power stain sprayer's

[Jeff Lary]

I want to spray Stain onto a privacy fence.Last time I did it I used a pump sprayer then had to go back and smooth it out usung a brush ,lots of work. I am thinking about buyin a power sprayer like a (Wagner) but I want to spray Stain only . The reviews say when it comes to Paint these dont work very well .
Does anyone have any experience with spraying stain ? Is there a better working brand than Wagner? thanks for any reply.

 

[groundcover]

The high end airless sprayers work well,rental yards should have them. A real paint store may have some ideas too, a " slim Jim " roller may even work. Good luck !

 

[jinman]

I don't think you will ever get away from the brush if you want good spread and penetration of the stain. I suggest renting or buying a good airless sprayer that has a hose or intake that sits directly inside the bucket. I have a Wagner Paint Crew machine that works okay for stain, but it would be much nicer to have a higher level machine. The Paint Crew costs about $200 new.

I suggest buying a horsehair or other fine bristle radiator brush. Even a horsehair pushbroom works well for spreading stain after you spray it on. The brush just helps get the stain down into the grain of the wood. The big push broom makes brushing quick and easy. I even use one when I stain the siding on my house. You aren't looking for a fine paint finish, just working the stain down into the grain of the wood.

 

[Jeff Lary]

The Broom idea is a good one.I only need to do this about every 3 years so i really dont want to buy a 200 dollar+ unit just wondering if the 100 dollar one will spray stain?

 

[jinman]

Jeff, stain is normally a lot thinner than paint, so my guess is that the smaller Wagner painter will do fine. You just have to refill it more and it's not as convenient as one with a hose. If I were doing your job, I'd sure give regular Wagner power painter a try.

 

[Bird]

Are you really talking about a stain only; i.e., just color, or are you talking about a water sealant stain? And are you considering an oil based or a water based product? When I bought this place in 2005, the gate in the first two photos had been painted, but the fence was just plain wood that had turned grey. I have a cheap Walmart Campbell-Hausfeld one quart paint spray gun, an air-compressor, and plenty of air hose. I re-painted the gate with Behr exterior latex paint and a brush (a job I hate), and I sprayed the fence with Thompson's Rustic Red Water Sealer. Of course, the Thompson's was an oil based product; had to have mineral spirits to clean up. A couple of weeks ago, I applied a clear Sherwin-Willaims Deckscape to both the fence and the gate. I used a roller on the outside (smooth) side and sprayed the inside. Spraying is so much faster and easier and the Deckscape is so much easier to work with and clean up; water based. Incidentally, they do have tinted Deckscape. And it's interesting to see water hit it now and just fall off.

The third photo is another fence on which I sprayed Thompson's Advanced Honey Gold Water Sealant, a water based product that is so much better than the original oil based Thompson's. The only problem with spraying it is to be sure to get all you want on there as you go. You'll notice in the photo that some spots are lighter than others. It dries fast and you cannot go back, even 15 minutes later, and add more with the sprayer because the dry water repellent will just cause the new spray to run down. Now a neighbor rented one of the big spray rigs and did a better job because he applied a heavier coat initially.

Incidentally, I only recently learned that Thompson's is a Sherwin-Williams company so it's made by Sherwin-Williams.

 

[zzvyb6]

I use a Wagner power painter for many different kinds of paints and stains, both water and hydrocarbon based. The Wagner gets much better penetration into cedar siding and fence boards and all other irregular surface materials than a brush or roller.

I pick up these painters at garage sales and have several models dedicated to various routine outdoor maintenance touchups.

I can run them off of my PTO alternator for 'way-out' in the field service, including touching up the windmill towers with cold galvanizing type paint. As long as its not too thick, they will handle it. Painting a half mile of fence with a brush is not my suggestion for a good use of your time. Painting the Mona Lisa on the barn? Use a brush...

 

[2manyrocks]

I think I understand your question because I have a Wagner Power Painter Plus that I tried to paint some metal porch railings with. My personal experience was that it shot globs of paint and seemed to consume paint rapidly, and was loud. I haven't tried it with stain.

If there are tips to getting better results with it, I'd certainly be interested in reading them.

Last time I stained my deck, I think I just used a HVLP paint sprayer I picked up from Homier or HF for about $30. It requires an air compressor, but was pretty easy to use.

 

[unbidden]

I used a $60 dollar wagner to prime and paint cedar shakes before installing them; latex paint. It worked like a charm. I would think stain would flow through the nozel without issue. Try an avoid windy days however.

