Airless Sprayer Range Question

[Andrew Seemann]

Hi all, Question for you airless experts.

Our Hudson trombone sprayer at our family biz finally died, and they and their repair kits are no longer available from Hudson or anyone else. We used it for spraying shading compound (basically thinned, low-quality, latex paint designed to wear off in 6 months) onto the greenhouse roofs in late spring so we don't fry the plants.

I have wanted an excuse to pick up an airless paint sprayer for a while, for general painting at the biz and home. My question is:

Is there a way to use or adapt an airless paint sprayer so it would shoot thinned paint (e.g. shading compound) say 25 feet or so? That would get us to the peak of our largest greenhouse. It doesn't have to be a neat or even pattern; spatters, runs, and gobs are just fine for the intended use, and are what our now-retired sprayer did. The consistency of the shading compound is somewhere between whole milk and latex paint that has been over-thinned.

There are all kinds of sprayers available, but all I am finding are intended for finer mists at much shorter distances.

We would still want to use it for normal painting, so if there was a modification, we would ideally not want it permanent. Although with the cost of the machines designed to do this, sacrificing a $400 paint sprayer might still make economic sense

[Tom M King]

An airless sprayer won't do that without a long tip extension. I've never seen a tip extension that long, but I expect someone makes them. Keeping the gun a couple of feet away from the surface would work for what you're wanting to do, but you have to get it that close. I'll look for an extension.

Edited to add: The longest I've found is 12 feet, that holds the gun up in the air: https://www.amazon.com/Hyde-Tools-28...004XOMWVO?th=1

You can buy just the end that holds the tip adapter. It would be a lot lighter without having to have the whole gun up in the air. I'd call Graco to see if they have anything available, or ideas. The pressure airless produces is nothing to play around with, so I would only be willing to use commercially available equipment.

I have a 24' extension for a pressure washer, and strong men have to take turns operating it every few minutes. An airless sprayer doesn't push back anything like a pressure washer, but I imagine a 20' pole will be quite tiring.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If the greenhouse is rounded over like I'm thinking it is, maybe you could fashion a small wheeled cart - using something like a Tonka toy - that you can fasten a gun & hose to - along with a long 25 foot pole - and just run it back and forth over the top.