DIY Spray guns for emulsion paint

I paint built in furniture with my cheapie Rutlands HVLP gun.

It's £50.
Takes a bit of practise to get the hang of the finish you want but building up the layers with a denib gets pretty good results.
I only use water-based paints.

You get a little viscosity cup with it and I seem to have settled to around a 30 second viscosity flow which mostly works well.

For a wall as you describe, I doubt you'll be so bothered and it should work very well.

You do get over-spray/mist, so mask well and cover and wear a respirator.

I did these cabinet doors with it and it turned out pretty well.

I have a cheapie, cost me £35 I think- it's been fantastic, I've used it for fence treatment and then a thick shed paint, some house paint on wood... It took some practice to get a nice finish but for walls especially or similar rough surfaces it's perfect.

Be interested to hear how you get on as a new user of one of these.
I've just had to do three coats with a roller and brush to cover a bright orange bathroom, so suspect spraying might have been a lot easier, but always assumed it was a more complex process.

I did this in my garage with my fence sprayer. Had to water down the emulsion a fair bit to get a good spray but it worked well and covered a rough wall. Was just some cheap emulsion I had left from doing up a house.

this is my spray gun...
https://www.screwfix.com/p/wagner-2369472-460w-electric-fence-decking-sprayer-220-240v/7305r

Had always assumed these guns were more trouble than they are worth with overspraying, clogging etc. Hopefully I'm wrong and they've got better. The reviews are so varying .. one chap says he sprayed masonary paint with no issues and others have trouble with anything more viscous than water.
Northwood ...by "thick shed paint" did you mean stain/preservative? I haven't come across any thick and viscous versions .. just interested and simply looking for confirmation they can handle more than heavily diluted emulsions etc.

I’ve just had to do three coats with a roller and brush to cover a bright orange bathroom, so suspect spraying might have been a lot easier, but always assumed it was a more complex process.

It's easier than rollers and brushes once you're up and running, but it's the masking and covering that takes the time with spraying.

I'll do several coats over a day, denibbing between.
I tend to do a coat, then I take the spray gun to a cool place, wrap the nozzle in a damp rag along with the inlet at the back of the gun, then put the whole thing in a placcy bag.
This helps stop paint drying in the nozzle and clogging.

But yeah, 80% of most jobs are masking and set up and cleaning. The actual spraying is dead quick.

You do get over-spray/mist, so mask well and cover and wear a respirator.

I remember the day my m8 and I were spaying my living room, couldn't get the masks for some reason as everyone had sold out, was a few years back when covid was incoming.

It's definitely the prep that takes the time, I suppose the issue is around how much you have to mask.

I'm undecided if I would spray or roller again tbh.

I'm still on the fence with spraying. Keep my eyes on developments as I do a fair bit of decorating for work. I'm still not convinced where they come onto their own. Unless you have like a warehouse or large commercial space to paint or something. For little domestic jobs it always seems quicker to just get the brushes and rollers out. Maybe a completely new, new-build house where everything is white. That could work, or annoying intricate things like staircase spindles.

Might take a punt on that one Kayak23 linked to. What's the durability like on your water-based paints btw?

They seem fine.
Not had anyone come back anyway.

Hire a decent one. Airless pump type. Job done, go for a ride.

kaiser
Free Member

Northwood …by “thick shed paint” did you mean stain/preservative? I haven’t come across any thick and viscous versions .. just interested and simply looking for confirmation they can handle more than heavily diluted emulsions etc.

Nah, I sprayed preservative, but also a gloopy wood paint, Garden Shades possibly. I expected to have to thin it but it went absolutely fine.

I did thin the cheapo emulsion I used for something else but only to get a different finish, I'm yet to find anything that the gun can't shoot, as long as it's not got actual bits in.