Which Paint Sprayer Do You Need? 

I bought a sprayer to paint a large trellis fence, which would've been a right royal pain with a brush. My wife followed along on the other side with a large cardboard sheet to catch the overspray. I had approximately a 3:1 ratio of paint on the fence to paint on the wife. Not recommended as a team-building exercise.

Just on filling up the gun, best tool I've found is get either a 2pt or 4pt plastic milk container, keep the lid on. Cut the bottom portion off, and clean out. Then you're left with a soft flexible scoop with a handle on that can be used for easy and quick filling. That's what I've used successfully many times.

I dont know if its because i am becoming old or not but i genuinely love this chap. His videos are brilliant but not sure i will be able to tell any of my friends what i have been watching.

I also find pouring water into the container and spraying that through to clean it much faster and easier

I think the trouble at the beginning was the globs of paint you put in. I've never seen paint which globs like that ever on on properly with even a roller or brush. I've used airless sprayers many times and after gun set up, the most important thing is paint consistency. I would definitely recommend using a cordless drill with a mixing attachment, add perhaps thin the paint 5-10% and then strain it through a sieve before using. Also buy yourself 5-10L drum (the type used for water when you go camping and which has the little tap at the bottom) and put your paint into this and use it to top up. I prefer not to let the gun get less than about 1/3 full as I noticed the spray consistency changes beyond that point.

I had several hundred metres to do with one of those sprayers once. To get around the refilling mess i went to a local home brewing shop, bought a high flow tap and fitted it to an empty 10 litre paint tub i had. I wasnt sure how it would turn out but it worked bloody brilliantly! Zero mess at all!

I bought the same sprayer on this review. Thank you. I painted a bedroom in about 35 mins with the wall and ceiling sprayer.

Hey dude, just watched as a random video. Just wantede to give a tip, mkst pros use a liner in the cartridge like a nappy bag or similar, to save leaving a residue inside from different paints. Cheers dude

Might have already been mentioned, but you can get replacement reservoirs that come with lids. This is helpful if you use the same primer for most projects and saves washing the reservoir. Looking forward to more of these outdoor projects.

I bought the smaller Wagner W100 last year to do fences and sheds. Although it's only got an 800ml capacity, I found that it was fine. I probably only use it once a year so spending a bit more time doesn't really bother me. I'm really messy when waiting with brushes and I found this to be much cleaner and easier.

Great video. For filling the reservoir, I used a funnel that comes with a dishwasher to pour in the salt as it has a wide tip

Owning a "wagner flexio w690" myself and using it sometime last year to spraypaint a large 36m2 room (Walls only), I found the following to be true: -You run through large amounts of paint very quickly (15L) in one go, single coat. (I ended up putting 2x coats of "Dulux Trade Super Matt" in the end.) -The "overspray" does go into every single nook and cranny/crevice and thus do you need to make sure you mask off and cover off EVERYTHING (Cover up your hose) -The paint does go on "DRY" due to the air that blast the the paint onto the wall from the gun. -The gun/nozzle does end up getting blocked if you do short intervals and thus do you need to ensure that you go on long constant strokes (Your paint/spraying technique is completely different from the way that you would use an aerosol can.) while spraying.

I bought a HVLP from Rutlands ... I also really enjoyed painting my very large fence. I thinned the fence paint in the tub and used a plastic jug to fill up the tank, and to clean the gun after, I put it into a bucket of clean water and ran it for a few minutes to clean its self out .... great video !

I have the same machine, the impetus was that my new build house was sprayed and we wanted to retain the finish as we put colour on the walls. Two things I’ve found which might help. Use trade emulsions they need less thinning compared to diy versions. Most diy paint from manufacturers such as Dulux are designed to not even need stirring let alone thinning. The other thing is to filter the paint. I didn’t have many clogs but cleaning is a pain and since using a filter I’ve not had a single clog and enjoy spraying even more. Your comment on cleaning time/efforts meaning that you might only reserve the sprayer for larger jobs isn’t my experience. When compared to brushing and rollering where you’re cleaning rather than discarding the brush or roller, I find the sprayer doesn’t take much more time.

funnels are useful inventions for paint pouring

I bought the Wagner 690 quite awhile ago just to paint the render on my house, as this was one of the only sprayers that stated it can cope with smooth masonry paint. After setting the wall sprayer up and masking the windows and doors up I painted the whole of the house (Semi Detached) in 1 day. For the cost of the sprayer and abit of labour, beats paying for someone to do the job.

