# Graco Magnum X5 or X7?



## ShadowMan

I'm looking at buying an airless paint sprayer and would like some help from people who are much more knowledgeable than I am. I don't post very often but read this forum all the time.

We're working on turning an old church into 6 apartments. We'll obviously have a lot of painting to do but after it's done the sprayer will see very limited use. The rental place in town stopped renting paint sprayers because they always came back dirty and it's always fun to buy more tools.

I like the Graco Magnum X5 for the price but could step up to the X7 or even ProX7 if it was that much better. My budget is $400 or maybe $500.

How does the Graco X5 work with 5 gallon buckets? Does it sit on top of the bucket or do you set it on the floor with the pickup tube in the bucket? Are the hiboys better or worse to work with?


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## tjbnwi

Magnum X9 Pro.

Tom


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## CrpntrFrk

190 LTS reconditioned. You should be able to find it for around 500 bucks. My thinking is always get the most for the money and you will accomplish this going with that machine reconditioned.


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## Jmayspaint

I much prefer the high boy design. I had a little Graco magnum something that sat on top of a 5gal bucket. Really handy little machine and easy to clean. I ended up killing it with epoxy one day after many gallons. 

The high boys are easier to clean because gravity is totally on your side. There isn't that dip in the intake line that takes so much extra solvents to clean out.


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## Caslon

The Magnums as hi-boys are laughable. There're hi-boys to make them look seriously professional, they're not. Anyways, for your budget I'd at least get a sprayer that puts out .38 gallons per minute. The ones you're thinking of using put out only .24 gallons per minute. That's not very much paint output for doing walls and ceilings.

I'd go with this Graco Sprayer. Free shipping or pickup at Home Depot.


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## Driftweed

Refurbished graco 390 off ebay. Even if its bunk, you can rebuild it yourself for another $100.

Then after the job you have a higher resale value.


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## Caslon

Driftweed said:


> Refurbished graco 390 off ebay. Even if its bunk, you can rebuild it yourself for another $100.
> 
> Then after the job you have a higher resale value.


I wouldn't buy a used one and the cheapest refurbished ones are around $625. I doubt the OP wants to tackle repacking an airless.

I certainly wouldn't discourage him from buying a refurbished 390 tho.


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## Driftweed

Im just thinking resale value to recoup losses. A used one will always sell for that, but use an X5 or x7 and youll be lucky to get half your money back.


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## onmywayup

I just bought an x5 Two weeks ago. I've probably sprayed ten decks with it so far. Very happy with it. I have it on a rolling cart with the feed tube up and over the edge of a five gallon bucket with a contractor bag liner in it. 

We've sprayed a bunch of oil based and a couple full solid latex. Hey, for $300, if it gets me through a season, it will have paid for itself many many times over 

Beaten paths are for beaten men


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## SouthonBeach

I have an X5 that I use for small jobs when I don't feel like dragging my big one to the job. I bought it for the small size and lite weightless of it. 
I would consider an X5 or X7 a throw away sprayer. If it makes it through 10 jobs it'll have paid for it self and I'll get another one if needed.


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## ShadowMan

onmywayup, 
That's the kind of information I was looking for. 
If it makes it through this job we'll have saved tons of time and have a sprayer for other jobs in the future. If it doesn't, we're not out a lot of money for something that would only see occasional use.

Is the X5 stable sitting on top of a bucket or do guys build a cart for it?




onmywayup said:


> I just bought an x5 Two weeks ago. I've probably sprayed ten decks with it so far. Very happy with it. I have it on a rolling cart with the feed tube up and over the edge of a five gallon bucket with a contractor bag liner in it.
> 
> We've sprayed a bunch of oil based and a couple full solid latex. Hey, for $300, if it gets me through a season, it will have paid for itself many many times over
> 
> Beaten paths are for beaten men


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## sunkist

i have had a x7 for 12 years or more, i have used the crap out of it, it has paid for its self many times over, i would buy another one in a heart beat


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## onmywayup

ShadowMan said:


> onmywayup,
> 
> 
> Is the X5 stable sitting on top of a bucket or do guys build a cart for it?


It's sitting on right next to the bucket. The feed tube is just long enough to reach the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket sitting right next to it. 

