Customer Reviews

Wagner Power Products 513040 PaintEater

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I had two quotes to paint my 3,000 sq. ft. ranch house: $5,000 and $6,000. The main reason was a the labor involved in scraping and sanding and the thirty windows. The house was in bad shape.

Not one to easily depart with 5 grand, I decided to paint the thing myself. This was the first tool I bought and I have to say it has payed for itself ten times over. It took an entire week of sanding with the machine and unlike others it performed flawlessly. I went through three disks so you may want to pick up a disk or two depending on how big your project is.

I removed the gray plastic shield surrounding the disk. Simply squeeze it and it pops right off. The reason was I couldn't get the machine close enough to those tight spots and it was blocking my view. Plus, I was wearing safety goggles and a respirator (a must have unless you like lung cancer, very fine dust particles) so flying chips weren't a problem.

You can use the machine to feather edge every single paint chip and pock mark as if your restoring an 18th century piece of furniture or just run it along and quickly knock down the chips. Depends on how much time you have. I found that in places where people will be notice, like near the patio, it worked well to spend extra time to get a nice smooth surface. Other places I just quickly moved it along and in some really tucked away spots, I just used a scraper, but it simply doesn't do as nice a job.

As far as durability, if you apply a lot of pressure you can definitely hear the motor bog down. As an electrical engineer, I can assure you that running a motor at full load to point of where it almost stalls will severly shorten the lifespan. I had good results just applying very little pressure and letting the machine do the work.

Overall, if your tackling a big job, I'd definitely give it a try.

Wagner's "Paint Eater" came along at just the right time for me. I was facing the unpleasant task of repainting a rather large and weathered corn crib and the belt sander that I had used to accomplish this task some eleven years ago had apparently gained considerable weight with the passage of time.

The "Paint Eater" appears to be one of those tools that actually delivers on its promises. Much of the credit however, must go to "3M" who evidently has "partnered" with Wagner to produce a paint removal head that is nothing short of amazing. However, this was not my first impression when first observing what looks a bit like a stiffened "Brillo Pad". I recall thinking, "oh yeah, this ought to last about five minutes".

But, as the paint chips began to fly and I began to make a dent in the project, I sensed that this little disc was really something special. Indeed, on a structure that is some 20'X 30' and with 9 1/2' walls covered with 1"X 4" boards, I was able to strip over eighty percent of the building before wearing out the first disc.

Unlike sanding discs, this "3M" material never irretrievably clogs. To clean it, simply turn on the tool and hold the disc momentarily against the side of a cement block and it cleans up quite nicely. (Do not forget to always wear safety glasses and a decent mask/respirator when using the tool. Gloves are a good idea as well.)

So if this tool is such a wonder, why four stars instead of five?The reason is simply that Wagner in my opinion needs to rethink some of their approaches to tool design.

First; most major manufacturers include a parts list with their tools. The concept of having to send a tool back to a service depot instead of just ordering up a part is antiquated and for small repairs only results in a longer "down time" and customer frustration and dissatisfaction. Please "Wagner", get with the program and let your customers decide whether they want to handle their own basic repairs. If not, then they can certainly utilize your service center.

Second; since the body of the tool is not much more than a single speed motor, design it so that a common "wear" part like the brushes are externally accessable. Again, this means less hassle and a happier customer.

Third; the encased switch is not sensitive enough, especially when wearing gloves.

These criticisms aside though, I still found the "Paint Eater" to be easy to handle and comfortable to use. It does the job, is reasonably priced and it sure beats my old belt sander!

Works good right out of the box. Died after the first 3 hours. Replaced it. 2nd one died as well. Was working fine, no overheating etc. Shut it off to move the ladder. Tried to turn it back on and nothing. Both units had the same symptoms. Too much money for a product with such a short lifetime and they obviously have a manufacturing defect. You can expect to see a lot of these in discount "refurb" catalogs.

The good: Product does what it says, removes paint quickly.
The bad: HOW MUCH FOR A REPLACEMENT PAD THAT LASTS 15 MINUTES???

