Rant: my old paint sprayer vs the $80 HVLP that finally fixed my trim work

I used to spend 3 hours masking and hand-brushing every door frame in my house, but after I grabbed that cheap HVLP from Harbor Freight last spring, I finished the whole upstairs in one afternoon and now I'd never go back, anyone else make the switch and regret how much time they wasted before?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade8711mo ago

Wait till you try thinning the paint right and messing with the pressure dial, that thing gets even better. I did the same thing last year with my baseboards and kicked myself for all the years of brush strokes and tape lines. One thing I learned the hard way, clean the nozzle out right after you finish, even a ten minute break can leave dried paint that ruins the spray pattern. And don't toss your brush kit completely, you still need it for touch ups and tight corners the gun can't reach. But yeah, once you get the hang of it, you'll never go back to masking everything off like a madman.

milarodriguez1mo ago

Youtube was feeding me those sprayer tutorials for weeks before I finally tried it, and @wade871 is right about the cleanup thing. I left mine sitting for like 15 mins to grab lunch and came back to a clogged tip that took forever to clear, ended up having to replace the whole nozzle. Also real talk, the pressure dial changes everything once you figure out that thinner coats dry way faster and need a second pass. Still use my brush for the corners behind the toilet and around outlets though, the gun overshoots those spots every time.