I've had the Delta variable speed for 6 maybe 7 years and really like it.

I'll be very curious to see what you think of it, please report back!

I'm no expert but I would much prefer the certainty of the inside flange joint over the uncertainty of the joint on the outside flange. As they say.......poop don't flow uphill.

sleepy hollow said:

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So, my "supervisor" has decided she wants to repaint the entire interior. This is two floors of a 3500 sf 4 BR home. I have many hours logged with rollers and brushes over the years, including my finished basement where I did all the drywall install, mudding, priming and painting (1500 sf of finished space). But I am wondering if there is any time to be saved and quality to be gained by using a sprayer instead this time around. Would like to go faster if possible, among there things.

My routine is usually as follows:

1. repair damage, nail pops, re-mud, sand, spot prime as needed.
2. clean walls and ceilings
3. Mask moldings, trim as needed (i rarely need to mask much as I have a pretty steady and practiced hand I would say)
4. Cut in ceiling edges
5. roll ceiling once or twice, if new color
6. cut in wall edges
7. roll walls and repeat 6 before 2nd rolled coat
8. paint trim and doors, 2 coats

I usually use a roller with extension and a 5 gal bucket with a roller screen in it. I almost always clean and reuse rollers several times before discarding, but I am cheap. I have a fitting for my laundry sink that cleans rollers pretty quick.

Of course I left out removing or moving furniture and other objects, and covering everything with drop cloths.

So, I wondered if spraying would help with any of the painting steps? "Help" could mean go faster and/or produce better quality result. Hopefully both.

I plan to use good quality latex acrylic like Pratt and Lambert/ Benjamin Moore, etc.

I have a 5 CFM compressor if it could be useful. Looking at airless sprayers it looks like they are reasonably inexpensive, and produce less overspray than in the past, but I am not sure I understand how much overspray I will be dealing with and whether it is worth it for the time saved and quality upgrade?

HVLP guns look interesting in terms of better control, and lower overspray. Looks like they take longer, but I don't need to go at ½ gal per minute. That seems awfully fast.

Finally, using latex seems to create issues with spray guns, so whatever needs to be done to handle latex could overcome any benefits in the first place. Time spent thinning the mix, or coating multiple times due to thinning seem to be two possible drawbacks. And not clear what gun type and nozzle size is best.

All input welcome. I suspect I'll decide to just bite the bullet and roll it as I have always done. But, I would love to be convinced otherwise.

Thanks.

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I live in Somerville (hi neighbor!) and have a basement with a workshop... it's definitely possible to find but you'll pay a premium for workshop space in a city obviously.

Instead of having a shop in your house, you may want to check out shared workspaces, a quick google search brought up http://www.hackrva.org/ in Richmond, and they say they have woodworking space/tools.
Hacker/Maker spaces are pretty cool communities, we have one in here in Somerville call the Artisan's Asylum. Worth stopping by to check out.

(And honestly as you get older it's pretty great to be involved in a community of friends who make stuff instead of being by yourself in your basement all the time.)

That's very pretty Arlin. The contrasts show very well. Cool piece.

That's cool. Thanks for the link.

You don't have to build a plywood workstation to do what you are talking about
Here is a picture of mine

Has anyone used BM Cabinet Coat?

I think I am leaning towards using either BM Advance or the Cabinet coat.

Cut a 4" hole in the front lower door and put a hose flange on it.