 

[Bird]

Many years ago, I used a Wagner Power Painter (one quart can) to two-tone paint a single wide aluminum sided mobile home. It was a latex paint to which I added Floetrol. I scrubbed the house down with water and a big brush first, and then taped off the windows and doors when it was dry. I went all the way around twice to apply 2 coats of the primary color, then the next day went all the way around twice with the trim color. It worked great and got very good results, but that darned thing was so noisy and so much vibration that I'd never use a Wagner Power Painter if a compressed air source was available. But if no compressed air is available, it sure beats brushes and rollers.:laughing:

 

[Jeff Lary]

Well I have a small Porter Cable pancake compressor what would i need to buy and where to do my staining. That would have no vibration or sound?

 

[Bird]

For most painting, your compressor needs a regulator (which most smaller ones already have) and you need to turn down the pressure to 40 psi or less. With oil based paints, it's best to have a filter that will remove moisture, although I have painted without such a filter; just be sure to drain all the moisture from the compressor regularly. Some years back, 4 neighbors and I painted all 5 houses with 2 one quart paint spray guns. At that time I had a $30 Craftsman and one of the guys had a $50 Craftsman. We both had little 20 gallon compressors at the time. One gun worked as well as the other, but the more expensive gun sprayed a wider swath at a time, so it was faster. But, as I said, I'm now using a Campbell-Hausfeld paint gun (model DH3800) that cost me $19.87 plus tax at Walmart on Oct. 18, 2005. They last a long time IF you take them apart and clean them when you finish; otherwise a very short life. The friend with the $50 Craftsman years ago loaned it to another friend and when he got it back, it was beyond help because his buddy let the paint dry in it; only rinsed out the can.

Of course the pneumatic (or air pressure) paint guns are silent except for the hiss of the air flow that you'd get with an air blow gun and there's no vibration. When you get ready to start, get a big piece of cardboard and give it a quick shot or two to see what adjustment you might need on the air/paint/stain/air pressure flow and what the pattern will be. You need to be able to keep the gun aimed directly at whatever you're painting, the same distance from the target, start moving it before you pull the trigger, and release the trigger before you stop moving. In other words, you have to break or turn your wrist. It seems pretty simple but maybe it isn't. With the 4 friends mentioned above, two of us did the spraying, the other guy just could not get the hang of using the spray guns, so they did the paint mixing, refilling of the guns, moving the ladders, etc. These were brick veneer homes, but had siding on one side of the garage, high gables, facsia & soffits, and patio covers to paint. Four of us used latex paint and we went around a house twice in a day while the wives were preparing the picnic. We did one house a day, but the 5th guy wanted to use a Sherwin-Williams oil based paint, so we did one coat on a Saturday and the second coat the next day.

And those were in the days when we had a substantial amount of help from Adolph (Coors) and Bud (weiser).:laughing:

 

[Jeff Lary]

Now that was a resopnce,...I like it i have been wanting a spray gun so maybe i will buy a Campbell Housfield as well. I just want to spray Sherman Williams Red Cedar stain latex. Can i do that right from the can or will i have to Thin it and if so what are some guide lines to thinning it? Or will the Lowes or Home Depot be able to tell me? Thanks for the info.:thumbsup:

 

[Bird]

Now that was a resopnce,...I like it i have been wanting a spray gun so maybe i will buy a Campbell Housfield as well. I just want to spray Sherman Williams Red Cedar stain latex. Can i do that right from the can or will i have to Thin it and if so what are some guide lines to thinning it? Or will the Lowes or Home Depot be able to tell me? Thanks for the info.:thumbsup:

Yeah, you should ask where you buy the paint. With most latex PAINT I've usually thinned it with about one quart of water to three quarts of paint. If you use something like the Floetrol, you don't thin it as much. But with the stains and water sealers, no thinning at all.

 

[jinman]

I don't think Bird mentioned it, but if you use a pancake compressor, it is as loud or louder than your Wagner Power Painter. It just isn't in the palm of your hand and you can get away from it with the hose. That's why I like my Wagner Paint Crew painter also.

 

[2manyrocks]

Pancake compressors are typically designed for nail guns (high pressure/low volume) and not necessarily paint sprayers (lesser pressure/more volume). This job could be hard on your compressor.

It's better to run extra air hose instead of electric cord if you have to reach a large area. A long extension cord can tax the electric motor.

Jinman is correct that the compressor is loud, but it's not in your face like the power painter (relatively speaking).

Brushing a long fence by hand would be not fun.

 

[Bird]

I'm afraid I don't know much, if anything, about the pancake compressors. I've only seen them; never used one.

 

[Jeff Lary]

Thanks guys for the help I am off to work for now but scheeming all the time I most likely will get a Campbell Housfield and try that.

 

[Bird]

You made me curious as to how much the price might have gone up in the last 5 years and I found that a lot of places including Home Depot now sell the Campbell-Hausfeld DH3800 for varying prices with Home Depot looking the best.

 

[Jeff Lary]

So if I pressed you for an answer, would you say this model would spray stain ok ?