Graco26D283 TrueCoat 360 Variable Speed Paint Sprayer

I'm a DIYer who needed to paint a rental property, including kitchen and bath cabinets, doors, door frames, walls, and ceilings. It was a lot of painting for a guy who does not like to paint, particularly doors and cabinets. My wife, knowing my love of power tools, told me I should consider buying a paint sprayer. I did a fair bit of research on paint sprayers and chatted with employees at my local Sherwin-Williams paint store. I ended up purchasing Graco’s True Coat 360 variable speed airless paint sprayer on Amazon. I’ve been using the sprayer for about 1 month and I absolute love it!Things I Really Like:1. The Graco educational/instructional videos. They made the setup and use easy and gave me some confidence that I could use it in a variety of applications.2. Graco's attention to detail. Which includes the design and function of the sprayer and what is included in the order (lubricant, funnel-strainer system, spray tips, laminated instructions, paint bucket lip, carry bag).3. The variable speed, which I'm glad I purchased. I used a different speed for room and closet doors, door frames, cabinet doors and frames, walls, and ceiling.4. Works great on ceilings. At the time of purchase, I questioned whether the sprayer would work with the tip pointed up. Worked great and so much easier than rolling a popcorn ceiling!5. Not much overspray. I learned to minimize over spray when spraying near the ceiling and floor. Need to cut in with brush – more than you would need to do with a roller. Also found that its best to keep the sprayer perpendicular to the wall when spraying near the ceiling and floor.6. Coverage with one coat, in most cases. I needed to spray a second coat for door frames (without doors attached). Trying to paint them in one coat resulted in paint runs. Occasionally, I needed to spot spray walls and ceilings. This was because I moved the sprayer to quickly, or I was not holding the sprayer perpendicular. I was able to spray doors (~10), when detached from the frame, with one coat (turned out great-so much better than rolling). This includes louvered closet doors. I did paint a couple of doors attached to the frame using two coats. This was necessary because I struggled with developing the skill to paint door frames in one coat and because the faces of the door needed to be painted a different color.7. The inclusion of both a narrow and a wide spray tip. The wide tip worked best for me on doors, walls, and ceilings. I used the narrow tip for door and cabinet frames.8. Light weight. The sprayer itself is very light weight and when filled with paint was easy for me to manage with one hand. My daughter felt more comfortable operating the sprayer using 2 hands.9. Reusable flex liners. I used 2 liners for the entire project. I discarded one after completing the project because of paint on the outside of the liner – even though the liner remained pliable.Additional Comments1. The storage procedures needs to be clearly described and included on the laminated instructions. Should armor solution be used between daily, weekly, or long term use? I found that a residual amount of the armor solution remains in the sprayer in the cup portion beyond the screen filter, which then mixes with the paint when priming the sprayer. Some of it can be sprayed out as waste but some of the armor pools on the paint in the container. I’m not sure if this is expected or I’m not following proper procedures. Part on my confusion stems from the fact that the procedures described in the following videos are different:TrueCoat 360 Quick Start Series - Cleanup & StorageTrueCoat 360 - How To Store Your Sprayer2. There is a fair bit of paint that remains in the sprayer container after the sprayer stops spraying paint. The volume remaining is too small to pour back into paint bucket. This is not a criticism of the design, as paint waste is inherent in any painting project. I learned that I could use the residual paint to do touch ups and cut ins. Ordering a second container (Graco 17R821) is helpful in this regard as it comes with a knob that seals the container with paint. I would use the knob on the container with residual paint and use it the paint the next day for cut-in work.

This is my first time using a paint sprayer and I have to say, so far so great! The setup is very well explained and using the Graco airless sprayer couldn't have been easier. We painted an entire 1 car garage and laundry room in less than 5 hours, start to finish, including clean up. And the ease of painting ceilings is worth the entire purchase. No more rolling overhead which kills my shoulders and arms.We used paint right out of the can, no thinning. I will say that you really have to mix the paint well. Even though the strainer that is included, catches all of the "chunks" that are not mixed well in paint that has been sitting, still a thick paint will cause the filter to clog and the sprayer will stop working, as it should.The only issue I have is the container is rather small so you will need to refill often. But that is a small price to pay to the time it saves in painting. And the finish is great. No brush or roller marks.Cleanup takes a little time. Just like cleaning up using other methods. You definitely need a small brush, like an old toothbrush, to get in all of the small areas.All in all, this is going to be a great addition to my tool shed. I can't attest to the durability since we have only used it once. But following instructions for cleanup and storage, I expect this to last quite a while.

I bought this product to paint new home, after about 5 gallons pump quit working. I took it to service center it was there for about 2 weeks and they replaced it ( Thats Good) . I took home new spray and spred about 5 minutes new pump broke ! I called Graco support , they stated paint was to thick and I voided warranty .I did NOT check pressure it took to spray the Home Depot latex paint but it was 1800 psi to 2400 psi .This Home depot paint was not even a high quality paint ( thick & alot of solids) .Needless to say Graco did nothing to help ( local service center did a great job) But Graco Co left me hanging. I asked just for the pump and I would replace it myself and they said NO ! cost of new pump $150. I thought about repairing it on my own but feel that throwing good money after bad !