# Wagner gear is great stuff



## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

Just wanted to post a comment about my wagner gear and say how happy i am with it.

Currently i use the wagner project pro 119, which is the entry level unit for contractors, and ive not had a problem with it. Its done 100's of jobs now and hasnt missed a beat. I've done several roofs, including my own and its been really good.

It folds down to a very small size and can fit in the boot of a car. I've got the graco pro shot cordless and its been my only piece of graco gear and its been back for repair 3 times since new, hardly had any use. I see a lot of guys having trouble with these guns.

Ive actually got two wagner airless units, both of them have never let me down, and ive rebuilt one with a kit just because i thought it was the right thing to do after the amount of work it did. Neither unit has given me any trouble, both are left on the back of the ute in the rain, sun, hail whatever with everything exposed to the elements.

If i was doing roofs all the time, more so tile roofs where i would use a thicker membrane type material, i would buy a bigger unit but for a few roofs a year, this is more than adequate.


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

hey, what sort of preparation did you do to the door before painting it ?


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

My only comment is that I wouldn't use a 211 tip for spraying garage doors. You could have used something like a 515 and would have been done with both doors easily in the time you painted one (first coat). As long as the Wagner works sufficiently for you, good deal.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

I hear that all the time john, but the corogations in the doors mean the 211 for that particular door is the perfect size. If theres no corrugations sure use a 511 or a 411 or whatever, but i like a smooth finish on the door, 515 is pushing a bit too much material out and will leave a lot of orange peel on the door unless you stand back a lot but then you have overpsray issues.


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

paintninja said:


> I hear that all the time john, but the corogations in the doors mean the 211 for that particular door is the perfect size. If theres no corrugations sure use a 511 or a 411 or whatever, but i like a smooth finish on the door, 515 is pushing a bit too much material out and will leave a lot of orange peel on the door unless you stand back a lot but then you have overpsray issues.


I wasn't paying much attention to the door actually when watching the video. I can see your point now. You obviously want to do a top notch job. Most of the garage doors I paint are just 4 or so horizontal panels with some recessed area that a 515 sprays quite evenly. I also tend to do a little wider masking than a lot of painters so I don't have to worry at all about overspray. I think I do a little overkill in this area and need to tone down the masking a bit as I keep improving my spraying technique.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

Brian, I bleech it first and wash down with a 3000 psi water blaster the day before. I find if you do it the same day masking tape is hard to put down on damp surfaces. If I'm just doing a door only and not any other parts of the house i'll hand clean and dry with a towel. I find water blasting is always the best way however


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

SemiproJohn said:


> I wasn't paying much attention to the door actually when watching the video. I can see your point now. You obviously want to do a top notch job. Most of the garage doors I paint are just 4 or so horizontal panels with some recessed area that a 515 sprays quite evenly. I also tend to do a little wider masking than a lot of painters so I don't have to worry at all about overspray. I think I do a little overkill in this area and need to tone down the masking a bit as I keep improving my spraying technique.


You can use a 515 fine I just prefer not to, it's a much heavier finish and you do use more material doing it.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

I wonder if anybody can tell me why I would use a fine finish tip over a regular tip for something that's not necessarily fine finish work. Because most painters cannot answer this question.


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

Hmmm, sorry to be a doubting Thomas but I bet I could scratch that paint off with my fingernail. It needs something like Krud cutter to key the paint to colourbond coatings.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

Brian C said:


> Hmmm, sorry to be a doubting Thomas but I bet I could scratch that paint off with my fingernail. It needs something like Krud cutter to key the paint to colourbond coatings.


Im using a self priming exterior satin paint on a door that is well weathered and has a coating previously, you could pressure clean it right up close, the paint isnt going anywhere. Bare steel, or new colorbond i would agree with you.

This is also following manufacturer specifications.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

One i did recently.


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

Those doors look really nice. I'll bite and ask you to explain your preference for using a fine finish tip when many others wouldn't on surfaces that don't normally require them.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

SemiproJohn said:


> Those doors look really nice. I'll bite and ask you to explain your preference for using a fine finish tip when many others wouldn't on surfaces that don't normally require them.


