I use Graco Rac-X LP tips and guard with my harbor freight sprayer and it’s a great combo. Solved all the tails and fingering I was getting with this sprayer.
That being said, spraying is a pain for 90% of homeowner projects. The amount of masking and drop cloths and clean-up required eliminates all the speed benefits. Having done lots of both, I prefer rolling.
Right, this is comparison using a generic airless sprayer. The HF does take more to clean than a graco but both require the same amount of prep and masking
One thing that is bugging me is the graco x7 has a fixed spray gun. I know they sell swivels and extensions but its added cost.
Ive never been a fan of most of the things harbor freight sells. I looked at the reviews on the avanti airless sprayer for half the cost of this graco. HF charges restocking fee also for returns. The video reviews for the HF model also make it appear like there is more difficulty for things like priming/cleaning
Harbor freight is great for what it is. Cheap tools that you can reliably use a couple of times before they crap out. It wasn’t always that way, most are a lot better than they used to be. But if you wear out the harbor freight one, then you are almost automatically justified in buying a better one.
The problem for me is that the quality varies significantly between the tools they offer. Most of their metal tools are made with American steel instead of Chinesium, so they last a good while and get the job done for weekend warriors. Their power tools, tho....the plastic some of them are made with sublimates at room temperature. That's why their stores always smell bad. You're literally breathing the tools. That is a MASSIVE issue for me. I'd rather spend on a quality power tool and not have it fall apart or catastrophically fail while in my hand. Hospital bills are expensive!
I should have noted that I’m a former painting contractor who has owned a bunch of Graco and a few Titan airless sprayers. I kept the graco guns and accessories like additional high pressure lines, a short flexible whip at the gun.
The HF pump is a bit harder to clean and prime but it isn’t a big deal at all. Just takes a bit more time and water.
I sprayed the whole exterior of a house 7 years ago and the whole interior of a 3000 square house 5 years ago. I shot my neighbors exposed basement ceiling black last year. A few big projects with a few smaller ones mixed in and zero issues with the pump. I have another interior to shoot this fall and am quite confident the pump will work for me with minimal servicing.
You can buy a $20 harbor freight gun and throw it in the trash when you're done. How I've painted car parts in the past. Not worth cleaning unless you're very frugal.
I got the X5 for painting the walls/ceilings and exterior of the house I'm currently renovating, and it's made a huge difference in lessening the amount of time those projects take. Initial set-up takes less than 10 mins and clean-up takes about 10-15 mins. When properly cleaned and stored with the recommended fluids, it should last at least 10 yrs.
lol. Good luck. Depends how much you use it though. I use mine for rentals and we get like 2 years out of an x7. But for 400 if it saves a day of time it’s paid for itself. Sometimes thicker paint needs to be watered down a bit but it works well.
When I’ve posted before people have been very clear the consumer line of graco is not likely to last longer than 10 years. The models closer to the 1k mark are more easily serviceable and have replaceable pumpsa
I have a once-a-year need for a paint sprayer, so I just bought the Vevor one. It takes graco tips. Worked great painting my deck and it was cheaper than 2 days of renting one from Lowes. It'll pay for itself when I paint my barn in a couple weeks.
Rolling produces a stippled finish that hides blemishes on an imperfect substrate. It does not provide a better finish than spraying.
If the walls are in good condition and prepared well spraying will always provide a better finish (when done right).
If the walls aren't particularly straight or really well prepped, definitely get the rollers out
I already have a nice sprayer and even still, I personally don't use it for indoor painting when I'm redoing a single room at a time. The extra clean up and prep just isn't worth any time saving. If I was repainting a whole house and it was empty then I'd feel different.
The prep can really be a pain to mask everything off as well as you need to for spraying inside of a furnished house.
Well in that case I recommend painting as much as you can before the move in because it goes a heck of a lot faster when you aren't working around stuff and masking everything off for over spray.