I use a silicon kitchen spatula to scrape unused paint from pots and trays back into the tin. It's quick and effective and cuts down on waste.

This would be perfect for painting my flowers in my garden I am sick and tired of them being green now it's time to paint them blue!

My wife and I love putting your videos on whilst we get frisky in the bedroom. This one was a winner, especially!

I bought a Black and Decker HVLP200 from B&M for £30 just before lockdown,it's electric and my garden fence is 2m high and my garden is 10m long and 6m wide,I used Ronseal red cedar fence paint without diluting it and covered my fence in one day,I also did my shed with a green latex paint the next day and only had to stop to fill the 1200ml reservoir a few times during the process,the finish was excellent considering what I paid for it,I have no plans to use it inside so the finish you get on garden furniture etc is good enough for me,love your videos by the way,keep them coming

You're correct, the pump hasn't a clue what you're spraying. It's the spray nozzle that is designed for particular types of paint.

I bought a cheap Terratek some years ago after seeing it on Peter's channel, which works very well for furniture panels and so on. Only £30. When I needed to do fences I got a Wagner airless 150M, no reservoir to carry around, 5.5 litre tank, 7.5m hose. I find it doesnt take that much longer to clean either of them than to properly clean brushes and roller, but the waste that coats the tank is a very valid point.

You can get larger containers for the Wagner hoses Stu. If you buy an extra one as well and maybe get someone else to refill it whilst you’re spraying the job can be done in minutes 😀👍

Good video I went for the W 950 I like the getting the paint directly from the can rather than filling the pot every 5 mins. Free next day delivery with Amazon UK.

I think a collaboration with Craig Phillips would be good. I purchased the Wagner Airless Sprayer, you can put the pipe straight into the tub, no need to visit a soup kitchen ever again. Also you can get extra attachments such as tips for various viscosity and spray wand so no need of a ladder. The hose is 15metres long too. Beware of using Cuprinol and Ronseal in your sprayer, there have been complaints of build of wax blocking the sprayer.

good video. I've owned and used this model for several years. The small gun is best for thinner paints while the big gun is best for less viscous paints such as latex/acrylic water based house and wall paint. Stains tend to be thin by comparison and the big gun really shines with those. I stained a stable with it and for the top of ladder work i strapped the turbine (pump) onto my back or onto the ladder and it worked fine. As for the small gun it works very well with oil based paints but these must be thinned. For example I make ornamental metal tables legs and use Tremclad enamel thinned with acetone to 25 seconds with a ford #4 cup. The issue with any paint that goes on with blobs or orange peel the solution is to thin it.

What a great DIY video. Well edited, spoken and explained. Thanks.

One of the first jobs I've done in my last two homes is to paint the internal walls of my garage/workshop white. It makes for a much brighter and more "comfortable" workplace. It would be an ideal opportunity for you to experiment with the settings of the other spray gun.

I have the same set up. So, another little tip, when cleaning, is to make sure you remove from under the sprayer lid, the white disk that has the tube sticking down into the paint! It will enable you to give it a proper clean but also paint can get trapped between the disk and the lid which, if not cleaned off, will eventually dry, and reduce performance! I have to say, I find the cleanup to be fairly quick. I use an old car sponge and a bucket of water, a hose and also an old kitchen sponge that has a scotchbrite pad to clean off the awkward bits of paint. But otherwise, very nice video!

Bought a 500W Guild sprayer with separate power unit from Argos £35 to paint approx 16m of 1.2m fence with trellis top. Did both sides in about 2 hours. Moved on to my 18M x 2 m feather edge fence this afternoon. Did one side in 3 hours. WHAT A BRILLIANT PEICE OF KIT! Best thing I've ever bought. Great finish and no diluting of paint. Used Ronseal Fencelife +.

It is good to see that another person had the same problem about paint spraying as I did. The main problem I found was that using non water based products cleaning the sprayer was indeed cheap because it was water. But using solvent based paints the cost for cleaning rocketed to the point that larger paint containers made it un viable. Though I did cut down on cleaning the equipment by putting a polyethene bag in the paint reservoir. I did find the gun and a separate small compressor worked best though I did in the end go for a small metal spray gun for paint needing a cleaning solvent with a larger capacity spray gun for sheds and fences. You are very right using a brush to do large items like sheds fences and gates is just tedious.

