# Texture Sprayers



## Andyman (Feb 21, 2009)

What texture sprayer is everyone using. I've always used the hand held hopper but I've been looking at whole house popcorn to knockdown jobs. I was looking at the Graco rtx 900, 1250, 1500. Seems like the 900-1250 is sufficient but the 1500 has much more capabilities. Any thoughts or insights? Thanks


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## Hines Painting (Jun 22, 2013)

How big of jobs are you wanting to do with it?


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## Andyman (Feb 21, 2009)

Well I want to be able to do full residential textures. Having commercial capabilities interests me but I think for now a rig that comfortably does all residential houses is sufficient. The main spec that keeps coming back is the 100' hose capabilities. 25' seems too small but the price jump is double.


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## Hines Painting (Jun 22, 2013)

I bought one last summer. I don't have the model off the top of my head but I can get it out of my filing cabinet later if you want it. 

The 25 foot hose is small, but the extension cord on it is like ~15 feet (maybe 25) I think, so you can move a fair distance. The one I have is on wheels so it's not real difficult to move. 

I bought it for a wallpaper removal and re-texture in a 1200 SF house. I probably could have got by without it, but it was a good point to purchase it for future use so I just bit the bullet. 

The only real problem for the 25 foot hose, I think, is doing 2 story homes or houses that have like 15 foot vaulted ceilings. You'll have to move it a ton for that.

But the way they are designed, with the 2 hoses running parallel, I'm not sure I would want 100 feet. 40 or 50 would probably be ideal.


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## SprayRepairGuy (Jan 15, 2014)

Take a look at these. Benron is giving Graco real competition in this market.

http://www.benron.com/

These machines are highly capable. Take a look at the videos.


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## Professional Painter (Mar 15, 2014)

Hello, Andyman. I believe I have the Graco 1500. While the number may be incorrect due to the age of the machine, it's the same exact thing according to the photos I looked up. I bought it about a decade or so ago and it has not failed me once. We used it on a daily/weekly basis for about two of those years and now we may only use it on a monthly basis.

It is incredibly easy to maintain and it has the ability to match any properly applied texture to perfection/almost perfection on a repair, if you know what you are doing. It will provide perfection on a properly applied install. This thing is a haus. I haven't put any interior product(s) through it yet that it couldn't handle. I haven't had any need for this unit on anything exterior, so I would not be able to comment on any performance of exterior materials and this machine.

My only complaint about it would be that the location of the seal cap to get the tank off is located in a rather inconvenient location and I have found it easier to get a pair of large channel locks to assist me in removing said seal cap. Keep in mind, if you keep the tank clean and don't let the material dry (and that takes a *long* time if you cover it with plastic) prior to the section pictured below, which is about 3" in length, then you will not have to take the tank off. With a pair of large channel locks, the issue becomes mute.









One thing you do want to keep in mind. The 25' tube combined with the air supply, mix and a not-so-light gun becomes VERY heavy when spraying 15' up or higher. Even heavier with each additional foot you need to go up. There is a lot of material housed in that tube and you have to balance manhandling that, along with proper spray techniques. I would not recommend a 100' hose. I would envision that being a two man job just to wind back up and because of the sheer weight of that hose, I would be worried about property damage getting it in and out. Plus, the 100' hose would probably hold two full buckets of mud/mix, if not more. *That's a lot of weight.*

Plus, it makes it that much more wasteful when you need to switch from popcorn to a mud mix for a certain type of texture. There is not too much waste with a 25' hose.

Two other things that you want to consider with this machine. It loves to blow breakers. Expect to walk to the breaker box often in certain houses. Many times, the current draw of this machine is so great that the only outlet that it will work in is the refrigerator outlet, which makes the cord really short on a two or three story house. Plan on buying some rather expensive heavy duty (30 amp is recommended) cords to go along with the machine at some point. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is no lightweight sprayer. If you are on a second story or suspended floor, it will shake the floor rather violently. Depending on the house, this could be a concern as well.

One thing I know you are probably already aware of is that when you are done using it, you will be as white as the material you are spraying. This unit is NOT for small jobs where tidiness and cleanliness are of concern. I will say this, we use this on all but the smallest of jobs [like 4" or less of a texture repair area in confined areas such as above a cabinet that is close to the ceiling] just because of the end result it provides. No other texture sprayer we have (even ones I have modified) can do what this one can in terms of matching a repair area. As mentioned, the unit is easily moved....provided the tires are kept up to optimal inflation. I hope this helps.

Professional Painter


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

I have a tx 90. It does fine for orange and knock downs. Cheap easy and performs. Just finished a job and blew out quite a bit of orange peel this last week with it. If I was a rock finisher I would consider bumping up but 100k -200k sq ft or less a year thus is more than sufficient.


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

All these units are great, I had an RTX I bought because I was going to use it for stucco finishes, then Sherwin discontinued there Conflex line (textured). So...returned it and got my money back.

Long story short (my opinion): Go with a more versatile machine like a Mark V or IV. More money, but you can do level 5 finishes too. Get good at those and your can get into some serious money making.


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## JeremyCampbell (Mar 19, 2014)

I got a 900 and very happy with it.Only had it for a yr.Probeley used it 6-8 times.MarkIV sounds better if your going to really get into it .I'm just doing orange peel and popcorn on a small scale.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Graco Mark IV. We have 2 of those. A kodiak and 3 Goldblats


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