The Graco Electric Airless Sprayer changed my life!

Painter and decorator Faisal Ali recently switched from traditional brushes and rollers to the Graco Ultra Max II 695 ProContractor Series Electric Airless Sprayer. Here he explains the reasons for his switch and the revolution that it brought about.

Faisal Ali runs the Brilliant Painting & Decorating company, based in south Manchester, UK. He started the business in 2004, building up a large and loyal base of residential and commercial customers who came to depend on his skills and expertise.

But in 2019, personal tragedy struck. “My sister suddenly passed away after a short illness. This left me as the legal guardian of my 11-year old niece, as well as the main care-giver of my disabled mother.”

Understandably, this left Faisal with huge challenges on his time. He would frequently have to work late evenings and weekends to keep his business afloat while taking care of his family. He needed to find a solution that would enable him to work faster and more efficiently. 
 

Could airless spraying be the solution? 

After some online research he came across airless spray painting. It was something he had never considered before, thinking it was only suitable for larger industrial-type projects. But as he watched videos and scanned through forums to learn more about this technique, he was surprised to discover that airless spray painting was also suitable for smaller residential and commercial projects. Faisal also kept coming across the name of Graco as the manufacturer of the best-performing airless sprayers. 

After making an enquiry, Faisal was offered a promotional discount on a Graco sprayer by his local decorator’s equipment supplier. He was advised to start with a small sprayer, but Faisal had the belief and conviction to make airless spraying work, so had his eye on something more powerful and robust to support him in the larger projects that he so desperately needed. In January 2020 he decided to take the plunge and he signed a contract to purchase a Graco Ultra Max II 695 ProContractor Series Electric Airless Sprayer. He took it on hire purchase with the intention of paying it off over the following six or twelve months.
 

Home for testing

Faisal brought the Ultra Max II 695 sprayer home and tested it out on his own property. “I was greatly impressed at how easy the Ultra Max II 695 was to set up and operate,” says Faisal. “It became apparent that airless spray painting would allow me to paint more square meters in a set time than traditional painting, and at the same time achieve a more consistent and higher quality finish. For the first time for six months I began to feel optimistic about my painting and decorating business.”

The big test however would be to use the Ultra Max II 695 on an actual job.
 

His first project

The opportunity soon arose. Faisal won a big commercial contract. It was to completely paint nine large, empty offices in a newly renovated building. He had to complete the painting within four weeks. “Normally, using brushes and rollers, I would need every day of those four weeks to complete this project,” adds Faisal.

Faisal set to work, starting as usual with all the masking and prepping work for all nine rooms. He then started spraying with the Ultra Max II 695. Just one week later, all the painting had been completed!

“I couldn’t believe the speed and efficiency of the Ultra Max II 695 – it really revolutionized my productivity,” recalls Faisal. “The whole job had taken a quarter of the time estimated. What’s more, the client was super impressed at the excellent finish quality. I was able to take the next week completely off work to spend some quality time with my niece and my mother.”  

In addition, when Faisal was paid for the job, he was able to immediately pay off the sprayer in full.
 

The catalyst for growth

Since then, Faisal has fine-tuned his spraying skills by attending a number of courses. As a result of switching from traditional brushes and rollers to airless spray technology, Faisal’s business has gone from strength to strength. It has grown more in the last two years than in the previous ten. 

“It’s no exaggeration to say that spraying with the Graco Ultra Max II 695 has changed my life. It’s helped me not only save my business, but build it up, which is allowing me to provide for my family. Yet at the same time it’s given me more free time to spend with my family. If that’s not a win-win situation, then what is?” 

Faisal is also pleased that he chose to work with a Graco product. “Their Ultra Max II 695 sprayer is a super piece of equipment. It’s easy to use, reliable, and robust. It gives precision pressure control, and is very quick and easy to clean.”

Faisal particularly likes the BlueLink sprayer management system. It gives him a lot of statistics and reports on each job that he can then use in his invoicing. The quick-change pump system is very useful, spare parts are readily available, and he always receives fast and useful support from the Graco customer support team.
 

Want to revolutionize your own painting business?

Would you like to follow in Faisal’s footsteps and revolutionize your own painting & decorating business? Why not consider switching from traditional rollers and brushes to airless spraying? If you require more information about the Graco range of airless sprayers, would like a demonstration of one of them, or want to give one of our products a trial yourself, fill in the contact form below.