Bought the 4000 unit yesterday. Painted 300 ft of cedar fence( inside and out). I read the directions to my son while he set it up. We found a seal/washer, inside the nozzle section had been placed incorrectly at the factory. Hence a grove in it was facing the wrong way. The unit has all the adjustability of a production automotive paint gun. Not a simple one gun setting fits all. We got close prior to our test panel, and it was an easy adjust or two, to get what was deemed a fair final setting. Made amazingly fast work of the 8ft tall fence. Clean up, while a bit entailed is easy. Using an expendable toothbrush and thinner( oil based stain ) we had it as new in 25 min. Use a stepped process with increasingly cleaner results. Last thing we did was use absolutely clean material ( 2 table spoons of thinner in our case ) sprayed shaking the gun. Never use the cup liners though.

I bought this during lockdown. I have done my fencing and internal walls. The adage that it takes longer to mask up and clean up than it does to paint, is true. But well worth it though the finish is great. Also put 3 coats on my fence in an afternoon. I also bought 3 extra containers with lids so I could spray a large area.

I always decant my fence stuff into a large bleach container and predilute it, then it's easy to tip into the sprayer with no drips. I've had many messy days of ladels and cups before this!

Thank you, we have a lot fence and that's just saved me buying a battery powered one. Thanks 🙂

I have used the earlex sprayer for over 10 hrs and it's still going strong. It comes with a backpack container which saves on refills although pressure is great so usually use the small container. I wouldn't use a soup ladle as it takes too long. Just pour carefully direct from container having first bent top to give a spout shape. Ground cover needed!! When doing tops of fences use an old cover or in my case a curtain to stop over spray and really annoy the neighbours, esp if they have washing out!! Earlex is so easy to clean, just spray water through it then dismantle and clean. Forgot to mention, keep paint at room temp 24hrs before using as it usually then doesn't need watered down.

My idea about this sprayer for renovation and DIY is to use interchangeable combination of cheap standard sprayer head with standard compressed air hose and connect it with a mobile battery powered compressor. So I'm free to change if I really need more: different sprayer head or bigger compressor.

Having purchased the exact same sprayer in the past & when painting rooms the hopper is far to small so refilling is very frequent which is very heavy on your arms leading to fatigue & the supplied hose a really short especially when spraying ceilings. Overspray is also a massive problem with an air sprayer, not only with clean up as even when all the masking & sheeting is in place it still causes a big mess when removing the masking wet to get a crisp line the sheets are wet through with paint or dry the paint flakes off creating a right mess. Airless sprayers are the way to go with minimal over spray, long hose, no heavy hopper to carry or endlessly refill. Wish I had purchase one in the first place.

When I saw the huge difference in coverage, without changing your technique at all. I knew which one I would go with. Glad to see you went the same way. I'm what's referred to as a "wet-painter" in my 'neck-of-woods'. By the way, I use a funnel to catch the paint/stain that's loaded with a strainer. Hope everything went well when the wife got home.

This couldn't have come at a better time. I've 50 yards of fence I need to paint, and was dreading doing it by brush.

May as well spray it with cold tea, that water based fence stain is only a stain not a preservative, you need spirit or oil based preservative!!!

Many electric sprayers allow a tube feed directvto sprayer. My wagner does and its a simple cheap add on kit. Buy a 15l pail and dilute the 10l paint into that ensuring its well mixed. Then move it along. A 3-4 metre tube is best cable tied to pail. I painted a 20m x 3m wall and it took 20 minutes. Then a second coat 30mins later.

It might be the wall head but just a couple of observations. 1. Leyland contract matt is an odd paint to spray, it doesn’t like too much thinning prior to atomisation so as a result it is best suited to airless rather than HVLP. Simply, it is a bit weak. 2. If you put up the fluid and the air flow you might eliminate some issues but it amplifies what you already had too - if you increase the fluid first it gives you better feedback as to whether the air needs to go up or not. If it doesn’t then you end up with less overspray. 3. A used bottle of mineral water or something else washed out is a great option for filling. You can mix up the paint to consistency in the bottle and pour it straight into the pot. No mess. 👍

Good video. Definitely wear a mask when spraying. Micro droplets will be in the air and you will unknowingly inhale them. I speak from experience!

