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A:

First of all, how exciting! You’re gonna love the sprayer! To those who aren’t sure what sprayer I’m talking about, I’ve used this $40 spray gun for a while now and I love it! I shared more details on the sprayer in this post but I have used it to paint our wood slat wainscoting, our dresser, and a shelf. It’s such a user friendly sprayer that I use and recommend regularly! Now to answer the questions above –

Do you have any advice or tips for using it?

Well let’s see…this sprayer is perfect for small projects like painting furniture or the trim in a room. I did use it to paint wainscoting but if I were to tackle that project again, I’d use a sprayer intended for larger projects. The spray is narrow so large surfaces take time, but it sprays incredibly smooth…like the best I’ve seen! For small projects, I use this sprayer every time as opposed to brushing or rolling and it makes the process go impressively fast!

Do you add water to your paint?

It depends on your paint and how thick it is. I’d recommend trying your paint “as is” first to see how it it sprays. If your paint is too thick, you may need to thin it down. Oil based paints can be thinned with paint thinner while water based paints can be thinned with water. This may be a “figure it out as you go” sort of situation.

Does one type of paint work better than others?

Yes, I have had a better experience with some paints than others. I have yet to figure out a way to spray my Zinsser primer. It’s a little thicker and I just haven’t figured out the right water to paint ratio that works with this sprayer. I’m sure it can be done, I just have to spend some time figuring it out. On the other hand, I use the Lowe’s Infinity paint regularly and have been more than impressed with how well it works. No need to thin this paint! I’ve only ever used water based paints so I can’t offer any insight on oil based paints.

I remember you mentioned that you like to set yours at 40 PSI. Is that for every project or just certain things?

To better clarify, this sprayer must be used with an air compressor and hose. The sprayer comes with a nozzle and a mason jar which holds the paint, but you have to supply your own air compressor and hose. We use this set. PSI (pound-force per square inch) is referring to how much pressure your air compressor will use to spray. Most paints have a recommended PSI for spraying. When using the Infinity paint from Lowe’s, I like to set my air compressor PSI at 40. This is something you’ll need to test for yourself however. The higher the pressure, the thinner the paint sprays. The lower the pressure, the thicker the paint sprays. So if you’re testing it and it seems like it’s too fine of a mist, maybe lower your pressure to see if that helps. Likewise, if it seems like it’s spitting, raise the pressure a bit and try it again.

For more info on my spray gun and my honest opinions on how it works, check out this post.

MORE PAINTING TIPS:

HOW TO KEEP PAINT FROM BLEEDING UNDERNEATH THE TAPE
A fool proof hack that I use every time I paint

THE ART OF SPRAY PAINTING – HOW TO GET A SMOOTH FINISH WITHOUT ANY DRIPS
5 easy things I do to get a smooth finish every time

If you have a question that you’d like me to answer on the blog, submit your question here.