I’ve been holding out on buying a spray gun for painting because it always felt like an overwhelming purchase. Where would I keep all the required stuff – air compressors, tubes, funnels, including the gun and who knows what else? And why would I spend hundreds of dollars on the gun alone when I can just brush on paint or buy a can of aerosol spray paint? Then I was faced with painting a sea of doors in our new house and I thought I’d look into it a little more. Turns out I was way over-thinking it!
The highest rated spray gun on Amazon is this little guy called the Critter Spray Gun. It looked simple enough to operate and it cost less than $50. A total steal. So I bought it and now I love it.
The great thing about the Critter is you need an air compressor to spray at only 90 PSI, so you don’t have to invest in a crazy heavy-duty and huge compressor. I have this one and I like it a lot. It’s bigger than I need to operate the critter gun, but I needed it for nailing in the floors and trim too so I went with something more on the heavy-duty side. You could buy one of those tiny portable compressors though and it would work great!
But the BEST part about the Critter spray gun is that it uses 16 oz Mason jars to hold the paint. This makes clean up a breeze compared to most of the spray guns out there but also makes it really easy to prep a big spray job. Rather than filling the same jar over and over again, I filled six jars with paint (diluted a little with distilled water like the guy at Benjamin Moore suggested I do) and could just quickly change out the jars when needed.
I’m nominating the Critter for my best purchase of the year! Definitely a life-changing addition to my tool box.
In case you’re considering one for yourself, here’s the line up you’ll probably want:
Critter Spray Gun
(which comes with one Mason jar)
1/4″ air hose
1/4″ coupler set
(which attaches the hose to the gun and to the air compressor)
Air compressor that pushes at least 90 PSI (I have this big one
but you could get away with using a smaller, more portable one
)
Extra Mason jars
(these are SO worth having and using!)
Extra cork gaskets
(apparently they fall apart over multiple uses)
PS If you decide to use the Benjamin Moore Advance paint that I love for spraying furniture and doors, you’ll probably want to dilute the paint with about five ounces of distilled water for every gallon of paint. It’s not much more liquid, but it really helps.
can I use enamel paint with this gun,please advice.
I want to use this gun for chalk paint. Will it work? How much water to dilute paint…what would ratio be? Sure would appreciate hearing from you and thanks so much!
I just bought a Critter for my chalk paint, but don’t know how to delute the paint. Please help.
I’m with Paula Roberts. I have this awesome paint sprayer already but can I use it with diluted chalk paint? I’m assuming so, but it’s always good to find out before ruining the sprayer…
You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about half an hour. I am a newbie and your post is valuable for me.
home paint sprayers
Boy! There is a big difference between $50.00 and $161.00.. Thought about ordering one myself but decided against it when I saw that. Wonder where Jenny got hers? I would be very interested in getting one but not to the tune of $161.00>
if you are talking about the paint sprayer you can get it from Amazon.com . The last time I checked it was $35
When I clicked on the link, I was taken to Amazon and the gun was around $41-42
You can get one at Rockler.com for 50.00.
Is there any type of paint you would not recommend? I read earlier not recommend for walls. Would it be appropriate for a small, well draped room or would the overspray be too much, (just hoping)? Thank you for sharing your info on such an amazing piece of equipment!
I think people are not recommending it for walls because it has such a small stream of paint. It would take you forever to get a single wall done. From what I’ve heard, the Critter paint gun is great for small projects like furniture. I haven’t received mine yet, but I’ve read a bunch of reviews on it.
Ive used this gun multiple times with chalk paint. Just make sure you really mix the mixture beforehand (if making your own) so that it doesn’t clump. The key to this gun is making sure your paint isnt too thick.
Hello, friend….. I thought of owning a paint sprayer. But, I was unaware of using a paint sprayer gun before. So, I did this research, and your article made me impressive. It gave me an easy way to use a paint sprayer. Now, I’m going to afford one great paint sprayer and start painting.
Could I use this with rustolium paint for my metal chairs?
I used it to paint my gutters, worked very well. Get it from Lee Valley
Air-Powered Spray Gun
03K03.01 CDN $56.50
Although this Critter is one of the cheapest paint sprayers out there, it’s essentially one of the best you can get for your painting projects. I like the fact that it can work with air compressors and is very effective in handling smaller painting tasks.
Thanks, great post about spray gun review in complement I would recommend this page too if you don’t mind http://toolsworkshop.review/category/spray-gun-review can be very helpful with its search engine.
Can yoou tell us more about this? I’d like to
find out more details.
I would like to buy a spray gun
Hi, I like to learn how to dilute paint types
What PSI did you use with Advance paint? I am curious because I am using the critter spray with it and seems to be spraying very thin
As crazy as it sounds I’ve had great results using Blue Windshield wash a a thinner. I mix it to a buttermilk consistency. The Windshield wash Does Not effect the color as I have used it with White and several other colors. I run my compressor at 25 to 30 lbs.
Send me some information how to mix the paint for my new critter sprayer.
I ordered a critter sprayer does it come with instruction how to mix the paint.
Home Depot carries a product that you can mix with your paint to thin it for use with a sprayer. I believe its called Flotrol. They would know what you’re looking for. I think most places that sell paint would carry it. Instructions will tell you how to mix it with your pain.
Spray gun, painting tool using compressed air from a nozzle to atomize a liquid into a controlled pattern. The spray nozzle operates by impinging high-velocity turbulent air on the surface of filaments or films of liquid, causing them to collapse to droplets with a wide range of sizes
More details:- http://bit.ly/2QCjJVR
This is great, Your blog has been a source of great knowledge..
This is a very neat idea. Love the anitque look it gives doors!
Wow, I really enjoy your content. Shared it with my friends. Thanks for posting.