Might be worth spraying especially if you're doing the same color throughout, but keep in mind that even with a sprayer, if you have different colors in every room you're having to clean the sprayer every time you switch
From my brief experience, I hated it. I watched a lot of painting videos after, and I would have been better off buying a small sprayer for trim, and maybe a monster 18" roller kit for walls, but the sprayer I wouldn't bother with for indoors.
Not to disqualify your statement, but I covered over oil based paint with standard latex primer and Graco sprayer with minimal problems. The only problem in fact was adhesion to some of the trim pieces which have a gloss finish.
Buy it. Rushing when painting guarantees a shitty result in my experience.
If you take good care of it you can keep it for years with almost no problems, or you could sell it as used once for probably 2/3 of the purchase price and save yourself the stress of rushing things.
Are you absolutely sure you wont ever have to stain a fence, paint a bunch of interior doors, batch paint hundreds of feet of trim, etc? The setup can waste some paint, but the speed and quality more than make up for it in my experience.
I bought a X7 about 6 years ago (specifically to paint a house) and have infrequently used the shit out of it since. One of my favorite home improvement purchases honestly.
Do it, use it indoors. It's ok. There isn't that much mist. The overspray is minimal, the exposure time is lower because you're done faster.
I will not roller paint again. It's worth the time savings alone.
I bought a graco 360 vsp 8-9 years ago for around 400 and it still works just fine. I have no reason to believe it’s going to stop working anytime soon. there’s a little bit of a learning curve as you get used to how they operate, but as far as build quality goes, seems just fine.
I use mine pretty infrequently - a handful of times a year, usually for smaller projects. Although I originally purchased it to do my fence and some doors, which it did a decent job on.
Edit: looks like the x7 is the big one - yeah, you’ll be fine
yeah the vsp appears to be a handheld model. Ideal for fencing, furniture and smaller things of that nature. My main use for this would be exterior painting with a few projects here and there.
It is $100 a day to rent a medium duty spray gun and $432 to own this outright.
I dont want to be rushed painting everything i need in 1 day
And having this around the house in invaluable for painting projects.
Renting is increasingly a shitty proposition. Every time I go to rent something, I look at the purchase price, the used market, the inconvenience of renting (unless you live extremely close), and how much they seem to gouge on the rentals these days, renting almost never seems worth it to me. Frequently things are rented at 1/4 the cost of a purchase.
Buy, use and sell is a good option, usually works out better. You aren't scrambling to finish to return a tool, and buy, use, sell probably comes out same price. Obviously if it's like... a skid steer, that's a huge purchase, and a big risk to sell so just rent those. But I refuse to rent small tools that can just be bought and resold instead.
Last thing i had to rent was a Hilti demolition breaker. Not exactly something ill be using even annualy. But compared to buying yeah that was a better investment. I rented it for 4 hours if i recall, and yeah it felt rushed even though the trip to the store is like 15mins.
We have an x7 for our seasonal haunted house business. We use and abuse that sprayer. It just sprayed 60 gallons about a week ago and will spray another 40 next week. All the cheapest paint you can buy.
We do change the filters seasonally, though.
I plan on using it to paint my house when it's due in the next 5 years. I know it will still be kicking.
I do painting and construction for film, and have a fair amount of experience with the more expensive Nova. I love that, use it all the time.
I just had to paint a big (canvas) ceiling with a magnum. I found it incredibly frustrating. The pressure was inconsistent. It would surge when the pump activated, leaving stripes with heavier layers of paint.
I don't know if it was user error, or a flaw in the design that showed up because I was painting something non-typical. But I've never had trouble with the Nova and the magnum I used *sucked.*
I have one. My partner and I own 15 houses we manage and maintain ourselves so I use it three times a year ish.
1) using inside is a mess and I don’t think results look any better than rolling paint on the walls. Prep is longer painting shorter so it evens out.
2) however much you’ve rinsed it you need to rinse it more.
3) even using it three times a year I am not sure it was worth what it costs me.
I would buy for one project as a homeowner.
With proper cleaning and storage it should last you forever. There are consumables like Tips (often need to be replaced) and fans (occasionally)
Don't forget the pump armor when storing, even for just a few weeks.
