For exterior painting, typically the siding is sprayed and the trim is brushed and rolled. In the Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area, I also see a lot of front doors being brush & rolled.
In Exterior Painting, Spraying is advantageous mainly for two reasons.
- When there is a large amount of surface area to be painted, like house siding, spraying is typically faster than brush and roll. A lot of setup time is involved in spraying. Mainly masking. In order to spray anything, there is a lot of masking that needs to happen. There is also extra time spent priming and cleaning out the airless sprayer. Not to mention troubleshooting any issues with equipment. But because the surface area is so large these time consuming setup and takedown efforts pay off.
- Spraying eliminates brush and roll marks and improves the finished appearance on smooth surfaces. This is particularly noticeable on front doors. Because a front door has a small surface area, it takes much longer to spray a door than to brush and roll but the improved finish makes it worth the extra time. Even if you have your whole exterior painted, by far the most observed area will be your front door. Unfortunately, I see many homes in Grand Rapids, Michigan that are brushed and rolled because it is so much faster and requires less skill.