The best paint sprayer for most homeowners is a compact stand-style airless such as the Graco Magnum X7, because the jobs that justify owning a sprayer — fences, decks, siding, whole rooms — are large-area jobs, and airless is the only home-grade technology that moves unthinned latex fast enough to be worth the masking. For cabinets, furniture and trim, an HVLP turbine sprayer such as the Wagner FLEXiO 3000 is the better tool, because it lays a finer, softer finish with far less overspray.
Very few people need both. Decide which half of that sentence describes the work you actually have planned for the next few years, buy the type that suits it, and accept that the other kind of job is done with a brush or a rental.
Our Top Picks
- BEST OVERALL: Graco Magnum X7 Airless Paint Sprayer
↓ Jump to Review - BEST VALUE AIRLESS: Graco Magnum X5 Airless Paint Sprayer
↓ Jump to Review - BEST LOW-OVERSPRAY AIRLESS: Wagner Control Pro 130
↓ Jump to Review - BEST HANDHELD AIRLESS: Graco TrueCoat 360 DS
↓ Jump to Review - BEST FOR CABINETS AND FURNITURE: Wagner FLEXiO 3000
↓ Jump to Review - BEST BUDGET FOR SMALL PROJECTS: HomeRight Finish Max
↓ Jump to Review
The Four Types of Sprayer
Every paint sprayer does the same thing — breaks liquid into droplets and throws them at a surface — but the four types do it in fundamentally different ways, and that decides what they are good at.
Airless sprayers use a piston or diaphragm pump to push paint at 1,500–3,000 PSI through a tiny tungsten-carbide tip. The pressure alone atomises the paint; no air is involved. The result is speed and the ability to spray thick, unthinned latex, at the cost of a hard, fast spray that bounces and drifts and demands careful masking.
HVLP (high volume, low pressure) turbine sprayers use a fan-type turbine to blow a large volume of warm air at under 10 PSI through the gun, shearing the paint into a soft cloud. Transfer efficiency is much higher — more paint lands on the work, less floats around the room — and the finish is finer. They are slow, hold a quart or so at a time, and usually need thinner paint.
Compressed-air sprayers are conventional or HVLP-conversion guns run from a separate air compressor. A good conversion gun produces an excellent furniture finish, but it needs a compressor delivering serious volume — often 10 CFM or more for sustained spraying — which rules out the small pancake compressor most people own. Worth it only if you already have the compressor.
Handheld airless sprayers put a small airless pump inside the gun, with a cup or bag on top. They spray unthinned paint with a true airless fan, need no hose, and clean up quickly. The trade-offs are weight in the hand, a 32-ounce-or-so reservoir, and a duty rating suited to a room or a fence section rather than a whole house.
| Stand Airless | Handheld Airless | HVLP Turbine | Compressed Air | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spray pressure | 1,500 – 3,000 PSI | Up to ~2,000 PSI | Under 10 PSI at cap | 10 – 50 PSI at gun |
| Speed on large areas | Fastest | Fast, small reservoir | Slow | Slow – moderate |
| Thinning latex | Rarely | Rarely | Usually 10 – 20% | Usually |
| Overspray | High | Moderate – high | Low | Moderate |
| Finish quality | Very good | Very good | Excellent | Excellent |
| Cleanup | 20 – 40 min | 10 – 15 min | 10 – 15 min | 10 – 15 min |
| Typical price range | $300 – $800 | $250 – $500 | $60 – $250 | $50 – $300 + compressor |
| Best for | Fences, decks, siding, rooms | Small exterior jobs, trim, sheds | Cabinets, furniture, doors | Furniture, if you own a big compressor |
The Best Paint Sprayers
The six below are widely sold, well-established models that cover the realistic range of homeowner jobs. They are ranked on how well each suits the work most buyers have in mind, described by their published specifications rather than marketing claims.
What We Like
- Handles a 517 tip for thick exterior paint
- Sprays straight from a 5-gallon bucket
- Stainless piston pump built for repeat use
- Supports long hose runs around a house
What We Don’t Like
- Heavy overspray — masking is mandatory
- A quart or more of paint sits in pump and hose
- Too much machine for furniture or a single room
Product Specs
- Type: Stand Airless Paint Sprayer
- Rank in this guide: #1
The Magnum X7 is the step from "occasional project" to "I will paint the whole exterior with this." It uses a stainless steel piston pump rated at 3,000 PSI, delivers about 0.31 gallons per minute, and supports tips up to 0.017 — which matters, because a 517 tip is what you want for heavier exterior latex and long, straight runs of siding or fence.
