[jazzycucumber]

hello fellow painters from around the world.

Is there a good place online to learn about the finer points of airless spraying? I know the basics, but as a new spray man i find it difficult to get consistent results.

If you guys know of good threads on the subject, id like to know about it.

thanks

 

[Joe67]

I'd probably start with YouTube. Lots of "how tos" there by pro painters. It comes with the bonus that actually watching people do stuff goes a lot farther than just reading what's typed up about it.

 

[CApainter]

hello fellow painters from around the world.

Is there a good place online to learn about the finer points of airless spraying? I know the basics, but as a new spray man i find it difficult to get consistent results.

If you guys know of good threads on the subject, id like to know about it.

thanks

Youtube is a great resource for learning, but doesn't replace the actual hands on experience. You have to get all of your senses involved. Even if it means tasting, But not always....I'm joking. Don't ingest paint. It's hard to get off your teeth.

 

[jazzycucumber]

youtube gave me its all already, i wish that guy xc painter was still making video, aha.

Im wondering about optimal 1 coat paint thickness on new drywall. i know i can put it on thicker because the drywall is "thirsty" but yesterday threw me off, i was spraying roman pro 977 wallpaper primer and all was looking good until i came back to spray the ceillings, i had a lot of runs in the wall ceilling angles.

my question is, what is a good coat? do you make it cover completely on your first pass and then do the same thing on the overlap or do you make it thinner on the first pass and then your 50% overlap completes the coverage? jeez thats a lot of words

 

[Masterwork]

The overlap is what completes the coverage. If you put it on that heavy, be prepared for some serious backrolling.

 

[jazzycucumber]

thanks! i'll try to make lighter passes then.

wish you guys have a great evening

 

[MikeCalifornia]

There's nothing better than just doing it. Here is my best advice.
1. It's best to use smaller tips than you think should, that will eliminate a lot of runs. You can always move faster if you need to.
2. Force yourself to squeeze before you hit the surface, then just off, your hand should always be moving.
3. Watch for things that will catch your hand or arm that will stop you from moving the gun.
4. A spray pattern is flat and not three dimentional. So when spraying jambs or pieces that have lots of angle, you have to hit most of them, but overlaps is where the runs occur so plan your spray strategy ahead of time.

As a note on your primer run problem. I am betting you were using constant trigger? Where you don't release the trigger but just move over to start your overlap. That's a pro move, knowing when to flick your wrist to eliminate the build-up at the joint takes practice.

 

[jazzycucumber]

There's nothing better than just doing it. Here is my best advice.
1. It's best to use smaller tips than you think should, that will eliminate a lot of runs. You can always move faster if you need to.
2. Force yourself to squeeze before you hit the surface, then just off, your hand should always be moving.
3. Watch for things that will catch your hand or arm that will stop you from moving the gun.
4. A spray pattern is flat and not three dimentional. So when spraying jambs or pieces that have lots of angle, you have to hit most of them, but overlaps is where the runs occur so plan your spray strategy ahead of time.

As a note on your primer run problem. I am betting you were using constant trigger? Where you don't release the trigger but just move over to start your overlap. That's a pro move, knowing when to flick your wrist to eliminate the build-up at the joint takes practice.

yeah i was doing the constant trigger thing. I think that thoses units i did were also problematic because they used to be the one where the trash slide used to be, and now there was only a plywood in the window, hence a bit of cold air was going around every room.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

Your suppose to backroll on drywall to provide even application and proper penetration. You are backrolling aren't you!??

 

[Masterwork]

Depending on who did the taping, and what kind of finish they want, spray-only can be acceptable.

I've done some jobs for low-income housing where I tinted the primer to the wall colour, sprayed, and then rolled one coat of finish with the cheapest paint I could get. Cheapest paint, as spec'd by the city, so they can repaint the units for cheap due to high turnover.

 

[jazzycucumber]

backrolled ceilings, not the wallpaper primer.
gotta do what the foreman says, such is life

 

[finishesbykevyn]

Personally I don't see the point in even using a wallpaper primer if your not going to practice proper application methods. I'm sorry, but backrolling on bare drywall is essential from all I've learned. You non backrollers can argue if you want, but it's falling on deaf ears.