I have gone through 2 pads to take paint off roof trim. After the first pad wore out rather quickly, I made a conscious effort to go easy on the pressure, but the results weren't much better. One pad will clean the paint off about 20' of 4" wide trim, and takes 10-15 minutes. For $15 a pad, it is cheaper for me to buy new trim and nails and to replace it, and it takes about as much time. Also, the pad will cut grooves into soft wood, so using it on contoured surfaces (like window trim) is a no-no. Also, you will still have to find some other way to get into the corners, since this is a circular tool.

If you have a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a 5/8" arbor, you can use it with the pad alone and not have to buy the whole tool. Save yourself $60.

I bought this product and it stripped paint wonderfully for one full hour. Then the sanding disc disengaged in the gear box from the shaft and it spun helplessly...no way to fix it. It is defective in design. Do not buy it until they acknowledge the defect and come up with a solution. James

A most distressing mistake is the best summary of my experience with this tool. To keep it would be to relive the regrettable impulse to buy it. Also true is that any attempt by me to resell it, would prolong the hoax initiated by Wagna. I have therefore thrown it in the trash. It is expensive, unwieldly to use, and does an entirely mediocre job.

Most heartbreaking in all this is the discovery that Norton makes a stripping pad of similar material and for a half the price. You simply attach one to a $40.00 angle grinder. It handles better, provides more power, and is perhaps twenty times more efficient.

This is a great product if your expectations match the PaintEater's abilities. It is a fast way to prepare old painted surfaces for new paint. If there are drips, chips or loose paint the PaintEater quickly shaves the lumps down, feathers the edges on chips, removes flaky paint down to sound wood and scuff sands chalky paint. If you need to REMOVE paint from large areas, you should look at heavier duty mechanical units (check out Metabo or Porter Cable), chemicals or heat methods.

Wagner made the unit out of plastic that is light weight and a motor that is light weight. After hours of use and while standing on a ladder trying to reach a difficult corner, I was glad the unit was not heavier. Light weight does not mean flimsy. I agree with the reviewer who noted that the On-Off button is hard to operate. The fold down handle is very helpful in controlling the PaintEater. The grinding wheel floats on the motor connection. This makes it easier to keep the face of the spinning 3M grinding disk flat on the surface your are preparing and avoid digging into the wood. The motor has plenty of power to match the aggressive 3M grinding disk. A light touch works best, if you really bear down you can stall the motor and shorten its life. There is a gray plastic housing above the grinding disk that keeps the wheel from gouging into a wall. You can remove the shroud if you want to go right up to the edge.

The 3M grinding wheel is what sets this tool apart from a disk sander. The wheel lasts a long time and does not load up and clog like sanding disks. This saves time and money. I also used the tool to clean a cement floor prior to staining the concrete. It did a great job roughing the surface and it quickly removed taping compound and construction adhesive. These products clog regular sanding disk immediately. The 3M disk had no problem and no loading. It was also good at cleaning loose mortar from some bricks that needed to be reset. I have had trouble finding replacement wheels. Order an extra one from Amazon!

this product does a good job of removing paint . It is not a heavy duty like the Makia grinder but it has it s good points!Iks alittle hard to hold but I guess it takes some time to get the feel of it.

I'm a pro painter and was looking for a better tool for removing paint. I often use a grinder with carbide teeth to remove multiple layers of old alligatored or cracked paint where you really want to remove everything to the wood. The "paint eater" is not the tool for those really tough jobs. It does seem appropriate for knocking off a layer or two of loose paint and feathering edges. Much better than hand scraping or orbital sander. Decent tool for the price on light duty work.

Bought this to prep 20 year old cedar siding for repainting. It had not been painted for at least 7 years. The PaintEater made quick work of what could have been quite a scraping project. I did go thru 2 discs in the process. But for the square footage I covered, that was not excessive. Use the disc's edge when the disc is new (and thickest) to scrape the lower edges of the siding. It is noisy and produces a lot of dust. It does take some practice to get the best feathered edges. If the unit begins to wobble as you strip/sand, resist the temptation to press harder. Instead, ease off the wall surface and then press down. That seems to regain control faster.