This is a sponsored post. That means someone is paying me to write it. So why read it? Because it's about a product that's so great I contacted the company to ask them if I could do a sponsored post for them, as opposed to the other way around.
They didn't contact me. I contacted them. And here's why.
When I decided this was going to be the year of painting everything outside, I knew I was going to need a better plan than a) painting everything with a brush and roller myself b) hiring a stranger to do it or c) hiring my cats to do it. I don't mind hard work blah, blah, blah, but I'm sick of spending every minute of every spring and summer building, fixing and breaking things. This was going to be the year I didn't have a single big thing to do. So I wanted to figure out a way to make these jobs go as quickly as possible leaving me in a good mood to enjoy the summer and not turn into a broken down, scribble of swear words.
I'm not sure how the thought came to me but I started researching paint spray guns. I had 3 big painting jobs. Picket fence, front porch and potting shed. So I was willing to spend a bit of money on the gun but didn't want to go too nuts. That research led me to the $89 Wagner paint gun which had good reviews.
I picked it up at Home Depot and by the next day I was spraying. It was great. I used it to do my picket fence because that's the first thing I had to get painted. Once the plants around it started to grow I wouldn't be able to get anywhere near the fence for the wall of leaves.
Neighbours stopped and asked me about it and I told them how much I loved it, then it got to the point that I was pulling people over who weren't even interested in it and telling them how much I loved spraying paint.
SO. As soon as I was finished my fence I contacted the company (Wagner) to tell them how much I loved it and asked them if they'd be interested in doing a sponsored post with me. They said yes. And would I like to try out their more advanced sprayer?
Yup. Yup I would.
This is what's known as the hero shot
A week or so later the Wagner 890 arrived in the mail. I painted my potting shed with it and then I sent the company another love letter.
I was a bit worried I wouldn't like it as much as my $89 one. But I did. It was like going from a very reliable but no options car to a fully loaded Mercedes. That sprays paint.
The 890 came with 2 spray heads, one for big projects and another one for finer detail work. Each head has multiple adjustments to make the flow change directions, spray harder, softer, more paint, less paint ... you get the idea.
But here's the thing that makes this gun the winner. And I didn't even know it was a feature until I unpacked it.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO THIN YOUR PAINT WITH THE 890.
Anyone who has used a paint spray gun knows it's a pain because you have to thin your paint otherwise it won't run through the sprayer. You do not have to do that with this gun. I *did* have to do it with the $89 one.
You still have to filter your paint so there aren't any blobs in it to block the sprayer.
I used a trouser sock to filter. Because I always like to do things in the most professional of ways. If you want to be a little more traditional you can use an actual paint filter which you can either buy or beg from your local auto body shop. I'm not sure why the sprayers don't come with a small supply of paint filters but that would be about the only suggestion I have for Wagner. Include a few paint filters.
And just so you know even brand new paint can have the odd blob or guck in it. See?
My potting shed has needed a clean up since the day I moved in. At one point it matched all the raised beds around my backyard which were cedar, but I switched those out for raised beds painted in a gray/black many years ago. I therefore decided I wanted to paint my potting shed the same gray/black colour. I'm going for a sophisticated modern feel in the backyard and the only thing holding me back was the cedar shed. On the upside the shed was cute. On the downside the shed was cute.
Here's a timeline so you can see exactly how long things took compared to the days it would have taken with a regular brush and roller.
Also here's a WOW list. The things that make this thing great.
WOW list
- No need to thin paint
- 2 different spray heads for different jobs
- Multiple settings for paint coverage, air flow, paint direction etc.
- Comes with a BUILT IN air compressor. It's right in the carrying case
- Makes painting fun. No joke. F.U.N.
Prep work
2.5 hours (scraping the shed a bit, taping out windows, door hinges and putting up plastic to prevent overspray from getting on the fence and my flagstone patio, pre-straining paint)
Spending a bit of extra time doing realllyyyy good prep work will save you hours and hours of clean up in the end. Things like taping out windows properly.
Remember to cut off any overhanging tape otherwise once you paint, you'll have a bald spot where the overhanging tape was.
Total painting time
1.5 hours. Tops.
