We've done a lot of painting over the past 12 years. A. Lot. And with every project we tried to find ways of making it as painless as possible, while making sure the finish was done right. This took us into the realm of paint sprayers, which is quite the rabbit hole to head down.
We've used 7 different paint sprayers, all available in many hardware stores. So let's talk about the strengths, the weaknesses, and value you get from each! We'll also share another option that we have, but haven't broken out yet. None of these reviews are sponsored - all opinions are our own.
Our Top Pick Overall - Graco Magnum Project Painter Plus
As far as sprayers for the DIYer go, Graco is a little pricier, but worth it if you plan on using it a lot. The Magnum Project Painter Plus is at a more obtainable price point, but uses the same airless tech that all of the Graco sprayers use.
Cons:
- If air does get in the hose (you run out of paint, for example), it can be a pain to get the spray going properly again
- Price (if you're trying to go as budget as possible)
- Lots of potential for wasted paint if not careful when cleaning
Cons:
- Can't be held at any angle - must be kept mostly upright
- More prone to spitting
- Cleanup is more intricate - entire spray unit has to be taken apart and all the individual pieces scrubbed - takes maybe 30 minutes.
Favorite New-Comer - Graco Ultra Cordless
This little guy is our new favorite for quick, small paint jobs. It's battery-operated, using the same batteries as the DeWalt 20V Max tools (which just so happens to be what all my tools are). Pricey, but really quality.
Wagner Flexio 890
The 890 gives a finer spray than the 590, but comes with a lot more bulk. It is nice that it has a case that everything fits into, but using it overall was a bit too clunky for it to be our go-to.
As a professional painter, I would have one advice: every paint has to be thinned.
Reasons behind it: workability, curing, open edge and finish.
If you want a proper finish you will thin the paint + add some conditioner, that helps the machine as well - less spitting.
With paint there is one rule, less is best.
I bought the Graco Magnum on your recommendation and I LOVE IT. Bonus: I bought it refurbished off Ebay for $165! I've used it to paint my entire kitchen and it works great, plus it's SO FUN. I second the request for a post with paint spraying tips -- for instance, how you handle the occasional drip/splatter, how long you wait between the 1st and 2nd coat, if you ever sand between coats, how to make sure you the paint doesn't go on too thick and "sag," etc.
Love your post on sprayers! One project I'm hoping to tackle is our kitchen cabinets. Our local Home Depot has Graco sprayer rentals, do you have any experience renting equipment? Worth it or no? I can't see us using a sprayer very much and thought it could be a way to get great results without investing by purchasing. Thank you!
Have the critter. Just bought the project pro + to, among other things, paint cabinets in our kitchen. First pass with primer was so/so. Any tips on getting the small grooves w/o overspraying? Lots of drips over here.
One of the main reasons why we wouldn't recommend the critter for large projects is it's spray volume is pretty low which means it's going to take a lot longer. I'd recommend thinner coats--don't stop the sprayer!
I was so excited for the Critter Siphon Gun and hated it! I did not find it easy to clean at all, and if this is easiest, then it makes me think spray guns are just not for me. But it might also be my projects are smaller, so the time and energy wasnt worth it. Thanks for the handy info though - always great to see a side by side comparison!
I've been thinking about getting a new sprayer. I have the Wagner Flexio 590 - it's on the heavy side when filled with paint, filling the jar makes a mess and it's a pain to clean and put back together every time. Holding it up above your head to paint the ceiling is exhausting. Thanks for this info!
So a little over a year ago I bought a 7130 and a big Square baler from a neighbor, the tractor had been rather neglected for the last 10-15 years. It has almost 10000 hrs, and I think it's been stored outside for a lot of it's life, at least judging by the paint. So I've been slowly getting little things fixed on it, oil leaks, put hytran in it, (just had some sort of Heinz 57 in it) front tires, built a monitor bracket, LED lights, and the latest project was the seats. The things I would like to do yet are, repaint all the red, it needs a new interior in a bad sort of way, and some of the plastics need replaced, I also would like to put 89 series mirrors on it, and eventually do away with the duals and go with super singles. The way it's set up now with the wheels all the way out, plus duals are really wide for all the road travel that I do.
