If you’re a homeowner, or a professional who occasionally needs to paint large areas, these airless sprayers were made for you. By airless they mean there is no need for an air compressor—these models just need a power outlet to operate. Let’s look at both models and see which one is the best for you.
Graco Magnum 262800 X5 Stand Airless Paint Sprayer
Graco says its sprayers are four times faster than rolling paint and ten times faster than using a brush. Once you get the hang of adjusting the pressure and laying down even strokes, it’s actually fun to paint with one. But you’re not buying a sprayer just to have fun, so let’s see what makes the Magnum X5 worth having.
The X5 is designed for people who plan to use it for less than 125 gallons a year, so it’s not exactly a pro painter’s tool. It would be ideal if you have a fence or a deck that need a fresh coat every year or so, or if you have a remodeling project. It sprays stains, oil, latex, and acrylic, but can’t handle textures, asphalts, or solvent-based lacquers. The gun can run off a 75-foot long hose, but the included hose is just 25-feet long. Under the maximum pressure of 3000psi,it pumps out almost a 1/3 of a gallon per minute. It weighs just 13.3 pounds and has a carrying handle on top. It’s ten pounds lighter and a lot more compact than the X7 described below.
The X5 is made to rest on the ground beside the buckets or pails of coating. It has one flexible intake hose and one flexible priming/pressure releasehose, so you’ll want to have an additional empty bucket on hand for that. Clearing clogs isn’t very complicated, although finding where the actual clog is may take a couple of minutes. The tip can be reversed to clear it, and then there are filters in the intake hose and the bottom of the gun. Everything unscrews open without any special tools. When you’re all done painting you can connect a garden hose to flush the sprayer clean.If you plan to store the X5 for a few months, use the included bottle of Pump Armor to keep it from rusting and corroding.
Graco provides a useful instruction manual and videos to help teach someone new to the X5 how to set it up and use it properly. Their technical support is quick and friendly.
More features of the Graco Magnum X5
- 1/2HP universal motor requires 15A of current
- Measures 14.5 by 12.4 by 17.9 inches
- The 6-foot power cord plug lights up when connected to an outlet or extension cord
- Comes with the SG2 metal spray gun, one 515 RAC IV 0.015 spray tip, ¼”-diameter 25-foot hose, and bottle of Pump Armor
- Can mount a roller accessory on the hose instead of the gun (not included)
- Graco offers a 1-year limited warranty
Graco Magnum 262805 X7 HiBoy Cart Airless Paint Sprayer
The X7 is 15% more powerful than the X5, although it is not a professional sprayer. The universal motor is 5/8HP andit pumps 0.31 gallons a minute at 3000psi. That’s more than the X5 can do. The piston pump is stainless steel, which means the X5 will last longer under more frequent use than the X7. The fact that it’s more powerful also means the X5 can use a longer hose, up to 100 feet, and a larger tip, up to 0.017. The larger tip is good if you need to spray thicker paints.
The sprayer motor is mounted on a two-wheeled cart designed to suspend it over a 5-gallon bucket. A convenient pail hook lets the user attach and transport a five-gallon bucket under the sprayer using the cart. This is a back-saver.
The X7 weighs ten pounds more than the X5. Like the X5, it comes with two flexible hoses, one for placing inside the bucket or pail of coating, and one for priming and pressure release.The sprayer is easy to prime and it’s ready to paint in just a few seconds.
When you’re all done painting you can connect a garden hose to flush the sprayer clean. If you plan to store it for a few months, use the included bottle of Pump Armor to keep it from rusting and corroding.
More features of the Graco X7
- Measures 19.3 by 15.3 by 37 inches when the cart handle is fully extended
- The 6-foot power cord plug lights up when connected to an outlet or extension cord
- Comes with the SG2 metal spray gun, one 515 RAC IV 0.015 spray tip, ¼”-diameter 25-foot hose, and bottle of Pump Armor
- Cart has hooks for cord and hose storage onboard
- Can mount a roller accessory on the hose instead of the gun (not included)
- Graco offers a 1-year limited warranty
Recommendation
If you only need a paint sprayer for a once-a-year project, and you don’t need to spray thick paints, consider getting the Magnum X5.
If you plan to use your sprayer more frequently, you may prefer the convenience of the X7’s cart and the fact that it comes with a larger tip size for thicker latexes and oil-based primers.
Click here to purchase Graco Magnum 262800 X5 on Amazon!
Click here to purchase Graco Magnum 262805 X7 on Amazon!
This would be helpful if the terms X5 and X7 didn’t appear to be transposed in places. I have no idea under the X7 review what the recommendation actually is.