Painted Buffet Re-do for the Living Room – PART 2 + GIVEAWAY!!!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!
Scroll down for a chance to win an airless paint sprayer from HomeRight!
Congratulations to Sharlene P for winning this amazing Giveaway!

In the first part of this post, I showed you the beautiful re-do of a formerly black mirrored buffet randomly found at BigLots!.  It was painted white using an airless paint sprayer sent to me by HomeRight.  I was really excited about this project because I’ve been wanting to try an airless paint sprayer forever and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out on a piece of furniture before taking the plunge and painting our master bathroom cabinets.

Since I previously shared details specific to the project, like the technique I used to make the top silver (without paint), I wanted to spend more time to tell you about the paint sprayer because I’ve had a lot of questions about it.  Don’t forget to enter below for a chance to win your own HomeRight Airless Paint Sprayer!

Although it may be a little intimidating since it’s a new idea for most of us, the HomeRight Airless Paint Sprayer is really pretty simple.  Inside the box is the sprayer, a cleaning brush, and a tool for measuring the thickness of your paint.  I’ve always wanted a paint sprayer, but having to hook one up to a bulky air compressor really took the fun out of my painting ideas.  I’ve been very intrigued by airless sprayers and was super excited to finally try one out.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!
Scroll down for a chance to win an airless paint sprayer from HomeRight!

My concerns were:

1. Will the finish be smooth?
2. Will it be easy to use?
3. Is it difficult to thin paint?
4. Will it work well with oil AND water based paints?
5. Will clean-up be difficult?

I was really excited about the prospect of not having to buy a cart-full of spray cans for projects like this one.  While it turned out beautiful, the much smaller mirrored Home Goods cabinet that I repainted used 6 big cans of nice spray paint (not counting the primer and finish coats).  That adds up in a serious hurry.  Plus, with one of the first Environmental Engineers in Texas as a father, I hear a lecture about aerosol’s effect on the environment every time I shake up a can of paint.  Plus, with a paint sprayer, you can use custom mixed paint from cans… that means any color I want <insert ecstatic face here>.

I wasn’t overly excited about extra prep work, but really there wasn’t any extra vs a spray can.  With any paint project, I use a drop cloth and painters pyramids.  They can be re-used, so they are a great investment that I’d need either way.  Depending on the project, some areas would need to be masked, but I’d do that with spray cans or a paint brush anyway.

Finally at the end of our bi-polar vortex winter, I had a warm enough day with low enough humidity for great for painting.  I started with Zissner oil-based primer thinned with mineral spirits.  I was a little intimidated by this since I had never had to thin paint to a specific timing before, but it was super easy.  There’s an included tool that you fill up with paint and time the amount of time it takes for the paint to completely drain out.  After using it a few times, I got pretty great at thinning to the correct viscosity on the first try.  I used the timer built-in to my iPhone, but any watch, phone, or stopwatch that can time in seconds will work.  Then it was time to go!

I wore a mask & bandana over my hair (seriously, I get everything into my hair somehow) and tried it out first on the box that the cabinet came in.  The paint comes out fast, but not too fast.  On the HomeRight sprayer, you can adjust how far the trigger will go down to control the speed that the paint comes out.  This is really handy since thicker materials, like primers, come out mrs slowly than much thinner clear coats.

I took a close-up to show how the paint goes on.  It is consistent and thick with just one quick coat.  When the paint was first sprayed, there was a little bit of texture to it, but as it settled in and dried, it become completely smooth.

Once I had the cabinet primed, it was time to clean-up the sprayer.  This worried me since I used oil-based paint and it seems to take a TON of mineral spirits to clean my paint brushes.  I first wiped as much paint out of the container and off of any surfaces I could get to with paper towels.  I poured a bit of mineral spirits through the straw which worked very quickly.  I then sprayed a bit of mineral spirits into some paper towels and in no-time it was coming out nearly clear.  Then I wiped everything down (especially the nozzle) with mineral spirits on a paper towel and I was done.  I was ready to keep going, but unfortunately had to wait for the primer to dry since clean-up was such a breeze.

