How to Use Your Graco Pump Repair Kit [Repair Guide]

So, you've been spraying for a while and that beautifully maintained Graco pressure has started to lose face.

Is it struggling to build and maintain pressure?
Haven’t had a service in a while?

Best-case scenario, it’s nothing but a little dried paint that’s causing the problem. In which case, a quick mallet tap to get the inlet check ball unstuck and moving again, or a quick clean of the lower housing to remove any dried paint should do the trick. 

We put together a quick how-to video on that here -- Graco Sprayer Not Priming? 2-Steps to Get You Spraying Again.

If it’s something a bit more, it’s time to look at your pump packings. 

Your pump packings are a combination of leather and plastic seals that keep that Graco pressure perfectly maintained during normal operation. But if they’ve melted, deteriorated or broken for any reason, a quick replacement will get you spraying again in no time. 

Now, if you consider yourself the avid DIY repairer or take after George’s curiosity, you can go and get yourself a Graco Pump Repair Kit and do this one onsite or at home. If you don’t have the time and want someone to look after it, you can easily book a time with us and we’ll show a bit of extra TLC to your machine.

For those avid repairers, we had a Graco 495 in, so using the appropriate repair kit (SKU: 244194), we’ve put together a video to walk you through the steps on how to repair your Graco pump at home:

(190PC - Ultra Max II 595PC)

How frequently should you replace your Graco pump packings?

Now, if you’re looking after your unit like we know you all do… then this will be pretty predictable. 

If your preventative maintenance is on the lack, your packings are far more susceptible to drying out and building excessive paint residue, leading to issues.

As a quick note, by preventative maintenance, we mean thorough cleaning of the unit after usage, storing with an anti-corrosive material (Pump Armour), and applying lubricant (Throat Seal Liquid) before each use.

Assuming the above, the frequency that you replace your pump packings depends on:

1. What types of paint you’re spraying;
2. How frequently you’re spraying; and
3. How you’re cleaning and storing your airless sprayer
   

As a rule of thumb, if you spray weekly, aim to replace your packings every six months, or upon inspection of your piston rod. Likewise, if you’re using the machine infrequently, we can be confident in suggesting every 8-12 months. 

If you’re spraying more abrasive materials, such as frequent ceiling flats - you will need to replace those packings sooner. You will notice when your packings are ready to be replaced when you experience difficulties with building and maintaining consistent pressure

The bigger the pump and machine, the less frequently you’ll need to replace packings. For the same volume of paint sprayed within 6 months, the Ultra Max II 695PC ProContractor will be absolutely fine, however, the 190PC, in comparison, will well and truly be due for a pump repacking kit.

The great thing about Graco is though, they don’t require you to send it back to the U.S. to get things done, you can do these cleans and replacements yourself.

What’s included in a Graco Pump Repair Kit?

• A series of leather and PTFE packings for your cylinder and piston rod -- these are the necessary packings that your sprayer piston pump will commonly rely on.
• Additional o-rings and seals to be kept as a spare. 
• To see the full list of inclusions, please check out this Graco Manual

So, were you successful in repairing your pump? Let us know how you went, or anything else that you’d like to know with a comment below or on the YouTube video.

Happy spraying,

The GO Team