Graco Magnum X5 Paint Sprayer Review – Great DIY Airless Sprayer

Are you looking for a quality airless paint sprayer that you can use either around the home for DIY or as a tool for the trade or craft business? At first looks, the Graco Magnum x5 electric airless paint sprayer appears to be an ideal paint sprayer for all your projects around the home or for small businesses. In this review, we look at the Graco magnum x5 overall ability as an airless paint sprayer, what it can do for you and how it performs in spraying different products and finishes.

 Graco Arent new When It Comes To Paint Sprayers 

Graco is a Minnesota company that has been around since 1926. They are considered world leaders in the manufacture of fluid handling systems, including paint sprayers. Graco company introduced its first airless spray gun in 1957. The Graco company is renowned for manufacturing quality spray equipment for professionals and DIY alike.

For Diy, they offer two types of airless sprayers, the Magnum series for larger painting projects and the TrueCoat 360 series airless cup sprayers for furniture and finishing work.

The Graco x5 airless paint sprayer is a testament to the quality of the brand. The machine comes with a powerful 2 hp motor and is capable of producing 3000 PSI of pressure. This is plenty for DIY projects and painting large areas such as walls and decks. The main pump consists of Graco quality parts and contains a stainless steel piston pump that will give long service as long as the unit is looked after. The pump itself is well made and very light compared to other machines.

The unit comes with an SG2 Metal Spray Gun and includes the trueairless 515 spray tip plus guard and 50 mesh gun filter. This paint sprayer is capable of operating at pressures of up to 3,600 PSI. Graco spray guns are designed for performance and can hold the claim that they are the most reliable spray guns out there.

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5 Things You Need To Know About The Magnum X5 Airless Sprayer

Who Its For –

The Graco X5 is not a cheap sprayer nor is it overly expensive. Therefore I would class it as a middle-range painting tool designed with DIY people in mind plus the trade contractor or professional handyman who needs a reliable paint sprayer that can be used on a variety of projects. While this machine is for sure a high performer, It’s not likely up for the rigors of full-time use as needed by professional painters and is more suited to light contracting projects. See best paint sprayers for professionals.

What It Can Paint –

This sprayer lets you spray directly from a 1 or 5-gallon paint container for fast and easy painting. The Graco x5 paint sprayer is ideal for spray painting exterior and interior walls, fences, garden sheds, garages, and outdoor woodwork projects and decks. Smaller furniture projects can also be tackled by using a suitable spray tip. These smaller projects, however, are more suited to smaller airless sprayer units such as the Wagner.

Best Used For Spraying –

Best used for spraying water-based Acrylic paints and stains. These materials are easily cleaned and are cheaper to use than solvent-based paints or stains. While this doesn’t mean you can’t use solvent-based products, there are good reasons as to why you would. Solvent-based paints and stains require specific cleaning fluids and lots of it. This not only costs more, in the long run, it also sets up the problem of disposing of a lot of nasty cleaning fluids.

Fortunately today water-based products are as good if not better than solvent paint and stains. It is not advisable to use solvent-based lacquers and materials that have textured particles with the Graco x5. There are some natural plant-based paints and timber stains on the market and they are very good products and thin enough to spray. These do require different cleaning fluids other than water so I would check with the manufacturer as to the type of cleaner and the safe disposal.

Impressive Features –

While his unit comes with a 25-foot spraying hose, the sprayer can support an impressive 75 feet of hose without putting the motor or pump to any stress. When painting with that length of hose you would complete any paint job in very little time. If you have a large job such as a complete house paint a long hose will save you from moving heavy paint pails and the spray unit, unless you have the unit on wheels.

What About Cleaning –

the pump, hose and spray tip on airless sprayers can be a time-consuming affair. With the magnum x5, the cleaning process is easy. The system incorporates a ‘power flush’ adaptor that simply hooks up to your garden hose flushing the entire pump and spray hose system in no time. The spray tip on the Graco X5 incorporates a reversible, switch tip that on the occasion it should become clogged with paint it can be reversed to allow the normal painting to continue.

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About Choosing Graco Paint Sprayer Tips

Graco Magnum x5 sprayers include a 515 TrueAirless spray tip. Graco Softspray tips are compatible with a variety of coatings including interior and exterior paints and stains. They give greater control, less overspray, and a softer spray pattern. The maximum tip size recommendation for the Graco Magnum x5 is .015 inch.

