Portable and Airless Spraying

Airless sprayers provide an easy and economical way to apply paint regardless of the amount of solids present. Professional paint users prefer airless sprayers for various reasons. Airless spraying is up to four times faster than brush or roller application, allowing more work to be completed in less time and reducing labour costs. Airless sprayers produce an even coat on all types of surfaces and leave a high-quality finish. Additionally, airless sprayers are versatile and can be used for various paint materials, including interior and exterior work, and are easily transportable from one job site to another.

Market Research

Graco entered the market to understand what paint users actually wanted from an airless sprayer when designing its new ULTRA® portable airless sprayers. In a survey involving more than one thousand paint users, reliability proved to be a very important priority, as expected. Sprayers needed to start and run every time, should not contain components prone to failure or jamming, and had to have a long operating life. Applicators also sought enhanced performance and control capabilities with the ability to spray in any direction and reduce material flow. A single unit capable of spraying all architectural paint was preferred. Extended spraying time was also an important requirement. In practice, this means longer spraying time on a single charge, which requires a powerful and reliable battery. Weight is naturally important in any portable device, so demand was for a lightweight sprayer. Finally, an airless sprayer should be able to use common accessories such as airless nozzles and airless extensions. We took all feedback from our applicator customers seriously and completely redesigned our existing GX airless paint sprayers with three new advanced portable airless sprayers marketed under the ULTRA name. The ULTRA Corded features a three-meter power cord and two wireless units, the ULTRA Cordless and ULTRA Max, can spray up to 3.5 litres per charge thanks to powerful DEWALT® 18 V lithium-ion battery systems. All three models operate at 34 to 138 bar and accept nozzles between 0.008 and 0.016. The ULTRA Corded and ULTRA Cordless models are for water-based materials, while the ULTRA MAX can spray both water-based and solvent-resistant materials.

Quick Start and Cleaning

ULTRA sprayers include the patented FlexLiner™ Bag System. This provides quick start, spraying and cleaning options to allow you to quickly start and finish a job. Simply fill the 1-litre FlexLiner™ bag with material, squeeze out the remaining air and start spraying. To clean, fill the FlexLiner™ bag with cleaning fluid, shake the sprayer and spray into a bucket. There is no need for a suction tube to clean the sprayer. Additionally, a removable material filter prevents nozzle clogging. Standard supplied with a black 60 mesh filter for wall paint and a blue 100 mesh filter for fine finishing paints.

Quick Finish for Small Jobs

With ULTRA sprayers, there is no need to thin and the same technique and speed as conventional airless sprayers can be used. Finish speed is also related to the weight of the sprayer; a heavy portable sprayer cannot be moved fast enough. The ULTRA Cordless and MAX models weigh only 2.38 kg; the ULTRA Corded is even lighter at 2.08 kg.

Always Perfect Finish

With SmartControl™, precise pressure allows single-coat painting without thinning at any hand speed. Additionally, ProControl™ II adjusts motor speed to provide total pressure control with thick or thin materials and delivers as good a finish as obtained from Graco's larger airless sprayers. All three ULTRA models can spray all architectural interior paints and finishes and spray in any direction, even from bottom to top.

Reliable Performance

At the heart of ULTRA paint sprayers is the Triax™ three-piston pump, which provides the most reliable performance and complete nozzle support. Made of durable stainless steel and carbide components and bonded with a high-strength polymer for the strongest, lightest pump. Moreover, with ProConnect™, innovative Drop-In On-the-Job Triax Pump Replacement allows you to easily replace your modular pump on the job. Simply unscrew the cover with a screwdriver, remove the old pump from the sprayer and install the new pump into the sprayer.

Single Nozzle for All Models

When you select the right nozzle for your paint sprayer, your performance increases, your work quality improves and your costs are kept under control. This is necessary to reduce overlapping and provide better control and finish. As a result, you use less paint and spend less time on the job. Graco's new RAC X™ FF LP (Finish Low Pressure) nozzles benefit from a revolutionary new design that reduces spraying pressure and overlapping and provides superior finish. Spraying at up to 50% lower pressure provides more even coverage and results in an improved finish. Additionally, applicators have more control over thickness and can prevent paint roller marks. Nozzles work well with low VOC materials that are difficult to atomize. Nozzles reduce overlapping and provide a softer, better-managed spray fan, preventing excessive paint usage. Softer edges also provide superior coverage and prevent a 'tiger stripe' appearance. The soft spray fan makes it easy to apply any material to any surface. Nozzles work with the airless sprayer, allowing all materials to be sprayed and are much more effective than conventional nozzles in cold temperatures. Nozzles feature a patent-pending carbide design and SmartTip™ technology. SmartTip is Graco's proprietary internal nozzle geometry that reduces the energy required for atomizing paints, stains and other materials, achieving superior finish with less pressure. Additionally, SmartTip Technology is designed to work with Graco's proprietary SmartControl™ Pressure Management System. Advanced nozzle learning technology automatically adjusts motor speed to match nozzle size. The result is a consistently smooth spray fan at low pressures.

