# Better - Spray or Brush & Roll



## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

This customer of mine needs a bunch of his interior repainted. House is fully furnished with lots of wallpaper. He said he was told that "spraying is better". The only thing I could think of saying at the time was, "I guess it's a matter of opinion".

I am sure this could be a controversial subject, and I am sure both have their merits.

Can you all give me the various pros and cons for this situation? I'd love to give him some facts.

It was painted when built about three years ago. It was all sprayed, poorly. Although no sags, there is a lot of ..... I don't even know what you would call it ...."texture" ? Looks like roller texture, on the trim.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Trim or walls?

No real benefit to spraying walls unless there is an efficiency gain, but unlikely in a furnished home.

Trim will look nicer sprayed, but cost and hassle to the HO in a furnished home go through the roof IMHO,


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I assume both.

Walls are Behr. (I've had to Gardz them prior to wallpaper) 

How will trim "look better"? I would like to give him objective reasons, not subjective opinion.

I am not sure if they like the looks of brushed trim or the light stipple it now has.

OH, I do not believe money will be an issue if it's high quality.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

If existing texture is sanded smooth and sprayed, it will be a nicer finish than what I can do with a brush, especially if trim includes builtins and wide trim items. it depends on what the end finish result is that the client wants to see. 

I do not think there will be much of an efficiency gain in spraying trim in an occupied home in most situations. If empty, yes, but not furnished in most situations.


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

You can't spray in an occupied home - I've never seen it done successfully. You'd have to put so much plastic everywhere, it would be as much work as doing RRP. A brushed Benny Moore Advance finish looks as nice if not nicer than spraying. Funny thing is, I saw a lot less sprayers at work on exteriors this past season.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

With the right tip/paint/pressure combination you can't beat a sprayed on finish for trim!


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

For spraying in side, the overspray dust alone is enough reason not to do it.

Someday, I would like to see a brushed, waterborne coating that looks better than a well done spray coating (noton a piece here or their, but a wide range of materials and surfaces over an entire house). It may be doable, I just have not been fortunate enough to have ever seen it done,,


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

plainpainter said:


> You can't spray in an occupied home - I've never seen it done successfully. You'd have to put so much plastic everywhere, it would be as much work as doing RRP. A brushed Benny Moore Advance finish looks as nice if not nicer than spraying. Funny thing is, I saw a lot less sprayers at work on exteriors this past season.


I beg to differ. I do it all the time.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

plainpainter said:


> You can't spray in an occupied home - I've never seen it done successfully. You'd have to put so much plastic everywhere, it would be as much work as doing RRP.


I do it regularly in apartments and have once or twice in homes. Group the furniture, cover with plastic taped to the floor, drop the floor up to the plastic and blast away. Open the windows and blow some fans for an hour or so before pulling up everything.

As for OP, I think it depends on the situation. I wouldn't want my masonite brushed or my rough cedar just sprayed.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Again, what do you mean by "better" ?

Also, many folks have the notion that paint, when sprayed, hits the surface partially dried, thus loosing some bonding. 

Another old school adage is that that paint must be "worked" into the surface with a brush. (I even got that in the early 70's when rolling).

How does one answer these concerns?


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## Jtpaintalot (May 4, 2011)

Nope ! Don't spray in these conditions! Way to much work and risk! Use bm advance or aura with the right roller and it will look superb ! There r some nice foam rollers out there that leave a spray like finish anyways! I hope u charged fat for this customer, cause I can tell already that u have your work cut out for u !


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

You are going over sealed, smooth surfaces. No working in needed. The brushing and working in is for rougher surfaces than your typical interior surfaces. Porous and rough surfaces-working it in with a brush helps.


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

plainpainter said:


> You can't spray in an occupied home - I've never seen it done successfully. You'd have to put so much plastic everywhere, it would be as much work as doing RRP. A brushed Benny Moore Advance finish looks as nice if not nicer than spraying. Funny thing is, I saw a lot less sprayers at work on exteriors this past season.


Spraying an occupied home is possible in the following we sprayed coverstain and flat paint to the popcorn ceilings. We have sprayed trim as well, on walls I really like to rolled instead of spray paint them.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Bill, 
I'm not going to discuss which way is easier. Each has it's proponents and place. In an occupied home (or even unoccupied) I tend to roll walls and ceilings because I think it puts on a thicker layer of paint which allows for better protection of the surface. I feel discussions often focus on just appearance and forget about the other purpose painting fulfills. Some may argue that spraying and back-rolling will achieve the heavier coat and I won't argue with that although I'm not sure how much time is then saved with the spraying by the time you factor in all the prep involved. JMO.

