Anyone use a Wagner paint sprayer?

We have to paint some stuff (backing for a bookcase I’m going to try and make) and have this Wagner Paint sprayer but I’m kind of scared to use it. I tried painting manually with a paint roller but it was too difficult. I was ready to pass out after 5 minutes (too strenuous).
So we got this paint sprayer, and I read all the directions. It almost seems too simple. Fill it with paint and spray… then flush it with water for 1/2 hour when done.

  • Is it really that easy to use?
  • Can I use it inside the house?
  • Do I need to wear a mask or is latex paint safe?

Lowe’s doesn’t have the one we got listed on their website, but ours is exactly like this model except cheaper: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=133667-97-0500011&lpage=none

If anyone has some tips that would be wonderful. Thanks! :)

For any kind of painting of furniture or whatnot, it’s best to do it outside or in the garage (with the garage door open) - someplace that gets a lot of ventilation. Depending on the task, you can probably do it in the house, but why? In the house, you need to spend more effort to cover up other stuff that might get painted by accident, and more effort ventilating.

Also, for anything reasonably small like a bookcase, I would think it would be most straightforward just to use a paintbrush. I did some bookcases with stain, and a brush worked well. I did several coats, with some light sanding in between - the results were very nice.

Yes but it takes a minimum of 15 hours.

  • Can I use it inside the house?

If your family can stand the noise, sure.

  • Do I need to wear a mask or is latex paint safe?

That depends on whether you’re Jewish.

Use a foam brush instead of one with bristles.

  • Is it really that easy to use?
    -Almost…the part about have a large cardboard box or wooden plank is essential to run the sprayer while fine tuning the spray.
    -There are issue in the sprayer needs to be perpendicluar to the surface or the spray will be uneven. This leads to arm fatigue unless you are pacing back and forth.
    -The running it under water for a .5 hour is not accurate. The Wagner book that I got stressed that small particles of dried paint can ruin your machine the next time you use it, so that .5 is mostly spent scrubbing tiny blobs of paint off of the interior parts. The exterior of the machine is very Pollack like.
    -Overspray is a real concern. The one I have is made for inside the house (exterior paint is too thick and gummed the whole things up) can be used inside the house but any savings in time spent painting is often chewed up by additional prep time that is required.

Do I need to wear a mask or is latex paint safe?

  • I try to wear a mask for long projects…it’s a little unnvering blowing your nose and the effluent be the exactly shade of the paint.

I only use it now for large projects (3 rooms down / 2 to go) without a lot of detail preping to do…so kitchens , bathrooms and hallways it’s simply not worth the time.

Wagner sprayers are terrible. I bought one to paint my porch and junked it. It took less time to just paint it with a roller and brush than to spray it fighting that damned that thing.

If you are determined avoid the manual labor, you are better off going and renting an air-driven semi-pro unit from Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Oh crap. So I just swapped one bad thing for another. Well, that’s why I asked. It sound “too easy”, and with a cheap price was almost too good to be true.

Foam brushes work well on small work. I used a Wagner to paint some doors and it was fine. If you are using an oil based paint, thin it out with Thiner and do more\lighter coats. Same with Water, add some H2O to the paint. Whatever the clean up method is the thiner you should use. Not a lot, just enough to get a nice spray without diluting the shit out of the paint. This reduces clean up time and makes for a more even spray\coating.

Oh, forgot to mention: Make sure you don’t try to paint anything with it on a day with a breeze… You might find yourself removing paint from unlikely places like cars or your siding.