Settle an argument: paint sprayer vs roller

[Cashew22]

I'm getting ready to start redecorating my home. I'll be hiring someone to do it (I have ZERO skills), but an argument has resurfaced with my husband about the paint job we had done at our last house and the time and methods involved with the decorator I asked to do the job.

It was a longwinded process of stripping paper, putting up new lining paper and then using a paint roller and brushes to apply paint. I thought he did a good job, but my husband was outraged at the time it took, especially the small brush along the walls above the skirting boards. Husband was raised in the US and seems to think that using a wall primer and a paint sprayer is standard practice for decorators over there, and should be much quicker and cheaper. I've lived in the UK all my life and have never once encountered a paint sprayer. I thought everyone had lining paper and used a roller over the top. Am I wrong that lining paper + roller is standard in the UK? Is there a reason for it or is it just a case of paint sprayers not having caught on here?

No I would say most houses do not line anymore. If walls are uneven most get a skim.

But yes most people use rollers and paint brushes.

So good news your both right and both wrong 😂

It always fascinates me that Americans don’t use plaster. For them it’s like the poshest thing on earth.

I have a paint sprayer, and it's fabulous. I still line the walls though. It won't be a lot quicker as you need to mask up the areas you don't want sprayed, but the finish is excellent. And you need decent quality paint too.

Can you tell me more about your paint sprayer please? Can it manage high ceilings? Is it easy to use?

I think so. I have a graco airless sprayer, and you can get extensions for the gun. It isn't cheap, but it works really well.

The thing for me is the finish, it is consistent all across the room, and no cut in lines.

You'll use a fair amount of paint, but in my opinion it is worth it. I can do a whole house in two weekends, one to mask, one to paint.

DH is a painter & decorator, he can also spray. I’m not with him now to ask how he decides what to do what with, but he wouldn’t generally spray in a house from what I know.
He sprays kitchen units, and industrial ceilings and garage forecourts etc.

Thank you! Every room in my house needs to be repainted and I’ve put it off for too long. I’ll have a look at the sprayers, they do seem expensive but much cheaper than hiring someone.

You might want to have s look at the Wagner sprayers too.

I’ve found that using a Wagner paint sprayer for skimmed plaster works wonders!

Just a heads-up: you’ll need to mask off everything, which can be a bit of a chore, and it’s definitely easier in an empty room.

It’s super quick, especially on raw plaster when you need four coats (two mist coats and two final colours).

Once you’ve masked off a room, you can apply a coat in about 20-30 minutes, and the finish is way better than using a roller and brush.

Can you do spraying in a room where you’ve still got all your furniture there, all moved to the centre of the room? Feels like there’d be more chance of paint getting on it compared to rollers. Obv it’s covered in a sheet or something.

We have incredibly (annoyingly) textured walls - it's almost like pebbledash. Totally standard where we live (EU country) - I hate it.

Anyway, it turns out it's an absolute nightmare to paint with a roller so DH got a sprayer the last time we painted and is an instant convert. I'm not so keen because I find it takes so much more prep to avoid getting a fine mist of paint absolutely everywhere and I don't like the way you have to do the whole wall in one go really otherwise it looks uneven. However, I do concede that the entire wall was done in about 20 minutes, and think it would be less time consuming overall if doing a large area/whole room.

We had to water down the paint much more than we expected.

Hire a proper painter and decorator, get it done properly even if that means a brush and a roller. There is a reason UK trades are far superior to the US.

We will definitely be hiringna proper decorator, as we did last time. The argument crops up from time to time because my husband's experience of the US is that even the hired workmen used to use a sprayer and get the job done in half the time and at a fraction of the cost. I always think of a roller and brushes as the "proper" way of doing things, but I don't know whether I'm just being a fuddy-duddy about it.

We have just had some painting done and the decorator had a sprayer. Spent ages masking the entire L-shaped kitchen/dining/living area and then his sprayer stepped working after 20 minutes. So he ended up using a roller.

I can see that it’s much quicker but even with all the masking I’m still finding paint spray marks.