Sprayer for Home Exterior

[Bugsysiegals]

I bought a Devilbiss Tekna Prolite from a former cabinet shop owner who said it was a great gun for spraying laquer.  I suppose this is why I see a lot of guys on YT spraying cars with this gun. I’ve never gotten around to spraying anything with it yet, was hoping to try it out this summer but ran into a friend who paints houses for a living who said he’d use his $300 Wagner to paint my exterior. This got me wondering if there’s a more versatile gun than the Devilbiss which could not only spray cabinets but also exterior/interior paint?  If so, maybe I should sell the Devilbiss and upgrade to something which can do it all....

 

[usernumber1]

you got your air sprayers, you got your airless sprayers. I don't think there exists one that does both and there's the problem.

can you paint fine finish with airless?  extremely difficult. depending on the level of finish, actually impossible
can you paint large areas with air? yes, but compared to airless extremely time consuming

so maybe with some middle ground - if the project is not too large, you can use HVLP/LVLP where you'd use airless - caveat some paint don't like being thinned which you would have to.

'kids these days' are using graco airless to paint their cars. does it look good, oh god no. do they care - no

 

[dltflt]

Keep your Devilbiss for fine finishes and get a Graco for house paint.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I agree with usernumber1 and Don above.

The Devillbiss guns are the finest quality you can get, and very good when the result needs to be perfect, like on a car, or fine furniture and cabinets. But they lack the volume of an airless, so if you have to spray an entire wall with it, it will take a lot of time, though it can be done. The layer of paint you lay down in one go is not as thick as with an airless either, so spraying a wall might take multiple sessions. A Devillbiss will also not take the thicker paints.

Wagner makes good airless sprayers, but they cost a lot. They make cheaper sprayers too, like the $300 one of your buddy, but those are not very good quality. The cheapest Graco sprayers cost a bit more than the low-end Wagners, but have a much better quality. 

Like with most things, you should never try to get one-tool-to-do-it-all.

 

[Cheese]

A number of years ago I painted a house with a Binks Mach 1 HVLP gun. I was surprised but it sprayed SW Duration thinned 10%. For a small shed or a very small garage I'd do that again, but not for a house. It was too slow going spray coverage wise and the quart cup capacity didn't help matters either.

 

[Packard]

I have a stage 4 help sprayer and a Grayco X7 airless.

The hvlp sprayer is easier to control and I get finer results, but to paint a room, I would use the airless

 

[thorp]

A more versatile gun would be the Titan ED655.  It's not mentioned often but if you research it, you'll have a hard time finding anyone who has anything critical to say about it. 

 

[rst]

No one single solution for different spraying situations.  I started spraying cabinets and doors in 1971 with a Binks model 18, which I still have along with a touch up gun.  I have a Wagner HVLP that I use for fine finishing with a Fugi gun and down feed 3m cup system and a Titan 440 airless for big stuff.  When I was laid off with the start of COVID, I sprayed my kitchen/dining room ceiling, 18' shed roof, with the Titan and then rolled the walls with the Titan and Graco's pressure fed roller system.  I also have Graco's 18v cordless sprayer that I have been using lately for fine finishing, just did an six panel oak pocket door that leads to my upstairs bedroom.  It's also great for small exterior jobs, sprayed SW on my new shop door in place. 

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Thanks everybody, you convinced me to keep the Devilbiss for fine finishes.  About what price range should I be looking to spend and are there any features I should keep my eyes out for related to a sprayer for SW latex paints?

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

I have never used a sprayer, but bought the Earlex HVLP machine on sale from Rockler for $100.
It gets mixed reviews on Amazon.

I do have a couple of exterior siding projects coming up; would it be worth my while to buy a Graco airless sprayer? If so, what price level would be a reasonable one for occasional siding and fence projects?

 

[usernumber1]

Thanks everybody, you convinced me to keep the Devilbiss for fine finishes.  About what price range should I be looking to spend and are there any features I should keep my eyes out for related to a sprayer for SW latex paints?

how big is your project? I'd get a used pro model that has a digital pressure control. the Titan 440 rst mentioned is a beast, for example. Get something that has parts and accessories available locally to you

 

[Bugsysiegals]

It’s only 1,200 Sq. Ft. And the front is mostly brick so I don’t think to terribly large?

 

[rst]

I'm prejudiced as I painted for a commercial painting co for awhile, but even with fine finishing  I go to Sherman Williams for most of my supplies and equipment.  I bought my Titan 440 20 years ago off Ebay cheap...turns out the only thing wrong was that the spring loaded intake ball was stuck and was an easy fix, shown to me by the guys at SW.

 

[usernumber1]

i'd rent it out unless you get some crazy deals. or repair a pro model like rst did

 

[huntdupl]

If you're just painting your house, not planning on starting a business, and you already something nice for finish work, I'd just get entry airless with nice tips.

I bought this Graco X5 on sale for around $250 or so, check HD Deal of the Day and they seem to pop up frequently. I did the whole interior of my 1500 sf house with ease. No prior experience, worked flawlessly, and easy clean up. Used Graco FFLP tips for base/trim using BM Advanced, walls a combination of spray and the Graco pressure roller (BM Regal Select). Rated for 125 hr annual use, never had to thin anything. Pulls from single or 5 gallon buckets. Working on exterior next. My 2cents