Graco QuickShot vs QuickShot II: What Actually Changed — and Is It Worth Upgrading?
Updated September 2026 | Graco Ultra QuickShot II Australia | Original QuickShot vs QuickShot 2
The Graco Ultra QuickShot II has arrived, and if you already own the original QuickShot, there is one obvious question:
Did Graco actually make it better — or did they just put “II” on the name and release another version?
That is the question that matters.
Because at first glance, the new QuickShot II looks familiar. It is still a compact, cordless professional airless sprayer. You still carry the pump and paint on your belt. You still get the small electric gun and short flexible hose. Maximum pressure is still 2,000 PSI, maximum tip size is still 0.016 inch, the paint cup is still approximately 1 litre, and the published sprayer weight remains approximately 2.9 kg.
So if you are expecting QuickShot II to be a completely different machine with dramatically more pressure, a much bigger tip or double the paint capacity, that is not what Graco has done.
Instead, Graco has concentrated on something arguably more important to professional painters:
everything that happens before, during and after spraying.
QuickShot II adds a faster Quick Flush cleaning system, Easy Out professional-grade filtration, a redesigned instant-response gun with a replaceable ProConnect cartridge, and a revised ProConnect pump with full-metal EasyAccess check valves. Graco also specifically designed the new generation to be more field-serviceable.
That changes the conversation.
The original QuickShot was about making professional airless spraying practical on small jobs.
QuickShot II is about making that same concept easier to live with every day.
And that may be exactly the upgrade professional painters were waiting for.
Graco QuickShot vs QuickShot II: Quick Comparison
- Feature Original Graco QuickShot Graco QuickShot II
- Maximum pressure 2,000 PSI 2,000 PSI
- Maximum tip size 0.016 in 0.016 in
- Paint capacity 1 L 1 L / 32 oz
- Published sprayer weight Approx. 2.9 kg Approx. 2.9 kg
- Portable belt-mounted design Yes Yes
- Electric instant-response gun Yes Yes, redesigned
- Quick Flush cleaning No Yes
- Additional pump filtration Earlier system Easy Out filtration
- Replaceable gun cartridge First-generation arrangement ProConnect cartridge
- Check valves First-generation pump Full-metal EasyAccess check valves
- Pump serviceability ProConnect pump Revised field-serviceable ProConnect pump
- Fine-finish tips RAC X FF LP RAC X FF LP, 0.008–0.016 in
- Battery platform DeWALT DeWALT
- Best suited to Small professional jobs Small professional jobs with improved cleaning, filtration and serviceability
The table tells the story immediately.
The headline spraying specifications have barely moved. The ownership experience has.
What Is the Graco Ultra QuickShot II?
QuickShot II is a compact, battery-powered professional airless sprayer designed for small to medium projects where pulling out a conventional airless machine can be more setup than the job requires.
Graco specifically lists applications including cabinets, built-ins, doors, trim, mouldings, accent walls, ceiling repairs, garage doors, soffits, gutters, fences, furniture, decks, railings and exterior repairs.
The unusual part is the architecture.
Rather than putting the paint cup, pump, battery and spray gun into one large handheld unit, Graco separates them.
The pump, battery and approximately one litre of paint sit at your hip, while a short flexible hose connects them to a compact electric airless gun.
That matters because the part you constantly move around — the gun — stays small and manoeuvrable.
It also explains why QuickShot occupies an interesting position in the market.
It is not really a conventional handheld sprayer.
It is not really a full-size airless.
It sits between the two.
And for the right job, that makes a lot of sense.
The Big Question: What Did Graco Actually Change?
Graco identifies four major upgrades over the original QuickShot:
1. Quick Flush rapid-pulsation cleaning
2. Easy Out professional-grade filtration
3. A redesigned instant-response gun with replaceable ProConnect cartridge
4. A revised ProConnect pump with full-metal EasyAccess check valves
Notice what is missing from that list.
There is no huge pressure increase.
There is no dramatically larger tip.
There is no massive paint cup.
That appears deliberate.
The original QuickShot already had enough performance for the type of jobs it was designed to do. Graco has instead attacked the little things that can turn a convenient sprayer into an inconvenient one.
Cleaning.
Blocked tips.
Servicing.
Wear components.
Downtime.
For professional users, those are not little things at all.
1. Quick Flush: Possibly the Biggest Everyday Improvement
This could be the feature painters notice most often.
QuickShot II has a dedicated Quick Flush mode built into its Flow Control system. It rapidly pulses during flushing to move cleaning fluid through the system.
Graco says Quick Flush can clean the machine up to twice as fast while using approximately half the water compared with the previous generation.
That sounds like a cleaning feature.
In practice, it is a productivity feature.
Think about why somebody buys a QuickShot in the first place.
You might need to spray:
* three doors;
* one built-in cabinet;
* some trim;
* a repaired section of wall;
* a garage door;
* a small feature wall.
The actual spraying may be quick.
