Sprayer to paint wrought iron fence?
After spray can priming an 8 foot section of wrought iron fence with Rust Reformer and finishing with another Rustoleum spray can product, both my wallet and my spirit cringe at the thought of doing the other 200+ feet. Tho' it does look great. Do people use a sprayer for this? I'll never get it done if I have to do it by hand and never was really impressed with a hand finish on an iron fence. I was looking at that Wagner Pro Sprayer (I think it was) with a 12.5 dergee fan and was wondering if it was something to consider or something else in that $125 price range? I don't think an airless is a good choice for wrought iron. An airless puts out too much paint even with a narrow fan. I believe a better choice for spraying would be a conventional cup gun [uses air compressor] Using the adjustments on the gun you can narrow the fan and material flow to fit the job. You will still have more overspray than with a rattle can though. Usually fences like yours are painted by hand, often with a small roller and brush combination. Of course there is the elctrostatic gun with magnetically charges the paint to attract it to the metal with almost no overspray but they cost mega $'s We have the same situation as Cienega32; my son's Eagle Scout project was sanding, priming, and painting an ancient iron cemetery fence. He had 70+ people show up to do the sanding and priming, but they only had time to start the final coat. This is a huge job so we were hoping to rent a paint sprayer. However, the rental place won't rent one to us because we're using oil-based black Rust-o-leum (in paint cans, not spray cans) which they said would ruin their sprayer. Any advice about finish this worthwhile project would be most appreciated, since the only thing the hardware and rental stores have been able to tell us was to buy a cheap paint sprayer and hope that we can get it done before it is ruined by the paint. More about the conventional cup gun mentioned by 'marksr': would help, as far as will it function with such paint and where we go about buying one: Home Depot? Lots of places sell spray guns - Sears, probably Home Depot, and if you have one where you live, Harbor Freight (lesser quality, but way cheaper - they are on the internet and ship if you don't need it immediately - $25-30 www.harborfreight.com). Assuming you clean the gun thoroughly there's no reason the Rustoleum should ruin the gun. You will have to thin the paint a little to spray it effectively. Directions for thinning should come with the gun. Make sure you use the right thinner for the paint - the paint can should tell you which one to use. Use a sheet of cardboard or plywood behind the fence as you paint, it will reduce the air blowing your spray around, and keep you from killing quite as much lawn/plants. I own 2 airlesses and have used countless others. I don't believe I have ever sprayed rustoleum but have sprayed countless gallons of industrial enamel and many other solvent based coatings. I have never heard of any oil base paint being hard on spray equipment. Maybe the rental place is scared you won't clean the airless properly when finished IMO an airless isn't a good tool for spraying a wrought iron fence - even with a small tip it still puts out a lot of paint. I don't know if the 'cheap' units can be turned down low enough to prevent a lot of waste. A cup gun runs off of an air compressor [which you can rent] and a cheaper cup gun should be adequate to do the job - the paint will need to be thinned and strained. I would think that several people using small rollers and 1 person going behind with a brush would be the best way to paint the fence. I just wanted to thank you guys for taking the time to guide me on this wrought iron fence-painting project. I trust your experience, so we'll go get small roller brushes and tackle the job--at least this way, it will be a LOT less messy! I've used a paint mitten on ornate metal railings. It doesn't leave a very thick or even coat, but is quick and comfortable to work with. A small brush in the other hand deals with drips and pockets. Your best bet is to use an HVLP type of sprayer. It will aply a fine finish with minimum overspray. Do not use one of those noisy little Wagner sprayers you get at Home Depot or Walmart. They clog, they spit paint and your finish will look like crap. ... and that will work with paint for wrought iron fences or even regular house paint? All I (novice/newbie) can find mentioned is stain and sealer. It is made for paint. I have used latex through it with no flow agents or thinner added and have had no problems. Using a product like Flotrol will give you a factory applied appearance. The key is using it with proper strokers and applying in small incrememnts. As I'm sure you have heard, two light coats are always better than one heavy coat. While on the subject... I have preped a wrougt iron fence as well (stair railings actualy) Primed with spray rustolium.What type of paint for the finish should I get? (black) I will brush and roll it. Thanx, sorry to jump in like that. Hello all.... I am a contractor and am in the process of painting 12,000 LF of iron fence as we speak. Both of my sub-contractors as well as my fencing contractor stated that the most efficient way of painting these type of fences is to... A. wire brush any loose debris or surface rust away. B. sand any uneven or rough surfaces. C. scuff the previous coat. D. use a good quality DTM (Direct to Metal) paint. These come in an acrylic water base as well that dries to an epoxy like hardness. E. Using rubber gloves covered with inside out tube socks works the best for flexability and finish. (a painting mit tends to leave fibers behind) Hope this helps someone.....we stay away from spraying these due to waste..and potential overspay. Agreed. Hands-on is accurate, comfortable, expedient. Hands are excellent tools! Now if only there were sandpaper gloves... Thanks for the tips. I was thinking of buying the cup gun for my air compressor, but I can put my teen boys to work with tube socks, instead!! We tried brushes a few years ago, and the results were ugly. Actually, I think they were cheap, sponge-brushes that my husband bought. I hated the results. We just power-washed the fence, and it will dry today. Tomorrow, SOCKS!! Thanks a bunch. Tracy in Indiana I use a body scrubbing glove that you buy at the dollar stores this gives you good penetration
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