It draws directly from a one- or five-gallon bucket through a suction tube, so there is no hopper to refill, and it supports considerably more hose than the X5, letting the pump sit in one place while you work around a house. Graco rates it for up to roughly 300 gallons a year, which is far beyond what a homeowner sprays but means the pump is not working near its limits on a big weekend.
The trade-off is the usual airless one: overspray, masking, and a cleanup that takes 20–40 minutes with water through a garden-hose adapter. It is also more machine than a single bedroom needs.
What We Like
- Full airless speed at an entry-level price
- Sprays unthinned latex from the can
- Compact and easy to carry room to room
- Garden-hose flush adapter for cleanup
What We Don’t Like
- Maximum tip 0.015 — limits heavy coatings
- Shorter hose capacity than the X7
- Lower annual duty rating
Product Specs
- Type: Stand Airless Paint Sprayer
- Rank in this guide: #2
The X5 is the smaller sibling, and for many homeowners it is enough. Same 3,000 PSI maximum and the same bucket-fed design, but around 0.27 gallons per minute, a maximum tip size of 0.015, and a rating of roughly 125 gallons a year. It ships with a 25-foot hose and supports up to about 75 feet.
The 0.015 tip ceiling is the real limit. A 515 sprays wall paint, primer and stain perfectly well; it struggles with the heaviest elastomeric or high-build exterior coatings, and as tips wear and open up, you hit the pump's capacity sooner. For interior rooms, a fence, a deck rail or a shed, none of that matters.
If you know you will paint a two-storey house or spray 50-plus gallons a year, step up to the X7. Otherwise this is the sensible entry point to airless.
What We Like
- Softer spray with noticeably less drift
- Easier for beginners to control
- Sprays unthinned latex
- Good choice near cars, plants or neighbours
What We Don’t Like
- Lower pressure limits heavy coatings
- Not built for long hose runs
- Still needs masking — less overspray is not none
Product Specs
- Type: High-Efficiency Airless Sprayer
- Rank in this guide: #3
Wagner's Control Pro line uses what it calls High Efficiency Airless — a combination of lower operating pressure and a tip designed to produce a softer fan than a conventional airless. Wagner claims substantially less overspray than standard airless, and the principle is sound: lower pressure means slower droplets, less bounce and less fog.
That makes the Control Pro 130 the most forgiving airless for a first-time user and the most practical for spraying near things you would rather not coat — a neighbour's fence line, a car you cannot move, landscaping around a deck. It is rated for the same occasional-homeowner workload as the Magnum X5.
The cost of lower pressure is reach: it is less suited to the heaviest exterior coatings and to very long hose runs, and production speed is a step behind a 3,000 PSI pump. For walls, fences and decks, that rarely matters.
What We Like
- True airless finish with no hose
- Sprays at any angle, including overhead
- Fast setup and cleanup
- Uses standard reversible tip sizes
What We Don’t Like
- Heavy in the hand when full
- Frequent refills on large jobs
- Not rated for whole-house volumes
Product Specs
- Type: Handheld Airless Sprayer
- Rank in this guide: #4
The TrueCoat 360 DS puts a small airless pump in the gun and a 32-ounce reservoir on top. It sprays unthinned latex and stain with a genuine airless fan, uses reversible Graco tips such as the 311 and 515, and its FlexLiner bag system lets it spray at any angle — including straight up at a porch ceiling or soffit, which cup-fed sprayers cannot do.
There is no hose, no pump to prime and no bucket to drag around. Setup is a minute and cleanup is ten. For the jobs that are too big to brush comfortably and too small to justify uncoiling an airless — a fence section, a set of shutters, a garden shed, a stair spindle run — that convenience is the whole point.
The limits are weight and volume. A full cup of paint is heavy at arm's length, refilling every 32 ounces breaks the rhythm on anything big, and the motor is not built to spray gallons continuously.