The danger is spending almost as much time cleaning the equipment as you spent spraying.
That can defeat the purpose of using a small-job airless.
Quick Flush attacks exactly that problem.
And the benefit becomes even more obvious if you change colours during the day.
A painter who sprays one colour all week may not care as much. A painter doing several smaller jobs, cabinet components, maintenance work or frequent colour changes probably will.
The QuickShot concept only works if setup and cleanup stay quick. Quick Flush strengthens the entire reason for owning the machine.
2. Easy Out Filtration: Less Time Fighting Blocked Tips
QuickShot II adds Easy Out professional-grade pump filtration in addition to the cup strainer.
Graco says the system is designed to reduce clogging and keep material flowing consistently. Replacement pump filters are available as 60- and 100-mesh filters, part number 2014138.
Why is this important?
Because QuickShot is fundamentally a fine-finish-oriented machine.
QuickShot II uses Graco RAC X FF LP SwitchTips from 0.008 to 0.016 inch.
When you start working with smaller fine-finish orifices, filtration becomes increasingly important. A tiny piece of dried coating or contamination that might travel through a larger setup can become an annoying blockage in a small tip.
And a blocked tip is more than a minor inconvenience when you are halfway through a cabinet door.
You stop.
Reverse the tip.
Clear it.
Reset.
Check your pattern.
Start again.
At best, it wastes time. At worst, it interrupts a finish where consistency matters.
Easy Out filtration therefore is not a glamorous upgrade, but it is exactly the sort of engineering change that professional users may appreciate after six months of ownership rather than six minutes in a showroom.
3. The New ProConnect Gun Cartridge Is a Bigger Deal Than It Looks
The electric gun has always been one of the most interesting parts of QuickShot.
Traditional mechanical airless guns physically operate the fluid needle through the trigger mechanism. QuickShot uses an electric instant-response gun to open and close the fluid path.
The idea is cleaner starts and stops.
Graco describes QuickShot II as “virtually” eliminating spits rather than claiming that spitting is impossible. The electronically controlled fluid path is designed to make the beginning and end of each pass cleaner, particularly important on doors, cabinets, trim and other fine-finish surfaces.
For QuickShot II, Graco has redesigned the gun for greater durability and added something very useful:
a replaceable ProConnect gun cartridge.
The replacement cartridge is part 2005788, and Graco also uses it with its Contractor PowerShot gun platform.
That means an important wear component is now designed around replacement rather than treating the complete gun as one expensive mystery box.
For a professional painter, that matters.
The question is not simply:
“How good is the gun when it is new?”
The better question is:
“What happens after hundreds of jobs when something eventually wears?”
A tool that can be repaired quickly on site has a different long-term value from a tool that immediately needs workshop downtime.
4. Revised ProConnect Pump and Full-Metal EasyAccess Check Valves
This may be the least exciting feature to put in an advertisement and one of the most important features to own.
QuickShot II gets a revised triple-piston ProConnect pump with full-metal EasyAccess check valves.
Graco specifically describes the new pump as more robust and longer-life, with the EasyAccess valves designed to allow repairs on the job.
Graco currently lists the relevant service components as:
QuickShot II Service Part Part Number
ProConnect Gun Cartridge 2005788
EasyAccess Check Valve Kit 2014548
ProConnect Pump 2014406
Easy Out Pump Filter Kit 2014138
Graco’s Australian support information says QuickShot II is intentionally designed to be field-serviceable, with common wear components in the pump and gun serviceable using ordinary tools.
That is a significant philosophical change.
Professional painters do not make money while their sprayer sits in a repair queue.
The ability to replace a cartridge, access a check valve or swap a pump can matter more over the life of a machine than an impressive number printed on the box.
Did Graco Make QuickShot II More Powerful?
Not in the way many buyers might expect.
Both generations have a published maximum pressure of 2,000 PSI, a maximum tip size of 0.016 inch, approximately 1 litre of paint capacity, and a published sprayer weight around 2.9 kg.
That is worth emphasising because it tells you exactly what QuickShot II is.
It is not QuickShot on steroids.
It is QuickShot refined.
If the original machine already sprayed the coating you use perfectly well, QuickShot II does not suddenly transform it into a large production airless.
Instead, it aims to make the process around that spraying quicker and more reliable.
QuickShot II Pressure and Spray Tips
The Australian QuickShot II is rated to a maximum 2,000 PSI / 138 bar with a maximum 0.016-inch / 0.41 mm tip.
Graco specifies RAC X FF LP SwitchTips from 0.008 to 0.016 inch.
The Australian QuickShot II material describes adjustable pressure from 200 to 2,000 PSI.
And that adjustability is important.
For fine finishing, more pressure is not automatically better.
The objective is generally to achieve proper atomisation and a consistent fan at the lowest practical pressure for the coating, tip and conditions. Unnecessary pressure can mean unnecessary overspray and additional wear.
So again, the headline “2,000 PSI” is only part of the story.
