My $90 paint sprayer turned my kitchen into a Jackson Pollock piece

Grabbed a cheap HVLP sprayer last weekend to repaint my cabinets. Did all the prep, taped everything off, thinned the paint exactly like the manual said. First pass went on smooth, but then the nozzle clogged and spit chunks all over the freshly painted doors. Took me 4 hours to sand down and fix the mess, and I ended up just rolling the last coat by hand anyway. That sprayer is going on Craigslist tomorrow, I'll stick with brushes and rollers for anything smaller than a fence. Has anyone else had luck with a budget sprayer, or should I just save up for a better one?

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river_allen2d ago

Yep, "cheap HVLP" and "Jackson Pollock piece" hit way too close to home for me. My $80 sprayer turned my garage door into a modern art masterpiece last spring, and not in a good way. I spent so long wiping paint out of my hair and off my glasses that I almost gave up and called it a texture finish. The worst part was when it finally worked, it looked great for about ten minutes, then clogged right as I was doing the final edge. I'm right there with you on rolling everything now, at least when the roller messes up, I can blame my own shaky hands instead of a machine that hates me. Saving up for the good one is on my list too, but honestly, I might just keep painting everything with a brush and a prayer.