Wagner 0529021 FLEXiO 890 Stationary HVLP Paint Sprayer, Sprays Unthinned Latex, Includes Two Nozzles, iSpray Nozzle and Detail Finish Nozzle, Complete Adjustability for All Needs

I wanted a paint sprayer because I have several projects and projected projects that will need to be painted or stained. I don't enjoy painting and was hoping for something to make the process go as quickly as possible. I have that and more with this HVLP paint sprayer.I did a lot of reading between HVLP and airless paint sprayers. To sum it all up, the airless sprayers are like paint rollers and HVLPs are like using a brush. The first being faster, messier, and wasting lots of paint, and the HVLP is a slower but more precise gives a better finish and wastes less paint. I read somewhere that contractors should have both. I can see why now that I have a HVLP, and I'll probably purchase an airless too. But if you have to have one over the other and your project isn't too big then I would go with the HVLP for results.It's pretty straight forward so I didn't read the instructions. I put in paint, connected, and started spraying. A few things didn't go so smoothly so I went back and read the instructions to figure out if it was user error or just the way it works -- all user error. But doing it that way made the instructions much easy to understand. The second attempt went very well; fast, smooth, great results.At first I didn't do much to prep. I knew it was a gamble, but wanted to experience the machine first. Just so you understand that this is all about prepping. You have to tape. You must tape as if you're going to have a category 3 hurricane coming through because as long as the power is on there's a lot of air coming from this unit. I had to stop and reinforce what I taped. I used 3M Tape with plastic to cover areas that I didn't want painted. The next thing I noticed is that me not prepping the wall really showed with the absolutely smooth surface that it sprayed using an eggshell finish. My girlfriend had did another wall with a roller and the inconsistency kinda mixed in and didn't make such a big difference. With this you noticed imperfections under the coat. I stopped and immediately and fixed the imperfections in the wall.Like I mentioned before painting isn't something that I enjoy. However, with the results that I get from this machine it forced me to get into painting a lot more, specifically the prepping. I went back and smoothed the walls of the little notches that were created over time, filled in nail holes, and skimmed where it was rough. I tapped very well. I sprayed again and the results were amazing. Immediately after spraying I took a lent free roller and quickly roll the wall to a smooth finish (don't add additional paint to the roller). It really makes the finish look professional, and not at all like it's been rolled -- it's worth the two extra minutes.Including all of the prep that you should do, it still cuts down tremendously on the time it takes to paint a wall. I was able to paint a 11 x 8 wall in minutes. The even coat allows it dry really quickly so that you can do a second coat after doing other walls, and taking a short break. You have to clean the unit by taking the sprayer a part so don't loose the directions. But it's really easy.Prepp, tape, spray, and roll to a professional looking surface.

Wow, choosing a sprayer for home or the home shop is difficult. I seem to be on a never ending quest for a spray unit that will spray latex paint with reduced overspray and reduced material waste.There are primarily three types of sprayers: Conventional High Pressure setups (gun with cup or pressurized can + air compressor) that atomize the paint producing a fine spray and great results, but create a ton of overspray and $$$$ compressor with sufficient CFM, 2) High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP) units that produce a high volume of air at low pressure, that basically splat the paint on the desired surface, with okay results and reduced overspray, and 3) Airless systems that use a piston to pull paint from the can and push it onto the surface, with good results, less overspray than 1 & 2, but require priming and can be a bit of a hassle to use.I started out many years ago with a huge $$$$ air compressor and a good gun, but the high pressure route does not work for me as I cannot spray outside much of the year (wet and cold) and do not have a suitable place indoors to spray.So, over the years I purchased several HVLP units: an HVLP conversion gun (okay), a Wagner CapSpray CS5000 multi stage turbine unit that I reserve for spraying clear finishes in our woodshop, a cheap Rockler HVLP unit that does an okay job but is cheaply made (i.e., large diameter hose falls off every other minute), a Wagner Fine Spray unit (also for stains and clear finishes), and finally the Wagner Flexio 890 that I purchased for spraying latex. All of these will spray clear finishes and stains, no problem. They all handle latex paint if I thin it slightly. However, depending on the day, alignment of the moon to the stars, I either get a great smooth finish or a splattered mess. So lack of consistency has been the issue.I purchased the Wag 890 (10/2016) specifically to handle our current remodeling projects including painting the interior doors. I brushed the first three doors, but the paint and wait process took forever. So, I sprayed five doors with the 890, (latex primer and top coat) in just a couple of hours, start to finish. Three of the doors are perfect. One door is okay. The other, is an embarrassment. All sprayed same place, same time, same paint, same equipment. Turns out the issue was the nozzle of the 890 and why I dropped it a star.The nozzle on most spray guns consists of two primary metal components: a needle and the nozzle opening. The end of the needle is tapered. When closed, it closes off the opening. When drawn back, it allows material (paint, stain, clear) to pass. The Wagner 890 nozzle employs all plastic components and what is odd, is the nozzle opening is not round but rectangular/oval. Combined with the warm to hot air (HVLP turbines produce a high volume of hot air passing through the gun), paint skin develops outside the nozzle opening which partially or completely blocks the flow of paint. If you keep this skin cleaned off (turn off gun and scrape off with fingernail every minute or so), the unit performs very well. If you allow the skin to block the nozzle, you