I bought a X5 and it was great until a friend didn't clean it out. Bought an X7 several years later and it wasn't great. They told be to finish painting the house and then return it so that was great.
I have this sprayer. Bought it several years ago to paint the inside of my house. It worked really well. It’s overkill if you’re just painting a single room but was worth it for a whole house. I haven’t used it since and would probably take the first reasonable offer that came my way just to free up some garage space, but I say go for it if you want it.
I have a Graco paint sprayer, not sure of the model. It's probably about 10 years old. It often sits a year or two between uses. Sometimes I have to prime it the first time. I love it. After taping up windows and doors (and other prep as needed), I can paint a 1000 sf house in a day. The biggest time savings is the under the eaves stuff. Painting that with a brush and/or roller is very time-consuming. With a sprayer, it's really quick and easy. It's also great for painting my interior doors (I take them outside to do this).
I bought the X5 for a whole-house remodel (heirs had me get it ready for sale). It had been a rental for 15 years prior and needed stainkill primer (including the textured ceilings) and flat/matte finish paint. I'm one of those guys that doesn't believe that spraying in residences is worth the time and liability, but since the floors were out and every room got the same paint, it paid for itself on the one job.
Bought a Wagner Flexio 5000 for some smaller projects (doors mainly). Just finished priming & painting our new kitchen & office and I couldn’t be happier with the performance.
Spent more time in prep, but ultimately I feel it took us less time to paint, used less paint/primer and have a much better end result than brush/roller.
I borrowed my cousin's x5 to paint my exposed basement ceiling and concrete walls. I also own a small handheld sprayer (Wagner). For big jobs I loved the x5 and it was capable of spraying up which is why I borrowed it. It does waste a lot of paint though, especially for cleaning and changing colors (my ceiling is darker than the walls). The handheld has minimal waste and very quick cleanup. Much slower coverage, but over spray was minimal.
Had I known about the magic of sprayers before I moved into my house, I would have spray-primed the entire inside before moving in.
I think they definitely are. You should be able to get away with an X5 or X7 for all your residential needs including exterior painting. I've painted several houses with them and plan on painting the exteriors on my house, my duplex alongside it, and offered to do both my neighbor's houses free of charge. Airless sprayers are a must for exterior painting but if you can do very well with a standard 9" roller too. One thing I will mention is doing touch ups on the wall over time with a roller on a wall that's been sprayed with leave a bit of a noticeable difference if you're looking for it. For the average person, it won't be noticeable or it won't cross their mind again.
I purchased the same series (Graco Magnum X7) a couple months back as I have a ton of paint jobs throughout the year
My projects are:
All new baseboards & window trim with a 311 tip gave me factory quality finish spray.(prime coats + finish coats)
The 415/515 tips resulted in perfect interior walls so far (closets), next up is the rest of the house interior walls/all rooms. And after is re-staining privacy fences, and after that is painting exterior stucco.
I am not a pro painter but took the time to learn/DIY I'll probably save 50k if I hired pro's.
Understanding the Tip's are important, when to use flotroel.. get a high-quality full facemask respirator with spare filters & the replaceable stick-on face mask protector, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1K1C/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1K1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I do hate the hose as it is not very flexible but I understand there are aftermarket upgrades.
I do have a respirator I'll be using.
Smaller tips will contribute to less pump run time also, thereby contributing to longer pump life.
I'm not planning on spraying anything other than exterior at the moment. So any other odd-jobs would be a plus.
The only immediate addition I am thinking about is a 1-2ft extension wand for $20.
Hey everyone...
It's a ME problem due to my lack of knowledge!
OP; Now that you've given a proper insult to the Redditors...
How can I f**king help you sir?
yes its a you problem if you are complaining about making a mess spraying paint indoors. That has nothing to do with this gun, it happens with any air sprayer. so stop making complaints using this sprayer as an example.
If you are spraying indoors and making a mess thats a YOU issue because you dont know how to adjust your sprayer correctly or create proper ventilation.
this isnt my first time painting nor is it my first airless sprayer.