When I came in after using the sprayer for the first time, my husband asked me how it worked.  What popped into my head first was to compare it to a vacuum cleaner.  The noise level is about the same (which can be loud in the garage, but didn’t bother me) and it pretty simple moves air in one end (the top) and out another (the front).  It’s really that simple.  It’s much easier than shaking up spray cans and having them randomly spit out a gloppy mess.  There was literally none of that.  The paint came out evenly and smoothly.  It came out quickly, but not too quickly.  The sprayer was easy to use and cut my priming time way down.

After the primer was dry, it was time for the actual paint.  I used an oil-based enamel again, which went on smoothly and quickly after thinning the paint using the guide in the manual.  It was so quick and mostly uneventful.  My only real complaint with the HomeRight paint sprayer is that it comes unplugged easily when I’m focused on what I’m painting instead of the cord.  That’s really nitpicking, but if you’re doing a large project, I’d invest in a locking extension cord that won’t let you pull the cord out when you’re moving around.

I always clear-coat my furniture after painting it because it not only protects my hard work, but also gives DIY paint jobs that finished look.  I switched things up and used a water-based top coat because I had a ton left over from our dining room table.  If I did it again, I would probably re-consider this move because the water-based clear coats are more expensive and are thinner (drippier) and clean-up really isn’t a big deal with a can of mineral spirits and some paper towels.  I also wanted to see how the sprayer would handle a water-based material.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!
Scroll down for a chance to win an airless paint sprayer from HomeRight!

If you use a water-based paint, it’s simple to thin with water, although the clear coats do not need to be thinned.  I did have a couple drips that fortunately were at the back corners and didn’t end up standing out.  I don’t think that would have happened as easily with an oil-based Poly.  I suggest always testing out the paint on a piece of cardboard or scrap material so you can see how quickly you need to move to get the right coverage.

I ended up using Rub N Buff instead of paint for the silver top (after painting the whole thing white, it was just missing something) because after testing out a silver paint, it was difficult to control the finish just like it is with silver spray cans.  It was a bit easier, but the paint I used had little metal flecks in it and was difficult to thin properly (especially when you trust the guy at Home Depot over your own instincts, I always prefer simple Mineral Spirits over the high priced junk they recommend).

So how about those concerns I had…

1. Will the finish be smooth?  YES! Beautifully.
2. Will it be easy to use?  Yes! Easier than spray cans & quicker than a brush (plus, no ugly brush marks).
3. Is it difficult to thin paint?  Nope.  Takes a bit of patience at first, but it’s easy to do with a timer and the included guide.
4. Will it work well with oil AND water based paints?  Yes!  All of the paints I tried it with (except for the silly Martha Steward flecked paint which I still haven’t found a real use for) worked great.
5. Will clean-up be difficult?  Clean up took more time than tossing a can of paint, but was easy and worth it.  I wouldn’t hassle with it for a really small project, but for furniture, walls, or trim, it’s well worth it.  It was much easier than I expected.

Why did it take me so long to try a paint sprayer?  I love this thing.  I wish I’d had it before trying our chalk paint (which isn’t for me) because I much prefer the smooth finishes of sprayed paint, especially without the expect, waist, and unpredictability of spray cans.  I can’t stand the sight of brush marks, so this is definitely my new go-to for big painting projects.  For smaller projects, like picture frames and little odds & ends, I’ll probably still grab a can if paint, but you can bet you’ll be see more airless paint sprayer projects with my HomeRight sprayer in the future!

G I V E A W A Y ! ! !

Now, do you want one?  How about a GIVEAWAY!  HomeRight is offering one lucky Remodelicious reader a Finish Max airless paint sprayer worth $89.99?!  Must be 18+ and in the continental US.  Enter using the form below & commenting on this post.   You can enter every day with bonus entries for following Remodelicious on Facebook, Pinterest, & Twitter (this includes you, current followers!).

Winner will be selected at random on June 11, 2014.

Congratulations to Sharlene P for winning this amazing Giveaway!

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Good Luck!!!