Graco Magnum X5 Paint Sprayer 1 Year Review 

I bought this unit a couple of years ago, has saved me tons of time and really is a must to use for any ceilings that are not completely flat.

I use to be a painter doing commercial buildings. If anyone is wasting paint it is because they don’t know what they are doing. I can’t speak on behalf of this machine as the stuff I worked with costs thousands. But regardless remove the tip and start the priming with water for first use (as mentioned by others) pointing the gun into water. Then once paint starts coming out keep it pointing in the water for a little or put the gun into the paint bucket until water is removed. Then put your tip in and start spraying. When it comes to cleanup the same process but in reverse. Put the pump hose in water and remove the tip on the gun and spray the remaining paint into the paint bucket. Then when water starts coming out stop and put it in another 5 gallon bucket. Yes these are quite a few steps but surely just part of the process with owning a painting machine whether it cost a couple hundred or thousands.

Best explanation I've seen so far. I especially liked your explanation of how to save paint ( paint is very expensive after all) and the different sprayer tip sizes. Will be purchasing this unit soon.

Slow start to the video then picked up with great info and tips.. Thank you as I get into one of these Graco's

Thank you. This helped me make up my mind about what to get for my baseboard/trim project.

Definitely would have saved me a 1/4 gallon of paint or more last weekend had I watched this before spraying my house. Thanks for the advice and the great tips. I really enjoyed my x5 and don’t see the need for a bigger sprayer for just a diy sprayer to be used once or twice a year.

That little machine is the best. I used it to paint a huge fence and it didn’t give me a single problem. Some people just give you to much nonsense when they put up reviews. The little machine literally brings a manual with all the information you need. I used oil base stain and it work amazing. I recommend getting the extension for the tip which cost about 30 dollars and it will make the job a lot easier

I have this sprayer and painted my entire house with it, interior and exterior. My only feedback is that I recently purchased the Wagner 130, and I like it better. It's just easier to clean.

just finished spraying a 400sqft deck without any waste, you dont have to prime with water first, I primed straight from my 1-gal bucket without issue for 6 hours....after the job, I moved the nozzle to a clean bucket of mineral spirits and water....and cycled it through. This is a great sprayer..

Great review and channel. Thx for sharing, this video was very helpful. I have one recommendation. I would invest in a microphone. It will take you video quality over the top. Keep up the good work!

Great breakdown Ben thanks so much…

Thank you for your video. Very helpful. Have you tried the green FFLP tips with a blue guards? They are low pressure fine finish tips that are better for the cabinets, use less paints and need less pressure making them last longer. Your point on cleaning times and amount of paint lost by using this is very accurate. But that is the price to pay to put the hose directly into the paint bucket instead of using a small container on the sprayer. Thank you for the tips to save paint.

Great video thanks 😊

Just prime the pump with water, then run paint. No need to fill the hose with water. As long as the pump circuit(pickup tube, pump, discharge tube) is charged it will draw paint. The only time you need to push water down the hose is for cleanup.

You don't have to prime the system every time with water. They recommend that for the first start up to remove manufacturing debris and contaminants, but after that, you prime the system with your strained paint. If you are having to use water to start up every time, you aren't cleaning it good enough.

Thank you!

It won't hurt to spray some water into your paint It will spray better thined out a little bit. If you want your tip to last longer don't use it when cleaning, or starting until you need to use it

I have two of them and they have way outlasted what I thought they would have lasted for. A great tip when using these is to put the pickup tube in a 5 gallon paint strainer and tape it up high on the hose. This acts as a pre-filter before it goes into the pump. I do this because the only filter on this sprayers is in the spray gun.

Hello Ben, I need your help. I was trying to paint my Closet Shelves ( Using Water Based Primer and Paint) without diluting the Primer and Paint with Tip 515. It worked great without any issue. I was thinking to use Tip 311 for Paint , and when I started using it for Paint, and it starts getting clogged after every few seconds. I know you said you are using Tip 311 for cabinets , how are you preventing this issue and can you please share your thoughts on it , are you diluting the paint while using this Tip 311 ? regards Gurpreet

Can i use this sprayer to stain my cemented patio?Its new cement from last year .Want to stain and seal Cement patio...

Get your self a whip when spraying small projects. Whip meaning a small in length hose like a 4’ hose. This will Eliminate the amount of water you need in the house. In fact you could dump all water then prime whip with paint. A smaller hose like this won’t take much paint to fill the hose up.

What is the best pressure with a 311 tips high or low pressure

If you had to guess, how much more stain would this use then using a roller? If I had a project that typically took 10 gallons to roll, how many do gallons would you ballpark guess this would use to spray with this? Thanks!

What about for a 2 story home. Do you think this x5 is up for the challenge? Great video and info.

Can I use it for lacquer paints

I'm going to be painting my kids play structure, is this the right sprayer for the job?

Great video I am thinking about getting one to spray my fence what tip should I get and do you recommend this unit?

