Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

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Argyll
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Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

Post by Argyll »

I've been getting a lot of painting/emulsion jobs lately. I've watched how over in the US spraying has become a thing but not sure if it's caught on here in the UK.

Last week I saw the deco sprayer in Aldi for £60. I knew it wouldn't be up to the Graco UltraMax standard but thought it would do a turn. How wrong I was! I watered down the Delux paint 20% but it was terrible. It was spitting all over the place. The adjustment knob didn't seem to make much difference. I'm going to return it this week.

Now my head has been turned at the Graco UltraMax. It's over £600 though so I'm guessing it must be brilliant at that price...or is it?
dewaltdisney
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Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

Post by dewaltdisney »

I was never too successful with my HVLP sprayer. I found that diluting the paint to get the right viscosity for spraying made the paint very thin and multiple coats were needed. This was on wood finishes for cabinets I had made etc. I never used it for emulsion but quite frankly many emulsions are so thin these days that to thin it more for spraying would mean it would lack any opacity and be almost transparent I think. I am sure there are ways to do it properly but I would suggest that it only works in rooms that are empty of carpets and furniture, masked perfectly and all one colour. Over spray is a problem too.

I am not sure if the benefits outweigh the hassle.

DWD
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Argyll
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Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

Post by Argyll »

Which sprayer did you have DW?
dewaltdisney
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Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

Post by dewaltdisney »

I still have it in my garage, I think it was an Axminster own brand. I will check tomorrow and let you know :thumbright:

DWD
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Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

Post by Desmondo15 »

I have the Graco but the corded version, couldn't justify the jump in price just to have battery.

It takes a fair bit of getting used to. It's very fast too, uncomfortably fast. Not ideal on walls, too much refilling.

I sprayed kitchen cabinets with great success - 3 very quick passes and I was done and the finish was superb.

I wish I'd bought the HVLP or XVLP for way more control.

Washing it out is endless too where others feel easier.

It's like spraying a pressure washer full blast when a hose pipe would do.

Saying that if you were spraying doors daily it would be great.

There's also not much control on paint control, just a dial for pressure which doesn't give you much range - it's just rodeo fast.

Practise makes perfect though I just prefer a gentler flow.
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dewaltdisney
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Graco UltraMax- Is it worth it?

Post by dewaltdisney »

I got my spray kit down, it was supplied by Axminster and the invoice says it is an Apollo 400. I cannot find an example online so it must be obsolete. It was only £100 a few years back. I do not think it would do emulsion but it did do a fair job on some kitchen doors I made. The pain is is the clean up of the gun, dust created and spray that ends up on anything not covered properly as there is quite an air blast with it.

DWD
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