Painted my fence with a roller vs a sprayer and the difference was night and day

Used a Wagner sprayer on the back section of my fence in about an hour. Looked great at first. Then I went to roll the front section with the same paint and it took three times as long but the finish is way thicker and smoother. The sprayer left some thin spots I had to go back over. Has anyone else found rolling is just better for this kind of job?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewr151mo ago

My buddy Matt used a sprayer on his shed last spring and it was a complete nightmare, paint was literally dripping down the sides for two days. But that was a 20 dollar harbor freight sprayer, not a Wagner. I just think it depends on what kind of fence you've got, ya know? Like if it's one of those cheap dog-eared panels with all the gaps and knots, rolling is gonna be a pain cause you're constantly dipping the roller and missing the cracks. Sprayer might actually get into those weird spots better if you take your time with it. I dunno, I think people make way too big a deal about this, it's just paint on wood at the end of the day.

lily571mo ago

Rolled my deck last summer and it came out so much better than when I used a sprayer on the shed. The sprayer left these little gaps along the edges and I spent forever with a brush touching up. Rolling just forces you to work the paint in, especially on rough wood like fence boards. You get that satisfying thick coat that actually covers all the grain.

leehall1mo ago

Rolling is absolutely the way to go for a fence. Did the same thing on my privacy fence last summer, used a sprayer on the first half and had to go back with a brush on every single board where the paint just didn't stick right. The roller laid down a way more even coat and actually pushed paint into all those rough grooves and knots. Sprayer gives you that quick dopamine hit of being done fast but you always end up paying for it in touch up time.