Painting 3" pipe

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I got 500 feet of primed 3" pipe rail and post to paint.  It's 3 feet high and already primed.  I don't have an airless sprayer but I do have a large compressor. I also have an electric hose sprayer.Anyone done this a lot?
Reply:go to the local tool rental center and rent an airless, get several tip sizes for the paint you are going to spray....what paint are you going to use? tony
Reply:don't know yet exactly on the paint. Other than Black Direct to Metal paint.
Reply:We have a rodeo arena that we paint every year, mostly pipe with spring loaded cables.The quickest and easiest way we've found is to get some industrial rubber gloves and a car wash mit for all who show up. You put on the rubber glove then the wash mit over it, dip it in the paint and away you go. Just make sure and get the industrial rubber gloves as the cheap ones dissolve after about 10 minutes.
Reply:Originally Posted by tony jgo to the local tool rental center and rent an airless, get several tip sizes for the paint you are going to spray....what paint are you going to use? tony
Reply:The make mitten for painting.  For some reason my post didn't get posted this morning.   Anyway,  I too would suggest hand painting with mittens or rollers and a couple of guys.  You will apply more paint to the rail per stroke. Also, you could get a hplv unit for your air compressor.  Though as suggested you could rent, it might be cheaper than hplv.  By no means would I spray with a standard spray gun -- you'll was too much paint.Is the rail installed?I wonder if it would be worth experimenting and using the HF powder coating system, yet using electrostatic paint.  Size of a the system might be a problemLast edited by tapwelder; 04-28-2007 at 09:51 PM.
Reply:Three foot at the top and down from there, somebodies back is going to hurt. Spray can be pretty wastefull do to all the positions needed to get pipe up-down-and all around. The mit would be my choice for the bulk, but I think you're going to need a sprayer to get the risers down to the dirt level.
Reply:Yep!  Listen to these guys!  An airless will get all over everything!!  Cars included!!  Go with rollers & paint mitts, thats the way to go!  Very little mess!  Good luck painting!  From an old signman.
Reply:I've been using one of these for years. Its simple and adapts easy to projects like this.http://users.imag.net/~lon.critterspray/
Reply:I would go with the mit idea.The only other thing I would consider is an pressure pot spray system with a graco electrostatic spray gun. To expensive though if you are not doing allot on painting and you still need a good day with no wind to do it out doors. As to airless. You will only get about 20%, Maybe 35% with a good day and the right spray pattern of paint on the product. And believe me that paint goes somewhere. We had to detail 6 cars once due to over spray. It can take the profit out of a job and a hurry.Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:What type of finish do you want?I work for a big comercial painter. We paint stuff like that all the time. If its outside and you can deal with some overspray. I would goto a local sherwin williams and see if they will rent you a CapSpray HVLP unit. They retail for $990 for just the turbine. So forget buying it. But I do believe they will rent it to you. We spray all out machinery that way and there is very little waste and low overspray. Airless is just too much overkill for a rail. The unit we run at work sprays a 14" path. That would be too much for a rail of only 3"Patriot Performance AutoLincoln Power Mig 255CLincoln AC-225 StickVictor Journeyman O/AQuincy QT-5 Compressor
Reply:pookie, with an airless rig you can dial the pattern with the tip, they make 4 inch wide spray to 14", you adjust the pressure on the pump to get a fine mist, im not talking about a wanger gun but a graco airless rig.  tony
Reply:Originally Posted by tony jpookie, with an airless rig you can dial the pattern with the tip, they make 4 inch wide spray to 14", you adjust the pressure on the pump to get a fine mist, im not talking about a wanger gun but a graco airless rig.  tony
Reply:just trying to show you the other side, but ok....
Reply:Originally Posted by tony jjust trying to show you the other side, but ok....
Reply:Originally Posted by Patriot PerformanceYou are correct in your assessment. However most one time users do not have an assortment of tips, guns and high quality pumps to choose from. Most DIY airless units you see are spray and pray setups with very little fine adjustment.
Reply:Originally Posted by tony jare most of the coatings you shoot water base? i just wonder how you would clean the rig for like an epoxy.....thanks tony
Reply:thanks,i thought it would take alot of cleanup...tony