Now, I haven't had this for months on end, but for our purposes, I gotta say that it has already lasted long enough to pay for itself a couple of times. 

If I were spraying all day, every day (or anything close to it), I would DEFINITELY have spent the extra 100 or 200 bucks to go the next level up. In the long run (hell, even in the short run), that kind of money means very little if I'm getting a product that's going to last that much longer. 

But for the work we do, it has so far proven itself to be a massive time save over our old method, and I would post a positive review even if the damn thing took a crap tomorrow. That's because we've gone from using two-three guys to stain a deck for 2/3 of a day, to me doing an entire deck myself in half a day while my other guys work a 2nd job. 

Now, the next time around, will I probably get the 7 or 8 hundred dollar sprayer? Absolutely. I know this thing is technically entry-level. But it has made a huge difference in my profit margins the past two weeks, and I think it fits what you need it for. 

'nuff said, given that I'm not a rep for Graco or anything. Just a regular mid-western country boy trying to keep up with his wife's home improvement expense habits.


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## onmywayup

ShadowMan said:


> onmywayup,
> 
> 
> Is the X5 stable sitting on top of a bucket or do guys build a cart for it?


It's sitting right next to the bucket, on the same level of a very very simple cart I made for it. The feed tube is just long enough to reach the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. Before the cart, we just left the sprayer and bucket right next to eachother. 

Now, I haven't had this for months on end, but for our purposes, I gotta say that it has already lasted long enough to pay for itself a couple of times. 

If I were spraying all day, every day, all season long (or anything close to it), I would DEFINITELY have spent the extra 100 or 200 bucks to go the next level up. In the long run (hell, even in the short run), that kind of money means very little if I'm getting a product that's going to last that much longer. 

But for the work we do, it has so far proven itself to be a massive time save over our old method, and I would post a positive review even if the damn thing took a crap tomorrow. That's because we've gone from using two-three guys to stain a deck for 2/3 of a day, to me doing an entire deck myself in half a day while my other guys work a 2nd job. 

Now, the next time around, will I probably get the 7 or 8 hundred dollar sprayer? Absolutely, now that I've seen the value of one that's even half that price. I know this thing is technically entry-level; But it has made a huge difference in my profit margins the past two weeks, and I think it fits what you need it for. 

The best investment I could recommend though is an extra 50' of hose, and the 20" or 30" extension for the spray gun. Since we spray a lot of deck floors, having that extension for the spray gun has been absolutely priceless. And having 75' of hose versus the stock 25' has meant I spend no time at all moving the unit/bucket around, and much more time spraying the deck. Well worth the investment. 

'nuff said, given that I'm not a rep for Graco or anything. Just a regular mid-western country boy trying to keep up with his wife's home improvement expense habits.


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## CarpenterSFO

Plan to use a short hose - 25 ft max - and maybe to thin your paint a little. I have the X7, and it's pretty low on power.


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## avenge

tjbnwi said:


> Magnum X9 Pro.
> 
> Tom


:thumbup: And definitely get a whip (short flexible hose extension on the gun end).


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## mstrat

I've got an x7...I was in the same boat in 2010 where I just needed a decent sprayer for one project and wouldn't use it much after that...until I used it for that project! It doesn't get used daily now, but 6-8 times a year. I don't think I need anything more than the x7, it'll probably work fine for you...Just take care of it and keep it cleaned out!


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## ToolNut

My first one was a pro9 after a few years hard use I moved to a bigger one but I still use the 9 for small jobs. I would recommend it to anyone starting out.


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## ShadowMan

Thought I better give an update on which sprayer we picked up.

I ended up buying the X5 and my dad finally used it yesterday to try and spray primer. It didn't go so good. He said the gun/tip kept plugging up, even after thinning it with water it didn't work.

He called Graco tech support and they said "oh it will never shoot that".
He ended up borrowing a gun off a Graco 395 from a friend and using the X5 pump. He was able to finish the three apartments but it will be getting returned soon.

So before I bash the X5 about being a terrible machine, did he do something wrong? Would a different tip have solved the problem, he was using the tip that came with the gun and it just wasn't working.


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## Driftweed

Shoulda spent the few extra bucks....

These low end machines dont have the power to suck up clumpy paint. Strain your paint thoroughly (which you should do any way). You have to be vigilant against clumpy, remotely thick paint.


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