# Graco UltraMax II 490



## Spiffy1

In another thread I noted I'd post a review on my new spray gun, so here it is:

First: We have a Wagner PaintCrew770 that my wife found on sale at Menards last year - seeing the Wagner name first, then reading "Made in China" I almost sent it right back. But wanted to get started, so I figured we'd try it. Actually, it did alright for it's cheap construction; a bit inconsistant as the pump is still undersized for the gun, but I'm backbrushing anyway. I put over 15 gallons through it, half of that this year (I winterized it with hydraulic oil & a bit of mineral spirits, after thoroughly cleaning it - I believe these are notorious for not making a second year [the packing is near imposible to get to, actually none of the moving parts are "inviting"] so it got as much care as one of these has ever had); however, it started knocking out valve o-rings on the inlet assembly progressively faster.....so...

Off to town to get an inlet assembly. Nobody had them! Actually, the couple people I spoke with essentially told me people just get a new unit instead - one noted I could get parts online. 

By the time I got to HomeDepot, was : I don't want something I can't get parts for! HomeDepot (who stocks Graco Magnum [similar designs with cheaper materials I believe than Graco Contractor]) was kind enough note that Sherwin Williams might have the rest of the Graco Line (Dakota Spray, the only Graco dealer I could think of, pulled out of Sioux Falls; the SF guy was a moron - he tried to sell me a floormodel 490 last year, but all the moving parts had rust-rings from sitting in pure water ).

Ok, I go to town to spend $10.00 to save a $100 sprayer (on sale at Menards again), but now I don't care if I have to spend 5 or 10 times that to have a real tool! Alas, a couple block before SW, I see Diamond Vogel scrolling Fall Sale on sprayers. They had the Graco line and a cabinet full of all the wearing parts! While the seleciton was getting narrow, the sale was around 25% off [actually about 40% off list] on Graco units. 

The salesman did try to steer me slightly toward a SprayTech 2155, but
1. Wagner can bite me. Upon me saying this (in more polite terms), he noted he was familar with the 770 but didn't stock them; noting they're considered "paper plates." Yep, I agreed!
2. the 2155 being "entry level" I wasn't sure whether it's parts were closer to SprayTech's BigBoxStore units or professional units
3. The salesman recomended using a Graco gun with it instead of the stock gun. 
4. Not sure how available parts are
5. Think it may be an inport, but didn't bother to check.

Anyway, no highboys left in anything under multi-gun units, but they had 390 and 490 stand units! If spending that much I wanted to roll it around with 5gallon buckets [and I still suspect they siphon a bit easier with the short straight tube, not to mention cleaning the siphon tube is a no-brainer then], but realized the stand does have merit in flexibility - and is cheaper. Soooo, a little more head scratching: the 490 has the same pump & gun as the 395, the 495, and 595: parts no problem! This also has the brushless motor and SmartControl2 [less deadband; supposed be 0 at lower pressures: nice if I ever use it for a fine finish].

1. Better gun
2. Common parts
3. Foolproof motor
4. More Volume
5. More Power! ArrrArrrArrrrr 
$200 more  but upon the above, still a no brainer. 

Still not quite 10 gallons through it, but I LIKE IT!!! 

The pump was full of shipping fluid [reminded me of hydrualic oil  ] not rust! For that long siphon hose, it sure primed up easy; I split the prime return hose away from the siphon and never even got paint on or through the prime return (one less thing to clean).

After the 4finger gun with a pretty easy pull on the Wagner, I was at first a bit unsure about the stiff 2finger Graco. But it is so responsive, and fits so nice, that thought passed quick. The tip seems to shoot a bit more defined pattern, but most of all, between the available volume and the servo style controller, it was amazingly consistant! I actually put out more paint vs time, and consumed less per square foot to achieve the same or better coverage.

Further, the gun comes with a built-in swivel [probably a $25 dollar option I never bought for the Wagner]: Talk about a time and wrist saver. The twist tip (turn to clean) and nozzle angle were also "finger touch" opposed the Wagner gun. The 50 foot hose sure beat the 30foot hose, but the Wagner was so portable I didn't really realize it until I had the 50. The PaintCrew being gravity fed could operated on less than a quart; this needs over a half gallon just to fill the line & suction hose and keep the suction screen submerged - yet I still think it cleans up easier. 

I will note as much as I hated cleaning the hopper on the PaintCrew, the lid was nice to reduce solvent evaporation and keep leaves and grass out; next time I'll have to find something to cover the bucket, but with 3 screens it didn't cause any issues.

On the downside; remember I'm backbrushing.....my right shoulder is cursing me and that fast/reliable thing up and down.


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## Spiffy1

A couple pictures:


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## XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Nice stuff Spiffy!  So how much did you end up spending?


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## Spiffy1

PBinWA said:


> Nice stuff Spiffy! So how much did you end up spending?


 
$899 and another $20 for a .015 tip [.017 comes with it and I'll probably use it eventually, but I thought that a little large for oil-based primer]. A few online stores run them a little over $1000; I think MSRP is around $1500.

edit: I know that makes my earlier comparison apples and oranges, but IMHO this is more than 10X the unit.


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## Spiffy1

While I'm not positive about this particular gun, Graco makes most of their guns [not pumps] right in Sioux Falls - I've actually toured the plant a couple times.


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## Spiffy1

Spraymall

With the two free tips [I got the rest of the "bonus items" free too] and free shipping (I ussually figure tax about a wash with shipping when comparing online to store for larger items - not an exact science, but probably right in this case), this would be equivalant - actually in that it gets you into the next bracket of GracoBucks (Graco sends you spare tips or other accesorries of your choice: 1 GracoBuck maybe equal to about $.50 things you'd buy online) maybe even a bit better overall value. But that wouldn't get me me spraying yesterday!

If no preference between the SmartControl1.0 and SmartControl2.0 or the brushless motor; Portland Compressor has some of the Ultra 495s a bit cheaper yet: but I don't see any reason to do that unless adding to a fleet of identical units.


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## Spiffy1

Trying to decide what to do with my GracoBucks, I realized I was wrong earlier, the items seem to take numbers somewhere around MSRP$ - however, the selection seems more limited than when I looked at it a year ago.

Also, should note that I did use a couple tricks I didn't see in the manual during clean-up [the 490 doesn't come with a cleaning cycle adaptor, but that probably doen't make too much difference for a thorough cleaning] : 

1. [at least with oilbased paint - I doubt latex is better; though you can waste 100gallons of water cheaper than 1gallon of mineral spirits] after sucking up enough thinner to reach the pump don't even bother further clean-up until the siphon tube is clean enough to use for pouring champaign at [insert fancy wingding of your choice here]; this does make a good case for the highboy, but it is kind of nice to turn the tube up-side-down [screen removed] to fill with thinner and not cloud the whole container.

2. If they make a tool for this I didn't see it, but a few feet of fuel-line pushing a sponge (I used a piece of old sock [endless suppy of rags for me!] balled up to the right diameter and soaked in thinner worked great for cleaning the tube; however, you better have an air-compressor handy to blow it out as it doesn't make it past the fittings too well. Also, I took the inlet valve assembly [remove guide, ball, and seat first! - the seal will likely stay put] off the swivel for easier access with my "rubber ramrod".

3. The new "white" thinner at Walmart, is easier on your hands, else pretty much worthless for cleanup IMHO

4. Don't forget there is a screen after in the manifold and one in the gun [this may have been in the book]

5. The Parts Drawings are great, but they have no real pictures, so you may want to take it apart before you use it so you know just what everything is supposed to look like.


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