Latex paint - 5000 sq.ft. - HELP!

[Alan Turner]

I need to paint the new shop. Just the walls and ceiling, and beams. I rolled a lot yesterday (10 hrs), am stiff and sore, and got not that much done. HELP! Counting the beams, ceiling (beaded 12/4 planking) and walls, I think there may be near 5000 sq. feet to paint.

Can I buy an expensive Wagner gun, either the 770, or the coversion gun and pressure pot, and spray latex? I sure hope so or I may expire before I finish.

I don't need a super job; am just trying for white.

Thanks for any guidance.

p.s. - I searched prior posts, but couldn't seem to gain a consensus view. This is a factory building, and I will tarp the floor and tools, and I can make a bit of a mess and get away with it. I am looking for speed as I don't think I can afford to hire a painter for all this area.

[Larry Reimer]

Alan, you can absolutely spray latex paint. I would suggest an airless sprayer as the way to put it on and you might consider renting one instead of buying unless you have need of it in future.

[John Miliunas]

I agree with Larry. Unless you'll be needing a lot of one in the future, rent one and you can have that job knocked out in no time! Be aware that the big airless units deliver a LOT of paint in short order, so if you've got "stuff" to shift around, have some help handy to keep charges lower for the rental.:) :cool:

[Jim Becker]

Airless, Alan, Airless. It's the right tool for the job. You may be able to rent one, rather than buying, too.

[Todd Burch]

Alan, several years ago, I had to paint my house. I got a bid for $2500, and that did not include all the wood siding repairs that my (at the time) 30 year old house needed.

I ended up doing the siding myself ($750 for wood siding), bought the lowest end model of the commercial airless spray rigs (Titan 440XC) for $1200, and the other paint and materials, and even rented scaffolding (~$250) and came out ahead.

The airless is FAST, FAST, FAST. Moving outside scaffolding took longer than it did to paint. Next time I paint (later this year) I'm renting one of those articulating, motorized, hydraulic bucket thingys.

Todd

[john whittaker]

Alan, I've used a Wagner sprayer for years (I'm on my 3rd Wagner sprayer) as painting is something I do a lot of. My opinion is that these sprayers do a great job IF IF IF the surface you are painting is rough. Fences, decks, cedar siding, textured walls & ceilings etc.... BUT if your surface is smooth and you want a good finish I would not recommend them. Renting a better quality sprayer that puts out a finer particle would work better for you IMHO.

Another option for painting flat walls if you have help...
You can spray on the paint with the Wagner and have someone follow behind with a roller to smooth it out. This goes quicker than just rolling.

Geeee, if ya only lived closer I would be happy to come over and help:D

[Alan Turner]

John,
Shall I email the address to you? (:

[Phil Phelps]

Buy yourself some interior latex white at the home center. Get the cheapest stuff possible, because your going to thin it 200 to one anyway. While your at the home center, buy yourself a pump sprayer in the garden center. This spray technique has been proven time and time again at the moron school of numbskulls. It's fast, easy, and cheap. :rolleyes:





Or maybe, for fifty bucks a day, rent an airless at a real paint store, purchase paint by the 5 gallon size, and you can paint your shop like a pro in a few hours. Take the time and give it two coats.

[Scott Loven]

Look into renting a spray unit for a few days or a week.
Use a two foot wide brush on a stick, very fast and much less expensive!
Scott

[Steve Schoene]

Thats a BIG shop. If the ceiling were 14' high, you could have 45' x 45' of ceiling area, and still have 455 square feet on the surface of the beams, and still fit within the 5,000 square feet to be painted.

With a shop that size its only fair to have a sore shoulder. Ah, envy.

[Jim Dannels]

I have sprayed a lot of latex, but for interior work I prefer the Wagner power roller. you can do a lot of area in a short time with little mess.
On a 20X20 ft room with 8 ft ceilings you can cover the ceiling it in less time than it takes to clean up the tools.
And You only have to step in one rollerpan to pay for it in clean up time.
Don`t ask me how I know.:D

[Donnie Raines]

You could always contact the local Vocational school and see if they would be interested in helping you?? or maybe the local high school and see if they have any kids for hire....could knock that out in no time...seriously!

[Ron McNeil]

http://www.gleempaint.com

Alan, If you rent an airless sprayer ok, but if you want good information about airless sprayers or other paint questions look at this web site. The wagnor 770 is not a good sprayer for latex paint. i purchased one for spraying stain and it worked OK but when I went and used it for latex paint it clogged up and did not do such a great job. I purchased a Wagner 9170 from these people and I use it for painting and staining and it works great. I have nothing to do with gleem paint except I'm a happy customer. :D

[Steve Stube]

Alan, lots of fun isn't it. I had a bit more than 5,000 sq. ft. I rolled out in my shop. I did it 4 times in fact to please my critical eye and had to do it a portion at a time moving equipment from side to side etc. to accomplish the task. Sore arm and sholder was nothing compared to the kink in my neck that lasted a couple weeks longer than the two weeks I'd actually spent doing the painting. I own a good airless sprayer but decided for some reason that escapes me now to use the roller application. How many coats do you think you will be applying?

Every time I add another wall bench or hang another cabinet I'm reminded that the original objective was to paint the shop a light color to keep it bright and here is another darker color (something) covering it up and diminishing the effectiveness of the paint job plus hiding that labor intensive "perfect" paint application behind it. I think now that maybe the 100+ feet of smoke gray steel lab benches could have just as easily been sprayed Hammer-rite white but I prefer the gray -so- I loose some brightness and add more lights to compensate.

