Painting - SIx or so questions about a new Graco STX Airless Sprayer
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12-26-04, 02:15 PM
I'm the proud new owner of a Graco STX airless sprayer. I'm using it to paint the inside of an empty house we're going to be moving in to soon. The floor guys start in four days, so I'm under the gun to spray some paint. :) Once that's done I can leisurely paint the outside, and then the inside of our rental house - Thank God I stepped up to using a sprayer. :D
This is the first sprayer I've used, and I used it for the first time about a week ago to paint all of the ceilings with Kelly Moore Acry-Plex eggshell white. WOW. It was so FAST & EASY and the application was tremendous!! Prep took about six hours, spraying took about 40 minutes for a 1400 square foot house!
I have a few questions...
For background - When I cleaned the unit before using it that was easy. It ships with an oil inside that was very easily flushed with mineral spirits (for everything there is a 'prime' phase and a 'spray' phase' - very self-explanatory) then I got the unit ready to spray latex - still no problem. Then I sprayed. So far, so good. Then on to cleaning again... I followed the instructions to the letter. I changed the rinse water many times, until finally things looked pretty good. They water coming out of the gun wasn't exactly clear, but it looked pretty damn good. Then, I removed the filters to clean them and there were still copious amounts of paint inside the filter housings and the filters. Hmm... I hosed those out, cleaned everything some more (ran four or five more water changes thru the unit according to instructions, then ran some mineral spirits thru to get the unit ready for storage (according to instructions).
QUESTION 1: Did I get everything clean enough? How do I know when it's good? I want to use this tool for a long time!
QUESTION 2: The brochure mentioned using either mineral spirits or 'pump armor' for storage. When I looked at the pump armor at the paint store it was ethylene glycol. Does that mean I can just use generic automobile anti-freeze to get the unit ready for storage (instead of the much more expensive 'pump armor') ? Seems to make sense since I'll almost exclusively be using water-based paints. I used mineral spirits since it's what I had on-hand at the time. Is mineral spirits better for the seals during storage? (okay, that was about three questions)
QUESTION 3: I have to paint about eight different rooms eight different colors of latex. Is there an easy way to flush the spray rig between pigment changes, or do I have to go through the entire cleaning procedure between colors? I also have to spray some lacquer on some doors. I assume a thorough flushing with mineral spirits after a 'get the thing ready for storage after using latex' is sufficient for that. How do I keep from using gallons of mineral spirits, like I used gallons of water for the latex stuff?
QUESTION 4: I have to spray the outside of the house with Zinnsler 1-2-3 primer before painting. Is there anything special I have to pay attention to when using primer? versus plain old paint?
QUESTION 5: How do I know when the paint is sufficiently thin for spraying? I've read that one of the mistakes people make using airless sprayers is using too much pressure, thereby transferring more paint on to everything but the substrate, but I had to turn the dial up nearly 80% to get a good spray pattern with the latex tip using a brand new 5-gallon bucket of Kelly Moore Acry-Plex paint (my long-time favorite back in the brush and roll days).
This is the first sprayer I've used, and I used it for the first time about a week ago to paint all of the ceilings with Kelly Moore Acry-Plex eggshell white. WOW. It was so FAST & EASY and the application was tremendous!! Prep took about six hours, spraying took about 40 minutes for a 1400 square foot house!
I have a few questions...
For background - When I cleaned the unit before using it that was easy. It ships with an oil inside that was very easily flushed with mineral spirits (for everything there is a 'prime' phase and a 'spray' phase' - very self-explanatory) then I got the unit ready to spray latex - still no problem. Then I sprayed. So far, so good. Then on to cleaning again... I followed the instructions to the letter. I changed the rinse water many times, until finally things looked pretty good. They water coming out of the gun wasn't exactly clear, but it looked pretty damn good. Then, I removed the filters to clean them and there were still copious amounts of paint inside the filter housings and the filters. Hmm... I hosed those out, cleaned everything some more (ran four or five more water changes thru the unit according to instructions, then ran some mineral spirits thru to get the unit ready for storage (according to instructions).
QUESTION 1: Did I get everything clean enough? How do I know when it's good? I want to use this tool for a long time!
QUESTION 2: The brochure mentioned using either mineral spirits or 'pump armor' for storage. When I looked at the pump armor at the paint store it was ethylene glycol. Does that mean I can just use generic automobile anti-freeze to get the unit ready for storage (instead of the much more expensive 'pump armor') ? Seems to make sense since I'll almost exclusively be using water-based paints. I used mineral spirits since it's what I had on-hand at the time. Is mineral spirits better for the seals during storage? (okay, that was about three questions)
QUESTION 3: I have to paint about eight different rooms eight different colors of latex. Is there an easy way to flush the spray rig between pigment changes, or do I have to go through the entire cleaning procedure between colors? I also have to spray some lacquer on some doors. I assume a thorough flushing with mineral spirits after a 'get the thing ready for storage after using latex' is sufficient for that. How do I keep from using gallons of mineral spirits, like I used gallons of water for the latex stuff?
QUESTION 4: I have to spray the outside of the house with Zinnsler 1-2-3 primer before painting. Is there anything special I have to pay attention to when using primer? versus plain old paint?
QUESTION 5: How do I know when the paint is sufficiently thin for spraying? I've read that one of the mistakes people make using airless sprayers is using too much pressure, thereby transferring more paint on to everything but the substrate, but I had to turn the dial up nearly 80% to get a good spray pattern with the latex tip using a brand new 5-gallon bucket of Kelly Moore Acry-Plex paint (my long-time favorite back in the brush and roll days).
PBTroy
12-27-04, 09:49 PM
It sounds to me as if the unit is cleaned well enough.
question 2.> Stick with the pump protector. When you run that through the line your diluting it with water and you dont need an excessive amount . Just follow the recommendations. When your switching colors often your stuck with cleaning out the line good between colors/ I wouldnt suggest using itfor spraying a laquer. Don't thin the primer. With the type of sprayer you have you shouldnt have to thin the paint if you dont want too. If you do do so sparingly. Not having enough pressure in my opinion is more of a concern in .
question 2.> Stick with the pump protector. When you run that through the line your diluting it with water and you dont need an excessive amount . Just follow the recommendations. When your switching colors often your stuck with cleaning out the line good between colors/ I wouldnt suggest using itfor spraying a laquer. Don't thin the primer. With the type of sprayer you have you shouldnt have to thin the paint if you dont want too. If you do do so sparingly. Not having enough pressure in my opinion is more of a concern in .