Help me find right sprayer

Z

ZoranC

New member
I am seriously considering getting myself a sprayer, not a regular bottle one, but one of those that have wand, similar to this one:



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I am thinking about using it to apply cleaners and dressings in hard to reach (for me) areas like nooks and crannies of the engine bay or wheel well areas.



Things I would appreciate input on are:



1) Am I right that one gallon capacity is max I would need? I am trying to make it easy to handle around and easy on my back.



2) I think low pressure is all I need as long as fluids are atomized into consistent fine enough mist. I have heard that might not be the case. Do you feel hand pump based units will be sufficient for fine / very fine atomization of fluids in consistent manner I have in mind or I need something stronger like battery or 12v based unit? I am trying to avoid battery based units if possible to avoid added weight, added cost, and impact on environment.



3) If something stronger is needed for atomization what should I go with?



4) Are you aware of any adequate sprayer that at the same time has at least fine narrow spraying pattern (hopefully adjustable width/pattern), long line, long flexible wand, and adjustable rotating tip?



Thank you in advance for your assistance and maybe even a pointer to product with these features!
 

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Can't help with this one, but I too would like answers to those Qs. I wouldn't want anything larger than a one-gallon one though; I have a ~3 gallon (IIRC) backpack one that I use for weed control and it's more than I'd want for detailing applicatons. FWIW, that one pumps up with a long lever but it doesn't atomize nearly well enough for this application (IMO) but they sell different tips for the nozzle and maybe that'd make all the difference.
 
Bug sprayers (available at Home Cheapo or any gardening store) work well in high volume environments for degreaser, wheel cleaner, and dressing application.



Hown many cars will you be using it on per day/hour? I think 1 gal may be a little small if you have a high volume shop. The models I used were 2.5 gal and they contained degreaser and wheel cleaner. I had a hand held 1 gallon model for dressing (similar to what a window tiner uses)



You will waste a lot of expensive product using it for dressing though. When these things are operating at low pressure, the atomization or mist is dramatically decreased.
 
I don't whether weed control needs fine atomization or not, my guess is that it does not need it as fine as my purpose is, that it is more interested in covering large area fast, so it is spreading wide which will decrease pressure and thereby reduce atomization. Also, you are right nozzle design makes huge difference.
 
jsatek said:
Hown many cars will you be using it on per day/hour? I think 1 gal may be a little small if you have a high volume shop.
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It's for my own cars, four cars a week at max :)



jsatek said:
You will waste a lot of expensive product using it for dressing though. When these things are operating at low pressure, the atomization or mist is dramatically decreased.
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That's why I am looking for tip with narrow mist pattern. It would reduce overspray significantly (increasing ability to focus on area and reducing waste) and hopefully it would also mean high pressure in tank is not required as long as pressure is high enough at the nozzle's holes.
 
jsatek said:
None that I have had have made a fine mist with low pressure. They would spit and dribble leting you know you had to pump them up.
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How they would work after several pumps?
 
Let me clarify what I mean by low pressure. I mean nothing so strong to get all over the place. Just strong enough to atomize the liquid fine enough when using relatively narrow pattern (I imagine adjustable from 1" to 3" wide).



I guess paint sprayers like this one



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could come close (and would be even more handy as they have small feed bottle that can be changed) but I still would need wand to reach into places.
 
yakky said:
.......I'm thinking of picking one of these up for wheel well dressing and rust protector spray:



Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
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I don't know yakky, I have one of those and I'm not very impressed with it. After filling it with just air from my compressor it didn't really seem to perform very well. I seriously doubt that you'd get 2 wheel wells dressed w/o having to stop and recharge it with air...... I think it'd be easier to use a normal trigger spray bottle or apply with a brush or rag.



I'd have the same reservations about using it to spray a rust protector....... it would have to be thinned quite a bit and I doubt you'd get anything better than splotchy coverage. I'd either shoot it with a conventional gun or just buy rattle cans to spray it. I thought it was worth a try, but I haven't really thought of a use where I think it would be worth the trouble of messing with it. If you want to try it it's only $10, but don't get your expectations set too high.
 
More I think about it more I feel right product will be using powered compressor creating relatively low pressure and will be using feed bottle for easy exchange of products. Something similar to paint sprayers / air brushes but with adjustable tip far away from bottle and thin neck. Any ideas?
 
yakky said:
The garden type sprayers will not work for dressing or anything that needs to be applied in limited quantities.[/url]
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Wouldn't that depend more on how exiting quantity can be controlled (fine adjustable tip with narrow pattern) than how pressure is supplied?
 
The dilemma for me was finding a misting tip for my sprayer. (AA in the wheel wells)

All other tips are easy. Broad, narrow, full, stream, - easy. Mist - difficult to find.



Home Depot sells a kit for various tip adapters and I haven't tried them yet but the sprayer I bought had an interchangeable tips.

So far, the misting tip has been disappointing but the quest continues. My FK425 came with a wonderful misting tip so I know it's possible.

I'm using an Armor All hand spritzer with a great misting tip too so I know it must be possible again..

Eventually, I'll adapt something and be happy, I'll replace the whole wand and hose if I have to but one day soon, I'll be misting that armor all over the whole neighborhood.

There's just no consistency in the wand/hose/tip measurements so it's a crap shoot so far.

Until then, I strive to reach the unreachable star.

The moral of the story so far: No easy solution.

-John C.
 
Eliot Ness said:
I don't know yakky, I have one of those and I'm not very impressed with it. After filling it with just air from my compressor it didn't really seem to perform very well. I seriously doubt that you'd get 2 wheel wells dressed w/o having to stop and recharge it with air...... I think it'd be easier to use a normal trigger spray bottle or apply with a brush or rag.



I'd have the same reservations about using it to spray a rust protector....... it would have to be thinned quite a bit and I doubt you'd get anything better than splotchy coverage. I'd either shoot it with a conventional gun or just buy rattle cans to spray it. I thought it was worth a try, but I haven't really thought of a use where I think it would be worth the trouble of messing with it. If you want to try it it's only $10, but don't get your expectations set too high.
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Thanks for the feedback. I have a sprayer that came with some Amsoil Waterless wash (total junk) that I like so I was hoping this would be similar but instead of using the supplied pump it could be charged by a compressor. What I've noticed about the little Amsoil sprayer is you want about 1/3 of it to be liquid, tops. Otherwise there isn't enough air volume. While it doesn't mist perfectly, IMO its much better than a regular spray bottle as you don't have the alternating pressure while pulling the trigger. That makes even application difficult.
 
So far we know following:



1) It has to be powered, otherwise we have no consistency.



2) Design of tip is very important to achieve atomization and consistency level we are interested in. Average OTC will fail that requirement as their intended target doesn't have such requirement so they don't need to manufacture anything better than their intended market requires.



This all points in direction of precision painting equipment. Any thoughts?
 
ZoranC said:
This all points in direction of precision painting equipment. Any thoughts?
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I'd wonder if such equipment would work for getting into tight spots...I was thinking that a wand with some length to it would be what you're after.
 
Accumulator said:
I'd wonder if such equipment would work for getting into tight spots... I was thinking that a wand with some length to it would be what you're after.
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Those were exactly my thoughts as I was looking into regular paint equipment available out there. It wouldn't work. We need something along similar architecture but with wand.
 
ZoranC said:
Those were exactly my thoughts as I was looking into regular paint equipment available out there. It wouldn't work. We need something along similar architecture but with wand.
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You might want to browse thru the Eastwood site, they might have something along the lines that you're looking for, but paint gun wise, I haven't seen anything.
 
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