Product review: Graco Magnum DX Airless Sprayer

I don’t do a lot of product reviews.  OK, I really don’t do any product reviews outside of the occasional consumer electronics gadget.  However, I feel compelled to through something up on my Graco Magnum DX Airless Sprayer.  I know this is not something that most people will ever need, but in case you do need to paint a whole bunch of something, this is truly a great piece of equipment.  I bought mine about 4 years ago from Home Depot.  I had about 3,000 linear feet of 4 board Kentucky horse fence to paint and didn’t much feel like paying the two grand the fence painting company wanted to charge me.  So I bought a couple hundred gallons of paint and the sprayer, thinking that even if it died after I used it, I would still be saving myself a grand.
I painted the entire fence in a weekend so it definitely was faster than if I had used a brush.  It was messy (mostly user error) but it survived hauling it all over a field in a trailer behind an ATV with a running generator an open can of paint and a few sealed up spares for 3 days.  I cleaned it up with some mineral spirits and used the prescribed pump armor and let it sit in the corner of my workshop for a couple years.
2 years later and my barn siding and roof needed to be painted.  I thought ‘maybe the sprayer will still work’.  Got it out, dusted it off and sure enough it sprayed aluminum roof paint and white latex as good as is did the black lacquer I used on the fence.  Again, another hot weekend of painting and it worked like a champ with only a few cleanings to clean up some of the dried paint in the inlet screen.  Same deal as the year before – cleaned it up with mineral spirits and pump armor and through it in the corner of my workshop.
The next summer I put in some more fence (another 2,000 feet) and had to paint it.  Worked without a hiccup for 6 days of painting (I took my time this time and let it sit overnight a few times full of paint, but covered up and after clearing it the next time I used it – sprayed all day long).
This summer I decided to repaint all of the fence.  It has been a stop and go affair, 5 hours some weekend days, a few hours in the evening after work (did I mention I hate the days getting noticeably shorter in September?) and again the Magnum DX has worked everytime I pull the trigger.
On one hand I know I should expect things that are this expensive to work.  But I’ve seen what I’ve done to it and how nasty the paint is that covers it (and I am sure that is all over the inside of it) AND I have my expectations so low from all the other ‘tools’ that I buy that seem to be designed for single use.  While spraying paint for hours is not a job that I look forward to, at least I can count on the main tool to keep working while I get it done.
(Disclosure – this is a completely non-paid product review.  I have no affiliation with Graco).


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2 responses to “Product review: Graco Magnum DX Airless Sprayer”

  1. Don Gerig Avatar
    Don Gerig

    I just bought a used one at a swap meet for $25.  Included extension for the gun.  Your repor is very encouraging.  Looking forward for the rains to stop here in Oregon and get the house painted

  2. Tim Demyan Avatar
    Tim Demyan

    I purchased a Graci Magnum model dx several years ago, new, and it is still in the basement… never used it… probably the only new unused one in existence.. haha! I always thought that I might use it, however never did. I almost threw it away several times, but couldn’t come around to let it go. I have also thought about selling it several times , but never got around to doing so!

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