 

[Respec]

50 % coverage on every pass. Some youtube videos are good, and some are not. Beware. When we are spraying walls, my first pass is half on the wall, half on the ceiling (mask as necessary). I center the spray pattern on the corner between the ceiling and wall. Next pass, the top of your spray pattern should be at the corner, so your second pass will now have 100% coverage on the top half of the pass and the lower half is 50% coverage. Each pass after that, I am centering the fan on bottom edge of the previous pass. The gun should stay perpendicular to the wall always. Do not sway your hand as you move from one side to the other. It should also stay an equal distance from the surface while remaining perpendicular for the entire pass. If you sway or turn your hand as you're spraying, you will make smiles and have uneven coverage. You should also be moving at the beginning of each pass before you pull the trigger and you don't stop until after you have released the trigger. Otherwise, you will be loading up the wall at the beginning and end of each section if you are not moving or just keep it triggered. I have seen videos of guys not doing this. It is poor technique. As you get more experience and see these things happen, there are times when you may break some of these rules for different situations, but it takes experience.

 

[Masterwork]

I usually tint my primer, spray the walls, hitting the ceilings a bit, then switch to my ceiling paint in a closet. Then I spray the ceilings, hitting the tops of the walls a bit. Zero cutting in needed for the ceilings, just a quick backroll, and the tops of the walls are no biggie to cut in with the finish.

 

[Joe67]

Does anyone spray and backroll when working alone? Just wondering, and, if so, how you do it? With paints setting up as fast as they do, its got to be somewhat frantic.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

Does anyone spray and backroll when working alone? Just wondering, and, if so, how you do it? With paints setting up as fast as they do, its got to be somewhat frantic.

Ya, I've done it tons. You just work in sections and try to spray it on generously. No problem in smaller rooms.

 

[CApainter]

Does anyone spray and backroll when working alone? Just wondering, and, if so, how you do it? With paints setting up as fast as they do, its got to be somewhat frantic.

This is something I don't quite understand. Why would you spray, then back roll?

It seems in the time It would take me to set up the airless, mask for overspray protection, and even the act of spraying itself prior to back rolling (let alone clean up) I could have casually rolled half the room out. With that said, I could see the airless being used as a cut in tool with a wand.

The only time I've ever sprayed and back rolled, was on heavy textured stucco where even spraying and back rolling was difficult due to warm and windy conditions.

 

[jazzycucumber]

50 % coverage on every pass. Some youtube videos are good, and some are not. Beware. When we are spraying walls, my first pass is half on the wall, half on the ceiling (mask as necessary). I center the spray pattern on the corner between the ceiling and wall. Next pass, the top of your spray pattern should be at the corner, so your second pass will now have 100% coverage on the top half of the pass and the lower half is 50% coverage. Each pass after that, I am centering the fan on bottom edge of the previous pass. The gun should stay perpendicular to the wall always. Do not sway your hand as you move from one side to the other. It should also stay an equal distance from the surface while remaining perpendicular for the entire pass. If you sway or turn your hand as you're spraying, you will make smiles and have uneven coverage. You should also be moving at the beginning of each pass before you pull the trigger and you don't stop until after you have released the trigger. Otherwise, you will be loading up the wall at the beginning and end of each section if you are not moving or just keep it triggered. I have seen videos of guys not doing this. It is poor technique. As you get more experience and see these things happen, there are times when you may break some of these rules for different situations, but it takes experience.

very detailed answer, its like i'm there doing it.

Talking about backrolling, how threatening is the adhesion issue to new drywall? I have seen it once, where the paint just lifted up like a deflated ballon from a corner while pulling tape.

 

[Holland]

This is something I don't quite understand. Why would you spray, then back roll?

It seems in the time It would take me to set up the airless, mask for overspray protection, and even the act of spraying itself prior to back rolling (let alone clean up) I could have casually rolled half the room out. With that said, I could see the airless being used as a cut in tool with a wand.

The only time I've ever sprayed and back rolled, was on heavy textured stucco where even spraying and back rolling was difficult due to warm and windy conditions.

I’d like to hear the answer to this also. I typically handle re-paints, but paint new construction once in a while.

At one point in the past I researched whether to back-roll or not, and I typically back-roll ... now I can’t even remember why.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

I’d like to hear the answer to this also. I typically handle re-paints, but paint new construction once in a while.

At one point in the past I researched whether to back-roll or not, and I typically back-roll ... now I can’t even remember why.

Well, for new construction, its no contest. Especially for the primer. Its waaay faster. No cutting in on those dusty corners. If you don't back roll, the primer doesn't get driven into the drywall as well and just looks spotty with improper texture build.
Its proper practice from all I've learned and I sleep way better at night. I dont spray my top coats. I would rather spray all my trim then cut and roll top coats, although alot of blow and go garbage monsters will spray everything..