Spraying iron lace

[westcoast]

Ive spent the day priming some original iron lace for my front verandah by hand and I'm wondering whether I'd be better off spraying it. I do have a 149 lpm FAD compressor which I have never used for spraying. It does not have a water trap and the hose I have been using presumably may have moisture in it from previous use.

I also have a general purpose spray gun (the kind with the pot on the bottom). I'm not sure what size the tip is but can probably find out if its important.

Bearing in mind that the primer is very thick will my current set up work for a second coat of primer or do I need a water trap and / or a new hose?

Should I use enamel or water based for subsequent coats and are there advantages in painting by brush or by spray.

I have very little experience in spraying anything - Any advice greatly appreciated.

[wheelinround]

does it have a large square nut at either end then thats where you drain it from

Spraying over the other no problem painting (if your in Sydney in this weather ) is nuts unless you have a spray room.

[westcoast]

thanks but im not sure what you mean re the nuts at either end?

[wheelinround]

On the Tank at either end there should be a head of a threaded (sorry I said nut) bolt it could be even under side.

[Santalum]

I did exactly the same job about 12 months ago, removed the old lacework, had it sand blasted back to bare metal, spayed it with a galv rust preventative (spray pack) then sprayed with exterior house paint, don't use enamel, it's pretty tricky, runs guaranteed, and over spray sticks to everything, also not good to breath.
To spray I suspended the lacework from beams in the shed (at comfortable work height) with wire, could simply move around it and spray from all angles, probably need a couple of coats a few hours apart.
Water no big deal, paint is water based anyway.
There should be a small drain tap, underneath the compressor tank, simply open it, allow moisture to drain and close it again.
Finish was excellent.
Cheers,
Jon.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Hey fellas, something tells me he was talking about an inline moisture trap - that catches moisture in the hose - and not a drain tap for the tank.

It's perfectly possible to get a decent spray job without one, even when using oil-based paints, although a lot depends on the weather. Current humidity, barometric changes, etc. Inline moisture traps are cheap enough to buy though, and you're better off with one no matter what you use the comp. for... even if it's just inflating car tyres!

(Just don't mistakenly buy an oiler instead! That'd really screw up your paint job! )

The purists may cringe, but it doesn't take much to purge the line... just use a blow-down nozzle a couple of inches away from a wall/concrete/plank/some surface until you can't see any wet spots appearing where you point it.

[westcoast]

thanks a lot for the replies. I was talking about an in line water filter. I think ive come to the conclusion that my spray gun might be a bit thirsty for my compressor. Ive been looking around for something affordable that might do this and other jobs around home. Ive had a look at a couple of gravity fed guns and small touch up hvlp guns.. Any suggestions

[jatt]

Got a couple of gravity fed guns (scorpion). Fom memory they have 1.4 tips. I only run enamel thru mine. This gun is also sold with a 2.0 tip. If it was me I would use the 2.0 for acrylics. The advantage with gravity of course is u can gat that last little bit of paint out of the container. Sitting them down can be tricky, gotta hang them by the hook.

Only real prob I have with em is spraying on a downwards angle. Then again if u are running low on paint with a pot unit then the pickup sucks air instead of paint on the angle.

My gravity units are low pressure and were only about $80 each. They do ok for cheap units and my elcheapo Chinese comp usually keeps up with the air. Of course one cannot do heaps of long runs with the gun in a short space of time.

I run a water trap.

Guess I'm fortunate in that I also have an airless sprayer which I use for acrylics. Drop the suction into a tin of paint and away u go.