The main reason John, is overspray. You will reduce your overspray by 60 - 70% or better using a fine finish tip as the edges are soft / tapered. You end up with a fan that looks similar to one coming out of a HVLP unit.

so number 1 is overspray, if you are working in furnished homes, and are scared to use it inside this is your answer. Even outside on a semi-windy day, i have no issues using with this setup, roofs etc you could go to a 414FF / 515FF and get next to no overspray up on a roof. I mean you will get it, but 90% of it will land back on the roof, rather than on the 15 cars parked next door.

The other reason the soft edges are good, particularly with any paint with a sheen is that you dont see lines down the finished job. If you are glossing doors in a high end home and you use a standard tip and stand with the gun at the correct distance from the door, you WILL see lines down the finished door when done. 

The reason is the standard blue tips (graco) and red (wagner / titan) have hard edges. You might not see it straight on, but if you turn the door and look along it, you will see this. Im being very particular here with doors.

Garage doors you could use whatever you want really, but the main thing is LESS OVERSPRAY, less in your lungs and more on the job. Material savings also, and better control.


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

paintninja said:


> The main reason John, is overspray. You will reduce your overspray by 60 - 70% or better using a fine finish tip as the edges are soft / tapered. You end up with a fan that looks similar to one coming out of a HVLP unit.
> 
> so number 1 is overspray, if you are working in furnished homes, and are scared to use it inside this is your answer. Even outside on a semi-windy day, i have no issues using with this setup, roofs etc you could go to a 414FF / 515FF and get next to no overspray up on a roof. I mean you will get it, but 90% of it will land back on the roof, rather than on the 15 cars parked next door.
> 
> ...


With that orifice size are you usually thinning your paint?


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

SemiproJohn said:


> With that orifice size are you usually thinning your paint?


The only paint i would ever thin would be an oil based gloss. I dont thin any acrylics i use i dont believe in it. Whatever properties the paint has been designed with are being thinned out, coverage is reduced etc.

I push all factory low sheen / flat / gloss acrylics through a 210 - 212 / 310 - 312 tip absolutely fine, and use either the medium or fine filters for most jobs. Most paint shops will tell you this wont work, but it works absolutely fine. I do change my filter every second job, sometimes every job depending on how much spraying i have been doing. Im running between 50 - 70% pressure on my machine.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

paintninja said:


> The main reason John, is overspray. You will reduce your overspray by 60 - 70% or better using a fine finish tip as the edges are soft / tapered. You end up with a fan that looks similar to one coming out of a HVLP unit.
> 
> so number 1 is overspray, if you are working in furnished homes, and are scared to use it inside this is your answer. Even outside on a semi-windy day, i have no issues using with this setup, roofs etc you could go to a 414FF / 515FF and get next to no overspray up on a roof. I mean you will get it, but 90% of it will land back on the roof, rather than on the 15 cars parked next door.
> 
> ...


Finally! Someone else who gets it! I use a 211 on rentals and get called stupid. You worded that better than i could, sir.


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## paintninja (Jul 5, 2014)

driftweed said:


> Finally! Someone else who gets it! I use a 211 on rentals and get called stupid. You worded that better than i could, sir.


mate we are in the minority. Most painters would have no idea what a green / purple tip is.

Anybody that does a bit of spraying, even novices, should take the time to learn about the tip sizes, filters etc. experiment.

One thing i will say is that once the fine finish tip is worn in, you will get more overspray. So for a mission critical application make sure the tip is new or near new. If its just for cornice as i use it on every job, you can use an old fine finish tip, and not worry about covering too much. Alot of the time i dont cover anything at all if im just doing the cornice in a furnished home. 

Even say a bath ceiling / toilet ceiling i'll mask the light throw a few sheets down casually, spray out the entire ceiling and just roll the main rooms like usual. This is furnished houses im talking about.

Unfurnished - go nuts !


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