Spray or Brush: Everything You Need To Know

When painting your house there are two methods professional painters in Houston use to make sure your painting project comes out perfect. The first method is the traditional brush and roll method of painting where you cut the corners of your surface and then roll the rest. The other method is masking the unpainted surfaces and using an airless sprayer to apply the paint. Here is where and when we use a brush and roller as opposed to an airless sprayer whether its interior or exterior painting.

Walls and Trim - Brush and Roller

Walls are made of drywall which is really absorbent. Professional house painters cut in with a brush and roll the walls ensuring full coverage so the drywall will absorb the paint and leave you with a finish with no marks creating a clean consistent look.

Using the right paint with a proper brush will leave your trim with no brush marks. Using long strokes with your brush you can keep your trim looking perfect leaving your completely satisfied.

Ceiling - Depends how large the project.

If we are painting a bed room we will use a brush and roller, if we are painting the entire house we will use an airless sprayer, it really just depends on the square footage of your paint job. An airless sprayer is always easier when it comes to application but the prep always takes longer. If we are just painting a ceiling and not painting the walls we will most likely use a brush and roller to ensure no overspray gets on the walls.

Cabinets - Airless Sprayer

For a fine finish for cabinets, wainscoting, or a fire place mantle we use an airless sprayer with a fine finish tip so that the cabinets have no brush marks or roller marks. We mask off the entire room putting up a plastic barrier, covering the floors, counter tops and all unpainted surfaces to ensure there is no overspray. This makes the process take much longer but leaves your cabinets looking fantastic maintaining that factory finish look.

Vinyl, Hardieboard, and other exterior surfaces - Airless sprayer

For exterior houses we will use an airless sprayer for as much of the project as we can. If your house is half unpainted brick and half something else like most houses in Houston we will paint your siding with an airless sprayer on a low pressure with a small width tip and take our time to ensure no overspray gets on your brick. We still will mask your windows and other unpainted surfaces like cameras and lights to ensure everything is protected. Weather its hardie board or vinyl it is much more effective to use a sprayer so that you dont have to brush and roll each individual board of siding or row of vinyl. We finish the trim and soffits with a brush.

Brick - Airless Sprayer

When painting brick we use an airless sprayer to ensure the paint gets into all the nooks and crannies of the pourus brick. We finish the trim and soffits with a brush.

Stucco - Both!

Stucco is very pourous so its good to spray the surface to ensure the paint gets into all the nooks and crannies. After that however we backroll the surface with a wet roller to make sure the stucco is fully absorbing the paint. We finish the trim and soffits with a brush.

Fences, decks - Both

When staining or sealing a fence or deck with apply the paint with an airless sprayer but then go back around and back brush the surface to make sure the stain isnt just sitting on the surface but being absorbed into the surface.

Railings - Airless sprayer if we can

Railings are a time consuming to paint because painting each spindle takes so much time to paint with a brush or a small roller. However it can also be less time consuming than doing a ton of masking so for railings it really just depends. If we are painting your entire house and everything needs to masked anyways we can quickly have your railing painted with an airless sprayer. If we have concerns of overspray we will go around meticulously and methodically painting each spindle so that it looks brand new.

In Conclusion

There are a lot of things to consider depending on the paint you are using and the surface you are applying it to when deciding which approach to take on your project. When bringing your home to new life we want to do a beautiful job for you so that paint job looks great for years to come. If you want a professional paint job from a locally owned interior and exterior painting company you can trust you can call us or click here to start your free painting estimate.