Pros and Cons of Airless Fence Painting Sprayers

Painting a fence might seem a tedious task, but an airless painting sprayer will relieve you of hours of work. The finish on your fence will be close to flawless, all in a fraction of the normal time and effort. However, while there are definitely some pros to this device, there are still pitfalls it suffers from. Read on to learn more so you can decide if this is a worthy tool for your next job.

How an Airless Painting Sprayer Works

Airless sprayers pump the paint out through a very small vent to produce micro-droplets that coat the fence. Because the paint is less affected by gravity in this smaller droplet size, it goes on more smoothly and does not clump at the bottom of the planks or posts.

If you are painting near garden plants, shrubs, and lawn furniture, always cover them with newspaper or light cotton drop sheets.

Pros

Little Noise

These electric airless sprayers, because they are not powered by a noisy air compressor, are almost as quiet as an old-fashioned paintbrush.

Easy, Quick Application

The paint application is controlled by your hand movement, so even, smooth movements with the paint nozzle will give you a nice, uniform coat in no time. This sprayer variety also covers a wide section with each spray, saving time, paint, and money.

Reversible Spray Nozzle

Many airless paint sprayers come equipped with a reversible spray nozzle. If one side of the nozzle becomes clogged, you can quickly take it out, clear the clog, turn it around to the other side, reinsert it into the sprayer, and resume painting. No more dragging out your painting time with persistent clogs

Cons

Constant Hand Motion

Using an airless fence painting sprayer can become tiring to your wrist and hand because you must keep your hand moving all the time you are pressing the sprayer trigger. In fact, you must move your hand before you press the paint sprayer's trigger. The motion of your hand assists in feeding the paint evenly to the spray nozzle.
To stop painting, you must first release the spray trigger and then stop the movement of your hand.

Limited Paint Types

Airless fence painting sprayers can only spray smooth latex or oil-based paints. They cannot apply paints that have any texture or grit for traction.

Empty and Clean the Sprayer After Each Use

You cannot leave paint in the sprayer overnight and come back to resume painting the next day. As soon as you have turned off and unplugged the painting sprayer, you must empty it and thoroughly clean the paint reservoir, connection hose, trigger, and spray nozzle.

Safety Tips

Airless fence painting sprayers operate under very high pressure. You can cause an injury to yourself or others by simply directing the paint sprayer at exposed skin. The paint can penetrate the top layer of skin even if there is no visible cut or scrape. This is called a fluid injection wound, and if you get one, you should seek medical care at once.

Always release the pressure with the prime valve of the sprayer every time you turn off the sprayer. Be sure to then clear the nozzle by spraying with the sprayer into an empty bucket. Whether painting indoors or outside, wear lightweight coveralls, a spray hood, safety goggles, and a breathing respirator.