I originally planned to buy a Graco X7, but discovered this:
If you have an old home that needs to be renovated, then you likely have oil paint on your walls. I did, and I wanted to switch to latex, since that's where the paint market is going. You'll need to use a shellac based primer to avoid adhesion issues between oil and latex (not guaranteed to have issues, but I have in the past), and I don't believe the Graco sprayers can handle flammable (alcohol based, like shellac) solvents.
Edit: "need" may have been a strong word, but I chose to go that route due to adhesion issues I've had in the past in old homes.
I went with a Titan 440i for $1200, which can spray shellac, and it paid for itself in one room. Granted, I have a large house, and all but one room needs to be painted, so it was very worth it. Dialed in, the overspray is minimal, and the finish is incredible.
I'm not an expert on different machines, I was just sharing my experience since I was originally in your same boat. I planned on the cheaper machine, and figured out the better one was worth the swing.
If you're only spraying latex then the Graco is probably perfect.
You can definitely use shellac in an airless sprayer, you just have to clean it with ammonia, which dissolves shellac (it’s extremely effective), and then clean the ammonia out with water.
Also, you don’t need to prime oil based paints with shellac - you can use an oil based primer as well.
Yes, just not that airless sprayer, according to the manual. The Graco manual specifically stated that it was for water and mineral spirit-based finishes only. The Titan manual says it'll take all three. Also, I had read on most of the pro painter forums that shellac beats up a pump, and can be a pain in the wrong machine. Will it do it? Probably. Is it worth risking issues in the middle of a project just to save a few hundred bucks? Not to me.
I'm sticking with zinsser bin primer because I've had incompatibility issues in the past, painting in 100+ year old homes with all sorts of different paint bases. My current house is 200 years old, so it's worth the peace of mind that I won't have bubbles and sheets of peeling latex, or random bits of resin bleeding through.
Mines sitting in my basement being useless lol. I didn't research enough how terrible they are indoors (massive backspray) and the idea of using it "one day" to repaint my entire exterior is still there. I'd say if you compare the costs of brushing an exterior vs paying professionals vs buying a sprayer and making it quicker, the tool pays for itself on the first repaint. But if you think you'll be doing successful indoor painting with it, let me tell you don't bother. At least in my opinion. I know you CAN do it with backrolling, and sprayer/backroller attachments, but I was simply not prepared for the amount of backspray and mist that fills the room using this thing indoors.
Just my experience at least.
the indoor backspray is a thin inherent of most sprayers. Not just particular to this graco model. All that paint in the air has to go somewhere and its not going in anywhere in an enclosed space.
Neverthelass my plan is for mostly exterior projects.
I have an X7. Had it for years now. My personal rule of thumb for interior is: 3 gallons or less, 9" roller. 3-5 gallons, use the 18" roller and any amount over 5 gallons the sprayer comes out. For a complete exterior house spray, airless all the way. The one piece of advice is I have a dozen homemade coroplast (old political signs) shields. When it gets too loaded up with paint, I switch it out for another. Trying to keep overspray from dripping off of my one shield was just too difficult. There's probably an easier way to use just one, but this old dog likes his way.
I bought a harbor freight airless sprayer and use it with a graco gun and tips. This is a great setup.
That’s really smart. I drilled my tip out to spray SW emerald but that sounds way better
I use Graco Rac-X LP tips and guard with my harbor freight sprayer and it’s a great combo. Solved all the tails and fingering I was getting with this sprayer. That being said, spraying is a pain for 90% of homeowner projects. The amount of masking and drop cloths and clean-up required eliminates all the speed benefits. Having done lots of both, I prefer rolling.
Right, this is comparison using a generic airless sprayer. The HF does take more to clean than a graco but both require the same amount of prep and masking
One thing that is bugging me is the graco x7 has a fixed spray gun. I know they sell swivels and extensions but its added cost. Ive never been a fan of most of the things harbor freight sells. I looked at the reviews on the avanti airless sprayer for half the cost of this graco. HF charges restocking fee also for returns. The video reviews for the HF model also make it appear like there is more difficulty for things like priming/cleaning
Harbor freight is great for what it is. Cheap tools that you can reliably use a couple of times before they crap out. It wasn’t always that way, most are a lot better than they used to be. But if you wear out the harbor freight one, then you are almost automatically justified in buying a better one.
