Spray Gun Basics

[knightm]

Got a PM recently so thought I would post the answer here and get any other spray boffins out of the closet with your own ideas and tips. The question was what is the basic process for spraying a house. My response below:

Hey mate, there aint no dumb questions...

Im very much a begginner but here is the basic procedure for spraying acrylic painted walls that just look old or have daggy colours:
1 make sure surface is clean, no grease, grime dust etc (i should add sand if rough bits or repairs)
2 Buy GOOD masking tape (i like blue 14 day because no residue when you pull it off DO NOT buy cheap stuff from the reject shop you will regret it when removing )
3 Ideally use a tape/plastic gun dispenser but if not you can do it by hand, get a big roll of clear or thin white plastic (dont get black as you will lose all light) The paint shops should have the guns and 3M brand rolls of plastic to go on the gun, this is the easiest method but as I said you can do it by hand with any thin clear plastic roll.
4 Mask up all windows well (its fiddly and takes time but if you cut this corner you will regret it
5 Mask up anything else (if keeping existing kitchen etc)
6 Ideally you will be replacing those stained old carpet so you dont need to worry about the floor but if you have nice new floors you need to cover them too with tape right around the edge at the bottom of your skirting boards.
7 Hire or buy a gun (hire ones are better but pay 100+ per day I bought one with a mate for 450 and its had some running repairs but still goes after maybe 15 total days of use so far
8 Buy paint (I have sprayed with cheap old stuff, cheap undercoat and premium taubmans they all worked. I found aquanamel and the anti mould ones harder to avoid spatter but that may have been my tip dying Im still working out what tips for what purpose.
9 I strain paint with panty hose to minimise lumps in the gun,it has its own filters but they can clog.
10 Buy a disposable body suit and mask
11 Go nuts, spray the house like a crazy person
12 Check you didnt miss any bits
13 Clean up the gun (this takes a while)
14 Pull all the plastic off when the paint is dry

Thats the basic process for a 1 colour job.
For my own place I did that but sprayed the whole house with undercoat first (it was new gyprock), then sprayed the ceilings all the next day with ceiling white, then end of that day I sprayed all my window frames and skirting boards with aquanamel. Then I called my painter friend and payed him a couple of days to cut in a roll my walls in the wall colour.

Apparently there is a way to spray both wall and ceiling with 2 colours without masking, I dont know what it is yet.
Thats all I got - others can help maybe?

 

[laurieload]

Thanks so so much Knightm! You are a star!!

Very much appreciated

 

[ozsupra]

Just finished spray painting my new IP and can add a few tips;

• Would recommend "Painters Green" masking tape much better than 3M products IMHO

• Think seriously about painting the skirting boards the same colour as the walls

• Painting two colours without masking is impossible - Paint ceiling first and then add a newspaper border to the cornice and then stick to ceiling. Spray against the newspaper joins

• Would not recommend WAGNER wide masking tape - Expensive++, rips all the undercoat off and is not reusable as it states

• Bag all wall sockets with zip bags after unscrewing (keep screws and plugs in same bag)

• Use orange plastic to cover windows (the light colour still allows sunlight in and makes it easier to see if the masking tape is adequately attached)

• Practice on a piece of board before every change of paint type or brand. No two paints spray quite the same and will need variations on the air/paint mixture

• Try different dilution ratios

• Clean spray gun religiously - the smallest bit of dried paint in the injector can really have adverse effects

• Remove all masking tape and plastic as soon as you are confident you have good coverage -In other words ASAP - Remember even the professionals do tidy up work

• Use a piece of thin MDF to cover door ways / doors (knobs removed) and pin in place with thin nails (holes can be touched up later) This can be your practice board

• Buy a very very good mask. Not a disposable one as the mist will get into your lungs and do damage

• Eye protection is also a must - Consider a hood /suit type arrangement if possible

• Consider that small rooms will soon become extremely stuffy, try to expand the space if possible

• Haven't found the need to strain paint if it's a newly opened tin. Try to use it without the need to remove anything except the small bung in the lid (15 litre buckets)

• This varies depending on who you speak to, however I have always found if done right you save about 20% of the paint you would normally use if using a brush and roller - and it looks soooo much better!

