure out how to get notifications from this forum. Didn't realize you had replied till I had to find the original post.

Hit the 'Follow this topic' button up at the top of the thread. It will give you options to get notifications.

[Tom King]

I want to make it clear that this is not a rig for a person new to spraying, and not for a garage workshop.  If you hold the trigger down, it will spray a third of a gallon of anything in a minute.  You also lose most of what's in the hose at cleanout.  If you spray the inside of cabinets in place with it, you need to be quick and coordinated.  If you are spraying new cabinets, it's not so bad if you finish before applying the backs.  It wouldn't be worth the effort for one piece of furniture.

[dwacker]

I'm happy to see you followed up with that last post. These things are consumers. They eat and waste loads of product, worse than conventional guns. I sprayed a court room with solvent lacquer. The waste was rediculous but the finish was acceptable for mill work. The fine from the air board was a bummer but live and learn.

[Tom King]

You might be a bit surprised with these new guns.  I don't know how they were smart enough to design it, but you can turn the pressure  WAY down from what the old guns needed spraying the same material, especially if it's something that you can spray with the fine finish tips-like ProClassic and better, so there is not nearly the bounceback, and the quality of finish is way better too.  Also, I've learned when cleaning the gun (you just run water through it for those that don't know) to shoot the first part into an empty container, and strain it back into one of the partials, so it doesn't waste as much. 

 

Also, 1/8" material hoses from AAA work for short runs.  I use a 5' 1/8" whip hose, and if I did small jobs with it on a turntable in a spray booth, I'd get an 1/8"x15 footer, and the waste would be minimal at cleanout.

 

When I clean it out around home, I just spray the remnants for the cleanout on the grass near the shop, and it's gone in a couple of grass cuttings.  In a town, I spray the cleanout into a contractors heavy trash bag, after squeezing most of the air out of it around the tip, and then putting some paint hardener in it, or just some sand or dirt if there is some on the jobsite.

 

Since it's airless, you can leave the material in the pump and gun, but just take the tip off, wash it out, put a drop of oil in it, put it back on the gun, and you're ready to go again tomorrow or the next day.

 

Most pro painters still prefer them over AAA, and you can find youtube videos of people spraying built in cabinets with lacquer with one.  It's not a hobbyist toy though, by any stretch.

[Vyrolan]

Every thread about spraying makes me want to get into spraying less and less.