Airless Spray Testimonials

Steve Templeman 17360
Steve has some ultra rough Crépi on his house and started painting it with a roller and brush, paint consumption was alarming and the progress was ultra slow
He hired the Spray System for a day and finished the job in a few hours, here's some of his comments to questions we asked when collecting the machine

"Well was is 20x faster than a roller"?
I'd say faster than that but this is very rough so even on a normal crépi that seems reasonable

"Was the machine easy to use"?
Yes, not complex, easy to clean too, easy to use on the ground more difficult up a ladder but still fast, staging would be ideal for speed

"Was is economic with paint"?
I'd say 50% no 40% more coverage, it halved the paint we would have used - in fact I have 10L over and with a roller we were expecting to buy a lot more - at 70 Euro a tub!

"Would you recommend it"?
I have already to 2 mates - 1 is a builder and he needs stuff like this and another is a bit of a decorator. The builder saw the end result and considering the time taken to do the job he was pretty impressed

Lots of cutting in around beams and window reveals took the time, also working off ladders and staging "slowed" progress

Wm MacCall 47360
William started painting but soon found the Crepi was more of a task than he ever envisaged. He already had bought some Tonne Pierre (local water borne Dulux) but the wall was sucking it off his roller at some rate!

Quick?
Yes took 6 hours to do the house and that included going for more paint as it was a bigger job than we thought. And I didn't really have the bottle to use the big fan tip so I did it through with the small fan.

Easy to use?
Yes the machine has simple controls and cleaning was no real problem either. More difficult up a ladder but still easier than a roller.

Messy?
No although I was too nervous not to mask so I masked the windows just to be doubly sure. No over spray though so I didn't cut in with a brush I painted to the mask

This wall was completed in just over an hour thanks to easy access

Dave Dodgeson 16380
Did it do a good job on your Placo?
Yes the mist (first) coat went on in minutes and as the place was empty and a new build each room only took 5-10 minutes.. The extension tube meant we just did the high ceilings without a step ladder. The mist coat stopped the board sucking the top coat in

And the top coat?
Went on without any brush or roller marks and gave a dead flat matt finish, each room took about 45 minutes. We changed colours too in moments just by running water through and then the new colour(s)

Paint Usage (economic)?
Well I suppose so, never really analysed that, We did it in on hit but it's time and hassle it saves

This text is taken from “Painter & Decorator June 2004
Dulux Decorator Centre store managers answer topical decorating questions that are currently troubling their customers. Here, Karen Taylor, manager of the Milton Keynes store, answers your queries on the issue of application.

Q: There's a lot of talk about the benefits of spray application. Is it something I should be looking into?
A: There is no doubt about the benefit of spray painting. It's faster, more economical and delivers a better finish more easily than conventional brush or roller application. Set-up times are often cited as a disadvantage, but there have been developments in masking kits, and the preparation and after care process can be more than cancelled out by the speed and efficiency of spray application. In some cases, it can allow you to complete a job up to 20 times faster.

So when should you choose spray? The benefits are greatest for larger scale applications. We sell most of our spray machines to decorating contractors involved in decorating commercial properties like warehouses or supermarkets, where keeping downtime to a minimum is vital.
However, spray can also be used very successfully when a decorator is tasked with painting a whole house, or a large municipal project like painting park fencing. Dulux Decorator Centre staff can advise on when to opt for spray
End of quotes.

We know people here in France are not doing a warehouse but they do have large projects and areas to paint, not to mention that Crepi!