Graco's new RAC X™ FF LP (Low Pressure) nozzles benefit from a revolutionary new design that reduces spraying pressure and overlapping and provides superior finish.

An airless paint sprayer forces paint through a small nozzle opening under high pressure (up to 350 bar). The nozzle tells the pump how hard it needs to work to maintain the required pressure. The nozzle provides atomization of the paint at a specific fan width and flow rate, creating an effect similar to putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose. The right nozzle reduces overlapping and thus provides better control and finish. As a result, you use less paint and spend less time on the job. When you select the right nozzle, your performance increases, your work quality improves and your costs are kept under control. Although nozzles are important, applicators still purchase nozzles based on price. This means many of the nozzles used are of lower quality. With our new RAC X™ FF LP (Low Pressure) Nozzles, we now offer nozzles that provide many important benefits to applicators. They can now be used on all equipment, from the smallest portable sprayers to the largest airless sprayers. Another benefit of operating at lower pressure is the ability to use longer hose lengths and smaller diameter hoses. This can increase accessibility to hard-to-reach areas and improve workplace efficiency. A more effective pressure range also allows the use of whip hoses, providing significant ergonomic benefits through reduced weight in the gun and increased wrist flexibility. The main limiting factor in whip hose use – pressure loss – is eliminated. Spraying at lower pressure means the pressure in the sprayer will also be lower and consequently less strain is created. The pump and spraying nozzle wear out in less time, allowing for longer use.

Best of Existing Features

The new nozzles still contain the best features of existing Graco RAC X nozzles. The lock pin is still present to ensure the nozzle sits tightly on the butterfly. It seats the nozzle in spraying position or reverse position. The easy rotation design allows the butterfly orientation to be changed very easily from vertical to horizontal without loosening the nut. The nozzle size number is raised to make it easy to read and identify, even when coated with paint. Additionally, the superior OneSeal™ design provides easy nozzle installation and rotation and includes a solvent-resistant additional seal. Furthermore, SmartTip Technology is designed to work with Graco's proprietary SmartControl™ Pressure Management System. Advanced nozzle learning technology automatically adjusts motor speed to match nozzle size. The result is a consistently smooth spray fan at low pressures, which provides perfect fit for the new FF LP (Low Pressure) nozzles.

Immediately Available

RAC X™ FF LP (Low Pressure) nozzles in every size are immediately available for purchase. The same nozzles and extensions can be used on all sprayers for all portable applications. There is no longer a nozzle specifically designed for portable sprayers only. The series includes six new sizes for large surface and high-volume production applications.

Best of Existing Features

The new nozzles still contain the best features of existing Graco RAC X nozzles. The lock pin is still present to ensure the nozzle sits tightly on the butterfly. It seats the nozzle in spraying position or reverse position. The easy rotation design allows the butterfly orientation to be changed very easily from vertical to horizontal without loosening the nut. The nozzle size number is raised to make it easy to read and identify, even when coated with paint. Additionally, the superior OneSeal™ design provides easy nozzle installation and rotation and includes a solvent-resistant additional seal. Furthermore, SmartTip Technology is designed to work with Graco's proprietary SmartControl™ Pressure Management System. Advanced nozzle learning technology automatically adjusts motor speed to match nozzle size. The result is a consistently smooth spray fan at low pressures, which provides perfect fit for the new FF LP (Low Pressure) nozzles.

Immediately Available

RAC X™ FF LP (Low Pressure) nozzles in every size are immediately available for purchase. The same nozzles and extensions can be used on all sprayers for all portable applications. There is no longer a nozzle specifically designed for portable sprayers only. The series includes six new sizes for large surface and high-volume production applications. Raf Willen / Product Marketing Manager / REFGraco BVBA