Which Tip Size Should I Use – Using the 515 tips as an example, the first digit ‘5’ donates half the fan width, so the 5 effectively becomes a 10-inch spray fan (5″x 2″ = 10″ ). The last two digits determine the tip opening size in a measurement of thousands of an inch. Therefore the ’15’ in 515 gives us a hole tip size of .015 of an inch.

Obviously, the larger the tip hole size, the faster the spray material leaves the spray gun. thicker paints such as acrylic will need a larger hole size and thinner stains would need a smaller hole size. A 313 tip will spray quicker than a 515 tip.

What’s In The Box.

Once you open the X5 sprayer box you will find the main pump component and stand. Also included are;

• An SG2 Spray gun
• True airless 515 spray tip
• Tip guard
• 25 feet Duraflex paint hose
• 8 oz of Pump Armor storage fluid
• Quick start manual.

What Buyers Are Saying About The Graco Magnum 262800 x5

There are several hundred reviews of the Graco X5 on Amazon and with top ratings of 5 stars. What we can take from the reviewers is interesting. Prominent is that many recommend reading the set-up guide properly and watching how-to videos on Utube. The main learning curve is around the settings and tip pressures. These are short videos and to the point.

Check The Latest Price On Amazon For The Graco Magnum X5

Expect to use more paint than you would as opposed to conventional painting with brush or roller. Paint can be thinned if needed but not to overdo it. It does take longer to set up as opposed to roller or brush painting however the actual painting time is way quicker.

Take note of the daytime temperatures and paint within the manufacturer’s recommendations, specifically if the weather is hot. Try not to waste time and have all the preparation done so all you have to do is just spray paint.

Definitely, don’t stop for a coffee break as your tip will dry out and clog. A good tip when taking a break, eg moving the sprayer, is to place the spray gun into a bucket of water as you do so. This will prevent any paint drying in the spray gun tip.

The sprayer is simple and easy to set up, set the flexible suction tube into your paint bucket, prime and use, but practice getting the paint flow and getting the fan properly adjusted before you paint. Practice on a sheet of cardboard or another large surface first. You will find plenty of user information in the quick start-up guide.

While the Graco X5 is considered an entry-level airless sprayer,  however, it does produce results of a much higher-end sprayer.

Wear a respirator or suitable mask, coveralls are good also especially disposable types.

What’s the Difference Between the Graco x5 and X7 Airless Paint Sprayers

While both machines are top quality there are differences that we should consider before buying. The Graco x7 is a bigger more powerful paint sprayer, being about 15 percent more powerful than the Graco X5. The Graco x7 will pump a maximum flow rate of .031 gallons per minute (GPM), as opposed to the Graco x5 pumping at .027GPM

The X5 is a more compact unit than the X7 whereas the latter sits on a two-wheeled cart, which is useful when spray painting say an entire house exterior where the painter is to be moved often.

While the Graco magnum X5 paint sprayer is considered an entry-level airless sprayer,  however, it does produce results of a much higher-end sprayer. The X7 paint sprayer is basically a larger machine that will do more than the Graco Magnum X5 sprayer. Both have similar features and will do a great paint job regardless.

Prime The hose and spray gun

• With the pump primed, we can now prime the hose and gun.
• Set the spray gun against a metal waste bucket. Unlock the trigger and pull the trigger.
• Next, place the gun over the paint pail and switch on the unit.
• Let it run for 20 seconds, release the trigger and allow pressure to build up.
• Lock the trigger and attach the spray tip and guard.
• Turn up the pressure knob to about mid position

Testing the Graco Magnum x5 spray pattern

Hold the gun about 12 inches from your test panel, unlock the gun and test the pattern. If the paint pattern has heavy edges more pressure is required, increase the pressure slowly until the edges are soft and will blend when the paint overlaps each coat without trails.

Our Verdict

This is an ideal paint sprayer for DIY, handyman business, and general renovations. The build quality is good for this type of use. For contractors,, however, this machine may not be ideal as it is not in the professional class. May be ok for occasional pro use but forget it if you are a full-time painting professional.

The Graco x5 sprayer can get a lot of paint out quickly using the 515 spray tip. This is ideal for painting fences, garages,, and interior / exterior walls. At this price point, the home handyman can be assured that it is value for money and will suffice in most DIY situations.