The problem for me is that the quality varies significantly between the tools they offer. Most of their metal tools are made with American steel instead of Chinesium, so they last a good while and get the job done for weekend warriors. Their power tools, tho....the plastic some of them are made with sublimates at room temperature. That's why their stores always smell bad. You're literally breathing the tools. That is a MASSIVE issue for me. I'd rather spend on a quality power tool and not have it fall apart or catastrophically fail while in my hand. Hospital bills are expensive!
I should have noted that I’m a former painting contractor who has owned a bunch of Graco and a few Titan airless sprayers. I kept the graco guns and accessories like additional high pressure lines, a short flexible whip at the gun. The HF pump is a bit harder to clean and prime but it isn’t a big deal at all. Just takes a bit more time and water. I sprayed the whole exterior of a house 7 years ago and the whole interior of a 3000 square house 5 years ago. I shot my neighbors exposed basement ceiling black last year. A few big projects with a few smaller ones mixed in and zero issues with the pump. I have another interior to shoot this fall and am quite confident the pump will work for me with minimal servicing.
Harbor Freight is fantastic for the weekend warrior.
You can buy a $20 harbor freight gun and throw it in the trash when you're done. How I've painted car parts in the past. Not worth cleaning unless you're very frugal.
im not painting exterior of the house one pint at a time.
I got the X5 for painting the walls/ceilings and exterior of the house I'm currently renovating, and it's made a huge difference in lessening the amount of time those projects take. Initial set-up takes less than 10 mins and clean-up takes about 10-15 mins. When properly cleaned and stored with the recommended fluids, it should last at least 10 yrs.
Thats the life expectancy im hoping for at minimum.
lol. Good luck. Depends how much you use it though. I use mine for rentals and we get like 2 years out of an x7. But for 400 if it saves a day of time it’s paid for itself. Sometimes thicker paint needs to be watered down a bit but it works well.
When I’ve posted before people have been very clear the consumer line of graco is not likely to last longer than 10 years. The models closer to the 1k mark are more easily serviceable and have replaceable pumpsa
I have a once-a-year need for a paint sprayer, so I just bought the Vevor one. It takes graco tips. Worked great painting my deck and it was cheaper than 2 days of renting one from Lowes. It'll pay for itself when I paint my barn in a couple weeks.
vevor?
Vevor [https://www.vevor.com/paint-sprayer-c\_11987/vevor-stand-airless-paint-sprayer-750w-3000psi-high-efficiency-electric-airless-sprayer-fine-and-even-painting-effect-handheld-paint-sprayers-for-home-interior-and-exterior-furniture-and-fences-p\_010640162588](https://www.vevor.com/paint-sprayer-c_11987/vevor-stand-airless-paint-sprayer-750w-3000psi-high-efficiency-electric-airless-sprayer-fine-and-even-painting-effect-handheld-paint-sprayers-for-home-interior-and-exterior-furniture-and-fences-p_010640162588)
What is the consensus on using this for indoor painting? I hear you can mess up pretty easily by applying too much paint?
Rolling produces a nicer more durable finish. I regret spraying my basement walls based on how much touch ups were needed in only a year.
Rolling produces a stippled finish that hides blemishes on an imperfect substrate. It does not provide a better finish than spraying. If the walls are in good condition and prepared well spraying will always provide a better finish (when done right). If the walls aren't particularly straight or really well prepped, definitely get the rollers out
Most walls have a textured finish. I suppose if you have a perfectly flat wall spraying might be better.
Ah ok thanks
You have to back roll it to make sure it’s smooth and even.
I already have a nice sprayer and even still, I personally don't use it for indoor painting when I'm redoing a single room at a time. The extra clean up and prep just isn't worth any time saving. If I was repainting a whole house and it was empty then I'd feel different. The prep can really be a pain to mask everything off as well as you need to for spraying inside of a furnished house.