My brother lent me his Bosch HVLP sprayer to do my fences, nothing fancy, just a mains-powered little thing that cost about 20 quid, it was bloody brilliant! I don't know about interior decorating, but you don't need anything expensive for fences and gates.

Our neighbour did a lovely job of his fence with one of these. Trouble was, one side of my shed had a curious speckled finish after he finished! Not to be used on windy days!

Just a tip I saw elsewhere on youtube, you can place two strips of gaffer tap in a V on the opening of paint/stain tin and then it will pour out like a spout. It also keeps the edges of the tin free of paint! Might save you an ear bashing from the Wife :) I've been an avid watcher of your channel since i found a video on adding an electric socket. Love your presenting style and step by step guides. Your sense of humour add to a sometime dry subject. Well done!

For loading mine I use a plastic measuring jug, like the one you are using for clean up but a bit smaller, set of 3 costs a few quid. The handle means you can hook if over the side of the paint/stain vessel which keeps it relatively clean, and the drips then fall back into your paint pot.

Great vid and review, finally a good one on spray painting. I need to convince the wife to paint the garage so i can finally set up my workshop. This device will come in handy, definitely will consider it. Thanks and wish me luck 😅

Great instructive video, I'm getting one for my fence and summerhouse 👍

Another excellent video. I had a Wagner (not your model) but lost it to one of our sons; that’s the price of a family. I think the real quandary for many people is that balance between brands. By which I mean does spending a lot on a known brand (say De Walt) get a better tool than, say, a tool from Aldi or Lidl. Much may depend upon the amount of usage but would I be better off buying 3 x Aldi during the lifespan of a De Walt? My upbringing was always “ buy cheap; buy twice” and so I have always bought the best (usually the most expensive) tool that I could afford. As a result, my workshop is full of DeWalt, Bosch, Marita, Festool with Axminster Trade heavier machinery plus very good quality hand tools (eg Veritas planes and Iles chisels). It’s all very good, gives me pleasure to use a quality piece and nothing has failed without reaching old age. But, I did buy a Katsu battery router as I wanted a battery machine for a particular job. It’s half (?) the price of a big brand and…..it’s superb. Whether it will last 20 years, I don’t know but I doubt that I will be doing those jobs then. I’ve got many internal walls to paint with emulsion plus a lot of tall wooden fence panels and, like you it seems, I buy tools as an investment (although at 68, my pay back period gets shorter each year). I was persuaded away from another Wagner really because of mediocre views of it for internal walls. So, I bought a Grace Ultra battery model -strictly for me I hope. It does get very good reviews although there is an acceptance that it wouldn’t be suitable for all day painting. Well, my body won’t let me do anything for more than a couple of hours and so, I hope the model and my body are suited to each other. My model was £500 - so a lot more than yours. I hope that the extra cost does bring me a a really high class finish on internal walls. It’s first job will be to do a 9.6m wall where I have made and fitted wall panelling together with linen fold panels. So, a real nightmare for brush or roller but it shouldn’t matter for a sprayer. So, where is the tipping point for people to invest rather than dispose? Too late for me but it seems to be the question that younger people have to work out.

I use a kitchen measuring jug to fill the the spray kettle with. Works a treat.

Very similar to my wife's spray tan machine, although i don't think she'd be too happy me using it to spray the fences. Definitely looking into one of these units tho.

I'd be interested in seeing a follow-up video once you've figured out how to spray emulsion paints successfully.

Always use a filter when filling paint into a sprayer.

Use a kitchen silicone spatula to clean out the container. Also works well for getting all the paint out of any plastic pot.

wheelie bin storage build would be 👍

Thanks for the no frills info and demo. I feel confident the equipment is as per your demonstration.

Raided the kitchen for a ladle many years ago. It stays in my box of paintbrushes and scrapers. Sometimes, my wife sees me using it to shift paint and has a squawk before I say that's what I got it for. Then she mentions a list of other items that 'went missing'

You cant imagine, how you on time with this video! Thank You

I had the hand held version.....hard on the wrist though ! but it easily coped with three large bedrooms a large living room and two storey staircase, above my shop, but we left the old carpets down and masked all the windows with newspaper....a good investment !

