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Suggestions for paint sprayer

14K views 24 replies 19 participants last post by  Woodco  
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I'm new to the painting scene and I have a budget of $1200. Could y'all suggest me a good paint sprayer for contract jobs that has worked good for you and costs around $500.

Thanks.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Usually if you have decent credit they can open up whats called a "hard equipment" account which gives you 6 or 12 months to pay in equal monthly payments. Call you PPG store or rep, or SW for that matter, and they can hook you up!

There, I did a solid for Sherwin so everyone get off my back!

And either a Titan 440 or the Graco 390 will be excellent choices. I rented a Graco 395 for 3 years at least 4 days a week and it never failed. Even with people trashing it and not cleaning it worth a crap it hung in great. The key to keeping an airless running is cleaning it properly so make sure the salesperson shows you the correct procedure.
 
#10 ·
Titan 440 impact is what I use for newly constructed homes. Very reliable pump. I use it for all trim work and ceilings. I believe I payed ~700 Canadian dollars for mine like 4-5 years ago and I'm still using the same one with no problems.
 
#11 ·
Do yourself a favor. Several of the guys have given you suggestions on small sprayers that vary from about 600 to $1,000. I too would recommend buying a small reliable sprayer in that price range. If you cannot afford it, I recommend renting a sprayer and after every job setting aside some money so that after a couple of jobs you can use that cash and buy yourself a very reliable sprayer. This will serve you much better than buying a throw away sprayer and then having to nothing to show for it in a couple of months. As well with a better sprayer you will not have any problems with most architectural coatings. You never know when you will have to take on something larger than you had originally anticipated. These small sprayers should be able to handle it with no problem, whereas the sheep sprayer you were thinking about me fall apart right in the middle of the job and then you will be stuck.
 
#15 ·
Another option is to go check out what your local pump repair place has to offer. New is better than used for sure, but if that's out of the question sometimes the repair shop will have a decent pump that was rebuilt or something and never picked up. They will also be happy to instruct you on proper care and maintenence. I'd check there before craigslist...
 
#19 ·
I started off with a graco 395. Still have that machine 10 years later. Good start up machine. I do recommend upgrading as soon as you can afford it. When you do upgrade keep the old machine as a back up. Nothing sucks more then fixing a machine half way through a job. Easier to switch machines and fix later after the work is complete.

Also Pawn shops are a good spot to pick up machines. Found a couple that were caked with paint and the pawn shop didn't know what they had. Picked up a graco 695 for $300 that way. Most will give a 30 day warranty on them as well.
 
#20 ·
Hey guys,

I'm new to the painting scene and I have a budget of $1200. Could y'all suggest me a good paint sprayer for contract jobs that has worked good for you and costs around $500.

Thanks.
The words good, contract and cheap contradict each other in every way. There were very good suggestions on renting one, buying from crag's, I'd add starting out without one till there are enough cabbage leaves in your backyard to get something that will pull and will last.

Any sprayer that can at least pull 517 tip should suffice, yet nothing in the range of 500 green ones won't, unless it is a used pro machine which is sold by someone who shelled out ton of cash for new one.
 
#21 ·
You might consider a Titan Advantage 400. They are a real work horse. Very similar to the Titan Impact 440 without all the bells and whistles. They are a pro level machine pretty much discontinued at this point so you may find one relatively affordable that a dealer wants to get rid of. They can also be a good buy used.