Asked on Jan 19, 2015

What do you recommend for a spray gun?

Ginger
by Ginger
Hi! I am new to this site, and loving it. Can you recommend a spray gun to use with my compressor? My thoughts are to use the spray gun for furniture.. Currently am using spray cans, but I believe that spray cans will limit my color and finish choices. (not to mention my sore spray finger)
  4 answers
  • Shari Shari on Jan 19, 2015
    I really don't have a recommendation for you because I have an older Wagner sprayer that I have used for painting furniture and I'm not even sure they make it anymore. I only paid about $100 for it 7 or 8 years ago at Lowes but I will tell you it's some of the best money I have ever spent so I think you are on the right tract to consider using a sprayer if you are going to be doing a lot of furniture painting. Besides the expense of aerosol paints, limited color choices and sore fingers, I have found it is not possible to get the fine finish I want for furniture out of a can of spray paint. Paint from a spray can just comes out too splotchy for my liking. There is just no comparison, which you will see once you use a paint sprayer. Just a couple things I found with my sprayer...when using latex paint or primer, it needs to be thinned down with quite a bit of water to get it to run smoothly through the sprayer--more water than the directions generally indicate. Since you are diluting the paint so much, a can of paint goes a long way so a quart of paint is generally enough to spray a couple large pieces like a china cabinet and a dresser. I also found that when I sprayed furniture, I needed to bump the sheen level up. For example, if I wanted a satin finish, I bought semi-gloss. I don't know if the sheen is reduced due to thinning the paint, or running it through the sprayer, but that has been my experience so you might need to do some experimenting with whatever sprayer you end up with. Good luck. And happy painting!
  • Ginger Ginger on Jan 19, 2015
    Thanks Shari. I will check out Lowes.
  • Stacy | BlakeHillHouse Stacy | BlakeHillHouse on Jan 20, 2015
    I found this link really helpful when I was buying our sprayer: http://www.diynetwork.com/painting/types-of-paint-sprayers/index.html (I'm sorry I did not imbed the link. I need to figure that out.) Once you know what kind of sprayer you need based on your main projects, it is easier to make a choice. Depending on how much you want to spend, you may want to go with a sprayer that does not use a compressor at all. They can be less bulky and more versatile.
  • Bryan Sorge Bryan Sorge on Jan 21, 2015
    Check out eastwood.com. They sell some inexpensive HVLP spray guns.