The Best Way To Properly Back Brush Using an Airless Pump

Everyone knows that using an airless rig should save hours of labor when painting a home or job site. Putting paint on by hand with the conventional brush and roller is time consuming and seems during this point in time to be... well, just a little out-dated. With the introduction of paint sprayers that will spray a gallon per minute it just doesn't make sense to do it by hand when you could spray it out in one tenth of the time, or does it? In fact, in many cases, especially when the surface being painted is rough or extremely textured, using an airless (or any kind of pump ) will end up giving you a much poorer quality job than if it were paintbrush or roller applied.

The explanation for this is because paint that has been spray applied tends to dry over the facade only, which is completely within acceptable limits when spraying an exceptionally flat or slick surface. But when the substrate you intend to spray is textured or very coarse, you need the additional benefit of a real person pushing that paint into the surface. A top quality finish is usually defined by a paint job that's solid, almost like it was wrapped in cellophane... brushing the paint can actually do that when spraying will not.

So how do we fix this problem? How can we reduce time by employing our fast and professional sprayer without sacrificing quality at the same time? The answer is to make use of both! That's right... the answer used by professionals when faced with having to paint miles of long rough sawn siding is to use a technique known in the industry as "backbrushing". Backbrushing allows you to really get the best of both worlds when your set up and technique is done properly since what you are doing, in essence is using your spray pump to easily put the paint on the wall and using your paint brush to work it in and smooth it.

I like this method because it works well and lets you move across big areas rapidly while still providing a hand applied finish. Not only does back brushing help fill in cracks and little crevices, but it also puts the paint on much thicker than simply sprayed. Considering that dry film thickness is vital to protection and warranties from paint manufacturers... this can be another benefit. In fact, I have always known that paintbrush application would frequently use roughly 20% more paint than when spray applied. This is certainly due to the extra millage going onto your wall when applied by paint brush. This additional thickness and improved penetration of the textured substrate will add years to your paint job when compared to being spray only.

In a lot of cases where competitive bidding is present, this frequently explains the large price discrepancies in labor. What would normally appear to be the very same specifications, if one contractor plans to backbrush and another is simply planning to spray it out... well there you go. I can't stand it if I see this because an honest qualified painter will always describe the distinctions and discuss these essential options with their client. Backbrushing after spraying out the surface using your sprayer is a worthwhile procedure for reducing time without sacrificing the quality your job deserves.