Tips for Airless Spraying and painting

As a Professional Decorator, I’ve been spraying for around 13 years. I thought it would be helpful if I shared a few tips for airless spraying.

If you’re working in a room that’s full of furniture, then airless spraying can be a waste of time. But, if you get a room with plenty of space to work or a nice new build house, then spraying is the way to go. You’ll find it quicker, less strain on your body, and the finish will be far superior.

Following these tips will help you achieve the best finish possible.

Tip 1 – Get your prep right!!

Masking up can be a bit of a pain. You need to be meticulous with it, otherwise you will get paint seepage, which will ruin your finish. A surface painted with an airless sprayer needs to be sharp, so getting your prep right is important.

Good quality masking tape will help massively. You should use thin Washi paper that doesn’t allow paint to seep and won’t damage the surface. Delicate tape should be used on painted surfaces and stronger tape on uPVC or brick.

Masq from Ciret is probably my favourite. Click here for more information.

Tip 2 – Keep it dust free!!

This is particularly important when spraying inside. Dust on a surface will ruin your paint finish, and overspray can lead to more dust in a room. Spraying is quicker than using a brush and roller, but you do need to spend a bit more time ensuring a room is clean before you start. Ideally, you’d do this by vacuuming rather than sweeping with a brush.

Tip 3 – Reduce overspray.

One of the biggest issues with airless spraying is overspray. Inside, overspray will fill a room, settle on surfaces you don’t want it to, get trampled into rooms you want to keep clean, and make the environment very uncomfortable. Outside, overspray from an airless sprayer can cause a lot of damage to nearby cars and other things.

If you can afford one, a heated hose will help. Something like the Wagner TempSpray will allow you to apply paint without generating much overspray. But regardless of which airless sprayer you use, you can reduce overspray by turning down the pressure, holding your gun at the correct angle and the correct distance from the surface, and trying to be more controlled.

When using an airless sprayer to paint an exterior wall, always turn the pressure right down. Try to position your gun so you’re aiming slightly down at the top of the wall and inward when you come to an external corner. This will ensure less paint is fired into the atmosphere.

You can spray oil-based masonry paint, but water-based is more likely to dry before it lands, so you’re left with a dry powder, rather than something that will stick to cars.

Tip 4 – wet on wet.

One of the main advantages of airless spraying is the speed of which you can apply the paint. This includes recoating sooner than you could if you were using a paint roller. I often apply a coat to a ceiling, wait five minutes, and then apply another coat (so you can paint a ceiling from bare plaster to a finish in about 20 minutes).

It’s a similar story when painting woodwork, although I will caveat this and point out the extended curing time of trim paint when applying a second coat before the first has dried. You need it to have cured to a point before you can tape it up to paint the walls.

Tip 5 – Painting in the correct order.

One of the best tips I can give you for airless spraying is the order in which you paint. When painting a room, I start by applying a coat to the walls. I then spray two coats on the ceiling (to a finish). Then I spray the woodwork to a finish.

Once the woodwork is done and I’m happy it has had enough time to harden up, I’ll tape it, then finish the walls with a brush and roller.

This is the easiest way I have found to paint a room with an airless sprayer.

You can spray every surface to a finish, but that involves relying on masking tape to create a ceiling line, which can be difficult. Besides which, working the paint into every corner around sockets, window reveals etc with an airless sprayer can be tricky.

Tip 7 – Use the correct paint.

When I started spraying about 13 years ago, I had a bit of a culture shock, mostly because of the paint. I can remember trying to spray oil-based gloss on spindles and making a right mess! I ended up painting them again with a paintbrush.

Some paints are easier to spray than others. Tikkurila Helmi for example, is very easy to spray. Whereas Johnstone’s Aqua Guard (which is a very good paint when applied with a brush), can run a lot if applied with a sprayer, so you end up applying multiple ‘dust coats’, rather than one proper coat.

Using contract matt on a ceiling will mean you can apply additional coats in quick succession without it tightening up and peeling as it dries.

It’s just about choosing the easiest paint to work with.

FAQs

Why don’t Painters use sprayers?

Around 50% of Decorators do not spray. It wasn’t taught in college until about 10 years or so ago, and Decorating is an aging trade, with many tradespeople stuck in their ways. It’s a shame really.

What sprayers do Professional Painters use?

Professional Decorators use airless or HVLP sprayers, depending on what they’re painting. Wagner, Graco, Titan, and Tritech seem to be the most used brands.

Why is my paint sprayer splattering?

This happens when using an airless if the paint is too thick, the pressure is too low, or the filter is blocked. Sometimes the pin on the gun starts to wear down and the trigger isn’t responsive, leading to splats of paint at the end of your pass.

How much should I spend on a paint sprayer?

If you’re a Professional Decorator, then my advice it to spend money on a sprayer that will perform well and last. Between £1,500 and £2,000 will get you a good airless or HVLP.