Audrey and I enjoy working on and restoring small boats. An oft-repeated task is the application of coatings, and one of our favorite tools is the Preval Sprayer, a versatile and portable aerosol spray gun ideal for applying finishes to small areas or complex surfaces like the interior of a lapstrake hull with closely spaced frames, or when just a touch-up is required. We first learned about it through an informational video put out by Jamestown Distributors, and later got a strong endorsement of the sprayer’s versatility from a friend who runs a marine repair business.

Open box showing the Preval Sprayer ValpackPhotographs by the authors

The Preval Sprayer components can be purchased separately, but we have found the Valpack to be comprehensive and cost-effective: it includes a complete sprayer with extra power unit, several reservoir jars with extra caps and tubes, and a vGrip Universal Handle.

The Preval Sprayer can be used with oil-based, polyurethane, and latex paints, varnish, and even polyester gelcoat. The sprayer consists of a power unit and a reservoir. The power unit is an aerosol can that contains 1.94 oz of propellant (a mix of dimethyl ether, isobutane, and propane)—enough to spray 16 oz of liquid at 70 psi. The top of the power unit has a finger-operated spray button, and the bottom has a screw cap and siphon supply tube with a nylon filter on its end. The tube comes in two lengths and the power unit can be screwed onto either a 2.9-oz “touch-up” reservoir or a 6-oz reservoir. The reservoirs are available in plastic or glass, are reusable, and come with their own screw-on caps. Both the plastic and glass reservoirs are solvent-proof, and the glass ones are also shatterproof.

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