Can anyone please give me some do’s & don’t’s on spray painting internal & external walls of houses
i have never done this before & have a large house to do so it would save heaps of time if i can do it. some of the things i would like to know relate to the following
any paints that are better/worse
good or bad equipment
buy/hire equip
surfaces that dont suit
preparation of surface
traps for the inexperiencedthank you for your help
Troy
TroynBec
You can have more than you’ve got because you can become more than you are
Use an airless spraygun. Put the pick up straight into the paint. Set pressure at about 3000 PSI and spray.
It is very messy as overspray goes everywhere, you can adjust it by adjusting the pressure. If spraying outside then get everyone to move their cars unless you want them painted as well.
Water based paints only.
Hire the equipment.
Prep is the key, ask any painter how to prep the walls prior to painting.
Chances are that you will make a mess, but it’s fun. Mask all windows and places you don’t want paint. This takes the time but I used 40 Lts of paint in 2 1/2 hrs, 2 coats inside a 2 bed unit. I used a netural colour so I could paint walls and ceiling the same colour.
Made a mess on the floor but as we were putting new carpet/lino in it didn’t matter.My wife came to visit mid morning and was worried that I hadn’t been able to get it started as I was washing out the airless sprayer, finished.
Never done outside before but will one day.
CATA
Asset Protection Specialist
[email protected]Hi Troy,
Slightly off topic, but a friend of mine went to a paint shop and got some paint that had been premixed for people but had been slightly off colour so they hadn’t wanted it. The paint shop sold it to her for half price so she used a neutral colour for the base on the walls and then for the other coats she used the 1/2 price paint and did some feature walls. May save your pocket a bit. Best of luck
Anya Pindur.
I think Cata has probably covered most points and agree as with all painting its the prep work that takes the time. I use my spray gun on ceilings and cornice first. Its fantastic for decorative plaster and VJ walls.
Make sure you wash it out properly after use. I also strain my paint into the container through a sieve to avoid any lumps clogging the gun.
Have Fun !!Amanda
“It is better to be inconspicuously wealthy, than to be ostentatiously poor…”AAh yes the fabled mistints. Cheap and the same, if not better in most of my cases quality paint for well under half the standard cost!
Back to the out side – Prep depends on the surface you are intending on painting? If it’s wood such as weatherboard then run over it first with an angle grinder and 300 – 400 sanding disc followed by a either a 900 or a 1200 disc to fine it up. (Both if you have the time and inclination!)
If on the other hand you are doing something like a fibro shack then simply grab a steam pressure washer, hok up 20Litres of bleach to that bad booy and scrub it with the bleach and a SOFT Bristled Broom. If you have heaps of mold let it sit for a couple of hours then come back re-run it and scrub it on the 2nd wash. Make sure you have thoroughly rinsed the house following this treatment and I mean half the water in Lake Eyre when it’s full would be a great amount to use or your paint will peel very very quickly. (Within 6 months on average maybe longer if you’re lucky.) Once you’ve prepped and washed both surfaces (Only hose off the Weatherboard and let it completely dry) then you may begin by spraying the side of the house. Nice long overlapping strokes allowing the paint to taper off is ok, but for a more consistent finish, walk up and down beside the house you’re spraying and hold the gun on from one end to the other as far as is practicable.
Like any other trade, if you do it often enough it becomes easy and can actually be fun.
Good luck…
Stuart Milne
Non-Conforming Specialist
READY Mortgages
http://www.readymortgages.com.au
[email protected]
Mob: 0404 056 055For a good finish on your walls and ceilings,have someone come behind you and back roll with a roller to even out the paint.Thi sis especially important if you are inexperienced with a spray gun.You should have plenty of time to back roll yourself,but it is easier if you have a partner in crime.
Tools
Thanks everyone for your help!
I think I am game enough to give it a go now
anyone else with do’s & don’ts??TroynBec
You can have more than you’ve got because you can become more than you are
Troy, no more tips on spraying, just on the topic of mistints. I recently had a 2 bedroom townhouse to do and I am definitely a gloss for doors and trims man. Had a sign at the bristol paints place locally for an “outback paint sale”, i thought it was a sale for a new brand of paint so I went in. It was a mistints out the back sale with a bit of creative wording.
I found that there were 4 x 4 ltr tins of similar creamy gloss paint which I immediately bought. On getting to the job I had 2 x 10 litre buckets which I mixed the paint in. Well the whole place needed 8 litres so I have most of a 10 litre still available for the next one. Walls I did in Taubmans “buttered up” a very standard soft colour and it came up really well.
As it was a bristol paint with a taubmans colour it was only needing 2 coats. A tradie type paint on a previous job needed 3 and then touchups here and there. What im saying is that the smart start, leads to a successful finish. So make sure that you get the right quality for spraying and not a bit too thick.
I love double height ceilings above the stairwell and do the ceilings all in white in all of the rooms the first day of a reno after I have patched the walls. Next morning I do all the sanding and the stairwell ceiling. Then first coat of colour on the stairwell walls before lunch. with second coat in the afternoon. Then gloss doors and trims for the evening and next day. Then finish off on the walls double coat and im done. Last is the stairs in gloss for the second coat on my way out the door.