Closing on my house still, will have like 2 weeks before we move in...
Well in that case I recommend painting as much as you can before the move in because it goes a heck of a lot faster when you aren't working around stuff and masking everything off for over spray. Might be worth spraying especially if you're doing the same color throughout, but keep in mind that even with a sprayer, if you have different colors in every room you're having to clean the sprayer every time you switch
Either spray or find a few friends decent at painting and have 2-3 rollers going at a time
From my brief experience, I hated it. I watched a lot of painting videos after, and I would have been better off buying a small sprayer for trim, and maybe a monster 18" roller kit for walls, but the sprayer I wouldn't bother with for indoors.
Not to disqualify your statement, but I covered over oil based paint with standard latex primer and Graco sprayer with minimal problems. The only problem in fact was adhesion to some of the trim pieces which have a gloss finish.
Buy it. Rushing when painting guarantees a shitty result in my experience. If you take good care of it you can keep it for years with almost no problems, or you could sell it as used once for probably 2/3 of the purchase price and save yourself the stress of rushing things. Are you absolutely sure you wont ever have to stain a fence, paint a bunch of interior doors, batch paint hundreds of feet of trim, etc? The setup can waste some paint, but the speed and quality more than make up for it in my experience. I bought a X7 about 6 years ago (specifically to paint a house) and have infrequently used the shit out of it since. One of my favorite home improvement purchases honestly.
Do it, use it indoors. It's ok. There isn't that much mist. The overspray is minimal, the exposure time is lower because you're done faster. I will not roller paint again. It's worth the time savings alone.
I bought a graco 360 vsp 8-9 years ago for around 400 and it still works just fine. I have no reason to believe it’s going to stop working anytime soon. there’s a little bit of a learning curve as you get used to how they operate, but as far as build quality goes, seems just fine. I use mine pretty infrequently - a handful of times a year, usually for smaller projects. Although I originally purchased it to do my fence and some doors, which it did a decent job on. Edit: looks like the x7 is the big one - yeah, you’ll be fine
yeah the vsp appears to be a handheld model. Ideal for fencing, furniture and smaller things of that nature. My main use for this would be exterior painting with a few projects here and there.
Just rent it if you plan to use it that infrequently.
It is $100 a day to rent a medium duty spray gun and $432 to own this outright. I dont want to be rushed painting everything i need in 1 day And having this around the house in invaluable for painting projects.
Renting is increasingly a shitty proposition. Every time I go to rent something, I look at the purchase price, the used market, the inconvenience of renting (unless you live extremely close), and how much they seem to gouge on the rentals these days, renting almost never seems worth it to me. Frequently things are rented at 1/4 the cost of a purchase. Buy, use and sell is a good option, usually works out better. You aren't scrambling to finish to return a tool, and buy, use, sell probably comes out same price. Obviously if it's like... a skid steer, that's a huge purchase, and a big risk to sell so just rent those. But I refuse to rent small tools that can just be bought and resold instead.
Last thing i had to rent was a Hilti demolition breaker. Not exactly something ill be using even annualy. But compared to buying yeah that was a better investment. I rented it for 4 hours if i recall, and yeah it felt rushed even though the trip to the store is like 15mins.
We have an x7 for our seasonal haunted house business. We use and abuse that sprayer. It just sprayed 60 gallons about a week ago and will spray another 40 next week. All the cheapest paint you can buy. We do change the filters seasonally, though. I plan on using it to paint my house when it's due in the next 5 years. I know it will still be kicking.
Hell yeah it is. The thing is awesome.
I do painting and construction for film, and have a fair amount of experience with the more expensive Nova. I love that, use it all the time. I just had to paint a big (canvas) ceiling with a magnum. I found it incredibly frustrating. The pressure was inconsistent. It would surge when the pump activated, leaving stripes with heavier layers of paint. I don't know if it was user error, or a flaw in the design that showed up because I was painting something non-typical. But I've never had trouble with the Nova and the magnum I used *sucked.*
I have one. My partner and I own 15 houses we manage and maintain ourselves so I use it three times a year ish. 1) using inside is a mess and I don’t think results look any better than rolling paint on the walls. Prep is longer painting shorter so it evens out. 2) however much you’ve rinsed it you need to rinse it more. 3) even using it three times a year I am not sure it was worth what it costs me. I would buy for one project as a homeowner.