Dan


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## F&SWins (Nov 5, 2011)

A sprayer is going to give you a good mil thickness, a smooth finish, and no stipple or brush marks. I spray if the finish is desired, or if ceilings are being done. When painting ceilings there is a decent amount of covering floors, furniture, walls, trim so I just spend some extra time making my masking tight and spray trim. Then I cover the trim and spray and roll the ceilings. Then roll walls. I like using a sprayer on ceilings for the speed versus cutting in and dipping a roller. Personally I only spray walls in new construction or in a full home repaint with 1 wall color.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

I like to spray ceilings, especially popcorn ceilings, but I generally cut and roll walls and trim. By the time we get everything masked off, sprayed, pull the tape, and clean the machine it's usually quicker to brush and roll. That being said, I'll be spraying the ceiling and trim later this week in an unoccupied, unfurnished home.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

DaArch
It probably depends on what look they want for the millwork. If the trim currently isnt super smooth, then you would have to sand the texture out anyways if you were wanting to improve on it. You could just brush it with Advance or satin impervo and get a very nice finish. Regarding the back brush question, No need to work things in with a brush on interior. I always use the car painting analogy. They don't back brush cars, and they last a lot longer than most housepainting jobs. 
We rarely spray in a furnished house. While it can be done, it's a lot of masking. We often use 1/4" nap rollers for flush or panel doors, with a little extender, and they come out looking as good as spray, or at least as good or better than the textured trim you describe.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Paradigmzz said:


> I beg to differ. I do it all the time.


Was going to say the exact same thing :thumbup:


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## paintgurl (Sep 20, 2011)

Have u tried using the microfiber sleeves/roller covers? They're absolutely awsome. They leave a beautiful finish, even with general paints "hp 2000" which can end up looking nasty if u aren't careful. They hold more paint. Don't drip or spatter. And leave a nice smooth finish. I've even started using the mini microfiber sleeves for handbombing trim and the finish it leaves on the trim is closest to spray finish that I've seen yet. Much nicer than foam, velour, and flocked. The coverage is nice and even. No lap marks. Spraying in a lived in house seems like it would be a lot of risk not worth taking if u can get results relatively close to spray finish by brush and roll. Just my opinion. Thx.


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## robladd (Nov 22, 2010)

I remember when you brushed everything you could then rolled everything you could and then sprayed the rest.

Now you spray everything you can roll everything you can't spray and brush the rest.


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## prototype66 (Mar 13, 2008)

Seems like a huge pain in the arse to spend all that time masking absolutely everything just to spray a fully furnished home. I guess it depends on what you are faster/better at. I would brush and roll everything but that's just me. Most top line products lay down nicely and it would seem to be a bigger inconvenience for the homeowner with everything masked off. just my 2 cents


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## Ultimate (Mar 20, 2011)

Lost g.a.s.


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## Andyman (Feb 21, 2009)

Which is better...

Better aestetics is subjective. Smooth glass like sheen? or Smoothly brushed? That's the HO opinion. 

Better durability shouldn't matter which application method was used. A coating is to be applied at a specific millage with specific preparation and generally two top coats.

As far as masking and time spent, I think it depends on what the surface requires. If the trim only needs a light scuff sand and one coat of the same paint that is on it then brushing may be the answer. If the trim needs a prime coat, 1st coat, and a final coat then I think spraying is more efficient. You may lose the time it takes to brush one coat on the trim while masking the area, BUT you GAIN efficiency on the second or third coats.


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## Ultimate (Mar 20, 2011)

Where is Jack?


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Damon T said:


> I always use the car painting analogy. They don't back brush cars, and they last a lot longer than most housepainting jobs.


One problem with that analogy are the differences in the paints. Lacquer and house paints are different. 

I won't get into the inherent durability of lacquer over house paint (if house paints were as durable - boy that would cut into the money to be made with repaints), but lacquer has an interesting chemistry that makes brushing not only unnecessary, but also ill advised. With lacquer, each additional coat re-emulsifies the previous coat. 

Now, your analogy does hold water, but for a different reason than I think you were thinking of - if the product is acrylic. From what little I've read, and I plan to research more, it appears that acrylic resins also re-emulsify with each additional coat. 

I would appreciate any information on this from those that know.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

I was keeping it simple. Once a surface is properly sealed etc back brushing isn't accomplishing anything. Regarding acrylic, there is an excellent book by Bob Flexner titled "understanding wood finishing". He goes in depth on all types of finishes, the chemical makeup , dispels lots of myths regarding wood finishing etc. 
You are correct the lacquer and shellac melt into the previous coats, becoming one coat in essence. Acrylic finishes are somewhat different. Water borne paints and finishes use tiny droplets of cured acrylic resin using water as the vehicle. They also contain a solvent which evaporates more slowly than water, such as glycol ether. When the water evaporates the tiny droplets of resin come very close together (coalesce) and then the glycol ether (or other solvent) softens the outer molecules of the droplets of resin so they can interlock much the way that lacquer and shellac form a continuous film. The difference is that shellac and lacquer melt into the previous coatings, essentially forming one layer, vs acrylic and oil based paints layer one on top of another. I'm no chemist, I took all that right out of the book. It's a great book. I actually looked the author up once when I was having the weirdest bubbling problem on a wood finishing project, and he took the time to call me back and brainstorm problems / solutions with me. Way cool.


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