Paint a shed in less time than it takes to make a batch of cookies. Paint a section of fence in seconds. Chairs in minutes. Nope, it's not a dream world, or delusional. It's my prized tool. A Wagner paint sprayer.
This post is sponsored by Wagner SprayTech. A product I love and have used for YEARS.
I am on my third paint sprayer. Not because they keep breaking. Not because they don't work as well as I would like so I keep trying new ones. Nope. Quite the opposite in fact. I'm on my third paint sprayer from Wagner because I keep letting them know how much I like them and they keep sending me new ones.
It all started a few years ago when I bought a Wagner paint sprayer from Home Depot to paint my picket fence. I don't know if you've ever tried to paint a picket fence but it isn't easy. There are approximately 742 sides to a picket fence. Just when you think you've got them all covered, you discover another side to it. It's like painting a rhombicosidodecahedron. Google it.
So I bought a paint sprayer thinking it would make the job faster and it did. Faster and easier. The model I bought was whichever Wagner was the cheapest. I think it was around $70 or $80. It was powered by a garden hose which still doesn't make sense to me but it worked.
In fact I liked it so much I contacted the company to tell them how much I liked it. That's something people don't do enough of. Everyone is quick to call a company to complain about products they don't like but people rarely make the same sort of call when they are impressed with something.
They were so happy I liked their sprayer they said WAIT'LL YOU TRY THIS ONE. And they promptly sent me the Wagner FLEXiO 890. A sprayer that comes with a compressor so there's no garden hose.
In the past 3 years I have used that sprayer to paint the interior shutters I made (you can click here to see them and learn how to make the yourself), my potting shed, my front porch, my picket fence (again), my wicker chairs and a very small portion of my cat.
Again, this summer I told them how much I loved it and how many times I used it. Again - they sent me a new one. ( I should probably consider letting Volvo know how much I like my S60. )
Allow me to introduce all you painting geeks to - The Wagner FLEXiO 3000.
O.K. the last machine they sent me got rid of the garden hose. THIS machine gets rid of the compressor. I don't have any idea how they do it but basically it's the size of a hair dryer. There's no garden hose, no compressor, no nothing.
Just a hand nozzle and a power cord. It really is like a hairdryer that spews out paint.
Since I've sprayed pretty much everything in my house already I carried it over to my mother's house to spray her two wicker chairs for her.
SPRAY GUN PAINTING USES LESS PAINT.
It took 1 quart of paint to do 2 coats on 2 wicker chairs, with paint left over.
They're plain white wicker chairs and Betty isn't a plain white person. She's a colour person. We're very different Betty and I.
This is a picture of me pretending to carefully read the instructions. I did glance at them.
HOW DOES A PAINT SPRAYER WORK?
It's pretty easy. In fact it's way easier than painting with a brush or roller. You fill the container with paint, screw it onto the spraying handle and point it at whatever it is you're painting.
The FLEXiO 3000 comes with 2 nozzles. One for finer, detail work and one for bigger work. For these outdoor chairs the bigger nozzle is the one I chose.
HOW TO SET UP THE WAGNER SPRAYER. (FLEXiO 3000)
Steps
There are 3 settings to pay attention to. The air flow, the paint flow and the paint width.
- Set the red dial on top to between 1 and 8. Setting it to 1 provides the least amount of air flow, setting it to 8 provides the strongest air flow. There's a handy chart with a picture of a chair on it right on the gun, so I decided that was probably the right setting to choose. Between 3 and 4.
2. Adjust your material flow rate on the red dial around the neck of the spray gun. 1 for the least amount of paint to come out, higher for more. (so 1 gives a very thin coating of paint, 10 would give a mammoth amount of paint and you'd run out of paint faster)
3. Adjust how wide you want the spray to be. If you're doing the side of a house you'd want a side spray. If you're doing a table, you'd want it to be less wide.
That's it. Now that the 3 adjustments are made you just need to plug it in and start spraying.
There is NO ON BUTTON on this thing. When you squeeze the spray handle to start spraying, it automatically engages and turns on.
To make things fun and interesting I made it a race. I wanted to time exactly how long it took to paint 2 coats on 2 wicker chairs.
Set your timer ...
AND SPRAY.
Every once in a while, while you're spraying you need to check the nozzle of the machine to make sure it isn't getting clogged up. Just keep a paper towel or rag with you and wipe it off.
This, much like not doing laundry until literally everyone in your house is out of underwear, is totally normal.
The paint builds up around the nozzle as you spray. Just wipe it every once in a while.
