Last week I threw out the idea to try and answer any questions you all might have. I promised if it became a hit I would splurge and get some head-shots taken to make this legit. After receiving three questions in the comments, (unfortunately, not a single basketball related question) I set my appointment with Glamour Shots. Just as I was about to head out the door yesterday I started doing a little research for my questions and I discovered that Heidi had asked her question on another home site and already received an answer. She had said such nice things:
I bet she says stuff like that to everyone she wants to answer her questions. If you want the answer to Heidi’s question you will have to go somewhere else (Awesome!?!? more like awful). I just didn’t feel right going ahead with the Glamour shots with only two legitimate questions, so I fought through the tears and called to let them know I wouldn’t be showing up.
Heidi – I hope that answer was worth wasting your shot with my brother. He said there was no way he would wait the four years till he graduates high school for a lady of your ilk.
Enough talking about unfaithful heidi and onto the good questions.
**Kara was afraid that some of you wouldn’t be able to tell that I am totally joking. I really appreaciated Hiedi’s compliment and since I felt like she “got me,” I could give her a hard time and she would understand. I would never seriously speak this negatively about someone. I am way too afraid of conflict for that.**
Lesley asked for some ideas for a wash tub she recently purchased.
Lesley – I will be happy to give you some ideas IF…, you can talk someone into taking me noodling! (For those that haven’t had their coffee yet, her husband is the one in the photos) Deal? Send me some pictures so the readers and I know exactly what you are talking about and I can hopefully give some ideas.
Finally onto answering this week’s question. Nikki asked:
This thing is totally falling apart. The first “question” I am going to answer isn’t even in the form of a question. We will get all the kinks worked out eventually. I am more than happy to give out my opinion on tools, but please take them with truck load of salt.
Kara and I love using paint sprayers when we can. They can take a lot of the hassle out of paint and finish projects. Once you see the flawless finish they produce you will get rid of your brush and roller.
There are two types of spray guns:
Siphon Cup Gun
Gravity Feed Sprayer
I prefer the Gravity feed guns and recommend them for most home owner/DIY types. They seem to be a little more forgiving in less than ideal situations. I am sure there is a reason why most professional auto body shops will use the siphon style rig, but they always filter their paint, use solvent based products, and have extra large air compressors to insure they maintain an adequate air pressure. We have found that when we choose to go ahead and paint even though, we have run out of filters for our latex paint and our small pancake compressor runs constantly trying to keep up, the gravity fed gun performs more consistently.
Now that you have an idea what style fits you we need to discuss brands. I am not going to get into really high end options. I will stick with options I think most of you will realistically consider. For Home Depot that means, Husky or Buffalo Tools. (Lowe’s only has two expense options, Kobalt or Porter Cable)
I for the most part consider Kobalt and Husky equals about like I consider Home Depot and Lowe’s equal. I know everyone probably prefers one to the other, but that is most likely because of a specific personal experience or a difference that maybe unique to the local stores closest to you. So if you are trying to decide between the to I recommend going with Kobalt if your favorite color is blue and Husky if orange is your favorite. I usually will go with Kobalt, just because every time I pick up a Husky tool I have flash backs to my mom taking me shopping for jeans as a child (Who thought Husky would be a good description for jeans made for healthy kids?)
If you are trying to figure out if it is worth it to spend extra money for the nicer spray gun answer this question for me(and be HONEST!). How well do you take care of your stuff?
If you always clean your tools before you put them away I recommend splurging a little bit. Initially you will probably notice a little nicer performance than the cheaper gun and over the long hall the higher quality components will definitely hold up to the thorough scrubbings you will inflict on them.
However, if you are like me and get so excited to be done with a project you just throw your tools in the garage or just leave them where they are, I recommend spending as little as possible. The better performance early on probably isn’t worth it to you anyways and even if it might be it, good luck getting it to perform when it is full of dried paint from your previous project. If it is early in the year and you are still sticking to your new year’s resolution to take better care of your stuff the cheaper guns will hold up just fine to a few cleanings. They are pretty simple devices and about the only way the thing will stop working is if it gets dirty. So if you choose to go with the cheaper option you go through two before you really start to kick yourself.