You “need” to stress that you must protect anything in the background from overspray. It’s so easy for the spray to go over to anything in your neighbours property, including their car, and that could be unpleasant and expensive. I would never let overspray go over the top of a fence without someone holding a cardboard shield. Oh yes, the instrument used for spraying is called a spray gun.

I have this exact one it's brilliant! Had it 6 months and can say it's helped me so much! I'd recommend the extension arms aswell so when painting anything like a fence or decking your not reaching or bending over

Use a silicone spatula to scrape any excess out of the pot

I bought my Wagner sprayer for pebbledash walls. It's a game changer

I bought one during lockdown and covered 15 fence panels in no time at all, filling the reservoir was a pain but the job was done in less than half a day!

I use same sprayer there is 2 easy ways to fill pot, either use tape to make a "V" pattern on paint tub which allows it to flow in thin flow or cut a 2 litre pop bottle in half and put in top of receptacle upside down.

I have this one and will be attacking my kitchen cabinets soon. Thank you for the tips

Stuart, had the same problem with my one as you did with yours, coincidentally with exactly the same Leyland paint, tried it with another paint, worked really well, I think its the opacity of the paint. Even diluted down could not get it to work. Good luck with your one.

I used to live in a village in Scotland which was crossed by the Erskine Bridge, at one time the longest and highest single span bridge in Europe. The bridge had to be painted every few years and one year the company doing the job decided to use a paint that “etched” into the metal structure. The paint did the job, but unfortunately the etching component in the spray stayed “live” long enough for the invisible mist to land on cars in the village. You couldn’t see anything but your car felt like sandpaper and it was impossible to clean off as it had etched into the surface. Consequently over 700 cars had to be completely sanded down and re-sprayed. A bit of an expensive error!

i have an earlex, compressor /hose/gun. comes with three paint containers. plus a 10 ltr back pack, no stopping for refills after every ltr. plastic jug to fill ltr pots/paint brush to take off excess, back into paint or fence containers.

Great informative video , just bought one and now love painting my 62 panel 5x6ft I can all in 1 day , used to dread it.

Well presented video. Looks a fine piece of kit like the idea of not carrying the compressor unit. Might be an idea to use a viscosity cup for quality finish projects. Thanks for sharing

I've got the time so I'll stick with the brush!

I got lucky and stumbled across your channel. Really enjoy it! Greetings from the USA!

I bought a Wagner W100 spray gun. Pretty impressed with it

Use a lid edge to pour paint from the container to the pot. if it is thick paint dilute 15% with demineralized. Clean the ti p and nozzle regularly. Like every few mins if you are doing an important job. Use a pipe cleaner to keep it paint free. You also need to clean the valve which sits under the clear plastic tube. Invert the gun first or you'll lose the tiny valve. They are noisy. Also paint mist goes everywhere. Drop sheets everywhere inside!. Lastly Taubman's Hybrid Enamel is amazing. It sticks like glue, is not smelly and dries fast. Once Dry it sticks like glue.

I have the model down from that, £75 from B&Q used it today for the first time doing a clients fencing, what used to take me a full day 8-4:30 now took me 3.5 hours. Game Changer.

Your Video is great Thank you , I have the Wagner Flexio 590, And the weight doesn't bug me. Wagner is a good product

Get yourself a Cyclone paint mixer attachment for your drill, they are cheap and fantastic. Can also be used for small quantities of plaster. Ultimate Handyman has a video on RU-vid showing them. I got one after seeing his video and have had mine for years now and it is still like new as it is well made and stainless steel. Well worth the few quid. Best of all it mixes your paint brilliantly in no time at all. Just remember to stop spinning it before lifting it out the paint!

i just found your channel and love the content so far, simple and detailed which most home diy folk want!! keep up the good work!

I went for an airless sprayer, EAPS600, which pumps directly out of the container and can shift a lot of product. For 160gbp you're entering semiprofessiomal space as it supports different tips from big brands like Graco etc

Fantastic video, most thoroughly enjoyable and the detailed explanations of what to buy for the desired application is so helpful. Never did I think painting a fence could hold such appeal…. Now where is the nearest diy store….. fab!!

