Wagner Control Pro 170 Paint Sprayer

I bought the 170 version because I wanted to spray some oil based primer as well as latex paint. I also think the all metal spray gun and longer hose is worth it compared to the 150 model.First time spraying paint. The unit is pretty easy to use, definitely read the manual first, get familiar with it. Overall, I'm happy with this thing and will get plenty of use from it.I had to thin the oil based primer a little, like a 10:1 paint to thinner ratio. I used zinsser cover stain bonding primer. I used mineral spirits to thin because I already had that on hand for clean up. I tried to spray the un-thinned primer, but the spray pattern was poor, kept clogging. I used both 515 and 517 spray tips, even the 517 clogged. After I thinned it just a little, it sprayed without issue.When it came to the latex paint, this thing rock and rolled. I didn't have to thin it, used the 515 tip. I used a Behr mid-grade paint + primer. I got about 280 sq ft per gallon of paint, following the recommended usage of 10-12 inches from the wall and 50% overlap. I recommend having some extra paint, it takes some just to charge the whole system and you might have some consumed in troubleshooting.If your feeding from a 1 gallon can, you have to check the level regularly. If the level gets to low and you get air in the system, you'll have to purge the hose line. It'll eat up you paint having to do that.I needed two finish coats. With some practice, someone might be able to get the coverage right with one coat.Cleaning was less messy than I expected, though cleaning up oil based is expensive. I went through 3 gallons of mineral spirits flushing it out, and the waste has to be put in containers and all that. For cleaning latex paint, I first flushed with 4-5 gallons of hot water, then with 4-5 gallons of soapy water, and finally rinsed again with 4-5 gallons of hot water. For day-to-day breaks in using it, I just left the whole system charged with water. When it's time to go again, you just drain the water, purge the line with paint and off you go.The long term storage part is kinda hard, it takes 3-hands to do it (one to hold a small container of oil, one to block the spray port, and one to turn the unit on), and you end up with some kind of oil in the lines. I'm going to rig something up for this next time.I'm looking forward to future painting projects, this thing is a huge time saver. I'll never roll a room again if I can avoid it.

I have purchased a FLEXiO 590 and returned it because it could not spray latex as they had advertised. Then I purchased this, hoping the more powerful motor would help, and help reduce the massive weight on my wrist and arms with the FLEXiO.Honestly, I've lost count of how many times I've said "I LOVE THIS" and "THIS is what we should have bought first". I'm blasting through trim and doors. The power level isn't even on maximum and it is having zero issues keeping up, as fast as I can put the paint down. In fact, I'm not even going as fast as I should. There are some spots that are running because I'm still trying to break the slow habit I learned off the FLEXiO 590. It is literally taking under 15 seconds to paint the face of a door, with latex.I would highly recommend you invest in a little cart you can set the whole unit on. I'm feeding out of a 5 gallon bucket, so moving from room to room is a little bit of a process. A longer hose might help too. Our upstairs is around 2,100 sq ft so the 30 ft included hose is good for a room. I don't think the unit that holds the 5 gallon bucket is worth the drastic increase in price when you can get a utility cart for a fraction of the price.The overspray is absolutely no where near what I had feared. In fact, it's no worse than the FLEXiO 590 was doing when I was spraying a thinner primer. I'm using a .015 tip which is the minimum for the latex I'm using. If you have a lot of rooms to paint, then YOU NEED THIS. Don't waste your time on the handheld models! Between drying for the doors and rooms I just wipe the tip off and so far, I've had no gunking issues. It is nice to take a break without having to strip down and clean the entire unit.In my case, I'm painting our 4,060 sq ft interior, and then will be doing an entire fence with stain. This going to go so fast now with the proper tool. If you was a professional product, use a tool the professionals would use. I'm loving this thing.

The Wagner Control Pro 170 is the first airless paint sprayer I've used. The machine worked well and the learning curve is not too high. I painted the entire exterior of our home, which came out beautiful. I used different tips, so I can't speak to the quality of the included HEA tip much.This unit is powerful for the price, but now that I'm familiar with it I wish I had gone with a Graco unit like the Magnum X5.(1) The 170's spray gun doesn't include a filter. I'd recommend buying a separate inline filter to this unit to reduce clogging frequency. The Graco has a filter inside the spray gun.(2) The 170 takes longer to clean after use which ultimately is where a lot of time is spent. With the Graco, the inlet tube can be connected to a water hose to flush the system with less water and time use.

Maybe I just got a bad one. The directions are simple, it primed very easily with water but when I put it in my 5 gallon paint bucket it took some time before paint finally came out. When it did it only squirted like a water pistol. Even on the highest setting it came out like a water pistol. I didn’t even have the tip in at that point. When I did put in the tip the result was the same. I tried it several times spraying clean water through it and starting over and the the same result. When I did the final clean out and put the tip in, the water spray was a fine mist and not powerful at all. I have used professional grade airless sprayers and they had tremendous power and sprayed like crazy. This one is completely useless. Sending it back tomorrow. On a side note I’ve never been very impressed with Wagner but thought that maybe they have improved over the years. Maybe not. Back to rolling and brushing the outside of my 2 story house. The old fashioned way.