Now that you have picked a gun let me give you a few general tips.
– Clean your gun every time you use it. Most of the time you will be able to get away with just running water or solvent (based on what kind paint you are using) through your gun till it is mostly clear, but every third time or so taken the time to take the thing apart and make sure it is nice and clean.
– Check the maximum pressure is for your gun and make sure your compressor is set below that. You don’t want to be replacing o-rings when there is furniture to be painted.
– Run your paint through a strainer as you pour it in your gun, especially if you are using older paint. Latex paints are bad about forming little globs when they sit for a while. It may seem like hassle, but it is a lot easier than taking your gun apart to clear clumps out of your gun.
– Practice on some scrap wood or card board before you start on your real project. These guns have a few different adjustments that control the direction of your fan, the flow of your paint and the flow of the air. They all affect the application of paint a little differently so play around a little bit and figure out what you like best.
I know you all are dying for more in depth analysis of paint sprayers, but that is all I have. If you want more information you might check with Heidi and her “AWESOME” resources. They probably have twice or even thrice as much information. As for the rest of you, let me know what you think and please ask any questions you want answered.
I have a question that I hesitated to ask last week because I hadn’t Googled it yet, and didn’t want to look dumb. 🙂 I just Googled it, and I’m still not sure, so I thought I would go ahead and ask. I want to paint my oak kitchen cabinets. What kind of paint would be best? And if the answer is “enamel,” what does that mean? Oil based? Does enamel paint come in different sheens like latex paint does? Do you have to use any protective gear when you paint with it? Is it safe to use inside? Where would you buy it? Can you brush or roll it on or do you need to spray it? Or would you be OK with using latex paint on kitchen cabinets? So, there you go. I guess that’s actually more than one question, though. 🙂
Thanks sooooo much for your imput! The guy at Home Depot just kept telling me about the electronic paint sprayers in the paint department, even though I told him I wanted one from the air compressor tool section. So, not very helpful on that trip. And although I am pretty diligent about cleaning out our tools, I think I’ll go with the cheaper kind. I usually figure out what is lacking in a purchase and then know what I would like better the second time around. (I’ve gotten really good at picking out snowboarding gear)
And hopefully others will be impressed with your knowledge and willingness to answer questions so that this “Dear Tim” concept can get off the ground. I think it’s a great idea so keep it up if you can, and hey, it’s easier than combing the internet for reviews and still having no clue what you want.
Bwah ha ha ha! I am LOLing over here… You know, I was operating on the underlying assumption that I am somewhat invisible and no one would want to spend time on something little ol’ me asked… Plus I have like three readers of my blog (really friends I pay to boost my stats) and never figured that anyone at the stature of KaraPaslayDesigns.com would read my posts.
Please tell your brother that I’m sure I’m missing out and will rue the day I made my fatal error…
🙂 Heidi
I was about to post my comment, but then I realized that it is along the same lines as Jenny B.’s question above. I want to paint my orange-y oak kitchen cabinets also. What is your advice on using a paint conditioner to cut down on brush strokes when painting them? What’s the best/easiest way to paint the insides of the cabinets? I hate sanding, so is there something else I can use to make the paint more durable? What kind of primer should I use?
Thanks for your advice!
Thanks again for the advice! I for one and finally tried it out last weekend! It worked great, here’s the project I’m starting with it if you care to take a look see.
http://theambitiousprocrastinator.blogspot.com/2011/09/day.html
Nikki – I am glad that I could offer some advice. From the looks of things, you are ready to give out your own paint gun advice. Things are looking good. Please send some pictures when you finish up the project. I am sure the second batch will go much faster now that you have a little experience.
Tim
Hey, I finished the railing that I bought the paint sprayer for. Now I have like 8 doors to go.
http://theambitiousprocrastinator.blogspot.com/2011/10/railing-complete.html