Tarter Home Maintenance Blog

Spraying vs. Rolling

Which is better?  That’s the age old question.  The answer varies, depending on who you talk to.  I do both, depending on the situation.

I nearly always spray the exterior of homes.  It’s the best way to paint the rough, textured stucco here in Las Vegas.   It usually takes me less than 3 days.   However, a good spray job is dependent on the weather cooperating.   If it’s too windy, you’ll end up painting the surrounding homes and cars.   Spraying also requires good masking and taping to avoid overspray.  This is very tedious, but  extremely important.   Everything has to to be covered correctly to achieve a professional result. 

 

     Interiors are a little different.  I usually spray when the home is empty, and the carpet is going to be replaced.  I spray the interiors of a lot of rental homes that are  two colors,  at the most.  There is usually a lot of masking involved.  Interior custom paint jobs requiring  multiple colors are almost always rolled.

 

The new airless sprayers do minimize that problem, but you still have a lot of atomized paint particles floating around, so wearing a mask is a must.  You will also need to completely empty the room before starting.  I usually spray a house before clients are moving in, or after they move out.  The sprayer makes the work go much faster. 

 

When I paint with a  brush and roller, I move things away from the walls, cover areas where there is a potential for spillage and get to it.  With a little practice and patience,  you can almost get away without any drop cloths.  However, I always respect Murphy’s Law and put drop cloths down.  If you don’t cover your expensive furniture or that nice wood floor, you’re bound to dump paint all over it.

 

I use drop cloths made of fabric because they’re a lot better than plastic.  Spilled paint doesn’t dry quickly enough on plastic, and the possibility of  tracking paint through the house is high.  

I cut in the edges with a 3 inch angle brush,  and I roll with an 18 inch roller.  I’ve found this to be the most efficient way to paint interiors.  However, I don’t recommend doing this without prior experience. 

 

Spraying is a greater expense than rolling.  The reasons for this are,  the average cost of spraying materials is about $150 to $200 per house, and it also requires more paint.  It also requires a substantial amount of clean- up time.

 

Rolling is more labor-intensive, and takes longer.  In my opinion, there are negatives and positives to both, but they are equally good.

 

Troy Tarter

http://TarterHomeMaintenance.com

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