The time it took you to read this post so far is approximately how long it took to spray my mother's wicker chairs 2 coats. Depending on how fast a reader you are of course and whether you were interrupted by a husband, child or dog.
2 Chairs, 2 Coats in 15 Minutes.
In 15 minutes both chairs were done 2 coats. That includes the extra dry time in between coats.
If you've ever painted wicker you know it's a PAIN. It's almost impossible to get into each crack and crevice. With a spray gun nothing goes untouched. Every bit is painted.
It makes painting fun. I mean, the kind of fun that an adult has. Adult fun. Like waking up in the middle of the night and realizing you still have 5 hours to sleep.
I do have a few tips that I've learned through years of using various models of these sprayers.
Wagner Paint Sprayer Tips
- The hole.
Last spring I was trying to spray something and it just WOULD not spray. I checked everything and couldn't figure it out. Finally I discovered this tiny air hole on the underside of the spray tube. It was clogged with a bit of dry paint. And that was all it took to stop the sprayer from working.
If your Wagner spray gun stops spraying check to make sure this air hole isn't blocked.
(it's entirely possible there are entire write ups about this in the instructions but ... )
2. Paint straining.
The instructions DO say you need to strain your paint to make sure nothing clogs the nozzle. I don't do this. I shouldn't tell you I don't do this, but I don't. I NEVER strain my paint. I haven't had the nozzle clog up once, but I'm also probably always using brand new paint that isn't likely to have any contaminants or bits of guck in it. This is not an endorsement and Wagner advises you absolutely DO strain your paint before pouring it into the paint container. I just don't.
3. Thinning paint.
If your paint is too thick it can also clog the nozzle, but for this project I used Benjamin Moore's Aura line of paint which is thicker than most paints and it sprayed perfectly without thinning.
4. Clean your sprayer as soon as you're finished using it. It's a much faster cleanup job to spray out wet paint than scrape out dried paint.
Wanna see it in action?
The things I noticed that were improved on this, the FLEXiO 3000 model over my last model, the FLEXiO 890.
- The "big nozzle" of the FLEXiO 3000 has a finer spray that's less splattery than that of the FLEXiO 890.
- It's easier to move around and maneuver since there's no exterior compressor or hose.
- It packs back into its case PERFECTLY. The FLEXiO 890 is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to get back into its case.
You don't have to believe me about how great these sprayers are. You can ask my neighbour who bought one 3 days after seeing me paint my picket fence with one this spring. You can ask my friend Stephanie who bought one a day after seeing me paint my porch with it this spring. Or my niece who borrowed mine to paint her shed. Or my mother's neighbour who saw me painting these chairs and couldn't believe it. Really. Ask any of them.
As I've mentioned before, I don't do a lot of sponsored posts and when I do I make sure they're for products I genuinely love and use.
I genuinely love and use Wagner spray guns.
And Volvos. ;)
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Beverly Barna
Hi! My cousin used a Wagner sprayer to paint her basement. She said it worked great! She also said that she had to wear a mask and even then had some difficulty breathing while painting. She said there was a lot of fine paint spray in the air? Is this normal when painting inside or is there something she should have done differently?
Thanks!
Marilyn
Can I just say that you have such a wonderful array of topics to discuss on the blog. I love it.
Jody
Lattice fencing. Kitchen cupboards. My toenails. I want one!!!
But how heavy is it? Is your arm tired after holding it for a few minutes?
Karen
I did fine the Flexio 890 to be a bit heavy to begin with but the great thing is, it gets lighter and lighter as the paint in the canister goes down. ~ karen!
Janie
If a picture is worth a thousand words...your video is worth a million. I've never used a paint sprayer...just spray cans. I had no idea how it would work. I have lots of exterior doors I want to paint, but dreaded the job.
After seeing your video and photo instructions, I can't wait to buy a sprayer. Thanks so much for another excellent blog post.
Karen
Thanks Janie. I did my best to demystify it. ~ karen!
Lisa
Your timing is impeccable. We are painting our large shop this weekend. It is a pale yellow and sticks out like a sore thumb next to our old barnwood barn. Brown/black it will become so it can 'disappear'. We have a sprayer but I hate it - you have to water down the paint and even then it gets clogged all the time. NOT a Wagner. We were going to rent an airless sprayer, but if this does what you say it can do, I would much rather invest in the sprayer. So many other things I can paint! Do you think it could handle a large project like a shop? Think really large shed. Maybe I'll call Wagner and get their opinion! I'll let them know you recommended it :-)
Karen
Please do, lol. A friend of mine is actually painting her HUGE garage right now (inside and out) with it and I believe it's working just fine. It's probably around the size of a shop. Much larger than a shed but smaller than a barn. :) ~ karen!