What We Like
- Two nozzles cover broad and fine work
- Soft spray, low overspray, light masking
- Excellent finish on cabinets and doors
- Sprays stains, primers, enamels and clear coats
What We Don’t Like
- Thick latex usually needs thinning
- Slow on large exterior areas
- Turbine noise in a confined room
Product Specs
- Type: Hvlp Turbine Sprayer
- Rank in this guide: #5
The FLEXiO 3000 is the most versatile handheld HVLP for a homeowner. It ships with two quick-change nozzles: the iSpray nozzle, a wide-pattern head for walls, fences and larger surfaces, and the Detail Finish nozzle for cabinets, furniture, doors and trim. Adjustable air and flow let you dial the pattern down for edges and spindles.
Because it is a turbine HVLP, the spray is soft and the transfer efficiency is high, so masking is lighter and you can finish a kitchen cabinet door with a level, brush-mark-free coat. That is the job HVLP exists for, and the Detail Finish nozzle does it well with properly thinned paint.
Expect to thin most latex, check consistency with the supplied viscosity cup, and accept a slower pace. On a fence it works, but an airless will lap it several times over.
What We Like
- Low entry cost for furniture refinishing
- Three spray patterns for flat and detailed work
- Fine finish with thinned paints and clear coats
- Light, quick to clean
What We Don’t Like
- Latex must be thinned carefully
- Small capacity and slow coverage
- Not suited to walls, fences or decks
Product Specs
- Type: Handheld Hvlp-Style Sprayer
- Rank in this guide: #6
The Finish Max is the inexpensive way into spraying furniture, and it has a large following among people refinishing dressers, chairs and cabinet doors. It is a compact handheld sprayer with a brass nozzle and three selectable patterns — horizontal, vertical and round — plus a flow control on the trigger.
Its strength is fine finishes: chalk-style paints, milk paint, stains, polyurethane and lacquer go on smoothly once thinned to the right consistency, which HomeRight helps with by including a viscosity cup. For a weekend dresser project it produces a far smoother finish than a brush for very little outlay.
It is the least capable sprayer here on volume. Unthinned wall latex will not spray well, the cup is small, and it is the wrong tool for a fence or a room. Think of it as a furniture tool, not a painting machine.
| Sprayer | Type | Thin latex? | Best jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graco Magnum X7 | Stand airless, 0.017 max tip | No | Whole exteriors, long fences, many rooms |
| Graco Magnum X5 | Stand airless, 0.015 max tip | No | Interior rooms, fences, sheds |
| Wagner Control Pro 130 | Low-pressure airless | No | Fences and decks near cars, plants, neighbours |
| Graco TrueCoat 360 DS | Handheld airless | No | Small exterior jobs, overhead, trim |
| Wagner FLEXiO 3000 | HVLP turbine | Usually | Cabinets, doors, furniture, trim |
| HomeRight Finish Max | Handheld HVLP-style | Yes | Furniture and small pieces |
Which Sprayer for Which Job
Fences, decks and exterior walls. These are large areas of rough or textured surface where speed matters and a perfect finish does not. A stand airless is the right tool: it covers a typical six-foot privacy fence panel in a minute or two, sprays both stain and paint straight from the can, and its throughput is what turns a three-weekend brushing job into a single day. A handheld airless suits a short fence or a single side.
Interior walls and ceilings. Airless again, but only if the room is empty or you are repainting a whole floor before moving in. Masking furniture-filled rooms often takes longer than rolling them. For a ceiling in an occupied house, the roller usually wins — our guide to the best ceiling paints covers the flat, spatter-resistant products that make rolling overhead tolerable.
Cabinets, furniture, doors and trim. HVLP. These are smooth surfaces viewed up close, often in enamel or clear coat, where the softer atomisation and lower overspray produce a near-factory finish. An airless with a fine-finish tip (210 or 310) can do it too, but needs practice and far more masking.
Porch ceilings, soffits and spindles. A handheld airless with a bag liner, or a stand airless. Spindle railings are the job where a sprayer saves the most time per square foot of any task around the house, because brushing every face of every baluster is so slow. For the floor itself, a roller and a proper floor coating are better — see our porch paint picks.
Tip Sizes and What the Numbers Mean
Airless tips are labelled with three digits, and the code is simple once you know it. The first digit, doubled, is the fan width in inches when the gun is held about 12 inches from the surface. The last two digits are the orifice size in thousandths of an inch. So a 515 sprays a roughly 10-inch fan through a 0.015-inch hole; a 517 sprays the same 10-inch fan through a slightly larger 0.017-inch hole.
