Paint sprayer + compressor = happy Camila!
For months now I’ve had a dresser waiting to get a paint job in the garage. We found it during one of our little drive-bys for curb side treats so it was FREE! It was the perfect size and I knew I could re-work and use it in my office.
Well the days came and went and it never got done. The task of having to sand it, prime it and then either use a million cans of spray-paint or sit for hours with a paint brush was not appealing.
Of course Jon came to the rescue with a solution and we finally got to work over the weekend.
The piece I was working on was real wood that was stained then glossed and sealed with some sort of acrylic.
Normally I would have to sand then prime it and then finally start painting.
On Sunday we just used this:
We got it as a gift, but it was from LOWES.
It’s a compressor that Jon normally uses for home improvement projects and working on the car.
It came with a hobby sprayer, which is what we used for this project.
When using the sprayer you fill the can 3/4 of the way to the top. You then attach the air hose from the compressor to your sprayer.
Now there is a gold knob right below from where you attach the air hose. It controls the amount of paint that is released from the nozzle. The trigger is controlled by you! So play around on a scrap piece of wood and figure out the right amount of paint coming out and the intensity with which you want it come out. There is no perfect formula with this. You just need to play around with the settings. It varies depending on the piece of furniture and the thickness of the paint.
Here it the before shot:
We just wiped it down with a cloth and started to spray!
About 10 minutes into spraying it looked like this:
We also sprayed to the drawers and gave everything a second coat and we were finished in 20 minutes total!!!!
Even though it was actual paint it dried in about the same time as spray paint, which was amazing. Also there were no drip marks and amazing coverage!
* I swear the blue doesn’t look this bright in person. With all the sunlight that day it just looked way brighter.
We are still not finished. I need new knobs and I’m doing something with the center doors and top, but the main job of the paint is finished!
I would totally recommend making this sort of purchase if you plan on painting a lot. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to painting any other way!
Have you ever used a paint sprayer and compressor? Any tips you can share?
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ON THE BLOG
My living room is one of the rooms that evolved drastically from when we first moved one. Originally I painted the walls chocolate brown and did accents of white, blue and orange. That lasted maybe 2 years.
Our dining room sat empty for months. Okay maybe it was empty for just a handful of weeks and then we couldn’t take it anymore and put in a folding table and plastic outdoor chairs, but in my mind that was still empty.
On the main floor of our house we have a Florida room. Being that it’s a Florida room it is a considered a 3 season room, because there is no heat in the room. The previous owners used it as an indoor patio with outdoor furniture and it looked like this when we moved in.
Wow! Love the blue! I have three pieces of furniture that need to be painted and you've won me over with the sprayer and compresser! Great work!
Love it!! I might need one of those sprayers…
It looks great ! I have a compressor, just need the sprayer….. hmmm, trip to Home Depot before next paint project. Thanks for the tip !
Love this – I'm going to have to get one of these!
I used a sprayer for Baby C's crib…. it malfunctioned at first but worked once I got the hang of it!
That piece looks great!!!
we have a compressor but not a sprayer. need one now!!! looks so much easier!
one question, how is the clean up? what is involved in cleaning the sprayer? also, did you add water to your paint?
guess that was more than one question.
thanks!
Looks amazing!!! Great color too.
xo,
cristin
We didn't add any water to the paint. To clean it up we simply rinsed it all out with warm water. We even forgot about it and didn't clean it out till the next day and it all came out no problem!
I swear I'm in love. I'm going to be spraying everything with this thing!
sending my husband to Lowes right now.
I love that blue!
So cool! I JUST posted about some painting projects of my own. I used spray paint, and YES, it drips! This looks like something I need… LOVE the blue color.
-A
I have been thinking about getting one for a while and this totally sealed the deal!! I must get one!!!
You are so good with color it kills me. It looks great. I have a sidewalk dresser I've been waiting to paint too. Maybe when the rain stops.
I just recently started following your blog and am inspired by your awesome color choices! This blue looks great. Nice job!
We just decided to "recycle" some old furniture for my son's "big boy" room, but I want to paint it. What kind of paint did you use? Was there really no sanding necessary?
I want…nay NEED this tool. Starting my Christmas list now…
I love it AND I think I may have just found a tool to have..
XOXOX'
Kiki
I just used a can of oops paint from home depot.
It was interior paint with a semi-gloss for $5 bucks.
I also used it to spray our veggie boxes outside.
Because you are using the sprayer you also use less paint.
We didn't sand or prime at all! I think if it had be a piece of formica you would have needed to use a special primer and sand, but for a basic piece that you pick up at thrift store this worked wonders! I'm so happy with the results.
Make sure you just practice before hand perhaps on the back of the piece if it won't be seen just to figure out how much paint you want coming.
What an amazing project! I am so very envious of your talent to repurpose a find into something so lovely!!!
🙂
Paint sprayers are from heaven! They make painting so much easier. The clean ups a lot of work, but its worth it. I just found that your coverage depends on how thin or thick you mix your paint, but once you do it few times you get the hang of it in no time. Careful, their addicting so you may be painting all kinds of things now! Great blue color!!
Looks great!
This just makes me want a paint sprayer even more. 20 minutes?! Amazing.
wow great job! I need to try this.
I'm totally jealous! I've been dying to get my hands on one of these for all of my upcoming projects. The dresser looks great!
WOW!! I've been thinking about getting a paint sprayer & compresser for quite some time for big projects like painting our kitchen cabinets!!
Your making me want one even more now! 🙂
the console looks lovely. i can't wait to see you use it in one of your projects! i love the idea of purchasing a sprayer for tackling some summer projects i've got in mind — thanks for yet another genius suggestion!
Camila darling, you have created a beauty!!!
I can't thank you enough for posting this! My hubby has one of those compressors and I am going to task him to find the sprayer for it. My son is moving into an apartment next year at school, and I've got a vision for it!
Thanks for posting! Dave has a compressor in the garage just begging for some use… hmmmm…
Paint sprayers are the best! Such a time saver too.. beats a roller and can any day!
That looks so great! I need one of those but don't do enough painting to justify the purchase. I have a crezenza that has a tons of nooks like the dresser so maybe I should rent one.
Your DIY's are killing me! I love this! I ate brunch in a garden last week in Fredricksburg, Texas at a picnic table painted a blue just like this and it was so stunning! I admire your fearlessness!
Does the paint get everywhere when you spray it outside? How do you control the mess when spraying on the grass or maybe it doesn’t matter if it just gets mowed?! Thanks for your help! Enjoying your blog
The paint is such a fine mist that you really don’t notice it getting sprayed on the grass. We always try to set up away from the garage and directly behind the grass so that we don’t get any on either structures, but it’s never been issued. We always spray on days when there is little to no wind and that always helps.