Sprayers are the best solution for outdoor painting. A sprayer allows any image to be done efficiently, resulting in an excellent finish and even coat. It enables you to do your job with less time and effort. For any large-area painting, a sprayer is recommended instead of a brush or roller, as painting with a brush or roller takes more time and effort, which makes your project lengthy.
If you intend to paint the outside wall for a facelift with a sprayer, you first need to learn the proper technique to paint outdoors with a sprayer. Different types of surface painting require other methods. This article will introduce you to the proper process of painting the outdoors with a sprayer. If you need to become more adept at using a sprayer, this guide will help you. Read on!
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What Type Of Sprayer Should You Choose For Your Outdoor Project?
Paint sprayers come in different types, such as airless, HVLP, and compressed air sprayers. Hence, it’s essential to decide which kind of sprayer you should choose for your project. We recommend an airless sprayer as an airless sprayer is the best alternative for outdoor projects.
This sprayer is always welcome for any large project. Professionals prefer airless paint sprayers, and they usually use an airless sprayer for larger projects. Airless sprayers deliver paint very efficiently over any surface, resulting in a smooth and even finish. It can operate at a high pressure of up to 3,000 psi which is ideal for large-area paints.
Airless sprayers can suck paint out of a large bucket, and the sprayer is lightweight because it’s not attached to the paint reservoir, which makes spraying very convenient. The airless sprayer is capable of effectively spraying both paints as well as finish. Therefore, you should choose an airless sprayer for outdoor painting.
How To Paint Outdoor With A Sprayer?
1. Adjust Your Sprayer With Low Pressure
The pressure setting you will set on the sprayer will depend on the thickness of your paint. It would be best if you started with the low-pressure environment on the sprayer at the beginning of spraying. To test, take a piece of cardboard and spray it. The pressure is less or more, and you can be sure by seeing the spray pattern.
If you notice, the spray pattern is uneven, which means the pressure is shallow. You have to adjust the tension. Keep increasing the pressure, and spray. Continue to increase the pressure until you get a nice and uniform spray pattern.
2. Keep The Sprayer Upright While Spraying
It’s imperative to keep the sprayer at the proper distance while spraying your exterior wall. This ensures you get an even layer of paint.
So, while streaming, keep the tip of the sprayer at a distance of about 11- 12 inches from the surface, and keep the sprayer upright to the wall.
You must follow this method if you want a professional finish to look at your painting. If you are using a sprayer for the first time, you may need help maintaining the correct position of the sprayer.
However, with practice, when you become adept at spraying, you will start painting like a professional.
3. Tape Off Windows And Doors With Painter’s Tape
Even though you are going to paint the exterior wall, you have to ensure the safety of your windows and doors from the effect of spraying.
That is why before you begin painting, mask your doors and windows with painter’s tape.
You can choose a high-quality 3M M3000K dispenser, which can roll out both tape and plastic simultaneously. Tape off the trim as well.
4. Always Keep The Lid On The Bucket
Always keep the lid on the bucket after opening the paint bucket. Remove the little cap on top of the cover and stick the intake tube into the small hole.
This will prevent debris from mixing into the paint and stay out of the stains. Also, it will stop the clog.
If you leave the paint bucket open, the paint in the empty bucket will dry out faster. As a result, dried flakes of paint can spoil your work.
Depending on your project, you can use 3 to 5 gallons of paint. But, always make the paints by pouring them into an empty 5-gallon bucket.
5. Overlap 50 Percent
Keep the pattern from overlapping by more than 50%. At the conclusion of each pass, remember to let off the trigger. Before pulling the trigger, start moving the sprayer. A paintball will result in case you begin spraying in its steady state.
In order to get enough paint on the bottom of the board when spreading along the lap siding edge, slant the tip of the nozzle upward. Most importantly, always begin spraying from the top of the wall.
6. Back-Roll
Spray the area in small portions. Avoid spraying any place in a significant amount. If you pour in a large amount, the spray paint will dry out before rolling over the entire area.
Here we want to mention one thing the weather is responsible for taking more or less time for the paint to dry. If the weather is sunny, the color will dry quickly, whereas, in damp weather, it takes more time to dry the paint.
