TUTORIAL + REVIEW: PAINTING WITH A SPRAY GUN

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We finally picked up where we left off with the office makeover and last weekend we finished installing the modern wainscoting. You can read all about that here. Since we installed the vertical slats only 3/8″ apart, there was no way I was going to brush or roll the paint in between each slat. #paintingnightmare

Instead, I purchased the this spray gun (as recommended by Chris Loves Julia) and spray painted the wainscoting! BEST. DECISION. EVER.

I’ve worked with spray cans before and I’ll always prefer spraying over brushing or rolling. But I had never used a sprayer with an air compressor until now.

So since my main job is to make your life easier, I’m going to do a full review and tutorial on on this spray gun.

I’ll be honest, my first impression of the sprayer was that it looked like a crafty DIY contraption…I mean the paint compartment is just a mason jar! But I had heard good things about it and I read excellent reviews so I had faith it would pull through for me.

So all you need for the sprayer is an air compressor, hose and paint (possibly paint thinner for oil based paints or water for water based paints depending on how thick your paint is). We used the HGTV HOME by Sherwin Williams paint line from Lowe’s and did not need to thin it which made the process a little easier.

Set up was incredibly easy. I just put paint in the mason jar and hooked the spray gun up to the compressor. It literally couldn’t get easier than that!

Our paint can listed a range of recommended pressures for spraying but we learned quickly that we just had to play around with the air compressor pressure until we got a consistency that we liked. In our case, it worked best around 40 PSI.

So let’s talk about the finish! I’ve worked with other spray guns that resulted in clumpy/spotty paint, but the critter spray gun had an incredible finish! It didn’t spit or spray clumps and the fine mist allowed me to spray as light or as heavy of a layer as I wanted without the paint building up or dripping.

The spray gun instructions stated that it could spray a 3 inch diameter if you stood 4 to 5 feet away from the surface but I had a very different experience with that. I found that it gave me the best coverage when I sprayed 3-5 inches away from the surface. It certainly didn’t cover a lot of ground but I only had to swipe over the surface twice to get complete coverage.

As far as over-spray, the paint mist did eventually overtake the room so you’ll certainly want to tarp everything that you don’t want painted. We covered every inch of our office in tarps but we still had a little paint creep through onto our wall so plan on doing touch up paint afterwards. And for safety reasons, you 100% need to wear a mask to protect your lungs from the harmful fumes. (Don’t worry, I was wearing a mask while painting and just took it off for the photo.)

After using the spray gun for our wainscoting project, I realized that this spray gun is not intended for larger projects. Although I only had to refill the mason jar 5 or 6 times, the jar doesn’t hold a ton of paint and the spray only covers a couple inches at a time so covering a large surface area takes quite a while. It would however be perfect for smaller projects like a dresser, window, floor trim, or a piece of furniture.

Cleanup was a breeze, we swapped out the mason jar and replaced it with a new one filled partially with water (or paint thinner for oil based paints). I sprayed water through the sprayer and rinsed it off under the faucet to ensure no paint was left in the tube. It was far easier to clean than I anticipated.

After realizing how convenient it is to use this sprayer, (especially if I spray outside or in our garage) I’ve started thinking of all the things I can paint in half the time it would take to brush or roll. I’m certainly going to be using this sprayer again in the near future!

If you purchase and use the this paint sprayer, I’d love to see what project you tackle with it!