Grace
Could I use it to paint my small brick house? Lately I feel like I could do anything if I only had the right tool.
Karen
Ha! Well, I'm sure you could but I'm not sure it's the ideal tool for the job. Although ... it technically it would work. It'd just take longer than with an industrial sprayer. ~ karen!
Kristina
We've got one on the ranch for spraying equipment, and that sucker is a beeeyatch to clean, like I avoid using it unless I've got a lot of things to spray the same color, because often the cleaning takes longer than the job itself. After reading your post, I'm gonna look into getting myself something like the sprayer you show here, because that looks way easier to clean. I'm sure all of the macho farmer types around here will ridicule my girly non-industrial sprayer, but they can just go ahead an yuk it up while they're cleaning that stupid contraption they use.
Karen
Hi Kristina! I thought cleaning it was going to be a nightmare and the first time you do it, it is, lol. Just because you're not sure what you're doing. But once you figure it out, it's easy. ~ karen!
Laurie
Where can I get this model in Canada or be able to buy online?
Karen
Hi laurie! I'm just looking into that right now. It's *brand* new and not even available on Amazon.com yet. I'll check with Wagner to see how to get one in Canada. ~ karen!
KimS
Ooh! I hope you get a Volvo!
The chairs are beautiful!
Karen
I hope I get a new Volvo too. A bigger one, lol. ~ karen!
Marilyn
Looking for one for my daughter's late August birthday. Tried to find one in Canada, but no luck so far.
Karen
The Flexio 890 used to be available at Home Depot and Amazon.ca I believe but I can't find it at either place now. Perhaps it's being phased out. The Flexio 3000 is *brand* new and only available through the Wagner website at the moment. I'm going to check with them for you to see if they will/can ship to Canada. ~ karen!
Marilyn
Thanks for your reply.
I chatted with Wagner today. They said the Flexio 3000 will be shipped into Canada after retailers have sold out of the 890 and other higher end models.
Karen
Well, you're ahead of me then, lol. Good job. ~ karen!
Stephanie Orasi-Fitzpatrick
Love the painted wicker....what color is that? It's really nice...our Flexio 890 is doing well...showed Neil where that little spot can get blocked & since doing better. How much is the Wagner 3000?
Karen
Hi Steph! Hahahaha! You're one of the ones who bought the sprayer after seeing it in my yard, lol! One of the stars of the post. So the colour is Benjamin Moore’s 21345-30, (Brookside Moss). But things always look different on a computer screen. I think the Wagner 3000 is around the same price as the 890. But only available in the States from the Wagner website for now I think. It's brand new. ~ karen!
Shelagh
This might sound like a dumb question....can you use it for tinted wood stain? Which is a lot thinner than paint?
I have a board and batten fence that needs restaining
Karen
According to the instructions, yes you can. Also, I did my potting shed with wood stain (black) and it worked just fine. ~ karen!
Sabina
Sold! I have a pair of shutters and a stockade fence to paint!
canadamsel
You WILL let us know if you get that new Volvo, eh?
Karen
Ha! Yep. You bet. ~ karen!
Christine Eklund
Straight up serendipity! I was just recalling to myself to go look up your old post about the paint sprayer because I was finally ready to purchase....well then, I think I will be upgrading!
Thanks for your tired-less and honest reviews.
Karen
It's like we're/I'm/You're psychic. ~ karen!
Jennifer
Dang it, I bought the Flexio 890 with your last post on sprayers and now you're telling me how great the new one is. I had good success with the old one (painted my living room, an entire unfinished basement, and a set of kitchen cabinet doors) but the compressor was a bit of an annoyance and I did get "splatters" on the wide setting. Now I have to figure out how to justify buying the slick new one...hmm.
whitequeen96
This looks really good! I have a huge living room that I would love to use a paint sprayer on, but I was nervous about using one indoors. This sounds like just the ticket. And I love that it doesn't need a compressor or a hose. Thanks for this info - I'm seriously thinking of getting one!
Brenda
Loved this! You take the time to explain things so they don't seem quite so intimidating. I just might tackle our garden shed next spring. I so admire your "get 'er done" approach. Thanks! :)
Megan Leigh Geiger
Now you got me thinking if I buy one my husband will actually get the house painted. I hope they have sales for these guys!
JodyG
Marvelous post. I am going to buy a Wagner 3000. I have several uses of it and I am sure I will find many more.