I included pictures of the buddy seat build, last year I bought a buddy seat that just bolted in, but was quite unimpressed with it, it sat way to high, and the backrest was way too small to do any good. So this last week I set to work on it, I cut the bracket down 4 inches, and bolted up a little frame with 1inch square tubing and angle iron, then made the cushions myself, (as you can see) and bolted them up. It does flip up out of the way, the buddy seat upholstery job leaves alot to be desired, but it's not finished yet, I'll cover the bottom with something. Last night I took the operator seat in to get reupholstered, and I'm fairly happy how it turned out. Next I need to either recharge or buy a new accumulator for the suspension, it doesn't currently bounce at all.
I will give a ? on the buddy seat. Not like the high dollar ones but if you have some padding under there should sit just fine. That is what I sit on on my old junk. I grew up getting stabbed by springs on old rusted out seats. So 3 or 4 inches of foam rubber is a treat to me.
I've been making slow progress on the magnum, it's going to get new paint, possibly a rebuilt fuel pump, different rear inner tires, all new interior, and there's a broken off manifold bolt that we have to get out.
Took the interior,seat,and suspension out today and started cleaning it out. What a mess! No pics, forgot to take them. Also ordered a new headliner, and material and foam for the rest of the cab, gonna try something different this time, I ordered burgundy vinyl and all the foam, I'm going to try to put a bit of a custom twist to it, and make my own interior kit... not sure how it will work, but if it does work out, it should look pretty sharp. Also going to put kilmat down, I'd like it as quiet as possible in the cab.
If you are asking if the newer exhaust (external muffler) fits in place of the muffler under the hood style exhaust it's a no. Cast piece has a different bolt pattern than the bell housing or speed transmission housing has .
I sure hope it pays off! I've never really painted anything before, so I'm not planning on perfection... just really hoping it's done by the end of April, I'm working on it around a part time job, and the dairy. Baling season starts around the end of May, so it has to be done by then.
We studied 6 excellent magnum projectplus paint sprayers over the previous 3 years. Find out which magnum projectplus paint sprayer fits you best. You can also Search by model, manufacturer, type and Brands or pick one of our magnum projectplus paint sprayer editorial picks.
Graco magnum painter more stationary airless in keeping with Lowes. Graco magnum painter and stationary sprayer without air. You are amateur, absolute beginner, sprayers of the series of amazing results.
Magnum project plus electric sprayer as reported by Graco. The owners, including the sprayers, paint perfectly with the painter's projects. This sprayer handles most outdoor house projects directly from the container finish.
The market for distributed batteries in the U.S. has largely been limited to states with obvious economic benefits: California and New York.With a robust storage target, high demand charges, and an incentive program for behind-the-meter batteries, California is a clearly compelling place to do business. Although New York is still grappling with the safety of using lithium-ion batteries in buildings, the state's high demand charges make lead-acid storage an attractive offering for commercial businesses looking to shave their power bills.
The Clean Energy Group (CEG) set out to answer those questions in an economic analysis of combined PV and battery systems in three cities. The organization didn't just model traditional commercial buildings. Rather, it focused on affordable housing with 100 to 300 units -- a market underserved by solar and battery installers alike.
CEG found favorable economics for solar-plus-storage on affordable housing units in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York. The analysis modeled project expenses, operations and maintenance costs, average utility bills, grid services, solar renewable energy credits, capital depreciation, local incentives and the federal Investment Tax Credit. It also assumed that lithium-ion batteries were replaced after 10 years and lead-acid batteries were replaced after seven years.
The report was written for two reasons: first, to show that affordable housing can be a viable market for installers, and second, to show that solar-plus-storage is viable as a resiliency tool to protect against outages.
Because of mediocre insolation, low electric rates and poor incentives, the solar system on its own offered a 20-year payback. But the addition of batteries improved the economics considerably. Since Chicago is part of the PJM market, where frequency regulation services from distributed batteries are currently assigned a value, the larger battery system sped up the payback to 6.2 years.
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