Lots of exterior paint work to do

[Dave Tinley]

I have to paint the exterior of my house, shop and another storage bldg.
I am looking at the X5 paint sprayer at HomeDepot.
It cost $398.00 and looks like it may handle the job.

Anybody have any experience with this rig? Or have any other suggestions.
I would really rather stay around this price range.

Thanks
Dave

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Dave,
I had a much longer reply posted - then rethought it and deleted it.

I've not used that exact model. I have used similar 1/3 gal per min Graco units several times in the past.
A 1/3 gal per min using a .017 tip is generally the minimum for latex paint/material.

The XR 5 is a .27 gal per min that only supports up to a .015 tip.
That's sufficient for oil stain w/proper straining of the materail and other low viscosity materials.

It's kind of a not enough for production, but too much for fine finishing type of machine.

You'd be further ahead renting a larger unit - IMHO.

[Jason Roehl]

FWIW, as a painter with LOTS of time behind a sprayer, I rarely use bigger than a 0.013" tip on an exterior, 0.015" if I'm using a heavy coating like Sherwin's Duration. Unless the siding is metal of some sort, the paint needs to be back-brushed or back-rolled to "work it in", so the sprayer is really only used as a quick means of applying the material.

Oh, and with the proper tips and depending on the type of airless sprayer, they can actually work very well for fine finish work, including stain. They're just not ideal for small fine-finish projects as the hose holds lots of material.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

[Phil Phelps]

What will you do with one after you paint your stuff?