O.T. Q about spraying Latex paint w/gun

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy! I have a question about spray guns. I have several paint spray guns, of various types. a set of all trade brands, decent but cheep harbor freight, a nicer wally world Cambell hausfeld... Question, is can I run Latex house paint through these guns? Or one of them? what If I get a pressure pot thingy? I would prefer to use an airless paint sprayer rented. But, this is a request from a close friend to borrow one of my sprayers for his house. He said he would spend about 50$ for a pressure pot thingy, if that would make it work, and then just give it to me when done. He doesn't want to rent an airless sprayer, like one would normally use, cause he doesn't see us finishing the job in one day. Thanks for any/all info folks! Brian Lee Sparkeee27

[WAK]

Yep. I used to paint the house with a DeVilbiss spray gun hooked up to a pressure pot,
and it worked pretty good. You will get quite a bit of overspray with that rig though. And
you'll have to thin the paint down quite a bit.

[MAC702]

I almost run alkyds exclusively through my cup guns, but every once in a while, I use latex for something like spraying styrofoam fake rocks. Works fine. Keep it thin.

[Mike W]

I use my 2 quart HF pressure pot. I thin with maybe an inch of water in the pot.

[calweld]

I normally rent airless from the paint shop I patronize . . . They provide me with a professional type rig and the tip(s) I need . . . My dad, on the other hand, thought like your friend. He went and bought one of the cheap (~$400.00 or so) airless sprayers from Home Depot or somewhere. The pro model: No thinning needed, if dirt in tip, just flip, squirt, reflip, keep painting. My dad's: needs to be thinned, tip plugs, need to disassemble and clean and reassemble each time.

With the pro model you can paint as fast as you can move, only have to stop to replace cans (I use the 5 gallon ones). If you do all your prep work properly, masking, dropcloths, etc. etc. beforehand you will be able to fully utilize the speed of the pro model from a paint shop. It would have to be a pretty big or pretty complicated house you couldn't finish in a day. The homeowner types will probably take twice as long if not longer.

[calweld]

I just reread your original post . . . sounds like you're talking about air-type guns? The good rented airless ones will paint 3 to 5 times faster than an air-type, even with a pot, and waste less paint.

[stseely]

If you are talking about the cheap guns that have the little cups on the bottom I am not sure because the needle and fluid tip would need to be made out of stainless steel to keep from rusting.
All the spray guns I have have stainless needles and fluid tips and they are advertised as being able to spray water born paints, but I only use them for spraying urethane enamel paint (automotive paint) and 2K and polyester primer. But they also range from $280 to $500 each and are gravity fed. But looking for the wording "for water born or latex paint" is the key. It would also depend on the tip size since the latex paint is thicker than automotive paint. I have sprayed latex with my SATA primer gun but it has a 1.7mm tip. Most guns for spraying automotive paint will have a 1.4mm or a 1.3mm tip. But on the cheaper guns I don't know if you can order different size tips. The main thing is the gun aren't expensive so I would try it and see what happens.

[Thomas Harris]

I'm no professional painter, but I used an airless for the first time painting the building where I work. That sucker was awesome! I took thick latex right out of the can and sprayed it perfectly. The one thing that took some getting used to was the large amount of paint left in the hose. I learned to watch quitting time closer so I could pull the piston assembly out of the paint, immerse it in wash-up solvent or water just before quitting time, then spray until the paint ran out. That way you don't trash a hose full of paint. The machine I used was impressive. Accurate pattern, consistant pressure, and when you released the trigger.. no drips.. Clean-up was fairly easy, just pump solvent through it, then when it's spraying clear, pull filters and clean/replace.

[stseely]

A airless is good for big thing, but you cannot paint a car with one, they don't atomize the paint well enough. With some car paint costing $1000 a gallon or more I wouldn't want to have to flush a line and waste paint, and at the price of laquer thinner these days I wounldn't want to have to use the thinner to flush it with either.

[hankj]

Brian,

Advise him to rent the airless. My place is 2400 ft.², and I painted the entire inside in 12 hours, and primed and painted the outside in one 10-hour day. I don't want to talk about how long it took to mask off the windows and fixtures, but as far as painting goes, an airless can put it on fast!


Hank

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy! all the prep work will be done before I get there to help. I believe the airless, rented professional setup is the way to go personally... And I see getting done with the body color in one 10 hour day easily. It is my best bud I'm trying to convince, and he sees it as a several weekend project, and I just don't want to make that happen in anything more then a day, for main body color. I agree with ya guys. It can't be that much to rent a good airless setup. Thanks folks! Brian Lee Sparkeee27

[Hotfoot]

Hey, Sparkee, maybe I missed something...but are you about to paint a car with Latex House Paint??? That's the the holmolognization of your first and last posts..???

[calweld]

hey, I've seen worse. I bought a truck once, it was painted fence post green with a BRUSH!!!! It's still out back . . .

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy! this is for HOUSE paint. i.e. where I say "for my friends house" not car. never did I say vehicle. BODY houses have BODY color and TRIM. BODY will be sprayed, TRIM will be hotdogged, or trim brushed. But it's all good. I'm gonna go burn some metal now Brian Lee Sparkeee27