Wednesday, June 2, 2010

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:



kobaltoutside



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.



sprayer



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:



beforeoffice cabinet 



We just wiped it down with a cloth and started to spray!



inprogressspraying 



About 10 minutes into spraying it looked like this:



inprogresscabinet



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!



finished piece



* 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?

Labels: , ,

30 Comments:

Blogger LaNa said...

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!

June 2, 2010 at 8:46 AM  
Blogger bluehydrangea said...

Love it!! I might need one of those sprayers...

June 2, 2010 at 10:04 AM  
Blogger Tammy@InStitches said...

It looks great ! I have a compressor, just need the sprayer..... hmmm, trip to Home Depot before next paint project. Thanks for the tip !

June 2, 2010 at 10:15 AM  
Blogger Hello Lover... said...

Love this - I'm going to have to get one of these!

June 2, 2010 at 10:32 AM  
Blogger Brooke @ Blueprint Bliss said...

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!!!

June 2, 2010 at 10:42 AM  
Blogger elisabeth (bovagoods) said...

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!

June 2, 2010 at 11:02 AM  
Blogger Cristin // Simplified Bee said...

Looks amazing!!! Great color too.

xo,
cristin

June 2, 2010 at 11:16 AM  
Blogger High-Heeled Foot in the door said...

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!

June 2, 2010 at 11:17 AM  
Anonymous AppleTree said...

sending my husband to Lowes right now.

June 2, 2010 at 11:20 AM  
Blogger Lacey said...

I love that blue!

June 2, 2010 at 11:24 AM  
Blogger Alaina @ Live Creating Yourself said...

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

June 2, 2010 at 11:25 AM  
Blogger Michelle said...

I have been thinking about getting one for a while and this totally sealed the deal!! I must get one!!!

June 2, 2010 at 11:33 AM  
Blogger Nikki said...

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.

June 2, 2010 at 11:37 AM  
Blogger Janelle said...

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?

June 2, 2010 at 12:15 PM  
Anonymous Bailey@ peppermintbliss said...

I want...nay NEED this tool. Starting my Christmas list now...

June 2, 2010 at 12:23 PM  
Blogger Welcome said...

I love it AND I think I may have just found a tool to have..

XOXOX'
Kiki

June 2, 2010 at 12:30 PM  
Blogger High-Heeled Foot in the door said...

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.

June 2, 2010 at 12:37 PM  
Blogger Cat said...

What an amazing project! I am so very envious of your talent to repurpose a find into something so lovely!!!

:)

June 2, 2010 at 12:59 PM  
Blogger Becky Holmes said...

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!!

June 2, 2010 at 1:04 PM  
Blogger Scientific Housewife said...

Looks great!

June 2, 2010 at 1:17 PM  
Blogger Kate said...

This just makes me want a paint sprayer even more. 20 minutes?! Amazing.

June 2, 2010 at 2:31 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

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!

June 2, 2010 at 3:11 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

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! :)

June 2, 2010 at 3:17 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

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!

June 2, 2010 at 3:34 PM  
Blogger Helena - A Diary of Lovely said...

Camila darling, you have created a beauty!!!

June 2, 2010 at 4:53 PM  
Blogger Debbie@Vintage Scout Interiors said...

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!

June 2, 2010 at 5:49 PM  
Blogger Michelle said...

Thanks for posting! Dave has a compressor in the garage just begging for some use... hmmmm...

June 2, 2010 at 11:19 PM  
Blogger Courtney said...

Paint sprayers are the best! Such a time saver too.. beats a roller and can any day!

June 3, 2010 at 8:37 AM  
Blogger Lissa Pierce said...

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.

June 3, 2010 at 1:13 PM  
Anonymous From Me To You said...

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!

June 10, 2010 at 10:44 AM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home