No joke. I timed it. It technically took me longer because I had to stop and take pictures and run out into the street screaming at people to come watch, talk to the police and let them know there was no emergency, everything was fine I was just excited, by the way did they want to see my new paint spray gun?
It took 7 minutes to paint each side of the shed. (Because it's in a corner my shed only has 2 visible sides). I did 2 coats of primer on both sides. So we're at 28 minutes. Then I did 3 coats on each side of the shed with my actual colour, gray/black. That's an additional 42 minutes at 7 minutes per side. now we're up to an hour and 10 minutes. There were a few things to slow me down like dragging out the ladder, refilling the paint container, which needed to be refilled several times.
I realize that's a lot of numbers so just know this. I painted my shed in about the same amount of time it would take to eat a really big cookie.
This is me priming. I primed right over the light fixture above the door because I'm replacing it this summer.
I thought cleaning the thing was going to be a huge pain but it only took about 10 minutes to clean the sprayer when I was done so that wasn't as horrifying as I thought it was going to be.
Wanna buy one? You can buy it here if you're in the States. If you're in Canada, the Flexio 890 isn't available yet so the Flexio 590 is your option. You can buy it on Amazon.ca but at the time of posting this blog it's cheaper to buy it from Home Depot.
I absolutely 100% recommend this thing. I even painted a wicker love seat with it the other day because I knew it would do such a great job of getting into all the crevices. It only took 10 minutes, not counting the amount of time it took me to find a neighbour's porch with a wicker love seat on it.
Done.
Ann
I have to agree with what IRS said a couple comments ago. Any sponsored post you do is fine with me. I know no one else who would do such a great job of picking interesting items, something you really feel is worth the time you put into a post like this. I don't need a paint sprayer but this was so well presented that I almost feel I should!!
Karen
Ha! Thanks Ann. I can't believe how great it is. I'm actually looking forward to painting my porch. ~ karen!
whitequeen96
I am so glad you did this post now! I'm going to be doing quite a bit of home improvement this summer and I was thinking about getting a sprayer for painting the outdoor furniture. However, with all the features you mentioned, it sounds as if I could actually use this to paint the walls inside my house. I checked some of the reviews and people said they used it for that and it was great! It would be worth the price because I could do a good part of the job (or maybe all of it) that I was going to pay someone else to do. So thank you!
sia
How in the world do you paint and look so pretty??? I painted my front entrance on Mother's Day (wrong!! - but I was doing myself a favor as 'mister' can do everything but paint without having to call in an army clean up) and surely didn't look like I just came back from the hairdresser!
Love the color... Hair and shed ;)
Ps... If those are metallic horizontal blinds in the shed, maybe you can write a post on how to clean those when they have 2 inches of dust on them... Easily. (Help!)
Grammy
I always liked your she'd just the way it was. Yes, I thought it was cute. It looked great with all the firewood stacked near it in the snow. Who would mess that up? You, of course.
But what a wonderful job -- the shed looks so good with your back yard decor that it seems it should have looked that way all along. It's not cute. It's beautiful, and so much better.
And Bertelson Black is a stunning color. I painted my tool shed a very dark gray last year (the hard way, but I wish I'd had that sprayer!) and I liked it, but the darker gray black you came up with is luscious.
Karen
What's funny Grammy, is every time they mix the colour up for me it ends up getting blacker and blacker. It used to be slightly more blue/gray like slate, now I find it's pretty close to black. :/ ~ karen!
IRS
"Why read a sponsored post?" you asked. Normally, I probably wouldn't bother. The reason that I (and probably others) did, is because we trust and value your opinion, and your integrity. We know that you won't promote crap, just to make a buck. The Wagner people were smart enough to know this. So not only would I read one of YOUR sponsored posts, regardless of what it was about, but this particular post is very useful to me. I decided last summer that I needed a paint sprayer, went to Home Depot, and was instantly befuddled by the array of choices. So I emailed the Wagner company asking for help, and based on what I wanted to do (various jobs, but primarily repainting indoor plantation shutters that were peeling), they recommended this very same model. I put it on my list of things to get - and promptly forgot about it. Must have been the vodka. But now, after reading your post, I'm removing the couch growing out of my ass, and buying it this week. Thanks, Your Royal Highness of Household Help.