Fan width decides how much area each pass covers and how controllable it is. Orifice size decides how much paint flows and how thick a material the tip can atomise. Thicker coatings need bigger holes; thinner ones need smaller holes or they run.
| Tip | Fan width | Orifice | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 210 / 310 | 4 – 6 in | 0.010 in | Fine finish — lacquer, stain, clear coats on trim and cabinets |
| 311 / 313 | 6 in | 0.011 – 0.013 in | Stain, fence slats, doors, trim, spindles |
| 413 / 415 | 8 in | 0.013 – 0.015 in | Interior latex, primers, narrower walls |
| 515 | 10 in | 0.015 in | Most interior and exterior latex — the all-rounder |
| 517 / 519 | 10 in | 0.017 – 0.019 in | Heavier exterior paint, siding, block primer |
| 619 / 621 | 12 in | 0.019 – 0.021 in | Elastomerics, large commercial areas — beyond most home pumps |
Two practical consequences. First, your pump caps the orifice: a sprayer rated for a maximum 0.015 tip cannot keep pressure up with a 517, and the fan will collapse into "tails" — heavy stripes at the top and bottom edges. Second, tips wear. Paint is abrasive, and a 515 opens up with use until it sprays like a 517 with a narrower fan. If you are suddenly using more paint, seeing tails, or getting a shorter fan, replace the tip before blaming the pump. Tips are cheap relative to the paint they waste.
Pressure, Pump Capacity and Hose Length
PSI on an airless is a maximum, not an operating target. Most home sprayers top out at 3,000 PSI, and you should almost never run them there. The correct technique is to start low and raise the pressure only until the fan is even with no tails. Every step above that adds overspray, wears the tip faster, and increases bounce-back — without improving the finish.
Pump capacity, in gallons per minute, is the number that actually separates sprayers. It decides the largest tip you can run and how many guns or how much hose the pump can feed. Home units sit around 0.24–0.33 GPM; contractor rigs start around 0.5. For one gun on a house, 0.27–0.31 GPM is plenty. The annual gallon rating manufacturers quote is a durability guide: buy a pump rated comfortably above what you will spray so it is not running at its limit.
Hose length costs pressure. Every foot of hose is friction the pump has to overcome, which is why each sprayer lists a maximum. A 25-foot hose suits interior work; 50 feet lets the pump stay on the ground while you spray a single-storey exterior; anything longer needs a pump rated for it. A short, flexible whip hose between the main hose and the gun is a cheap upgrade that makes the gun far easier to handle. Longer hose also holds more paint — a quart or more stays in the pump and hose at the end of a session.
Thinning Paint for Spraying
Airless sprayers are designed to spray latex as it comes from the can, and thinning usually makes things worse: more runs, thinner coverage, more coats. The exceptions are very cold paint, which thickens noticeably, and a pump that cannot quite drive a thick coating through its maximum tip, where 5% water may help. Always check the paint label, because some manufacturers forbid thinning or state a limit.
HVLP is different. Turbine air at a few PSI cannot break up thick latex, so most latex needs 10–20% water — and the right amount depends on the paint, not a fixed percentage. The method is the viscosity cup supplied with most HVLP sprayers: dip it, lift it, and time how long the stream takes to break. The manufacturer gives a target in seconds for each material. Add water a little at a time, stir thoroughly, and re-test. Stains, sealers, lacquers and thin clear coats often spray through HVLP with no thinning at all.
Over-thinning is the more common mistake. It looks great going on and then sags, and the dried film is thinner than the paint was designed to build, which shortens its life outdoors.
Overspray and Masking Time
Every sprayer wastes some paint as fine mist, and that mist travels. An airless at full pressure can deposit a visible film several feet beyond the target and carry further on a breeze; HVLP drift is far less but still enough to dust a countertop across the room. Plan masking around the worst case.
On a typical interior room, masking — floors, windows, outlets, fixtures, trim lines — takes as long as or longer than the spraying itself. Spraying a room might take 15 minutes; preparing it for spraying can take one to two hours. That arithmetic is why sprayers pay off in empty rooms, on whole-floor repaints and outdoors, and rarely on a single furnished room. Pre-taped masking film, a hand masker, and drop cloths with a backing that will not let mist soak through all cut the time substantially.