I've owned 4 different Wagners thru the years. None of them last very long. You are right about the clean up though. If you are painting large areas like fences and walls you aren't going top beat an airless with a 25' hose. Just make sure it has adjustable pressure. Without an adjustment painting a room will probably end up a mess with a mist filling the room, especially when painting the ceiling. These type of painters are NOT what you want to use for finish work or auto painting. Small finish work like guitars or a car fender can be handled with a $15 detail gun and a pancake compressor that you can pick up used for less than $50. The nozzle size is the key. then again you can rent an airless at box stores and paint stores.....

I'm using Ingco company small one , it's really great I used wood , metal and walls too but outside so many things matters specially thickness of paint also when u doing outside air also matter it flew few color , so far it's good technology and easy for home users and save money all companies are different qualities

I always dilute emulsion when I use my Wagner sprayer and always make sure you keep the filter clean on the blower unit

Excellent. It took me 2 FULL days to paint One side of my fairly large fence. NEVER again will I use a brush. See you at Makers Central 👍🏾

Thanks a lot for you perfect video. I receive the Wagner W450 for Christmas and when i see your video i'm sure it's a good gift.

I have a decent size workshop and the one thing I couldn't do without and is used everyday is the compressor

Great video - very helpful.

I've got the kit with the motor built into the handset. On a fence where there is nothing around and no paving, I suppose it could work well. But I first used it in a room. Crap finish and spray absolutely everywhere. Packed it up for 3 years and recently decided to use some water based primer on a wood shelving unit in the garden. Thought, give it another go and got loads of space, what could go wrong? Fine spray flew around over 3m onto back windows. Had to quickly start washing them before it solidified. Remembered why I didn't bother with it the first time. Maybe you can do adjustments and get viscosity right. But that trial and error takes time. Masking up takes time. Lots of paint gets wasted, if not just from the spraying but when diluting it and getting it wrong. Constant refilling of the caddy. If you take too long a break then nozzle can bung up. Then clean up afterwards. Once you measure all that I much prefer the brush and roller!

Excellent video thank you I’m going to buy the Wagner now as I’ve got over 14 panels to do 👍

I think a simple jug would be a good way to fill the tank

I recommend evryone to get an "Wagner Control Spray PRO 250 R" because toy get an 9 meter long hose without the heavy part for the paint. The mashine suck the paint direcly from the bucket and the sprayer is godlike! Thanks for the video man, funny to the other modells and how they preform! :)

Trips to the soup kitchen.. very funny. I find a cheap plastic 2 pint kitchen jug from a pound shop cuts down trips to the SK. Another well made, funny and informative video Stuart.

I've used this exact Wagner model to paint cars, with reasonably good results. When everything's just right, it works beautifully (as my li'l metallic burgundy 1957 Thunderbird would attest). But I'm in a warm part of the world and all my jobs are outside, so temperature seems to play a big role. I'm still trying to suss out whether the gun itself affects that equation, because the turbine motor definitely heats up the air if you're spraying more than just a minute or two. I only use the smaller gun, which Wagner calls a "detail nozzle". Thinning/reducing to the proper consistency is important since you can't change nozzle sizes, and I feel Wagner's documentation in that area is a little lacking in detail. After much toying with the fan speed and volume knob on the gun itself, I'm still not getting consistent results, although with my current 1959 Galaxie project, I'm starting now to suspect I'm having issues with the paint itself. Wagner makes a model called a Moto-Coat, which I believe is this identical machine but with an even longer hose. All in all, depending on your needs, I think this is a great little setup. Thanks for the video!

As others have also observed, I let out an audible gasp when I saw the kitchen ladle in use. Get used to a monk’s life for next few weeks Stuart ;-) my kitchen utensil of choice used to be the cake icing spreader for doing plasterwork fixes, but I’ve since bought that cheap set of 3 wallpaper scrapers you linked to in an earlier vid so the icing spreader is safe for now!

Great tutorial on fence painting with the Wagner spray gun I found just pouring paint directly into the paint bottle worked fine and speeded up the process

I sprayed 3 huge houses with a flexio hand held 😊

I have the same sprayer. Biggest issue with these non compressed air sprayers is the overspray. Paint particles just end up literally everywhere. For large surfaces like your fence I would have gone with an airless sprayer.