If you continue with the roller, remember that wraping it and your trim out brush in Saran wrap will keep it fresh between paint periods and thus you only have one tool clean up per color. I'm old school and yes I wash out roller sleeves (latex and enamel type) most of the time. The plastic pan liners can be a help too (fine for latex but some melt when in contact with oil base enamels) but I found that blasting latex paint from either the pan or liner with the garden hose works if you don't use the Saran wrap to cover them. However you do the job there is a good chance you will survive and smarter for it. Best wishes!

[Harish C. Mathur]

Hi, Lot's of good advice in these posts. I agree that an airless sprayer would work well. I've done several fix-ups and here is what works for me.

Airless sprayers (I would recommend one that feed directly from a 5 gal bucket), tell to put out a lot of "fine paint dust" that ends up on a lot of things. It is easy to clean up in a shop -- but I would not recommend it for example in a house with carpet (use a power roller here). BTW, those hand-held sprayers that have a small bottle attached to them (like the wagner) will wear you out on a large job like yours.

Here are a few tips:

1) Buy a respirator that works with Latex paint. Home depot carries them for about $30. Wear gloves, safety glasses, etc. Latex paint is not good for you. Hope I don't sound like your mother!

2) Strain the paint a several times. If you need to thin it, use water (not the commerical latex paint thinners - my experience has been that they change the color of the paint).

3) Take you time to cover-up the things you don't want painted. There are tools available that help with this in the paint department. I found that I often spent as much or more time masking stuff off as I did painting... But the time spent was well worth it. It saves you a lot of time in cleaning up. Also, it mays the spraying go alot faster.

4) The plastic spray shields (essentially a retangular piece of stiff plastic on a handle are great for catching over spray). Flat razor blades are great for getting any paint off of windows.

Have fun.

[Alan Turner]

Thanks for all the help, guys. You are the best. The shop is about 2800 ft., but with walls, and beams, works out to about 5800 ft of surface, w/o counting windows. They will be a PITA.

Turns out one of my partners has an airless sprayer (he is a contractor) that I can borrow, and I think I will "rent" one of his guys for a day or 2 to help me. I went crazy scraping the beams, and the ceiling decking, and cleaning ojut 80 years of dirt including the debris from a new roof after the old one was torn off. Took me 3 1/2 days to scrape, wire bursh, and vacuum the ceiling and beams, and you still can't eat off of them. I am pooped.

Do people think the cheap home center white will do as well as anything on this application? I am all for saving money, sice I have been spending it like a drunken sailor of late, what with tools, wiring, lights, etc.

[Steve Clardy]

Walmart has a fairly good cheap latex paint.



Edit Edit. Back in here editing. I meant cheaper in price, not a cheap paint.
Just to make sure no one thinks I said it is a cheap paint.

My Dad used it for years and liked it.

[Jim Dannels]

Walmart has a fairly good cheap latex paint.
Not sure my agreement with Steve carries much weight. I am biased.
I am the guy behind the paint counter at Walmart(my part time job) two days a week. I mix many more gallons in a week than most people use in years and have in 3 yrs not seen over 3 complaints( those seemed to be application problems) like applying over poorly prepared surfaces. Primer is important if surface is questionable.
But I would not use anything else, it is good paint at a very good price.
Often the same paint sold at higher prices with different labeling.
It is made by Valspar and Consumer Reports rates it in the top 10 on the market more often than not. In fact while I often think Consumer Reports are biased and base their decisions on things most of us would not. It might not hurt to go to their website and check their paint tests out.
Now I don`t put a lot of store in paint companies warranting their paints for 10,15 or 20yrs. I don`t think most people will put up with the same color long enough to find out if it will hold up that long?

[Alan Turner]

What is the brand name that Walmart gives the paint that you recommend? How much per gallon/5 gallons does it run?

[Jim Dannels]

House brand is Color Place, here in Iowa there`s a few dollars difference stepping up from flat @ about $47, satin+ $3 and semi-gloss @ aprox $55 in 5Gal buckets.

There is a less expensive brand about $43.00 for flat, Quick-Hide(if my memory is working this morning), I have one customer that buys 6-5gal buckets every weekend. He is a professional painter and says he`s used Sherwin Williams, Diamond -Vogel and this is all he will use now.

I should have mentioned, Walmarts prices vary based on the market, so could be different in your area. I know cost of living in general is higher out east.
I have noticed a $3.00 difference in paint prices from Altoona(Eastern Suburb of Des Moines) and the South Side store and Windsor Heights. The stores in Des Moines are higher. And the Newton Store is higher, with the Maytag factory there cost of living is higher.

[Steve Wargo]

I am all for saving money, sice I have been spending it like a drunken sailor of late...

Hey... I resemble that remark.

[Phil Phelps]

Alan, you said, "Do people think the cheap home center white will do as well as anything on this application? I am all for saving money, sice I have been spending it like a drunken sailor of late, what with tools, wiring, lights, etc."

As I said once before. I was painting 52 year old sheet rock that had turned almost brown. Using Benjamin Moore Fresh Start latex when I ran out on New Years day. HD was open and I bought their, Behr product, to finish the job. I could put on ten coats and it still won't kill the brown. It's the pigment in the paint. The cost difference was five dollars a gallon. Did I save money painting it three times? If you are painting an unsealed area, you need to use a superior primer/sealer for the job, or you are spinning your wheels. I can't see what you are painting, but if it's raw, uneven, dark, or stained, and I'm spraying, I'm using either Bin shellac or Kilz for the primer. Then I could spray one coat of "top" quality paint. PS. I wouldn't give you two cents for Consumer Reports testing since they purposely rolled an Isuzu Trooper and claimed it to be unsafe.