RL Flo-Master Wood & Masonry Spraying System: Review
When our 20 year old deck needed to be re-stained and sealed, we purchased an RL Flo-Master Wood & Masonry Spraying System to get the job done professionally and quickly. We have actually owned two of these, the last time we used it on our cedar lattice, my husband stored it away without cleaning it, and and it was ruined. Good thing these can be picked up at WalMart for just under $18.00!
Initially when I saw the cheap price tag, I was very skeptical that something so inexpensive can actually do a good job, but I was proven wrong! This little sprayer is easy to use and it does an amazing job for us.
Description
My model is 1102DS. The sprayer is made of a heavy duty black plastic material, and it measures about 20 inches tall, including the pump top, and it holds 2 gallons. The poly tank will not corrode like those made of any type of metal. It is very lightweight, which makes it much easier to carry around with you when you are spraying a project. There is a reinforced flexible hose that comes out of one side of the top portion, and the durable aluminum wand style sprayer connects to this. The nozzle sprays a flat-fan pattern for wide and even coverage. There are two nozzles included in the kit, one is colored red and one is colored yellow, and they provide either a high volume or low volume spray. RL Flo-Master makes several different types of sprayers, many are just for the garden. This one actually says “Wood & Masonry” right on the bottle.
Assembly
If I can assemble this unit, anyone can. There are clear directions, with black and white corresponding illustrations that make this a breeze. You will need to insert a pink siphon tube into a pink hose, lubricate an o-ring, screw hose nut onto end, and tighten. You need to position the flow control hose nut, and screw it in place, push the wand into flow control, slide o-ring down, and tighten the wand nut onto the flow control.
The top of the sprayer is easy to fill because it is funnel shaped. There is a fill line which reads “Max Fill Line”, so you are sure not to overfill the unit.
Using
Pressurizing the sprayer is easy. You turn the pump handle counter clockwise, and create pressure by pumping it up and down. Then you lock the pump handle back into pump by turning clockwise. Once pressure has been built up, you only have to squeeze the flow control lever on the handle, and the flow of spray will start. To stop spraying you release the lever. Simple. If you are going to be doing a large area, like we did with our deck, you can lock the flow control lever and this will allow you to spray continuously.
This unit doesn’t have the adjustable cone nozzles that are so familiar on water hoses, but with the two nozzles included you can pretty much control the kind of spray you want. Additional cone nozzles can be purchased, which allow you to adjust the spray from a mist to a stream. Flat fan nozzles can be purchased as well, these aren’t adjustable.
Clean Up
Depending on what kind of liquid you sprayed through this unit, clean up can be done with soap and water, or you might have to use paint thinner or mineral spirits. Follow the directions of the chemical manufacturers recommendations. It should then be thoroughly rinsed and flushed with water.
Thoughts
This sprayer worked great for spraying our cedar lattice and our pressure treated wood deck. The first time we tried to restain and protect our deck, we mopped it on with a special tool. This did not allow the stain and protectant to get down in between the boards, and it looked awful. The top of the planks looked nice and new, but in between still looked dull and old. We found that when we use this sprayer, we get very good coverage, and we can easily spray deep into any cracks and crevices, as well as between each board, and it did a much faster job than trying to brush the stain and sealer on. The handle has grooves for the fingers, so not only do you get a great grip, but it is extremely comfortable to hold and cuts down on hand fatigue.
You can use this sprayer to clean driveways, sidewalks, patios, and decks. You can also use it to stain and seal any number of wood projects, such as a deck, swingset, wood trellises or fences, or as in our case, cedar lattice fencing.
We have never had any problems with these inexpensive sprayers, they work great. If you do have any issues, there is a handy toll free number listed in the manual, which connects you to a customer service hotline. There is also a handy troubleshooting guide in the manual, that walks you through problems, and gives you a cause and solution to the problem. The directions are printed in English, Spanish, French and German.
The RL Flow-Master Wood & Masonry Spraying System comes with a three year warranty! When was the last time you spent so little and received such a great warranty? This is a great tool to have around the home if you are a do-it-yourself kind of person who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money. I highly recommend this sprayer.
