Airless Sprayers are Fast and Efficient When Applying Paint

The airless sprayer is one of the best inventions that has come along to help painters apply a large amount of paint in a short time.

In the days before latex paint, painters would have to roll and brush out oil base paint to complete any paint job, large or small.

That does not sound like fun at all!

At AZ SRB Painting, we use airless paint sprayers for all our residential and commercial jobs for interior and exterior applications.

What is the difference between an air sprayer and an airless sprayer?

Air sprayers are different from airless primarily because they have to be connected to an air supply, which usually means a bulky, expensive air compressor.

The spray tank on the left is a air pressure tank in the one on the right is a airless sprayer.

Airless sprayers use pressured streams of paint or stain that do not rely on air flow to force the material out of the sprayer, making them extremely portable.

If used correctly, you will have very little overspray from an airless sprayer.

Regulating the amount of pressure on the airless pump and using the right size tip on the gun as well as the distance from tip to wall (12”) will also be a factor.

Windy conditions will also be something to consider when spraying outdoors.

It can still be done, but you will have to take extra precautions with extra plastic and tarps as well as paper so the spray, when it travels because of the wind, does not land on plants or lawn furniture.

When we prep out the exterior of a house by pressure washing and/or scraping, we like to take all outdoor furniture and move it as far away as possible from where we are applying the paint.

We still cover those things with 9 x 400 plastic to stay on the safe side.

We have also been known to cover swimming pools with plastic to keep overspray from landing in the water.

The 3M hand-masker and 400 x 9 x 0.31 painters’ plastic is what we use, because it is strong and inexpensive, and you can use plenty of it to keep everything safe from overspray.

We also use brown general-purpose masking paper that is formulated for water-based materials.

Painters’ tarps are something else we invest in heavily. Heavy-duty canvas drop cloths in both wide 12’ x 15’ or the runner 4’ x 12’ will cover just about anything and keep paint spills from seeping through.

Using the Graco Airless Paint Sprayers and Guns

For high production rates and top performance, we count on durable, easy-to-maintain Graco electric and gas airless sprayers. These Graco airless paint sprayers perform reliably year after year and are a solid investment.

We like using Graco airless paint guns because, like the airless sprayer itself, they are very reliable, heavy duty, and will last many man-hours of constant use.

We also use the airless sprayer on the interior of a residence such as acoustic and flat ceilings.

It saves a lot of time

Something else we do with our sprayer…

… is called back rolling. You spray the wall or ceiling and a second person follows right behind with a paint roller.

This is done as a team.

Why would we do this?

Two main reasons:

1.) On the exterior of a house or building where the weather has taken its toll, especially on wood surfaces such as overhangs or gables, spraying out first and then immediately rolling over the surface before it dries will make the paint bury deep into the cracks and worn-out and scarred surfaces.

2.) When you spray out a wall or ceiling with eggshell or semi-gloss, the airless sprayer will atomize the paint where it will dull it down just a bit. If you have to go back and touch up, the brushed or rolled paint will come out shinier than the sprayed surface even though it’s the same paint.

Like I said at the top of this blog…

…the airless sprayer is one of the best inventions that has come along to help painters apply a large amount of paint in a short time.

I am very happy that we live and work at a time when we can use such marvelous inventions as the airless sprayer.

Find the many articles we have written on professional painting here at AZ SRB Painting Blogs