carbureted iron
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2023
- Messages
- 35
Graco solicited my opinion of their brand and their products via an email that led to an online questionnaire. It's generally a less than positive indication of brand health when a company spends resources on this sort of thing. Anyone else get one of these email?
Thirty years ago I bought a Graco cart HVLP sprayer after a recommendation from a body shop. When the post-job cleanup procedure was followed the thing never failed to perform superbly upon next use. Repair was limited to seals, which were easily--and inexpensively--sourced thru a Graco reseller (pre-www). When Graco released their prosumer line of handheld sprayers, I bought one. It was hurty-expensive; but i tempered the buy-once-cry-once philosophy with my prior excellent experience. That thing was great.
Years later I needed to replace a blown seal in the handheld. Graco had revised their parts policies such that I now had to purchase a "kit" which contained a bunch of superfluous parts, effectively charging ~$100 for a $1.50 neoprene o-ring. The clamshell eventually developed a crack; Graco wanted $100 for a replacement clamshell (I leaned how to weld plastic.) When a more serious failure developed, I learned through company rep that Graco had drastically reduced the type of parts it made available to a mere handful, and raised the prices.
Quality has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. Graco switched from glass fiber-filled nylon clamshells to crappy ABS plastic. Graco has replaced the metal pump housing in their HVLP sprayers with plastic, ostensibly to shave weight--a welcome improvement--though I have my doubts about product longevity. They also release a version without a motor that straps to a cordless drill. I thought it was a cool concept until I tried the thing. Bleh. And not one of the expensive spray-tips I invested in fit the new sprayers. Oy, Graco... what happened to you.
Each of my three Graco sprayers molder in states of disrepair somewhere in my garage attic. Maybe Titan products offer hope; though given the lineage of that brand, I doubt it. Testimonials for prosumer-level HVLP sprayers are appreciated.
Anyway...
I completed the survey, and in doing so I get entered into a raffle for a $100 Graco gift card in exchange for leaving ranting comments (similar to above) AND to be spammed by whomever they sell my demographics and contact info to.
Thirty years ago I bought a Graco cart HVLP sprayer after a recommendation from a body shop. When the post-job cleanup procedure was followed the thing never failed to perform superbly upon next use. Repair was limited to seals, which were easily--and inexpensively--sourced thru a Graco reseller (pre-www). When Graco released their prosumer line of handheld sprayers, I bought one. It was hurty-expensive; but i tempered the buy-once-cry-once philosophy with my prior excellent experience. That thing was great.
Years later I needed to replace a blown seal in the handheld. Graco had revised their parts policies such that I now had to purchase a "kit" which contained a bunch of superfluous parts, effectively charging ~$100 for a $1.50 neoprene o-ring. The clamshell eventually developed a crack; Graco wanted $100 for a replacement clamshell (I leaned how to weld plastic.) When a more serious failure developed, I learned through company rep that Graco had drastically reduced the type of parts it made available to a mere handful, and raised the prices.
Quality has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. Graco switched from glass fiber-filled nylon clamshells to crappy ABS plastic. Graco has replaced the metal pump housing in their HVLP sprayers with plastic, ostensibly to shave weight--a welcome improvement--though I have my doubts about product longevity. They also release a version without a motor that straps to a cordless drill. I thought it was a cool concept until I tried the thing. Bleh. And not one of the expensive spray-tips I invested in fit the new sprayers. Oy, Graco... what happened to you.
Each of my three Graco sprayers molder in states of disrepair somewhere in my garage attic. Maybe Titan products offer hope; though given the lineage of that brand, I doubt it. Testimonials for prosumer-level HVLP sprayers are appreciated.
Anyway...
I completed the survey, and in doing so I get entered into a raffle for a $100 Graco gift card in exchange for leaving ranting comments (similar to above) AND to be spammed by whomever they sell my demographics and contact info to.
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