# Pro-Shot woes



## jhudson (Jun 16, 2011)

I purchased a Pro-Shot thru Sherwin-Williams 2 years ago and used it periodically. Recently it has been giving me fits. Will not prime, sometimes the trigger hangs up and runs like crap. Anyone else out there experiencing problems with their Pro-Shot?


----------



## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

jhudson said:


> I purchased a Pro-Shot thru Sherwin-Williams 2 years ago and used it periodically. Recently it has been giving me fits. Will not prime, sometimes the trigger hangs up and runs like crap. Anyone else out there experiencing problems with their Pro-Shot?


There are a lot of people in here having problems with these. Save yourself more headache and throw it in the garbage


----------



## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

wills fresh coat said:


> There are a lot of people in here having problems with these. Save yourself more headache and throw it in the garbage


Your anti-proshot crusade is getting old. There are people on here that have used it and have had good results. 

Telling someone to throw it away offers nothing of value.

I would bring it in to the place you purchased and see if they can offer any guidance. They probably have seen similar issues.


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

jhudson said:


> I purchased a Pro-Shot thru Sherwin-Williams 2 years ago and used it periodically. Recently it has been giving me fits. Will not prime, sometimes the trigger hangs up and runs like crap. Anyone else out there experiencing problems with their Pro-Shot?


Have you repacked it yet in those two years.

How many gallons do you think has gone through it?


----------



## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

TJ Paint said:


> Your anti-proshot crusade is getting old. There are people on here that have used it and have had good results.
> 
> Telling someone to throw it away offers nothing of value.


The guy wanted an opinion and I gave him one.....why don't you offer your opinion pal......why don't don't you go play boss to your employees and stop trying to be boss in here. Your famous for derailing threads and running up your post count with useless post


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Enough guys.


----------



## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

wills fresh coat said:


> throw it in the garbage


This was your useful opinion?



I hope you have a great day.


----------



## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

TJ Paint said:


> Your anti-proshot crusade is getting old. There are people on here that have used it and have had good results.
> 
> Telling someone to throw it away offers nothing of value.
> 
> I would bring it in to the place you purchased and see if they can offer any guidance. They probably have seen similar issues.


That's much better. :yes:


----------



## jhudson (Jun 16, 2011)

Workaholic said:


> Have you repacked it yet in those two years.
> 
> How many gallons do you think has gone through it?


 Not even 20 gls. I have used it sparingly for special needs and I am disapponted with lack of reliability.


----------



## jhudson (Jun 16, 2011)

I have taken it back to SW and the people behind the desk offered no real advice at all, just more aggravation.


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

jhudson said:


> Not even 20 gls. I have used it sparingly for special needs and I am disapponted with lack of reliability.


Have you read this thread? http://www.painttalk.com/f12/proshot-owners-check-17624/ Scott says some extra cleaning prolongs the life of the unit. 

I have a FF model and after sitting idle for the last couple months I am curious if it will work as before.


----------



## Delta Painting (Apr 27, 2010)

jhudson said:


> I have taken it back to SW and the people behind the desk offered no real advice at all, just more aggravation.



Godda love the people SW put's behind the counter nowadays...They are so helpful to a contractor...:whistling2:


----------



## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

As Work mentioned Scott (Vermontpainter) uses them alot and likes them. A good source for performance and maintenance information.


----------



## the paintman (Feb 3, 2012)

There may be a simple solution to your problem that we discovered a while back when we had issues with ours. Just like any airless thier is a ball and seat. Keep a mini scredriver/tool in the case. 

Before you ever start take the foot off and run the tool up the pickup hole and tap the little ball. It is most likely got a milk ring around it and sticking. We do that every time and it works. Whenever my guy forgets and loads the paint he kicks himself in the ass. Also if you want to be sure put water in it after you use the tool to see if it works before you load it.

I got other problems with mine now. Anyone got any good batteries left on ones they are throwing in the trash let me know. Seriously, both of mine are dead and they are very expensive to replace.

thanks


----------



## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

Delta Painting said:


> Godda love the people SW put's behind the counter nowadays...They are so helpful to a contractor...:whistling2:


You hit the nail on the head...I've said that for 30 yrs, that's why I never would use them until I was kinda forced into it when they bought out duron paints.
Here's a good example.. We got a sw store that's close to us, at 7am when they open and have six people wanting paint,they have one employee in there...the next employee comes in at 8. I asked the store manager why he did this, he said corporate is always on the managers about keeping hrs low. I would drive to another store after that.


----------



## Dunbar Painting (Mar 19, 2010)

I have put at most 3 gallons through mine. Unfortunately I used Aura Exterior flat on a warm day in the first few weeks that I bought it, and it never really recovered from that. (was spraying a small highlight peak of stucco maybe 25sqft)

I have cleaned it many times, taken it apart, etc etc... it sprays but it spits like crazy and loses prime every couple seconds.

I only use it for spraying test patches on stucco when customers want to try different colours.


----------



## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Lube up the inlet valve. I posted a photo somewhere around here about how to do that. 

Also, find out who your area graco rep is and ask them for support. Its their job to help. They would prefer that Proshots run well.