Cheers,
A.

 

[knightm]

Awesome additions a.

Tell me more about dilution ratios and your findings.

(you can lie back on the therapists lounge whilst typing if you want)

 

[Tools]

Ozsupra, what sort of equipment are you using that you need to dilute your paint?

Tools

 

[Pa1nter]

I cant believe I am reading this and worse still adding to it

A few problems here I have found but overall not to bad.

First of all the skirting's and doors are normally painted in Gloss enamel,if you paint over this with acrylic paint you will do permanent damage,it will always come off,if you have to paint them in acrylic,brush or roll a coat of oil based undercoat first.

If you want your paint to stick to the walls and ceilings in your house,at least backroll as you are spraying as any dust,cobwebs etc are all mixed with the paint.You will use a lot less paint also.

Have anyone here seen a newish house around five years old that had a recent paint job and the ceiling starts to peel,well this is what will happen if you spray your new gyprock ceilings without using a roller.



Sand after the first coat with 180 grit sandpaper on a pad ,this is not to make it stick but to make the surface smooth.

Always do two coats,don't try and cover in one,

You can thin the premium paints by 10% only ,any more and you risk it running down the walls and see through.I wouldn't thin cheap runny paint.

 

[jaycee]

I see... It's all easy if you know what to do !

 

[knightm]

I cant believe I am reading this and worse still adding to it

A few problems here I have found but overall not to bad.

First of all the skirting's and doors are normally painted in Gloss enamel,if you paint over this with acrylic paint you will do permanent damage,it will always come off,if you have to paint them in acrylic,brush or roll a coat of oil based undercoat first.

If you want your paint to stick to the walls and ceilings in your house,at least backroll as you are spraying as any dust,cobwebs etc are all mixed with the paint.You will use a lot less paint also.

Have anyone here seen a newish house around five years old that had a recent paint job and the ceiling starts to peel,well this is what will happen if you spray your new gyprock ceilings without using a roller.



Sand after the first coat with 180 grit sandpaper on a pad ,this is not to make it stick but to make the surface smooth.

Always do two coats,don't try and cover in one,

You can thin the premium paints by 10% only ,any more and you risk it running down the walls and see through.I wouldn't thin cheap runny paint.

I would always sand and prime enamel if painting over with acrylic. I have done this by hand and brush before, but considering spraying the primer/sealer/undercoat. I have been told by my local paint shop owner (who looks like father christmas and has been in that shop longer that I have been alive) that there are primer products that can go over oil based and set a good base for acrylic wall paint (ie not 2 seperate undercoats which I have done on maple window frames before)

 

[Pa1nter]

I would always sand and prime enamel if painting over with acrylic. I have done this by hand and brush before, but considering spraying the primer/sealer/undercoat. I have been told by my local paint shop owner (who looks like father christmas and has been in that shop longer that I have been alive) that there are primer products that can go over oil based and set a good base for acrylic wall paint (ie not 2 seperate undercoats which I have done on maple window frames before)

There are acrylic products on the market,but I have tried them myself at times but nothing beats oil undercoat,if you use a quick dry,it dries quicker than acrylic and repaints under the hour and the paint can be used for dozens of uses so why would you pay more for less?

 

[Shemp]

Just my 2 cents worth...

I sprayed 3 bedrooms and actually found it easier to do the walls first and then the ceiling!

I sprayed the walls not worrying about overspray onto the cornice and ceiling. Then the next day I masked the walls with one sheet deep of newspaper tucked under the cornice all round. Then I sprayed the ceiling and cornice with ceiling white.

The reason for doing it this way was that I had tried the conventional order but found I was getting dirty newsprint marks all over the new pristine ceiling. Despite using good Dulux ceiling white I was leaving marks all around the edge. Once you've done your ceiling you do NOT want to touch it! Also it is much easier to mask down a flat wall than to go against gravity and mask from the cornice across to the ceiling.