Spraying Fences and Decks
Fence and deck staining is where most homeowner sprayers earn their purchase, and it has its own technique.
Use a smaller tip and lower pressure for stain. Stains are thin, and a 515 at high pressure floods the wood and runs. A 311 to 413 range at modest pressure suits most semi-transparent stains; solid stains behave more like paint and can use a 413 or 515. Our guide to the best fence stains covers which formulas spray well and which need brushing in.
Back-brush or back-roll. Spraying lays stain on the surface; brushing it immediately afterwards works it into the grain and evens out the inevitable heavy and light spots. On a deck the difference is large: sprayed-only stain tends to sit on top and wear unevenly, while sprayed-and-back-brushed stain penetrates and fades evenly. One person spraying and one following with a brush is the fastest arrangement there is.
On decks, spray the railings and leave the boards to a pad or brush if you are working alone. Spray drift on a deck surface creates lap marks unless you keep a wet edge along full board lengths, which is hard with a spray gun. Railings, spindles and posts are where the sprayer saves real time. Product choice matters as much as method — see our deck stain reviews for penetrating stains, and our deck paint guide if you are coating railings in paint rather than stain.
Mask the house side and the ground. Stain on brick, siding or a concrete patio is permanent in practice. Lay plastic along the base of the fence and tape off any adjoining masonry before you start.
Cleanup and Storage
Cleanup is the job that decides whether a sprayer gets used a second time. For an airless, run the suction tube into a bucket of water (or mineral spirits for oil-based coatings), spray back into the paint can until the water runs clear, then flush through to waste. Remove and clean the gun filter, pump filter and tip, and finish by running a storage fluid such as Graco Pump Armor through the system, which protects the seals from drying out and freezing. Budget 20–40 minutes. Many stand airless units include a garden-hose adapter that speeds the flush.
HVLP and handheld sprayers are easier: empty the cup, rinse, spray clean water through, and disassemble the nozzle and needle to clean them by hand. Ten to fifteen minutes. The one thing to avoid with any sprayer is leaving paint in it overnight; dried latex in a tip or needle seat is the most common reason a sprayer stops working.
Between coats on the same day, you do not need a full clean. Wrap the gun in plastic or submerge the airless tip in water, and the paint in the hose will keep for a few hours.
Cordless Sprayers
Battery sprayers now exist in both handheld airless and HVLP-style forms, many built on the 18V or 20V battery platforms of the major tool brands. Their appeal is real: no cord, no outlet hunting on a fence line or at the far end of a yard, and quick setup for a single shed or set of shutters.
The limits are runtime and power. A battery handheld empties its reservoir and its battery at roughly the same pace, so plan on several batteries and a charger running alongside you for anything larger than a few fence panels. Pressure is generally lower than a corded stand unit, which suits stain and thin finishes better than heavy exterior paint. If you already own a battery platform, a cordless sprayer on it is worth considering for small outdoor jobs; buying into a platform for the sprayer alone rarely makes sense.
Renting vs Buying
Tool-rental centres and many home-improvement stores rent contractor-grade airless sprayers, typically for $50–$100 a day plus tips and a deposit. Those machines have larger pumps and longer hoses than any home unit, which makes them better for a whole-house exterior.
Rent if you have one large job — a house exterior or a full-floor interior repaint — and no plans for another in the next few years. A rented rig for a day or two costs a fraction of buying, and you avoid storage and maintenance. The catch is that the clock is running: masking and preparation must be completely done before you pick it up, and you will be cleaning a machine that has seen many hands.
Buy if you have recurring work: a fence and deck that need restaining every two to four years, rental properties, or a list of rooms and outbuildings. A home airless pays for itself in two or three rentals, and owning one means you can spray on the dry, still day the job needs rather than the day the rental is available. For cabinets and furniture, rentals of HVLP equipment are uncommon and the sprayers inexpensive, so buying is the default.
The Short Version
For fences, decks, siding and whole rooms, buy a stand airless: the Graco Magnum X7 if the plan includes a full exterior, the Magnum X5 for smaller or interior work, or the Wagner Control Pro 130 if overspray worries you most.
For cabinets, doors, furniture and trim, buy an HVLP — the Wagner FLEXiO 3000 for range, the HomeRight Finish Max for small pieces on a budget. For small exterior jobs and overhead work, the Graco TrueCoat 360 DS handheld airless is the convenient middle ground.
