Intelligence is Value

Using a paint sprayer to paint certain areas in your home can make the paint job appear to be more smooth and uniform. They go beyond the ordinary paintbrush and open up more options that you can blaze through with ease.

However, using a paint sprayer can be intimidating if you don’t use it often. Here are a few tips you can follow to make yourself familiar with the equipment:

1. Always wear proper protective gear.

Don’t just wear a dust mask when spraying any surface. Because you will be exposed to droplets of paint, be sure to wear a respirator as well as goggles and an apron, and keep your work area properly ventilated.  

2. Prime your pump before using it.

Most paint sprayers have a valve with two or more options. Dial the switch to prime and press the “on” switch before slowly turning the pressure valve up. Be sure to allow it to run for about thirty seconds to remove any air bubbles.

Don’t forget to clean the pump after use! The biggest reason why paint sprayers stop working is because the paint is left to dry without cleaning. However, avoid touching the nozzle with your bare hands – it could inject paint into your skin.

3. Always test your paint sprayer on a piece of scrap material with the same surface as your project.

Spray a few test shots onto the material to see the spray pattern before moving on to your project. This will give you a feel on how the paint sprayer works and minimizes any chances of slipping up or possibly undoing any progress.

This also works when you’re testing out new techniques or nozzles.

4. Test your paint sprayer with different accessories.

While paint sprayers are designed to make painting large surface areas (i.e. ceilings, walls, floors) much easier and faster, there are also accessories that can help you accomplish the task much faster.

Depending on your project, you may need different hoses to keep your paint sprayer versatile, filters to ensure a smooth finish, conditioners to keep corrosion and sticking to a minimum, and different tips to let you work with paints of varying thicknesses.

5. Don’t spray the surface up close.

This can cause the paint to be runny and would result in a less even finish, as well as splash on your eyes or nose if you’re not wearing protective gear. What you want is for the paint to be as evenly distributed throughout the surface as possible.

Depending on the type of nozzle or paint sprayer that you have, always place enough distance between the surface and the nozzle to achieve the best results.