Are Ryobi's 18V Paint Sprayers Any Good? Here's What Owners Have To Say

While walking up and down the aisles of your local Home Depot, you might have noticed that the store has 18V battery-powered paint sprayers manufactured by the company's affiliated power tool brand, Ryobi. This tool might initially seem appealing as it comes in both corded and cordless models, and neither of them requires the use of an air compressor. A quick search on the Ryobi website reveals that these sprayers have actually been discontinued by the manufacturer, however, so they might not be around for much longer. But for the time being, those who want one still may still be able to find them both in stores and from online retailers.

That said, a lot of people will probably want to know if these sprayers are any good before they rush out to buy any of the remaining stock for their next DIY project. They were discontinued, after all, so you probably want to make sure that they actually work reasonably well before committing to a purchase.

One of the best ways to tell if any power tool is up to snuff is by taking a look at the experiences of professional reviewers and consumers who have used the product. In the case of the Ryobi paint sprayer, we're specifically going to be looking at its spraying performance, battery life, maintenance requirements, and price. Examining these qualities should help give perspective buyers a better idea of whether the Ryobi 18V Paint Sprayer is the right tool for their needs.

One of the first things you'll probably want to know about the Ryobi 18V Paint Sprayer is whether it's any good at painting. A good paint sprayer can create a smooth, even surface that will look far more professional than anything you can do with a brush or roller.

The Ryobi Paint Sprayer tool no longer appears on the Home Depot website, but you can still find listings for it on Amazon. Unfortunately, the reviews for it aren't particularly inspiring. The tool only has a flat 3.0 out of 5 stars. There are a handful of positive reviews, but among them are dozens of complaints that the sprayer is inconsistent, sputters, and frequently clogs. There are also several reviews from customers who complain that the tool abruptly stopped working in the middle of a project.

Jeff Williams of Tool Box Buzz seemed to enjoy his experience working with the sprayer. "The spray tip and atomizer were my favorite features of these units and made for a very fine and consistent spray pattern for professional looking results." Brook Ulrich of All Things Thrifty also liked the sprayer at first, but she quickly found that her experience soured on her next project when it began sputtering and leaking. Tim Carter, of Ask the Builder, claims that he didn't even manage to get through a single project before the tool started spitting big globs of paint and then clogging.

Another important thing to consider is the battery life of the cordless model. Even painting something as simple as a piece of furniture can be time-consuming, let alone a large-scale painting project like a car or a house. Having a few fully charged backups is always a good idea, but the last thing you want is to have to wait an hour for a battery to recharge when you're in the middle of applying a coat.

This is another aspect of the sprayer that Brook Ulrich of All Things Thrifty seemed to have strong feelings about in her review. "The battery died before I could paint four chairs in a ten [to] fifteen-minute period," she stated.

She wasn't the only one, either. Several of the reviews on Amazon seem to confirm that a 15-minute battery life is par for the course when using the standard Ryobi One+ 18V batteries. Several of the user reviews on Amazon stated that they combatted this by using the larger and more powerful lithium-ion batteries that are also available as part of the One+ system. This is a good solution if you've already invested in these batteries for your other tools, but it's worth noting that they are substantially more expensive, and so purchasing one explicitly for the paint sprayer will raise your start-up costs by a significant margin.

Any time you purchase a tool that deals with paint, you need to consider how messy and time-consuming the cleanup process will be. We've already seen that the Ryobi Paint Sprayer has issues with dribbling and sputtering, which can add to the headache of cleaning up in its own way, but how hard is it to break down and maintain the tool itself?

The manual outlines instructions for the cleanup process. It recommends a simple rinsing process for between uses and a more complex process that involves removing, cleaning, and lubricating several small metal and plastic components.

This is another area where we see conflicting opinions. Brook Ulrich of All Things Thrifty found this process tedious and claimed that it required a meticulous attention to detail. Jeff Williams of Tool Box Buzz once again seemed to have a much more positive experience. "At first it took me about 10 minutes to clean, but the more I use it, the faster I get," he claimed. "What makes it so easy is that it disassembles with ease. All of the paint components disconnect as a unit from the motor and grip."

According to the Tool Box Buzz review, the cordless version of the Ryobi paint sprayer originally had an MSRP of $179. This is a tricky thing to gauge, as there aren't very many major tool brands that make comparable products. This price is similar to that of the TrueCoat cordless sprayer, but it's significantly more expensive than most of the third-party cordless paint sprayer options that are available on Amazon, which are designed to work with the battery systems from other brands.

Of course, the original MSRP only matters if the retailer is still selling it at that price. Discontinued items can often be found at a discount at physical Home Depot locations, and you may also be able to find it at a much more manageable price from online retailers like Amazon. Finding one will only get more tricky as time goes by, however, and so the pricing is unlikely to remain stable.

Ryobi has not shared an official reason for discontinuing its 18V Paint Sprayer tool, but its lackluster reviews make it pretty clear that there were a lot of customers who weren't particularly satisfied with their experience. There have been several complaints that the tool splutters, can't maintain consistent pressure, dribbles, leaks, and clogs. Not to mention the draining effect that its high electrical requirements have on Ryobi's standard One+ 18V batteries.

Keeping all this in mind, this tool is difficult to recommend — especially at it's full retail price. You might be able to find one of these products on a clearance shelf, or similarly discounted from an online retailer, though. It's also worth noting that those who purchase this tool from an official Ryobi retailer will have the added security of a three-year limited warranty. Those who purchase the tool from Home Depot will also be able to take advantage of the store's 90-day return policy.