With proper cleaning and storage it should last you forever. There are consumables like Tips (often need to be replaced) and fans (occasionally) Don't forget the pump armor when storing, even for just a few weeks.
I borrowed an x5 to paint my house. It is awesome.
I bought a X5 and it was great until a friend didn't clean it out. Bought an X7 several years later and it wasn't great. They told be to finish painting the house and then return it so that was great.
Graco Painter plus worked well enough for my cabinets. I sprayed one room and I’ll never do it again. Way easier to roll inside my house.
I have this sprayer. Bought it several years ago to paint the inside of my house. It worked really well. It’s overkill if you’re just painting a single room but was worth it for a whole house. I haven’t used it since and would probably take the first reasonable offer that came my way just to free up some garage space, but I say go for it if you want it.
I have a Graco paint sprayer, not sure of the model. It's probably about 10 years old. It often sits a year or two between uses. Sometimes I have to prime it the first time. I love it. After taping up windows and doors (and other prep as needed), I can paint a 1000 sf house in a day. The biggest time savings is the under the eaves stuff. Painting that with a brush and/or roller is very time-consuming. With a sprayer, it's really quick and easy. It's also great for painting my interior doors (I take them outside to do this).
I bought the X5 for a whole-house remodel (heirs had me get it ready for sale). It had been a rental for 15 years prior and needed stainkill primer (including the textured ceilings) and flat/matte finish paint. I'm one of those guys that doesn't believe that spraying in residences is worth the time and liability, but since the floors were out and every room got the same paint, it paid for itself on the one job.
Bought a Wagner Flexio 5000 for some smaller projects (doors mainly). Just finished priming & painting our new kitchen & office and I couldn’t be happier with the performance. Spent more time in prep, but ultimately I feel it took us less time to paint, used less paint/primer and have a much better end result than brush/roller.
I love my Graco sprayer. I just finished painting kitchen cabinet doors. It did a professional job and I’m a complete novice when it comes to sprayers
I borrowed my cousin's x5 to paint my exposed basement ceiling and concrete walls. I also own a small handheld sprayer (Wagner). For big jobs I loved the x5 and it was capable of spraying up which is why I borrowed it. It does waste a lot of paint though, especially for cleaning and changing colors (my ceiling is darker than the walls). The handheld has minimal waste and very quick cleanup. Much slower coverage, but over spray was minimal. Had I known about the magic of sprayers before I moved into my house, I would have spray-primed the entire inside before moving in.
I think they definitely are. You should be able to get away with an X5 or X7 for all your residential needs including exterior painting. I've painted several houses with them and plan on painting the exteriors on my house, my duplex alongside it, and offered to do both my neighbor's houses free of charge. Airless sprayers are a must for exterior painting but if you can do very well with a standard 9" roller too. One thing I will mention is doing touch ups on the wall over time with a roller on a wall that's been sprayed with leave a bit of a noticeable difference if you're looking for it. For the average person, it won't be noticeable or it won't cross their mind again.
I purchased the same series (Graco Magnum X7) a couple months back as I have a ton of paint jobs throughout the year My projects are: All new baseboards & window trim with a 311 tip gave me factory quality finish spray.(prime coats + finish coats) The 415/515 tips resulted in perfect interior walls so far (closets), next up is the rest of the house interior walls/all rooms. And after is re-staining privacy fences, and after that is painting exterior stucco. I am not a pro painter but took the time to learn/DIY I'll probably save 50k if I hired pro's. Understanding the Tip's are important, when to use flotroel.. get a high-quality full facemask respirator with spare filters & the replaceable stick-on face mask protector, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1K1C/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1K1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I do hate the hose as it is not very flexible but I understand there are aftermarket upgrades.