Anyone had any experience with oil based paint with one of these units? I have just ordered one, but will use it mostly with water based paint

Just got it!! Was working great for 3 min. Did great on 1 wall. Then it stop shooting and engine stayed on. Re did set up. And within 10 seconds same crap. Stops spraying and engine stays on.

Stupid question, why don’t I just prime the pump with paint, having the waist tube back into the paint can? I’d use water to clean at the end but would not lose much paint as the paint used to prime the pump would go straight back to the paint can? Am I missing something?

Are you saying the manufacturer says you must prime with water?

Easy Fix for setup to spray. Just have a short dedicated hose for the initial phase and switch to your longer one when priming/purging of water is done

So, what your saying is this is a good overall paint sprayer, if you know how to use it correctly.

Thank u for this, I’m trying to decide between this and the Wagner, holds 1.5 gallons of paint. Thoughts on that sir ? And thank u again

Do they make a cap that can remove the hose until the priming is complete thusly saving the hose from being filled with water?

m dying to see it use on 1/4 insted of 1 gallon paint container. I have small project and only use about 1/4 of a gallon. I dont want an HVLP,. also dont want that expensive Graco quickshot. tell me , can I? What if i cut the suction and primer tube down to where i can just put the quarter can under the muchine and dip the tube straight in? What if i get a shorter blue hose?

What is the maximum viscosity (DIN) that it can spray ? I'm looking for something can can spray unthinned really thick stuff like Zinsser waterproofing paint.

the best way is to use empty can for waste and use it to thiner the paint ( you need to add water to the paint anyway ) this way no waist of paint even after finish do the same and add the waist to the left over paint

Hello, how’s that bed liner holding up? I need to buy some but don’t know if this is the way to go. Let me know. Thanks!

Hi guys, would this machine be good for exterior wall paints? I heard that for exterior paints these units might not be strong enough as these mostly require a bigger tip size than the 0.015. I need to pain 120m2 inside and outside. thanks

Would you use the black widow sprayers from harbor freight?

So, how do you get all the WATER out of the line after Cleanup.??

Is this spayer good for spraying water based sealer and lacquer

So what sprayer is best for those smaller projects and or cabinets?

If you take a lunch break etc. how do you keep the sprayer from drying up? Will this spray Ben Moore Advance trim paint with the 311 Tip (which I think is a thicker interior latex paint) ? thx for the video and tips!

How does one go switching from oil to latex?

My nephew left paint in my lines for about 3 months. Do you think my lines are ruined? How you I clean clogged lines.

When you say not good for cabinets, you mean few or like a all kitchen cabinets project ? I painting my kitchen cabinets have 28 cabinets, then will repaint all my house with deferent color and paint, will that be useful for both?

Wondering, is it completely necessary to “flush” the sprayer with water before usage? (If you clean it out well after every use) seems like this also wastes a bit of paint.

So I got one of these for free but the person that previously used it didn’t clean it out after they used it and so I’m wondering if it’s still salvageable?

Can I run exterior paint thru a 311 tip?

Is this x 5 big enough to spray the exterior of home has t111 wood siding looking to spray with solid stain

Any difference if car paint is used through this?

Would be cool if they could figure out how to pull the paint back out of the hose when you are done spraying.

For oil based projects you should use mineral spirits.

What paint did you use for the cabinet doors?

Cycling material through any airless is the same procedure, its no reflection on the X5.

How do you avoid spreading on the ceiling as your painting the walls

What’s the unclog position?

Point the spray gun back into the paint bucket. A hose full of water in 5 gallons of paint wont dilute it much//be fine. Thats how i do it.

You forget talk about the filter in the gun!!???

How much India

Does this pump have a filter?

If that makes sense?

Every airless sprayer requires you to pull water in after painting with water-based paint.

You never run your sprayer with the suction tube not in paint or water. Watch the manual Graco provides when buying any airless spray rig. You'll tear your sprayer up. And you dont waste any paint if you just follow the instructions. Theres videos theres an instruction manual. It's not that hard to watch a video or read the instructions

You don’t need to run water through it every time. Silliest thing I’ve every heard. Been a professional painter for 30 years

You're doing it wrong. Pull both tubes out of the water and let them drain fully before sticking in the paint. You can prime with both hoses in the paint. Almost completely gets rid of the water problem.

Your complaints are not valid, you run the water out without wasting next to any paint. Great sprayer period.

after a year his workshop wall is still NOT painted!

...UMMM....UMMM

If I were a professional painter, I'd just buy a shorter hose to waste less paint and have a longer hose for projects requiring more mobility. Stupid idea?

TOTALLY AGREE. This thing is a piece of shit for any kind of smaller project. Cabinets in a standard home would probably only need a gallon of paint. This pile burns through so much paint that is wasted. Plus if you stop for even just a couple of minutes the thing starts to spit and sputter. Just shit! If you want mine I'll give it to you for 50 bucks!

Is Ummmmmm in the dictionary..? I mean English dictionary!! Fn irritating.

It sucks