The job of painting in and around the home is one that is frequently put off in place of other more enjoyable pursuits! It’s always a chore to get the brushes and rollers out and it’s a messy and time-consuming task.
It could be that you want to redecorate part or all of your home and you don’t have the money to get the professionals in, or perhaps you want to try your hand at furniture restoration. Either way, the Wagner Flexio is a cost-effective way to get the job done professionally, without a huge initial purchase.
Electric paint sprayers take the place of the messy brushes, rollers, and trays that you traditionally use for the job, and they really do make life a lot easier, and the job much faster.
Paint sprayers provide you with a stunning finish, and with a little practice, you can easily replicate as close to a professional result as you are ever likely to get.
Here we review one of the popular models on the market, the Wagner 0529021 Flexio 890 HVLP Paint Station.
Introducing Our Wagner Flexio 890 Review
Before we go on with the Wagner Flexio 890 review, it is important to know that there are TONS of manufacturers currently offering new paint sprayers into the market, so it pays to understand which are the ones you can trust.
Wagner has an extensive range of models and has been around for over a decade, most of their paint sprayers are well reviewed and they have plenty of experience in the paint spraying market.
With that said, with all types of paint sprayers, you get what you pay for. These smaller DIY paint sprayers are not designed for constant or professional use, so we’ll make sure we cover who this machine is designed for.
The handheld gun for the Flexio 890
With a paint sprayer, you need adequate power, a decent capacity, and flexibility, and the Flexio 890 sprayer offers all of these.
It’s a very neat design and makes some bold promises and claims.
Wagner claims you can cover an 8x10ft wall in under five minutes – consider the amount of time it would take you to do that with a brush or roller, and also consider the effort involved.
Cleverly, this model comes with changeable nozzles for general spraying and for detail finish – which we will talk about later on – and it is specially designed to be easy to use and simple to clean, as well as being low-maintenance.
You get a reasonably long and flexible hose (11.5-foot length) and a neat base unit, into which all the accessories can be packed when not in use for ease of storage.
Who is the Wagner 890 sprayer designed for?
Before we get into the details of what the Wagner Flexio paint sprayer is all about, we need to talk about who it’s suitable for. This is the bigger brother to both the handheld Wagner 590 paint sprayer and the Wagner Flexio 570, but it’s far from the biggest brother.
Let’s begin by saying that this model is not designed for professional use – for that purpose you are better off with a much bigger, heavy-duty model, – but that’s not to say a contractor would not use one of these for smaller, more detailed jobs.
It’s at its best around the home, for indoor painting, doors, window sills, skirting and more, so if you have a house to do up or to redecorate, this could be the machine you need.
Spraying a whole room with emulsion paint (without thinning)
Outdoors, and the Flexio 890 sprayer comes into its own as the perfect tool for painting fences, sheds, and other outdoor buildings, as well as applying preservatives where needed to guard against the weather.
This may need doing once a year (or maybe less, if done properly), so investing the small amount a paint sprayer costs can really be a sensible outlay. You can also use the Wagner 890 paint sprayer for decorating the exterior of your home – think external doors and valances, and any other paintwork that might need attention – and it is a lot easier than picking up a brush and roller.
What you get in the box
There are others who may also use this Wagner Flexio 890 review to their advantage.
- Hobbyists who like tinkering with cars will find it ideal for painting car parts, and it can easily be stored in your garage without taking up much space.
- If you like to renovate or repurpose old furniture, you’ll see from our Wagner 890 review that it is perfect for giving tables, chairs, cupboards and whatever you might be working on a fresh coat of paint, and at the price, you will certainly get your money’s worth. Alternatively, read our review of the Wagner Control Spray Max as it might save you a few dollars if furniture is its sole purpose.
The smaller detailing gun is perfect for more detailed work
This very versatile machine is worth every penny if you are to use it to your advantage, and will save you time and money – as well as give you a better result – on your painting needs every time.
Now you know if it’s suitable for your needs, let’s have a look at some of the features of the Flexio 890 paint sprayer.
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Main features you need to know about
With any paint sprayer, you want to know that it can successfully take the place of the traditional roller or brush routine, and to do so they need to present several features and functions.