----------



## joetheptr1 (Feb 26, 2012)

*battery prob*

I have a pro shot that is only 1 year old . I have used it mabey 6 times , now I have 2 dead batterys that wont fully charge. does anyone Know if there are better batterys that I can use instead of these Chineese looking one;s that came with the pro shot ?


----------



## joetheptr1 (Feb 26, 2012)

jhudson said:


> I have taken it back to SW and the people behind the desk offered no real advice at all, just more aggravation.


I totally agree ! I think they hire Home Depot rejects


----------



## joetheptr1 (Feb 26, 2012)

jhudson said:


> I purchased a Pro-Shot thru Sherwin-Williams 2 years ago and used it periodically. Recently it has been giving me fits. Will not prime, sometimes the trigger hangs up and runs like crap. Anyone else out there experiencing problems with their Pro-Shot?


$500 piece of Junk


----------



## Jtpaintalot (May 4, 2011)

I agree 100 percent! I bought mine at general paint in BC Canada . It spits all the time no matter how clean it is! Piece of ****. I'll never buy another one until I hear amazing reviews if they work all the bugs out. Waste of $450 dammit


----------



## Ramsden Painting (Jul 17, 2011)

I agree. I've used mine about 8 times. I preordered mine when they first came out. I've had more problems with it than any other sprayer ever. $ 450 pos

Sent from my iPad using PaintTalk


----------



## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

*On the upside*

Although I am less than impressed with the overall longevity of this unit I can honestly say that I have used it enough to have paid for several units and still make money. I estimate based on brush and roll work, the time savings is exponential.

Dozens upon of dozens of hollow core doors -

Dozens of Cabinet door prime coats.

Miles of loose crown and base for short shop runs

3 complete exteriors complimenting the 440i

A mile of lattice surrounding the entire deck bottoms

The gain in production has more than offset the cost and life expectancy of the unit - PLUS cleaning it compare to the 440!

Mine still runs - batteries suck, priming is a hit and miss although if you shake it while priming it seems to catch. The pick up tube is loose/ worn out and I put a tape gasket on the end of it and it helped with priming (mostly)

I was new to spraying so the Graco PS also helped me overcome my fear of wrecking a project.... don't get me wrong we were good at that too! Spraying 101 !

It has seen Coverstain, Odorless, Aquablock, Regal, Arbor Coat Solid, Aura Exterior and Interior, EcoSpec, BEN, PARA and wait for it...................ADVANCE - really poor judgement on my part!

Will I buy another....Yes..do I want a better deal.....Yes....Will I hit them up for a bunch of free batteries YEP! Will I spray Advance with it again....... not without the smallest tip I can buy.


----------



## jhudson (Jun 16, 2011)

joetheptr1 said:


> I have a pro shot that is only 1 year old . I have used it mabey 6 times , now I have 2 dead batterys that wont fully charge. does anyone Know if there are better batterys that I can use instead of these Chineese looking one;s that came with the pro shot ?


 I took my batteries back to SW after 6 months and they were replaced at no charge, but replacements are crapping out already


----------



## tobpainting (Feb 12, 2012)

Yeah my pro shot had issues and took back 2 times.


----------



## Painter Chick (Mar 1, 2012)

Well The Pro-shot I have is pretty new, only used it a few times. On NC I will mask and spray my Trim-work. But Mine has a cord, the Battery powered one was too heavy for me. Being a girl and all I have to watch this with my tools!

I bought mine at Lowes.


----------



## mudbone (Dec 26, 2011)

jhudson said:


> I purchased a Pro-Shot thru Sherwin-Williams 2 years ago and used it periodically. Recently it has been giving me fits. Will not prime, sometimes the trigger hangs up and runs like crap. Anyone else out there experiencing problems with their Pro-Shot?


 Are you running their paints through it also?That could be the biggest part of your problems.


----------



## Zoomer (Dec 17, 2011)

The problem with pro shot is it has too many flaws to justify the price. Why not invest a little bit more in yourself and buy an airless. A decent diy airless goes for 400. By the time you get the proshot to work properly you can have a door masked off, painted and airless cleaned. Yeah FF tips cost some bucks but one tip can do over 50 front doors. To much lost time and to much frustration to justify proshot.


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Zoomer said:


> The problem with pro shot is it has too many flaws to justify the price. Why not invest a little bit more in yourself and buy an airless. A decent diy airless goes for 400. By the time you get the proshot to work properly you can have a door masked off, painted and airless cleaned. Yeah FF tips cost some bucks but one tip can do over 50 front doors. To much lost time and to much frustration to justify proshot.


I would think that most of us PS owners have airless rigs. I have three of them and a short hose for small projects but the PS FF I have has been very handy so far.


----------



## Zoomer (Dec 17, 2011)

More power to you. Your experience benefits you. The rookies need to master an airless first IMO.


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Zoomer said:


> More power to you. Your experience benefits you. The rookies need to master an airless first IMO.


I would hope that anybody who purchased the PS did not do so in place of buying a true airless. imo it will not replace an airless but is just one more tool in the bag of tricks for a PC to have at his or her disposal. 

Honestly my FF PS has sat idle for the last couple months and with all this talk I need to pull it out and make sure it is still working properly. 

So far my complaint is that the batteries do not last as long as they claim.


----------

