1st airless experience

[CLASSICPW 14]

I stripped a cedar deck 3 weeks ago and the owner wanted a solid stain. Luckily the deck looked like crap, even after the brightener, just very inconsistant. I went out with a helper and stated to brush on Sherwin Williams Deckscapes waterborne solid in some nasty light brown color. 2 hrs into it the prissy wife comes out and was totally disgusted by the color, I said no problem you pay for my time and the new color and I'll come back...........no problem. I went and bought an airless and the 8hr brush and roll job took 2.5hrs. I hate my own guts for not buying one of these earlier. If I could have the countless hours and frustration back from all the bullcrap brushing and rolling I've done I would be a better man. There was very minimal overspray that my helper cleaned up with no problem and the finish was way better than ugly brushstrokes.

[newlook 265]

Oh...everybody...thanks for the kudos on our work...appreciate it.

Tropical...give the airless a shot. I am sure that you will be surprised of the results. Make sure the pressure is low when you are spraying.

[charlie 14]

I got both Wagner Airless and a decker like the wagner better less problems.

Charlie

[Aplus 525]

I've got a Graco Magnum 7 from HD that works excellent, and was only about $500.

[JFife 14]

What Tony has would be fine---if you keep your eyes open, sometimes HD sells 5 or 10 that are refurbs, and it'll save you a Benjamin or so.

Newlook,

Very interesting what you guys have got going on. Do you guys have plans for future growth, or to just improve/grow on what you are doing now?? Is your biz model franchisable, or do you think the scope of the work you do is too difficult and requires too much talent/knowledge for a franchise concept?? I think what guys like you and Henry do is very interesting, with a broad spectrum of services you provide. I think customers would like the idea of a one-stop-shop for all of their home maintenance needs.

[newlook 265]

Jon,

Certainly we are always looking for growth within the organization. We are looking to add a few things (quality assurance team) to our existing service(s) to help compliment them and also be in a position to offer our services to pretty much anybody. We are exploring offering financing for some of the bigger concrete contracts we get.

Franchising is not on our radar screen at this time. Can someone do what we are doing?....sure!! What our company does is surround ourselves with some very talented individuals, offer competitive pricing/guarantees and sprinkle it with some good old fashion customer service. That is basically it.

[CLASSICPW 14]

Yesterday, I tried out the Wagner paint crew on two job that were both Sikkens SRD semi. It was much better than a pump up, actually it was awesome, but there were some drawbacks. The overspray was brutal. It basically made a fog of sealer that encompassed the whole area. On the first job we were wiping down the vinyl siding aroung the railing when I realized that if face to face with the siding you could see very tiny brown dots from the mist on the siding ALL OVER THE WHOLE HOUSE. You could literally stand a foot away and not see it,but I knew it was there. Sketchy!! On the second job I used the color natural light which is basically a clear. The house was tan stucco so there was nothing remotely visable. The airless really cut an hour of each job, but clean up(the machine)took 20 min. I need to buy a new tip for sealer, but when I do life will be good.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Jamie,

That is why I was trying to warn you off of that tool for the SRD. Use it for solids.

Get a Decker or a Deckster. Use that for your SRD. You'll be glad you did. Not as "foggy" as what you are using, but far superior to a pump up. If you want to see us use ours, or even try it when we have it set up, you are most welcome to do so.

Hope you can find a tip that will reduce enough for you.

Beth

[CLASSICPW 14]

I've always planned on buying a deckster, just been too busy to get around to it, but thanks.

[JFife 14]

Classic,

I use a .209 for SRD, the best tip in my opinion.

[the_GUNN_man 14]

I have several customers that insists that I use CWF Cedar. Actually it is a condo assosciation and they say that that is what they want used. With that being said there are several decks to do and up until now I have been brushing and rolling everything. I tried a pump up before but didn't like it. Been doing it the hard way for the last 3 years. I wanted to buy a cheap airless or Wagner brand painter. I have seen the Wagner Paint Crew Sprayer like people were talking about here on sale for $129. It is a .2 gpm 2800 psi sprayer. I don't do enough decks to justify spending big money on something fancy. The CWF can it says use between 1500 and 1800 psi. I am wondering if this Wagner Paint Crew sprayer will cut it or if 2800 psi will be too much. I know people here hate the CWF but it is something I have no say in. Also the CWF is much thicker then most oil stains.

[JFife 14]

Need more GPM for the CWF than .2 IMO. I have a Wagner (don't remember the #) that cost $300, is about .5gpm and 7/8hp, I'd get that or something of a similar size,

[the_GUNN_man 14]

Need more GPM for the CWF than .2 IMO. I have a Wagner (don't remember the #) that cost $300, is about .5gpm and 7/8hp, I'd get that or something of a similar size,

Isn't the CWF have a latex type consistancy? I just don't want to spend too much on a sprayer. I might just stick with the roller and brushes. I just hate it going so slow. It isn't too bad when I get a couple high school kids helping for $7 an hour.

[Integrity Curb Appeal 64]

Tropical,

This is the type of overheads that we do. This is done more in the new construction vs. older homes. We build it from the ground up. Prior to setting it on the concrete we stain each piece with the Magnum. Takes us about 30-45 minutes to stain.

Carlos,

When you say new construction, are you staining new wood that has not been cleaned?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I won't divulge in the brand because 98% of the people on here will laugh at me, but I bid the job@ 5 gal and it took 2 1/2 so there was no waste. If it were a spray/ semi job it would have taken 5 gal+.

Oh come on Jamie....

If the tool works no one should laugh. Our first airless was a cheap Wagner designed for home owner use. Since then we have upgraded considerably. (Titans)

If the tool saves you time and money it's a good thing! Congrats on getting an airless. You'll never look back.

Are you going to the ACR event?

Beth

p.s. just realized how old this thread is...hope someone finds it useful. Hope to see you all at ACR!

[plainpainter 217]

I picked up a Spraytech 7/8 hp .33gpm airless sprayer from Sherwin Williams last year for around $300 on sale. It has been great I have used it to spray all my deck coatings. Perhaps it's overkill and a Deck'r is a better tool. But I turn the pressure all the way down - plastic tarp the sides of the home and use a blue tarp for the railings and a 2x6 to keep it in place - and have done decks extremely fast this way. I've also used it to paint entire homes with exterior solid oil stains as well. It's an important tool in the arsenal of deck care. I am done with rolling decks - I still backbrush the deck boards by hand after spraying. But I still get stuff done incredibly fast.

[Doug Dahlke 114]

Wagner owns Sraytech and Titan. The Wagner name is just the lower end of the brand. I painted my first house with a homeowner use Wagner and it did fine. The latex had to be thinned and I didn't like the heavy weight of the gun but it worked. I now have a lower end Spraytech airless and it is doing fine also. Starting to get some more use out of it. Like others have said, if it works and makes the job go faster that is all that counts.

[plainpainter 217]

My spraytech has been fine - titan is better quality - but to be honest, I haven't had the volume of work that make the titan purchase worth it. Commerical painters that spray, can't screw around - they have to get a quality beast to put up with their demanding schedule.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yes Beth..found this thread useful right before I bought a used Wagner for a C note.

[BobK 14]

Great thread I am in market for an airless. Check gleampaints.com they have reconditioned spray tech for very cheap and the fellows there are very helpful. I gather that the less psi the less overspray right, but the less psi the less volume.

[RyanLRS 14]

I bought myself a wagner airless and love it. It is 7/8 hp model with adjustable pressure. I plan on putting some extra line on a reel and running from the truck. The plus is it is easy to clean and very fast working a long line off of a reel instead of dragging the unit around.