Airless or help for spraying latex

[Jim Dwight]

I will soon have to paint about 6 feet of louvered bifold doors for a closet. I will use the same latex I have used for the other trim. But I REALLY don't want to paint them with a brush. I've rolled or brushed everything so far painting the trim before installation. Painting 16 foot lengths on sawhorses is not terrible. But bi-folds are difficult to do with a brush.

I have a Fuji mini-mite 3 stage which I like but I will need a bigger tip to spray latex. Even with a larger tip, what I read says I will need to thin. That isn't a deal breaker but will mean at least one more coat.

I've used an airless before and with latex it worked fine. Probably wouldn't have to thin. A cheap Graco is about twice the price of the tip I need for the Fuji. I might use it on the trim of the house but I doubt it. I question how much time it would save once masking is figured in. So it probably would only get used on interior trim. Would have been handy when I was painting a bunch of passage doors.

I think the right answer is just buy the needle set I need and try the Fuji. I'm sure it will spray a better pattern than a Graco. The quart cup would be a pain if I try it on the house but I doubt I will do that. Any other thoughts?

[Tom M King]

I have no experience with a 3 stage HVLP, or that particular airless rig. I have done plenty with a 4 stage, and hundreds of gallons with a pro airless rig. For that job, I would advise to stay with what you're used to with your 3 stage. One hesitation, on one stroke with the airless, and you have a lot of work to do that you didn't want to do. I wouldn't advise anyone to think about doing their first finish work with an airless sprayer on louvers.

I'd advise to thin, check the viscosity to within specified limits, and practice on something besides those doors before you start spraying them. Don't worry about how many coats it takes. If you try to cover everything with one coat, you'll probably get some runs, and sags.

[liam c murphy]

I spray latex paint with a gravity feed HVLP gun and a compressor. I purchased a Fuji Q5, and returned it a few days later. I tried different tip sizes, and experimented with altering the viscosity of various paint products. I was not satisfied with my results. However, my results might not be typical. The Fuji systems are supposed to be great. I don’t doubt that they work well for some folks out there. I’m watching this thread in hopes that I learn what I did wrong. I also included some pictures of the results I get with my current set up. I’m generally happy with my current set up, aside from the noise.
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[Tom M King]

I think those doors should come out fairly easily. The top pins should be spring-loaded, or adjustable. The required skill level goes way down if you can get them horizontal to spray.

[liam c murphy]

It might also be worth mentioning that some folks prefer Emtech 6500 or Sherwood Williams Kem Aqua plus as alternatives to traditional latex paints. Both options can be tinted like latex. Both brands are thinner than latex, and most likely easier to spray. Folks might have different opinions in regards to whether they are the appropriate product to use on an interior door.

[Tom M King]

Even Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic would be a better choice than regular latex paint, on doors, and trim, and is available in any of their paint stores even if it's not a pro stocking store. On sale now too. It's easy to spray a perfect finish with it.
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/proclassic-waterborne-interior-acrylic-enamel

[liam c murphy]

Even Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic would be a better choice than regular latex paint, on doors, and trim, and is available in any of their paint stores even if it's not a pro stocking store. On sale now too. It's easy to spray a perfect finish with it.
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/proclassic-waterborne-interior-acrylic-enamel I second this opinion. I’m torn between Pro Classic and The Emerald Urethane. I think I prefer Pro Classic.

[John TenEyck]

If you are referring to the WB ProClassic, it has a viscosity of about 500 seconds in a #4 Ford cup. You need an air assisted HVLP gun or a really large N/N set for a gravity feed gun to avoid thinning, probably a 2.5 mm and you likely would still need to thin it. Emtech 6500 and KemAqua Plus would be much better choices with a gravity feed gun. GF'S Enduro White Poly sprays about the same, too.

Best to find a product that works with your equipment.

John

[Ole Anderson]

I sprayed 30 six panel doors with a $300 Graco X5. Almost no time painting, most time was in setup and cleaning the rig. Just have a brush handy to catch the few runs you might get. Haven't tried a louvered door though. Since then I also did 23 gallons on fresh drywall in a weekend. And looking at doing the fresh drywall in my son's new 2000 sf ranch this fall. Just another tool to invest in. I too would recommend the Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic self leveling paint for all of your trim.