get splatter, spatter (Hey Dexter), or a dry finish. If you're spraying contrasting colors it will be obvious. In my case, I was painting white paint onto white primer, and even in pretty decent light, could not tell whether the paint was flowing correctly. I do not have a solution for the nozzle skin and hope someone will reply with a fix!In use. Worked really well aside from the comment above. I sprayed Zinsser Primer and Dutch Boy premium latex. I sprayed both thinned slightly and not thinned and did not see any difference. I used the gun in the highest air setting. I back out the paint volume knob (no material flow), and then adjusted in until I achieved the correct "atomization". Always start with no flow, and then adjust the spray accordingly. I tried using less air flow, and it seemed to work okay, less overspray, but then went to back to max. I tested the gun by spraying brown kraft paper and found that regardless of the setting, to get proper coverage, I had to move the gun (vertically or horizontally) much slower than with my other spray units. Slow and steady. The larger cup holds a generous 1-1/2 quarts, which was enough for five doors, one side. Do note that a full cup and the stiff hose make you wish you had an airless sprayer. Also, the instructions and videos place the gun 6" to 8" from the surface...I usually set a bit farther back, but they are right on that. Closer is better.Overspray. This unit, like all others, will create a cloud of paint in a room with no ventilation. However, as far as overspray onto adjacent surfaces, it is pretty insignificant. The paint goes where you point and not outside the spray pattern.Regarding the rest of the unit...HVLP units employ a turbine to produce a high volume of air. They can be loud. This unit is surprisingly, relatively quiet. If you're not familiar with HVLP units, there is a constant stream of air exiting the gun, even with the trigger closed. You need to make sure to direct this away from your work. The air is warm to hot which generally is a good thing. It helps to "dry" the paint as it leaves the gun. This is problematic however for fast drying finishes like conventional lacquer (which cannot be used with this gun, it will eat the plastic). Even some waterbased lacquers might be a problem. Back to noise. If you adjust the gun to reduce the width of the spray, the blocked air generates more noise which I did not appreciate.HVLP units employ a large diameter, stiff hose to deliver the HV air to the gun. This can be unwieldy to the first time user, worse when the cup is full of paint. I found the 890 hose to be fine, but wished it were a bit longer. My CapSpray hose is probably twice as long which allows me to place the turbine unit out of overspray area--my 890 is now a wonderful shade of black and white! I like how the hose connects to the gun and the turbine unit, but frequently have some difficulty disconnecting the hose from the base. Even my large vice grip hands have difficulty pushing in the release "spring" after holding the gun for 20 minutes!Another issue with HVLP units is that the stiff large hose makes it "difficult" to just sit the gun down. The 890 solves this two ways. The base unit provides a post that mates with the handle of the gun, perfect! Second, the iPaint larger canister has a wide flat bottom that stays put when you set it down on a table, floor, etc. First HVLP unit I have used that did not require a dedicated "holder".The large hose, guns, handle, etc., all fit perfectly inside the unit for storage. Wow. My CS5000 hoses (I have two) take up considerable storage shelf space and frequently unwind and spring across the room! (drama for emphasis). Supposedly the inside of the base unit lid has a small diagram describing how to store everything, I am missing that diagram. Took a few minutes to determine how best to situate the hose. When you open yours for the first time, look for the diagram. If it is missing, take a mental picture of how the hose is stored.The base unit lid is flat and looks like the perfect place to sit or stand. Don't.The electrical cord is way too short. I did not measure it, but it can't be much more than 2 feet long. I am always concerned to add extension cords (reduced current to motor), but you must use one with this unit.Cleanup. Spray units are always a pain to clean up (I decided with this unit, I will stick to water-based finishes). I found that dissembling the main components (nozzle, etc.) is the easiest way to go. Just take the gun apart, run a stream of water through it, clean with soft brush, reassemble, and then spray a couple cups of water. Done. That's what I don't like about "airless" sprayers, you have to clean the long hose full of paint, etc. This is much easier!Construction. The gun, handle, fittings are all hard plastic. I doubt the components would last if you used it every day. I accidently dropped the handle from standing position onto the concrete floor and cringed thinking the fall would crack it. Did not crack, but the thought is always there. The piece that I KNOW I will break sooner or later is the rotating piece that controls the spray pattern-width. It has two arms that clamp around the large nozzle nut, and those arms will break, sooner or later.Miscellaneous. Having the on/off switch on the gun (right and left sides) is ingenious. My CS5000 only has the base unit switch, which is fine, but having the switch on the gun as well is very convenient. The clamshell lid is well constructed, holds the hose, great design, however, I do have instances where it catches the sealing lip at the rear, making it impossible to open. Seems to be more of a problem when the hose is stored (heavier lid). The filter is located out of harms way, but is really small. My other units have a much larger filter. Assume the designers knew what they were doing.Buy it again? Yes, I would. Though I am considering an airless sprayer. I have an inexpensive hand held Wagner airless sprayer that I use for outdoor projects and it works well. The issue with most airless units is the wasted material priming the unit, cleaning the material hose, etc. But I digress. The 890 works well, packs up incredibly well, is well designed, especially for the home user (which is for who it was designed), and does a great job of spraying latex, as long as you keep the nozzle clean. I would prefer a metal nozzle/needle arrangement, but I have to accept that the Wagner folks know what they're doing!