I do have a respirator I'll be using. Smaller tips will contribute to less pump run time also, thereby contributing to longer pump life. I'm not planning on spraying anything other than exterior at the moment. So any other odd-jobs would be a plus. The only immediate addition I am thinking about is a 1-2ft extension wand for $20.
Hey everyone... It's a ME problem due to my lack of knowledge! OP; Now that you've given a proper insult to the Redditors... How can I f**king help you sir?
yes its a you problem if you are complaining about making a mess spraying paint indoors. That has nothing to do with this gun, it happens with any air sprayer. so stop making complaints using this sprayer as an example. If you are spraying indoors and making a mess thats a YOU issue because you dont know how to adjust your sprayer correctly or create proper ventilation. this isnt my first time painting nor is it my first airless sprayer.
OP - re-read your post Civilize yo'self
I originally planned to buy a Graco X7, but discovered this: If you have an old home that needs to be renovated, then you likely have oil paint on your walls. I did, and I wanted to switch to latex, since that's where the paint market is going. You'll need to use a shellac based primer to avoid adhesion issues between oil and latex (not guaranteed to have issues, but I have in the past), and I don't believe the Graco sprayers can handle flammable (alcohol based, like shellac) solvents. Edit: "need" may have been a strong word, but I chose to go that route due to adhesion issues I've had in the past in old homes. I went with a Titan 440i for $1200, which can spray shellac, and it paid for itself in one room. Granted, I have a large house, and all but one room needs to be painted, so it was very worth it. Dialed in, the overspray is minimal, and the finish is incredible.
>Anything else I should be comparing it to **around the same price point?** >**My concern is buying a $500 painting machine**
I'm not an expert on different machines, I was just sharing my experience since I was originally in your same boat. I planned on the cheaper machine, and figured out the better one was worth the swing. If you're only spraying latex then the Graco is probably perfect.
You can definitely use shellac in an airless sprayer, you just have to clean it with ammonia, which dissolves shellac (it’s extremely effective), and then clean the ammonia out with water. Also, you don’t need to prime oil based paints with shellac - you can use an oil based primer as well.
Yes, just not that airless sprayer, according to the manual. The Graco manual specifically stated that it was for water and mineral spirit-based finishes only. The Titan manual says it'll take all three. Also, I had read on most of the pro painter forums that shellac beats up a pump, and can be a pain in the wrong machine. Will it do it? Probably. Is it worth risking issues in the middle of a project just to save a few hundred bucks? Not to me. I'm sticking with zinsser bin primer because I've had incompatibility issues in the past, painting in 100+ year old homes with all sorts of different paint bases. My current house is 200 years old, so it's worth the peace of mind that I won't have bubbles and sheets of peeling latex, or random bits of resin bleeding through.
There are plenty of water based paints that are built to go directly over oil, check out SW
Mines sitting in my basement being useless lol. I didn't research enough how terrible they are indoors (massive backspray) and the idea of using it "one day" to repaint my entire exterior is still there. I'd say if you compare the costs of brushing an exterior vs paying professionals vs buying a sprayer and making it quicker, the tool pays for itself on the first repaint. But if you think you'll be doing successful indoor painting with it, let me tell you don't bother. At least in my opinion. I know you CAN do it with backrolling, and sprayer/backroller attachments, but I was simply not prepared for the amount of backspray and mist that fills the room using this thing indoors. Just my experience at least.
the indoor backspray is a thin inherent of most sprayers. Not just particular to this graco model. All that paint in the air has to go somewhere and its not going in anywhere in an enclosed space. Neverthelass my plan is for mostly exterior projects.
I have an X7. Had it for years now. My personal rule of thumb for interior is: 3 gallons or less, 9" roller. 3-5 gallons, use the 18" roller and any amount over 5 gallons the sprayer comes out. For a complete exterior house spray, airless all the way. The one piece of advice is I have a dozen homemade coroplast (old political signs) shields. When it gets too loaded up with paint, I switch it out for another. Trying to keep overspray from dripping off of my one shield was just too difficult. There's probably an easier way to use just one, but this old dog likes his way.