Wagner PaintMate Problem

I think there's a design flaw in this product. The duck bill valve becomes stuck open, allowing paint to squirt out the fill side of the tube (opposite the roller side of the product).

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Wagner PaintMate
• Paint
• House
• Interior
• Roller

[jigga966]

I have the newer version of this it works great and they have improved that flaw. It is no longer the rubber duck bill as you call it. It is now a foam like ball resting on a spring. The spring's resistance on the ball helping it jeep te valve shut until opposite force is put against the spring. This is way much more efficient. no more messy leaks.

[sagreenxyz]

@jigga966 Excellent! I might re-visit this. I feel a little burned by the first incident - too embarrassed to bring a messy paint tool back to Walmart for a refund. My daughter works there and I don't want to give an unfavorable impression for her sake. Out 80 bucks (one for me, one for my sons to help me with). But, I guess that's life.

[sagreenxyz]

For those interested in an alternative, in my office one day I noticed professional painters painting with those paint pads on a long pole. They were done quickly albeit the walls in the office aren't necessarily textured the way they are at home. I switched to it and was surprisingly happy at what I got - much less mess than what any roller would had done (lots of roller splatter and much tougher to keep things clean with a roller).

[sagreenxyz]

Surely they've modified the design in the year to improve upon this problem. I was very dissatisfied having spent I believe $40 for this when it was half-baked at the time. It might have improved by now. (continued in next post due to limited number of allowed characters per post)

[sagreenxyz]

I didn't have that problem. My guess, if I have to make one, would be that the gasket at the end of the plunger isn't making a sealed contact with the tubing. That gasket should have petroleum jelly or some sort of grease (lithium grease? - most likely petroleum jelly) coating it all the way around. If the plunger will move (you can pull the plunger outward) but it's not sucking in paint, that's my guess. If the plunger doesn't move at all, there might instead be something obstructing.

[brandonframe]

Hi very informative video. I recently bought this product and after watching this video I promptly checked the valve. I noticed that my valve is black and smaller than the hole so maybe Wagner can send you a smaller bill. I have a quick recommendation though. Maybe by placing a small disk like a poker chip inside the locking cap could prevent paint leakage.

[sagreenxyz]

Hi Brandon - I rarely look for comments on these videos. Good advice - I packed the device away - it's either in the back of my garage or up in the attic. Haven't seen it in a while. It's a really good concept, but in the two I purchased it just had that over-sized valve problem.

Thanks for your response!

[ichzhd]

I bought this product in December, 2011, used it on 4 different occasions, and didn't have the problem sagreenxyz had. The Paintmate saved me a lot of time painting an 11 feet high cathedral ceiling, so I am very satisfied. If it does leak in the future, I'll try one of the fixes recommended by the previous posters If you are interested in more reviews, there are quite a few posted on Amazon.com.

[crachiolop]

I went to look at this thing and it does not have the "Duckbill valve" that wagner describes in it's literature. I was really amazed to find that this thing sells for about $40 retail and may be gotten for as low as $20. For all the cleaning necessary to keep this thing up to par, I say, throw it away after the first use which is what someone did with the one i have. Into the scrap pile it goes!

[crachiolop]

It must be a piece of crap. I went here to view this video after I found one at the local dump! I didnt know what it was but thought it was an accessory to my pressure washer until I scraped the paint off of it and saw the name wagner. The "duck billed" valve he speaks of is actually a check valve which allows flow in only one direction. It does seem to me that Wagner should have a smaller piece for his unit. I don't have a roller for this so I won't be trying it out any time soon.

[Ariaelf]

@sagreenxyz Custom making a cap would be a lot of work! There are much easier things to plug it up with after it is full of paint :) I unscrewed the cap and stuck a marble in, then screwed the cap back on. Another solution I read online I like even better is a piece of plastic covering it, just a small piece cut out from a plastic grocery bag, maybe folded over so it's a bit stronger, then screw the cap back on. Agree they should be built better, but it's a cheap fix! :D

[Ariaelf]

@brandonframe I have played around with various things to plug up the valve after sucking up the paint when my duckbilled valve broke - a little bit of rubber tore on one side of the duckbill slit... I've heard you need to be really gentle placing them on the fill tube. Anyway, I have found replacement duckbilled valves for this model online, but they were half the cost of the entire PaintMate! But it worked so well otherwise, I just found things to plug up the valve after I fill it with paint.

[autistic1artist]

dont leave this out on a hot day!I left mine on my patio table in 100 degre heat(about 90 in shade)and next day plastic tube bent.not to bright on my part to leave it out,but just a heads up.