Karen
LOL. Thanks IRS. I could make a fortune if I managed to line up all of the things I know, love and trust with all of their respective companies, lol. My next partnership should be for the Foodsaver. I LOVE that foodsaver. It's GREAT. ~ karen!
Mondo | I bake he shoots
the shed looks amazing! now I wish I had something huge to paint.
Karen
Yeah. If only you had something like a bedroom to do over. ~ karen!
Mondo | I bake he shoots
hahaha, karen! too much on my plate this go round. not. gonna. do it!
Edith
Nice! Very very nice!
Cynthia Jones
The tone in your hair colour is fabulous.
How come you can get away with wearing cute ballet slippers while doing work and I have special work clothes for around the house. People ask me if I am a Painter when I go out for coffee wearing them. I say "yes" even though I am painting the house or fence and they think I am painting a portrait. Style stolen from Jessica Lange (actor) = nothing like a pair of good quality black trackies/leggings and a high collared men's shirt in pure white for work clothes. Add eyemakeup and pull your hair up and everyone thinks you're 'windswept and interesting".
I wonder if I have to have a "handler" if I do the picket fence with a sprayer. The handler would have to stand on the other side with a huge piece of carboard to protect the greenery etc. Do you have any other ideas for this situation?
Karen
That's what I did Cynthia. Only without the handler, lol. I just had a bit board on the other side of the fence and as I moved along spraying the fence, I slid the board along. Worked great. Norman loved it. ~ karen!
Cynthia Jones
Bwwahaha!
Sherry (BTLover2)
OMG! I wanted to know the same thing! I have "junk" clothes for all my work projects (including painting, gardening, general routine errand running, tea with the ladies ;). I looked at Karen and thought, "Damn, does this girl do all her jobs in adorable outfits? What's wrong with me?" Another thing I have to live up to, Karen! I hate you.
Karen
I hate you too Sherry! The only reason I could paint in these clothes is because of the sprayer. Honestly you don't get any paint on you. It's shocking. ~ karen!
Paula
You managed to achieve the "sophisticated modern feel in the backyard"; it looks great. Your timing is impeccable as I was talking about spray painting the interior of my 'new' century old garden shed. I decided that using a brush or roller would be a huge 1. waste of time and 2. waste of paint.
Thanks!
Ardith
It looks amazing. I've pinned your post and "amazon primed" the sprayer, so thank you for the awesome testimonial. Cheers, Ardith
Karen
Thank you! Do you like your Amazon Prime? Feel like it's worth the money? I'm curious about it and don't know a lot about it at all. ~ karen!
Ardith
Hi, Karen. Yes, I do like it. I've used it for years, in fact. And, yes, for me it has been worth the money--which includes the shopping/shipping, plus movie and music services.
Gini
Karen, I've had Amazon Prime for years, and I love it! I especially liked it when I lived in Hawaii. I would find a product on another website, then go check Amazon, and 9 times out of ten they'd have it, at a great price and free shipping with Prime. Go for it!
whitequeen96
I LOVE my Amazon Prime! (Yeah, not much else going on in the romance department.) It's FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING (TWO DAYS!). I can usually get something from Amazon before I would even get out to the store. And sometimes they deliver in ONE DAY or on Sunday! It's definitely worth the price because I save money by NOT running out to stores to pick up something and then coming home with bags of other stuff. I also save gas and lots of time. And you can get almost everything at Amazon for at least as good a price as any of their competitors. Plus, I get used books and a lot of them end up being sent in 2 days and being even cheaper than the other used books. And they have Prime instant video and music and photos and Kindle Owners' Lending Library, none of which I've used, but I think they are mostly FREE. (I'm starting to pant with excitement!)
Plus, if you get a Chase Amazon Visa card, you get 3 pts per dollar spent at Amazon, instead of 1, and it can all be applied to your Amazon account automatically. I put everything on that card and usually end up with at least $15 - $20 a month credit! My only concern is that Amazon will rule the world in just a few years.
Oh, and this is not a sponsored post.
Alice
"not a sponsored post" made me spew coffee. :-)
nancy
DittoX2!!! I buy everything I can at Amazon. Mascara, baby gifts, toilet flappers, canned gooseberries for pie, anything that keeps me out of the stores. I even have my husband using the Chase Amazon card. We cancelled Netflix because we have Prime videos as part of the deal.