When choosing a roller, you can use a roller with a thick nap if your wall surface is uneven. It can seamlessly reach the characters. Maintain rolling up and down while rolling lap siding horizontally.
If you move horizontally, the paint drips from the lap’s bottom. Applying one coat of stains on the wall will suffice if you intend to give a fresh look to your wall by using the same color.
But, if you are going to transform your wall with a fresh shade or want to change the style of the wall by painting the sides of the border with a different color, you will need to apply 2 coats of paint. Note that no back-rolling will be necessary after spraying the second coat. The second coat will come through faster and help cover small brush and roller marks.
7. Back-Brush
Although you have to do the painting with a sprayer, the spraying gun only delivers the paint. You’ll need to paint effectively under every crevice and lap of the surface to get a better finish and to make your painting last for many years. And it will only be possible with a sprayer.
For which utilize a small paintbrush. After spraying is complete, do a touch-up on the surface, and fill in any crevices that didn’t get filled with spraying. This significant painting step should not be avoided.
How To Control Overspray When Spraying Outdoor?
Some overspray is inevitable during spraying. Apart from this, an airless sprayer tends to overspray more than an HVLP sprayer. But still, by following a few techniques, you can control overspray when painting outdoors. These techniques are described below.
1. Avoid Painting In Humid And Windy Weather
When it comes to outside spray painting, wind can create problems with your spraying. Wind propels the airborne paint further away from the spray location, increasing the chance of overspray.
There is also a lot of color being sprayed when the wind blows because your surface receives the majority of the paint. Humidity is another crucial element that can lead to obstructions during your outside painting.
The paint mist dries significantly more quickly and turns to dust as this moisture evaporates. However, when this humidity is exceptionally high, paint particles in the air remain wet for a very long period, which has an impact on the quality of the surface you’re painting. Your painting will not be harmed if that wind is combined with a strong wind.
2. Utilize The Accurate Spray Tip Size
Spray painting overspray is caused by using the wrong size spray tip. If the paint spraying through the information is too big and wide, more paint mist and waste material are produced.
In contrast, using data with a smaller aperture and spray fan width reduces overspray and makes it less likely to harm anything outside the spray area.
Use your tip following the maximum spray tip size suggested in the user’s manual for your paint sprayer.
3. Use The Right Paint Sprayer
Choosing a suitable sprayer also determines whether to produce more or less overspray while spraying paint. In Airless vs. HVLP, airless sprayers generate more overspray, which we mentioned above.
And that’s because airless sprayers operate at high pressure, and therefore, it makes the workstation messier. However, airless sprayers are always preferable for larger projects.
4. Adjust The Pressure Control
More overspray, as well as blowback, are also produced when spraying under excessive pressure. Only some painting projects require high pressure. High pressure also wastes a lot of paint.
Almost all sprayer models have a pressure control feature that may be adjusted. Hence, using this, you can control the pressure. This will reduce overspray.
5. Mask The Materials
For work involving spray paint on the exterior, careful masking is crucial. Overspray is carried into the air and affects windows, patio furniture, or even nearby vehicles with paint splatters.
Hence, while painting with a sprayer, mask all objects that come in the way of your sprayer with a drop cloth or plastic sheet.
6. Use Spray Paint Shields
When spraying siding over walls, it’s a good idea to use spray paint shields to prevent paint from flying around the corner. These are useful for reducing overspray.
While spraying, the bushes can also be shielded with a spray paint shield. The length of the paint shield is usually 20 inches or longer and is also available in metal component variants.
Conclusion
You can accomplish the exterior project freely as compared to the interior scheme. But, carefully, you have to follow all the instructions for the paint with a sprayer properly. A vital suggestion, until you are an expert in spraying, you should paint the less visible exterior walls and hire a professional for the visible walls. It would help if you learned how to spray correctly to get excellent results in painting with a sprayer.
Joseph is one of the leading team members of Modern Paint. He has excellent organizational skills and amazing work ethic. Joseph is a DIY enthusiast. He also likes to play music and give valuable advice to our team members.