2 replies to this topic

[TheFabMini]

I recently picked up a Wagner airless paint sprayer for some decorating about the house, and its proved to be a great bit of kit with a really nice controlled way of putting paint on walls etc. 

Has anyone tried or have any reason for or against one being used to respray a car? I dont actually plan on trying it but from using it with emulsion I cant see any reason it wouldnt spray a car with acceptable results.

 

for anyone unfamiliar with airless sprayers they essentially compress the paint and force it out the gun rather than a standard air compressor or aerosol which uses air or some sort of propellant across the top of the paint to throw it in the direction you want.

airless systems seem to create less of a mist of paint and a more direct finish. 

 

If no one has tried it yet I might get hold of an old panel and some cheap automotive paint and see how it comes out.

 

https://www.screwfix...cB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[bluedragon]

Trying it out on some inexpensive (but good quality) automotive paint is the best option, but that still will likely be a somewhat pricey exercise due to the cost of reducers and hardeners. 

 

But it is unlikely an airless sprayer designed for painting homes will work well because these are intended for thick, viscous home improvement coatings that tend to have good self-leveling properties. Used with thin, watery by comparison automotive paint will probably reveal very poor atomization at least.

 

Of course, if you spray a cellulose\lacquer or hardened 2K paint, you can always color sand\flat it and polish it, but the labor involved probably would mitigate against the savings in equipment cost.

 

Obviously, if people can paint a car with a roller, I'm sure using a home improvement airless sprayer could work. It's just whether it's worth the effort mitigating the shortcomings. There actually is by the way an auto paint system designed for use with a roller.

 

There are also dedicated airless auto paint sprayers, but they cost 10X that of a home airless sprayer for a reason.

 

 

Dave

[Steam]

Did a car with a wagner some 20 odd years ago. The correct inner nozzle parts are required for the paint you are using. I used enamel and got the correct parts.
90% of painting is prep anyway so the paint application is juat the finish. I got a bit of orange peel on the roof and a couple of runs on a rear panel but overall it was fine and easy to do.