I have not done Prime Fresh, the grocery store thing, although it's available in our area. I like to select my own bell peppers.
whitequeen96
I tried Amazon Fresh - they give you a deal ($30 off $50?) to take the time to go thru the site. You get a free month to try it and you can get stuff the next day! I compared prices - great, especially on frozen food, and they have a great selection. The fruit and veggies were as good as we get here in California (darn good) and the one time the grapes weren't crisp, they gave me a BIG credit. Everyone in the neighborhood thought I was rich; they didn't know I was actually paying the same (or less) as when I go out. I finally balked at the initial fee, but I just might go for it now!
Allison
I also love Prime. Free two day shipping is fantastic!
Lianne Raymond
Prime at amazon.ca does not come with all the perks that amazon.com Prime has - so make sure it will be worth your while for shipping costs before you sign up. I had it for a year, and while it was fun to get things quickly - I found most of my orders would have qualified for the free shipping anyway and many products were not included in Prime anyway. I recommend tracking your costs with amazon for a few months and noting whether your orders would have been covered by Prime to see if it's a good choice for you.
Karen
I was just curious about it Lianne. But thanks for letting me know! ~ karen
Bols
I agree Lianne.
Amazon Prime is has a lot more advantages for US customers. Not worth it in Canada.
Liz
Amazing results! Does your arm get tired holding up the weight of the sprayer?
Karen
Excellent question Liz! I automatically found I'd do the low bits when the pot was full and go for the higher bits when the pot was a bit emptier (therefore lighter). The only time I noticed my arm getting tired was when it was full and I had to raise my arm right up for high spots. That's the other great thing about it by the way, you can paint wayyy higher than you can with a brush without needing a ladder. ~ karen!
Linda J Howes
When it only takes minutes to paint a wall your arm hardly has time to get tired! LOVE that colour.
Carla
Looks fantastic! What is the exact color and brand of paint?
Karen
Hi Carla. Thanks. I love it! The paint is a custom mix I had Benjamin Moore do. It may or may not be in their computer system. I'm pretty sure it's just in my store's system though. It's called "Bertelsen Black". :) ~ karen!
SusanR
Sold!
brenda
is that a fake grass rug?
BTW - the shed looks amazing with all the matching grey accents … raised beds, planters, chair, etc. You're amazing!
is that a fake grass rug?
Karen
LOL. It *is* a fake grass rug. You can read all about it in this month's Canadian Living magazine. (the June issue) It was around $89 from Rona. They also carry them at Home Depot. ~ karen!
brenda
it's so perfect there OMG i'm dying
Mary
and Costco!
Lynn
Just check the link it does not show the 890 :(
Karen
Oop. That's because you're in Canada Lynn! I should have mentioned that. The 890 is only available in the states so far. :( The one I used for $89 was great too though. I'll find a link to that on Amazon.ca. ~ karen!
Luanne
The shed looks great, and cool tool!
You may want to practise eating really big cookies, though. I'm certain you could probably get through those more quickly.
Lynn
Great job Karen love the fresh new color . We use to have a Wagner gun maybe 15 years ago it sure made painting the fence a breeze , clean up on it was no fun though. Glad to here they fixed that . We also used it to paint our ceiling , I had wanted to get rid of the popcorn hubby said no it just needs paint an you will love it again .... Not..... Oh what have you got in your stacked planter by the door?
Tricia Rose
What's a popcorn hubby?
Rose
Great job! What a difference the paint makes! Now I want to go out and spraypaint something.
Karen
It's addictive. Honestly. I've been pushing it on every family member and friend, lol. I think we're all so used to products NOT living up to their claims that when something does what it says and more it's ... kind of shocking frankly. ~ karen!
Stefani
A sad commentary on too many of today's products. Kind of like getting a really helpful customer service person. Anyway, your shed looks great.
SusanR
What does it weight full?
SusanR
Gorgeous! What type of compressor do you recommend?
Thank you.
Karen
Susan - IT HAS A BUILT IN COMPRESSOR! It has a little air compressor right in the carrying case. This thing is brilliant. Really brilliant! ~ karen