# New to Painting - I think I should have a sprayer



## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

Hi,

I am not very knowledagable about painting, but would like to be. 

My compnay rents out about 200 office spaces. When a space becomes available we repaint the floors and walls of the space, keep in mind these are empty rooms. 

Overall we have to paint 1-5 offices a month that range from 120-1,000 sq ft. I would estmate using around 3-20 gallons of paint a month.

Right now we hand paint with rollers, but I feel this is too time consuming. A sprayer, I would think, should save a lot of time and have a smoother look.

What sprayer do you recommend for this type of work? How would you recommend repainting these rooms efficiently and as nice as possible?

Thanks.

Josh


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

josh said:


> I am not very knowledagable about painting, but would like to be.
> 
> How would you recommend repainting these rooms efficiently and as nice as possible?


Dropcloths, brushes, rollers. You will become more knowledgeable this way.


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## cole191919 (Jan 10, 2008)

To be honest, if you are newer to painting, then jumping into buying, using, and maintaining an airless sprayer would not be my suggestion. Learning how to efficiently a job by hand takes some experience, never mind spraying.


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## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

josh said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am not very knowledagable about painting
> 
> Josh


4Get sprayers until you learn the A B C's of painting.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

timhag said:


> the A B C's of painting.


Always Be Careful...


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## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

vermontpainter said:


> Always Be Careful...


:laughing: :laughing:


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## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

*re*

i guess i did not explain the situation well enough.

i am not the one painting. we have a super that has been painting for years and is very experienced with using a roller, brush and dropcloth. however, he has never used a sprayer. I have been told that spraying a room would save a lot of time and will come out very clean. Right now we spend 4-8 hours painting a room. Could we reduce this if using a sprayer?

once again, the super, not i, will be using the sprayer.

i guess the first question is, should the super be using a roller and brush or a sprayer for this type of job?


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## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

josh said:


> i guess the first question is, should the super be using a roller and brush or a sprayer for this type of job?


Ask the super. He will be the one to answer your question.


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## Housepainter (Jan 6, 2008)

Read the post: *Ok---teach me something about Spraying

Especially about if the spray gets pulled into the AC/Htg system. You could have 200 renters owning your building....
Using spayers in occupied spaces can be a major problem....
*


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## cole191919 (Jan 10, 2008)

I spray mostly exteriors but I have sprayed interior. For the most part, the spraying for interiors is mostly new construction because with a fully occupied home with furniture to move, people currently living there, etc. it just won't make sense. 

But if the rooms you are painting are completely gutted and you develop a system that you can run efficiently day in and day out then it can save time. 

You also have to take into consideration that changing colours with an airless sprayer takes significant time as well as properly cleaning the machine, and even masking off everything you don't want over spray to get on is time consuming as well.


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## Kelly Painting (Apr 17, 2007)

You keep mentioning the finish.... when a wall is sprayed it is usually gets back rolled so you'll wind up with the roller texture anyways... I've done a few commercial jobs like your talking about and an 18 inch roller with speed him up
and be a better fit for that type of work. Not to mention less clean up.


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

18" roller and a faster painter
Dang, that guy's dogging it
Office repaints he should be cooking like crazy
This guy's using a crock pot


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## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

*re*

to verify:

we do not need a sprayer, and an hand 18" roller is the best equipment to paint an empty 200-1,000 sq ft room white?

Do you have any recommendations on how to do this any more efficiently?


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## Kelly Painting (Apr 17, 2007)

Yes.......I'm not sure I follow....how would I paint it?


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

josh said:


> to verify:
> 
> we do not need a sprayer, and an hand 18" roller is the best equipment to paint an empty 200-1,000 sq ft room white?
> 
> Do you have any recommendations on how to do this any more efficiently?


Sounds like your super, who has lots of experience, is probably doing just fine. Perhaps a better strategy for improving efficiency is to get your company to raise the rent on these 200 units by $2/month each and give the super a raise. That investment would likely improve efficiency.


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## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

*re*

thank you all for all your help.

Josh


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## Tmrrptr (May 4, 2007)

Josh, doesn't seem like we're quite getting all the info here.

But if I were on a blow n go I'd spray em for sure.

My guess is the super has a program and you shouldn't rock the boat.


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## Housepainter (Jan 6, 2008)

Looks like Josh had/has the job of finding ways to make work more productive at the business. 

Quote/ My guess is the super has a program and you shouldn't rock the boat.

Now if the super is being lazy that is something else...but this sounds like the new kid wants to impress the boss. :whistling2:


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## Tmrrptr (May 4, 2007)

EZ to impress boss if that's the case...

Show up on time, ready to work.
Follow orders.
Leave cell phone in truck.
Work 'til boss says its time to go home.


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## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

*re*



Housepainter said:


> Looks like Josh had/has the job of finding ways to make work more productive at the business.
> 
> Quote/ My guess is the super has a program and you shouldn't rock the boat.
> 
> Now if the super is being lazy that is something else...but this sounds like the new kid wants to impress the boss. :whistling2:


that is exactly the case. Our Super has been using a roller for 10+ years. We have recently been reviewing his work schedule and note that he spends a big block of time painting. It is my job to find out if the super can paint more efficiently by using other methods - such as a sprayer (which is what home depot had told me).

However, my understanding from previous posts is that the super is correctly using a roller and not a sprayer - is this incorrect? Should he, in fact, be using a sprayer?


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

josh said:


> (which is what home depot had told me).
> 
> However, my understanding from previous posts is that the super is correctly using a roller and not a sprayer - is this incorrect? Should he, in fact, be using a sprayer?


Rule #1 in the painting business: Do not listen to the people in the paint department at the big box store.

The consensus seems to be that he should not be using a sprayer. He is spending a large block of time painting because that is alot of offices.


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## crow (Jan 29, 2008)

Ya gotta remember never aks the caddilac dealer what the best car would be for you. they'll have the same answer every time!


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## Housepainter (Jan 6, 2008)

Here is a simple formula

SqFT/number of feet painted per hour= time the job should take

Example 20x20 office space with walls that are 10 foot high = 800 Sqft wall space to paint. I will assume drop-in ceilings and a rubber base molding.

If he can cut and roll 200 feet per hour that is a 4 hour job. You will have to determine want he can cut and roll per hour. Factor to consider are is he having to change colors, is there trim, crown molding etc. You can determine what he can paint by knowing when he starts a job and checking back in 15 minutes. Multiply by 4 and you should have a ball park figure.


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## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

Housepainter said:


> Here is a simple formula
> 
> SqFT/number of feet painted per hour= time the job should take
> 
> ...


Sounds about right. a 200 sq ft room takes about 4 hours. However, would a spray make this any more efficient - or still with the roll?


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

With protecting and masking all the non-spray surfaces, running, cleaning and maintaining a sprayer, then pulling all the protection and disposing of it...:no:


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## josh (Jan 23, 2008)

*re*



vermontpainter said:


> With protecting and masking all the non-spray surfaces, running, cleaning and maintaining a sprayer, then pulling all the protection and disposing of it...:no:


Well the rooms are an empty space. no trim or molding. just 4 white walls, can't paint the floor or ceiling - no hvac grid to avoild either - just light switch and outlets.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Josh

Just one more time for clarity: you do not need a sprayer.


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