I thought I might get overspray down the walls but not a chance, one sheet of newspaper was more than enough.

Just try it if you like and see how you go.

 

[laurieload]

Thanks Shemp,
I might give it a go using brown packing paper left over from the last removalists

 

[knightm]

There are acrylic products on the market,but I have tried them myself at times but nothing beats oil undercoat,if you use a quick dry,it dries quicker than acrylic and repaints under the hour and the paint can be used for dozens of uses so why would you pay more for less?

So what are they called?

I would happily pay a bit for a big tub of multi use undercoat that I could spray all over window frames, skirts etc when in the middle of a spray out. Mask all the glass and no paint areas (kitches etc) then spray all the arcs with the oil happy undercoat without stressing about overspray, then acrylic (for the cheap 1 colour rentals) over EVERYTHING.

That sounds good to me. (I know this is sacrilege to a professional painter and I am sorry.) If its any consolation I would be using an acrylic with teflon (taub LPS or similar) so the door frames etc dont mark up too bad,

 

[knightm]

Just my 2 cents worth...

I sprayed 3 bedrooms and actually found it easier to do the walls first and then the ceiling!

I sprayed the walls not worrying about overspray onto the cornice and ceiling. Then the next day I masked the walls with one sheet deep of newspaper tucked under the cornice all round. Then I sprayed the ceiling and cornice with ceiling white.

The reason for doing it this way was that I had tried the conventional order but found I was getting dirty newsprint marks all over the new pristine ceiling. Despite using good Dulux ceiling white I was leaving marks all around the edge. Once you've done your ceiling you do NOT want to touch it! Also it is much easier to mask down a flat wall than to go against gravity and mask from the cornice across to the ceiling.

I thought I might get overspray down the walls but not a chance, one sheet of newspaper was more than enough.

Just try it if you like and see how you go.

U know I never thought of doing 2 colour spray jobs that way and it makes total sense!

 

[knightm]

Also osupra or others with gun experience - what tip do you use (and what pressure) for arcs, window frames, inside wardrobes etc small detail work???

 

[Pa1nter]

Also osupra or others with gun experience - what tip do you use (and what pressure) for arcs, window frames, inside wardrobes etc small detail work???

I use a 211 tip for the cornice,change over to a 517 for the actual ceiling.
Door frames and detail work are also 211 tip.

 

[knightm]

I use a 211 tip for the cornice,change over to a 517 for the actual ceiling.
Door frames and detail work are also 211 tip.

What pressure do you turn it down to? Or leave at full blast?

 

[Pa1nter]

What pressure do you turn it down to? Or leave at full blast?

If the tip is worn I turn it down to around 3/4 otherwise there is to much paint.
If the tip is new you need to turn it up to force more paint out.When you use this tip I use a yellow filter which is classed as a laquer filter.

 

[pinkboy]

Having been spraypainting for the past 8 years, cant say Ive done a house! We have a few Graco X70 pumps that are 7000psi+ and have 2x gun outlets. On large jobs, we keep the 'mixing *****' mixing 20l 2pac drums all afternoon after blasting all morning!

Oh, these days I raise a sweat just supervising!

pinkboy

 

[wobbycarly]

Having been spraypainting for the past 8 years, cant say Ive done a house! We have a few Graco X70 pumps that are 7000psi+ and have 2x gun outlets. On large jobs, we keep the 'mixing *****' mixing 20l 2pac drums all afternoon after blasting all morning!

Oh, these days I raise a sweat just supervising!

pinkboy

What?

 

[Pa1nter]

Having been spraypainting for the past 8 years, cant say Ive done a house! We have a few Graco X70 pumps that are 7000psi+ and have 2x gun outlets. On large jobs, we keep the 'mixing *****' mixing 20l 2pac drums all afternoon after blasting all morning!

Oh, these days I raise a sweat just supervising!

pinkboy

I know what your talking about
I spent a couple of years working out of Mackay
Dont use 2pac now,(Thank god)
Still have a couple of large wagners gathering dust in the shed,hope I never need to use them again.