This takes most of a week to do so spraying has time saving for sure. I only cut in on walls so its quick on cornices and then trims and doors but a bit time consuming for walls cutting in. You may say this is a waste of time but I get every other trade through the place in the same time, watch and correct any shortcuts they take and can give yes no answers to additional work on the spot. The end result is everything on a reno is done in a 7 day period max.
Which means a lot of forward planning and booking tradies is essential for the co-ordinated madness to work. Good Luck and keep us all posted as to what you end up with and what quality of finish.
DD
Buyers Agent (Dip Financial Services(FP)
Don’t sweat the small stuff,and it’s all small stuff!!if you’re gonna invest in a gizmo to spray paint your walls, do you think an airless spray gun is best? or compressor with paint spraying attachment thingy (and other attament thingies for other jobs)? any recommended brands, any stories to tell?
cheers folks
One more tip: Dont forget to use a mask, cover your hair and wear safety glasses
I havent tried spraying on walls or ceilings yet but am seriously considering it for the next time.
Have fun anyway
Michaela
Hi Troy and Bec
We’re about to tackle our third house with an airless spray and this time we’re going to try outside too.
Most things have been covered but here are a few tips from Dale as they have come to mind.
You need to ensure that you thin the paint up to 15%.
If you’re using a shield rather than masking, wipe off any accidental overspray within the first week, while the paint is still soft.
We hired two different machines, the smaller one was about as useful as a spray can. Try and hire the biggest one they’ve got. The good one we used was on wheels and had a suction that you put in a 20 litre bucket. This is great for getting a job done quickly but watch for runs.
We have found that the spray coat is thicker than a single roller coat, so we’ve only done an undercoat then one finish coat.
In terms of the how, our second house we undercoated everywhere, then cornice and ceiling, then walls in the same day. Just left a gap of about a spray pattern under the cornice for cutting in. This may not work with colours which are really different shades (we used ceiling white and berger creme for the walls).
Wear a good respirator, cap and glasses. Wash your glasses regularly.
To get the job done in a day is really a two person job. One mixes, thins and refills paint.
Use a quality trade type paint. The glossier the finish the harder it is to get it looking good, so perhaps a matt would be a good place to start. Practise with your ceilings as they are the most forgiving.
Have fun and we look forward to your tips on the exterior!
Alison
thanks everyone for your thoughts
we will attempt this in a couple of weeks as the plasterers will be gone by then.
soundsl ike messy fun, but we have a large homestead with 11 1/2′ ceilings which make for a lot of paint. we are going with flat white ceilings & walls inside with white paint on the brick walls externally. window surrounds, gutters, door & window frames slightly different
we will post to let you know if we have made a complete mess of it or not
thanks againTroynBec
You can have more than you’ve got because you can become more than you are
We rendered our reno. Brushes and rollers was going to take ages, cement really sucks it in, and good quality airless sprayers cost heaps to rent and like 3-5 grand to buy a good one. We ended up buying our own into the country. Only $1295- $1495. Normal spraying won’t work it has the air blowing all the paint around..and does not lay on enough paint. Also airless has much less overspray, is great quick and easy, we used less paint, got a good result (with practice) and saved heaps of time because spraying gets into all the areas.
website is
http://www.globalaccenttrading.comP.S. 3000psi is too much. The lower the pressure less overspray. If you get tails each side increase the pressure a bit at a time. We found 1800-2300 was fine most of the time.
Cheers.hi everyone
does it look noticable
having the walls and ceilings the same colour or most people don’t notice itThanks Rob
After spraying the ceilings how difficult is it to prevent the wall paint from getting onto the ceiling? I imagine you would hand paint the wall area near the ceiling but still….
buying mistints is a false economy. usually the paint is an expensive brand, and even at half price there is another brand cheaper. put the wrong colours in a house and buyers will knock off 10x whatever you thought you were saving. only exception is textured paints that can have another color painted over them.
spraygun & compressor – paint needs to be diluted 20-30% which means you need a few coats, and its very easy to get runs. its also much slower than airless.
sometimes with all the masking / cleanup its better to use a roller.
all sprayers consume far more paint than roller / brush so its more about saving time than money.
great info everyone…thx.
recently spent a week painting the outside of a new 90m2 hardiplank fibre cement country retreat. belongs to a friend.
painted with brushes as he is an old building inspector, and didn't want spray.
did two coats of the finish colour. water based trade paint.
the hardiplank first coat really soaks it up. but second coat goes on easily.regarding airless spray guns, do you still cut in with brushes, or do you mask heavily…i.e. where ceiling meets wall, and windows. and what do you use to mask? and when do you take it off?
after doing the outside of the house, I can't wait to give an airless spray gun a go. would even consider buying one. am sure they'd sell well on ebay or here.
finally, I used 12 litres for the external walls, though oversized windows and doors.
am wondering what an airless spray covers sq m/litre.
experts say you do around 10-16m2 / litre depending on surface when rolling with manual cutting.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