[Joe Chritz]

I have struggled with using a gravity feed HVLP for paint and finally bought the Graco 360 sprayer just for paint. It is sub $200 and is amazing for paint once you get the learning curve down.

Definitely worth the money for paint projects.

Joe

[Mike Henderson]

I've sprayed latex, slightly thinned, with a gravity feed HVLP conversion gun and a 2.0 or 2.2 tip (don't remember the exact size). Came out great but it took a couple of coats and I was spraying a horizontal surface (a bunch of shelves and uprights for a closet installation - but I was able to do all of them horizontally before installation).

Mike

[lee cox]

I have an Titan 400 airless sprayer and it sprays latex well straight out of the can but I only use it for large projects as it wastes a lot of paint on clean up. I think it sucks up a quart of paint to start.

I sprayed some cabinets with a quart cup air sprayer but I used oil based paint Egg shell finish from Sherwin Williams. It is easier to spray.

[Tom M King]

I found some videos on spraying louvers. This first one is airless, with a Graco Fine Finish tip (since it's green). I think because of the amount of overspray that it was made before they came out with the low pressure tips. Sorry, I couldn't find interior louvered doors, but there are probably some videos somewhere. The process would be the same though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK02yzno7M4

This one is with HVLP. I had an Apollo 4 stage that was some faster than this, but still slow. With the new airless guns, with FFLP tips, I sold the Apollo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPS7SjBkj2A

[Tom M King]

Lee, turn the tip around, and use water to push the paint in the pump, and hose back into the container. Turn the pressure down if you need to. As soon as you see the color change, stop. An ounce or two of water in the latex won't hurt a thing, and you aren't tossing a quart of paint. I keep a short 1/4" hose for spraying small things inside, and it doesn't hold much anyway.

[lee cox]

Lee, turn the tip around, and use water to push the paint in the pump, and hose back into the container. Turn the pressure down if you need to. As soon as you see the color change, stop. An ounce or two of water in the latex won't hurt a thing, and you aren't tossing a quart of paint. I keep a short 1/4" hose for spraying small things inside, and it doesn't hold much anyway.

Thanks Tom. I will try it. A short hose does sound like a good idea. Do you have to adjust the pressure different after changing to a short hose?

[Tom M King]

Yes, the longer the hose, the more the pressure drop by the time it gets to the end. Without one of the newer pumps, with a gauge that tells you what pressure its producing (which I've never had), the best thing to do is save large pieces of cardboard. Start testing the pressure lower than what you need by spraying a little bit on the cardboard. When its too low, there will be hard lines on the sides of the fan. Turn the pressure up just enough to get rid of the lines. There should be plenty of videos on youtube that demonstrate.

This video is worth watching, if you are new to airless spraying. You will see the hard lines on the sides of the fan when he sprays the first test. Then he turns up the pressure, and gets rid of them. He calls these lines "fingers", but I've heard them called all sorts of things. The first part of the video, he talks about different tips. If you end up doing much besides spraying house paint, you will need to learn about different tips-not only sizes, but types of tips. Fine Finish tips brought airless spraying to a whole new level, and I sold my turbine rigs soon after the FF tips came on the market. Now, they are improved even more by going to the Low Pressure tips. With the right FFLP tip, you can spray anything with an airless rig.

The different tips require the right tip guard that will screw onto your gun, but fortunately they all have the same threads. You can put a Graco RAC X tip guard on your gun, and use the FFLP tips. I'm still using an old pump, but have a newer Graco Contractor gun, and it's like a new world compared to what airless spraying used to be. Titan has an even fancier gun out now, and if I was in the market for a new gun, that's probably the one I would get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0JQdrr5fI&t=30s

If you decide you'd like to have a pressure gauge, to eliminate experimenting every time you switch hoses, or coating, Titan makes one that goes on either end of the hose. You can find them on ebay for 30 bucks, with free shipping. https://www.titantool.com/products/accessory-detail/pressure-gauge-kit-1/ Write down what pressure works for a particular coating, tip, and hose combination, and you'll be able to go back to that every time, ready to start spraying.