Renovation question - fence staining

[Dave Rav]

Hello group! Random question here..

Has anyone used a basic hand pump sprayer (non-motorized unit) to stain a wood fence?  I am doing this as a side job, and it would save considerable time.  Otherwise, I am looking at using a roller and brushes (probably 3-4x the time in labor)

Thanks everyone!

[Bob H.]

I'd be surprised if a hand pump sprayer saved you any time. It sounds exhausting. You probably still need to brush a lot of the surface to get the paint into the cracks.

I will pass along a tip, though. Last summer I painted a rail fence that had 1- by 2-inch wire mesh stapled to it. With even a thick roller cover, it was hard to get the paint past the mesh. I got a roller cover at Lowe's that worked well, though. It was made of foam rubber sliced into many disks. The foam would separate enough to get around a lot of the unevenness of the surface, and it held up well.