Whatever you buy, learn the tip code, run the lowest pressure that gives a clean fan, mask more than you think you need, and clean the sprayer the same day. Those four habits decide the result far more than the brand on the pump.
Frequently Asked Questions
For most homeowners, a compact stand-style airless such as the Graco Magnum X7 or X5, because the jobs that justify a sprayer — fences, decks, siding, empty rooms — are large-area jobs where airless speed matters and it sprays latex unthinned. The X7 suits whole exteriors and supports a 517 tip; the X5 suits interior and smaller exterior jobs with a maximum 515 tip. If your projects are cabinets, furniture and trim, an HVLP turbine such as the Wagner FLEXiO 3000 is the better buy, because it produces a finer finish with much less overspray. Few people need both types.
Neither is better overall; they suit different jobs. Airless pumps paint at 1,500–3,000 PSI through a small tip, spraying unthinned latex very quickly, which makes it ideal for fences, decks, exterior walls and whole rooms — at the cost of heavy overspray and more masking. HVLP uses a turbine to blow a large volume of low-pressure air, producing a soft, fine spray with high transfer efficiency and little drift, which makes it ideal for cabinets, furniture, doors and trim. HVLP is slow on large areas and usually needs latex thinned 10–20%. Choose by the surfaces you will paint most.
The first digit doubled is the fan width in inches at about 12 inches from the surface, and the last two digits are the orifice size in thousandths of an inch. A 515 sprays a 10-inch fan through a 0.015-inch opening; a 517 sprays the same 10-inch fan through a 0.017-inch opening, delivering more paint and handling thicker coatings. A 311 gives a 6-inch fan through a 0.011-inch opening, which suits stain, trim and spindles. Check your pump's maximum tip size: a sprayer rated for 0.015 cannot properly drive a 517. Tips also wear larger with use, so replace them when the fan shrinks or develops tails.
It depends on the sprayer type. Airless sprayers are designed to spray latex straight from the can, and thinning usually just causes runs and thinner coverage; the exceptions are cold paint or a coating slightly too heavy for the pump's maximum tip, where around 5% water can help. HVLP and handheld turbine sprayers usually need latex thinned around 10–20%, judged with a viscosity cup against the manufacturer's target time rather than by a fixed percentage. Stains, sealers and clear coats often need no thinning at all. Always check the paint label, since some products limit or prohibit thinning.
For applying paint, much faster — an airless can cover a wall or fence section several times quicker than a roller. For the whole job, it depends on masking. In an empty room or on a fence, spraying wins easily because there is little to protect. In a furnished room with floors, windows and fixtures to cover, masking often takes as long as or longer than rolling the room would have, so the total time can be similar. Sprayers pay off on large areas, detailed surfaces like spindles and shutters, and whole-floor repaints before moving in.
Yes, and it is one of the best uses for a sprayer. Use a smaller tip such as a 311 to 413 and lower pressure for thin semi-transparent stains, because a 515 at full pressure floods the wood and runs. Back-brush or back-roll immediately after spraying to work the stain into the grain and even out heavy spots — sprayed-only stain tends to sit on the surface and wear unevenly. On decks, spray railings and spindles and consider brushing or padding the boards to avoid lap marks. Spray only in calm conditions, and mask adjoining siding, masonry and the ground.
Rent for a single large job you will not repeat, buy for recurring work. Rental centres offer contractor-grade airless sprayers typically for $50–$100 a day, with bigger pumps and longer hoses than home units, which suits a one-off whole-house exterior. Do all your masking and prep before picking it up so you are not paying for idle time. If you have a fence and deck that need restaining every few years, rental properties, or a list of rooms, a home airless pays for itself in two or three rentals and lets you spray on the right weather day. For furniture and cabinets, HVLP sprayers are inexpensive enough that buying is usually the only practical option.
About 20–40 minutes for a stand airless and 10–15 minutes for an HVLP or handheld unit. An airless is cleaned by flushing water (or mineral spirits for oil-based products) through the suction tube, pump, hose and gun until it runs clear, cleaning the filters and tip, and then running a storage fluid through to protect the seals. HVLP cleanup is a matter of rinsing the cup and spraying clean water through, then cleaning the nozzle and needle by hand. Never leave paint in any sprayer overnight; dried latex in the tip or needle is the most common cause of a sprayer that stops working.