Simply, plug and play operation makes it easy to use for beginners
- Ease of Use – the Wagner 890 is, like most of its contemporaries, designed for use by people who have little or no experience of such devices, as it is intended for the DIY user rather than the professional. To this end, the Wagner Flexio 890 does its job very well, being easy to assemble, simple to set up, and very easy to use, with a number of functions that make it a lot easier for the user to concentrate on the painting itself. We will have a look at some of those in detail in a moment. Most of the Wagner Flexio 890 reviews you’ll read online are from beginners.
- Versatile – while not the longest of its kind, the 11.5ft hose attached to the base unit, through which the airflow is produced, is perfectly long enough for those jobs about the house and will allow you to get into even the most awkward of spaces in the home, garden or garage. The compact size of the unit, coupled with the cleverly designed carry-handles, makes it easy to move, and when not in use, everything packs away neatly inside.
- Powerful – the 890 model, among others of the Flexio range uses a patented system called X-Boost for excellent spraying power, and we will explain that in more detail later on. Basically, it means you get superb performance from a compact and efficient machine at a sensible cost, with reliability guaranteed.
- Capacity – with a capacity for 1.5quarts of paint in the main reservoir – and 20ounces in the detailing cup – you have the perfect set up for covering an 8x10ft wall in around 5 minutes. We recommend you practice beforehand, but once you get the hang of things, you will easily be able to achieve speeds such as this, and won’t have to fill up too often. Such is the set-up, the Wagner Flexio 890 can spray more than 8 gallons per hour, which is more than adequate.
- iSpray Nozzle – another patented design, the iSpray nozzle allows you to use un-thinned paints so you can get on with the job without hesitation, unlike some units that require all paint to be suitably thinned, thus adding preparation time to the job.
- Easy Cleaning – the Wagner 890 is designed for use by the DIY enthusiast and has been thus made to be easy to clean and to be very low maintenance. Follow the instructions after every use, and you can be back in your tracks with a new color in no time at all, with very little effort needed.
Wagner patented features
This highly portable and very usable machine is one of the best in its price range, so before we come to our conclusion, let’s have a closer look at some of its stand out features.
- X-Boost – one of the main standout features is the patented X-Boost function. X-Boost is Wagner’s version of a turbine drive, a clever way of creating the air pressure within a compact unit. This one claims to be one of the most powerful on the market and offers unrivaled control of spray speed and pressure. It’s a tried and tested system, too, so you need not to worry about reliability, and it is very accurate. They provide more information in the Wagner FAQ about this feature.
- iSpray – another of the clever features on the Wagner Flexio 890 is the iSpray nozzle; this allows you to use un-thinned paint, which is a major bonus both for preparation and for achieving the best finish, and it is fully adjustable and provides a range of spray patterns and finishes. The clever touch it also comes with a detail finishing nozzle, complete with its own smaller reservoir. You simply swap them around – using a very clever and quick to use a connecting system called Lock-n-Go – and you can finish off those edges with a finely directed spray of paint. The Lock-n-Go system also allows for easy disassembly and reassembly for easy cleaning and maintenance.
- Lightweight – clever design means that all the workings of the Flexio 890 sprayer, that is the heavier bits, are inside the base unit on the floor. This means that all you have to handle is the very light and easy to maneuver spray gun, which is connected by the lengthy hose. It’s a very neat touch that makes the life of the user much easier and means it can be used by just about anyone.
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Final Thoughts – Our Review Conclusion
The Wagner HVLP paint sprayer is a great paint sprayer with an excellent specification and one that will be perfect for jobs around the home and garden. There are plenty of tutorials on Youtube on how to use it, and the manual is full of information on how to clean the machine after use and get the most out of it.
However, if you are a contractor who uses one of these on a daily basis, or need to use it regularly for DIY projects, it’s probably not the one for you. If it’s not the one for you, check out our list of bestselling Wagner paint sprayers here.
For the DIY enthusiast, or for someone looking to complete jobs around the home, there is no reason why this model should not be the one you choose. There’s a ton of Wagner 890 reviews on Amazon and you’ll find the vast majority are pretty happy with its performance.
For the price, it is easy to use, capable, light and powerful, and will provide excellent results when you learn how to use it properly (which will take no more than a couple of practice runs).
It is fully adjustable so you can work at your own speed, and is much faster than brush and rollers.
For a homeowner, car enthusiast or DIY fan, this could be the one that you will use to the full, but before you buy, make sure you don’t need something more powerful such as the Graco Magnum X5 airless paint sprayer.
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