# Rolling vs. Spraying



## JLawver1 (Jan 18, 2011)

I hear that when spraying paint on walls you go through much more paint than if you were to roll the paint on. What do you think the the ratio is between Rolling vs. Spraying? You think you use twice as much paint spraying compared to rolling?
Also if this is true why does spraying use more paint? Is it because waste in the sprayer lines or does it make the paint coat heavier?


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

I don't think spraying uses more paint though the person doing the spraying may use more paint. 

We only spray new work so it needs priming and two coats. A re-paint of the same color probably only needs one coat. One coat rolling will use less than three coats spraying but that's a function of new/repaint, not the process.


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

The main problem is paint that is sprayed and ends up somewhere other than the intended surface. IIRC, the transfer effeciency of airless sprayers is in the 60-70 percent range, i.e. about 1/3 of the paint ends up elsewhere. Operator error can also have a huge impact on this. Poor spray techique can result in much more overspray and well as much higher film thicknesses. Airless sprayers can put out a tremendous amount of paint: at full bore, our main unit puts out just over a gallon/minute. 

In the hands of a skilled operator, transfer effeciency are maximized, film build is appropriate, and the additional cost of the material is more than offset by the speed of the operation.


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## [email protected] (Mar 1, 2008)

The biggest problem is people using blown tip or well used ones. and two much pressure.
David


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## jason. (Aug 18, 2010)

Gough said:


> The main problem is paint that is sprayed and ends up somewhere other than the intended surface. IIRC, the transfer effeciency of airless sprayers is in the 60-70 percent range, i.e. about 1/3 of the paint ends up elsewhere. Operator error can also have a huge impact on this. Poor spray techique can result in much more overspray and well as much higher film thicknesses. Airless sprayers can put out a tremendous amount of paint: at full bore, our main unit puts out just over a gallon/minute.
> 
> In the hands of a skilled operator, transfer effeciency are maximized, film build is appropriate, and the additional cost of the material is more than offset by the speed of the operation.


Well said :thumbsup:


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> The biggest problem is people using blown tip or well used ones. and two much pressure.
> David


Exactly, we've see guys use 2-3 times the amount of paint because of this.

OTOH, some guys around here try to "stretch" the paint and get the maximum coverage to minimize material costs. The combination of insufficient paint and tardy backrolling makes for some pretty nasty-looking paint jobs.


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## rise-craftsmen (Dec 3, 2010)

Good advice Gough. I have a question to add. Say you have a stucco home that's 1100 sqft, with a zero lot line so the homes are really close together, would you spray or roll? I am think I am just going to roll that sucker out with a fatty roller:wallbash:


Sorry for adding a question :whistling


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

rise-craftsmen said:


> Good advice Gough. I have a question to add. Say you have a stucco home that's 1100 sqft, with a zero lot line so the homes are really close together, would you spray or roll? I am think I am just going to roll that sucker out with a fatty roller:wallbash:
> 
> 
> Sorry for adding a question :whistling


It depends, does the neighbor want his house to be the same color?:laughing:

I would certainly roll it. As windy as it is around here, I don't want to spray exteriors unless they: don't have much mature landscaping; don't have really close neighbors; and don't require much masking. In other words, we don't spray many exteriors around here. Often, the first questions our prospective clients ask us is whether or not we'll be spraying.


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## rise-craftsmen (Dec 3, 2010)

Gough said:


> It depends, does the neighbor want his house to be the same color?:laughing:
> 
> I would certainly roll it. As windy as it is around here, I don't want to spray exteriors unless they: don't have much mature landscaping; don't have really close neighbors; and don't require much masking. In other words, we don't spray many exteriors around here. Often, the first questions our prospective clients ask us is whether or not we'll be spraying.


Thanks for the advice, rolling it might be cleaner with less clean up. Here in Northern California it's not that windy and most painters spray exteriors but the weather can be unpredictable as well as this house is in a planned community and it's really close to the other houses and I am talking close, I don't want the neighbors to be pissed at me because I hope I get more jobs hone:


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## Ram painting (Oct 29, 2009)

We prefer to spray whenever we can. With painters weho know what they are doing a great deal of labor cost can be saved. all though the project has to be big enough to warrant the sprayer set up/clean up and the time of masking


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## JHC (Jun 4, 2010)

rise-craftsmen said:


> Thanks for the advice, rolling it might be cleaner with less clean up. Here in Northern California it's not that windy and most painters spray exteriors but the weather can be unpredictable as well as this house is in a planned community and it's really close to the other houses and I am talking close, I don't want the neighbors to be pissed at me because I hope I get more jobs hone:


 I would turn pressure down as far as I could and still retain a decent pattern, and spray closer. I do a ton of work on the beaches and the wind is always blowing and overspray is an issue. 

Just pay attention to where its going. I have a man on the ground moving the ladder, and sprayer for the spray guy and he also keeps an eye on that as well.


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## InsideandOut (Jan 14, 2011)

*If you are rollering*

Consider using an 18" roller if rollering. The job will go much faster and you will get a good workout if you need it!:thumbsup:


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## JLawver1 (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks for the info. We're going to have to watch the paint crew more closely.


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## rise-craftsmen (Dec 3, 2010)

Thanks for the advice lower pressure should work, but maybe I need a workout so I might go with the 18" roller..


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## Ram painting (Oct 29, 2009)

New tip, 100 foot hose and watch the overspray. It is amazing what a worn tip will do to the material consumption on a large spray project


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## Rent A Painter (May 29, 2010)

JLawver1 said:


> I hear that when spraying paint on walls you go through much more paint than if you were to roll the paint on. What do you think the the ratio is between Rolling vs. Spraying? You think you use twice as much paint spraying compared to rolling?
> Also if this is true why does spraying use more paint? Is it because waste in the sprayer lines or does it make the paint coat heavier?


Who told you that ? the guy at Homedepot ?


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## Ohio painter (Dec 4, 2011)

I will spray if the job warrants it, many factors involved as already mentioned. It is not my go to for residential. 
As far as paint usage I think the difference is minimal. 
I recall on a particular job years ago, our paint usage seemed high, I figured that 10% of the paint blew away as overspray.


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## Mathew123 (Jul 26, 2021)

I think both of them have their advantages.
The advantage of rolling may be that the paint will be applied much thicker giving overall better coverage than if it was sprayed. Whereas Spraying is faster, so spraying large areas may save a lot of time and labor.
But spraying the exterior of a house may be risky due to the wind as @Gough said.


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

Don't know how a 10 year old thread got revived but this is more about the applicator than the method of application. You can do either incorrectly.


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

It was that guy from Ohio. He was so distraught after Oregon beat them, that he couldn't even tell the date anymore...

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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