Control is what makes the specification useful.
What Can You Spray With QuickShot II?
According to Graco’s Australian support information, QuickShot II can handle many common architectural coatings, including water-based interior and exterior paints, primers, enamels, stains, clears, lacquers and compatible solvent-based materials. Graco also provides specific safety instructions for flammable materials.
That does not mean every paint should automatically be poured straight from the tin and sprayed through any tip.
Paint formulation, viscosity, temperature, tip size and manufacturer requirements still matter.
Always check the technical data for the coating and the Graco operating instructions.
The machine’s 0.016-inch maximum tip size is particularly important. If a coating manufacturer requires a larger orifice than the machine supports, QuickShot II is not the correct setup simply because the pump can reach 2,000 PSI.
Cabinets and Doors: Where QuickShot Makes the Most Sense
If you want to understand QuickShot, think about a door rather than an entire house.
For one or two doors, setting up a conventional airless machine, long hose and larger paint supply can feel excessive.
But you still want a professional airless finish.
That is the problem QuickShot was created to solve.
The same logic applies to cabinets and built-ins.
The small gun, fine-finish tips, adjustable output and electronically controlled trigger system are all well suited to jobs where finish quality and manoeuvrability matter more than feeding 20 litres of paint continuously.
Graco specifically includes doors, trim, mouldings, cabinets and built-ins among QuickShot II’s intended interior applications.
For these jobs, QuickShot II’s biggest upgrades also start making sense.
Fine-finish work benefits from better filtration.
Multiple colours benefit from faster flushing.
Professional daily use benefits from easier servicing.
It all fits the same use case.
QuickShot II vs a Full-Size Airless
QuickShot II does not make the traditional airless obsolete.
Imagine spraying a complete house where you expect to use 40, 60 or 100 litres of coating.
Refilling a one-litre cup repeatedly would quickly become ridiculous.
That is where a conventional professional airless with a larger paint supply and longer hose belongs.
Now change the job:
You have two doors, some trim and one built-in to spray.
Suddenly carrying a full-size machine onto site, opening a large tin, priming a long hose and cleaning everything afterwards can be disproportionate.
QuickShot reduces the minimum size of job where professional airless spraying becomes practical.
That is probably the best way to understand it.
Battery Life and DeWALT Compatibility
Graco says QuickShot II can spray roughly one US gallon / 3.8 litres per charged battery, depending on tip and pressure settings. Two batteries are included in the documented package.
The Australian original QuickShot page lists DeWALT 18V batteries, while current QuickShot II documentation uses 20V MAX terminology.
That difference can look confusing in Australia, so the safest approach is to check the exact battery model rather than relying only on the voltage label.
Graco’s current QuickShot II support information specifically identifies compatibility with DeWALT DCB183 and DCB203 battery packs.
For contractors already invested in compatible DeWALT batteries, that can be useful.
Can You Upgrade Your Original QuickShot With QuickShot II Parts?
Here is an important one.
No — not the major new gun/hose and pump assemblies.
Graco states that the QuickShot II gun/hose applicator and ProConnect pump are designed specifically for QuickShot II and are not interchangeable with the original QuickShot.
In other words, QuickShot II is not simply an upgrade kit.
If you want the complete second-generation system, you are looking at the new machine.
That is particularly important for existing owners considering whether to upgrade.
What Comes in the QuickShot II Box?
According to Graco’s Australian support information, the QuickShot II package includes:
* 32 oz / approximately 1 L Pour ’n Go cup
* instant-response gun
* 6 ft flexible hose
* two RAC X FF LP SwitchTips
* tip guard
* two DeWALT 2 Ah lithium-ion batteries
* charger
* earthing wire and plug
* belt and holster
* storage bag.
Always confirm the exact Australian SKU and package with the supplier, as regional configurations can vary.
Graco QuickShot II Price in Australia
Price is going to be a major part of the buying decision.
At the time of writing in September 2026, Australian retailer GO Industrial lists the Graco Ultra QuickShot II, SKU 26E011, at A$2,200 including tax. Pricing and availability can change, so treat that as a dated market reference rather than a permanent RRP.
And this is where the buying decision becomes interesting.
If you already have a perfectly functioning original QuickShot, you are not paying for dramatically more PSI.
You are paying for less downtime, easier cleaning, improved filtration and better serviceability.
Whether that is valuable depends heavily on how often you use the machine.
Original QuickShot Owner: Is QuickShot II Worth the Upgrade?
This is probably the most important question in the entire article.
If your original QuickShot comes out a few times a month, sprays well and has never caused you problems, the new model may not transform the actual finish you produce.
The basic performance envelope is very similar.
But if QuickShot is part of your weekly professional workflow, the equation changes.
Suppose you regularly:
* change colours;
* use small fine-finish tips;
* clean the machine several times per week;
* depend on it for paid work;
* need repairs completed quickly;
* cannot afford unnecessary downtime.
Those are precisely the areas Graco targeted with QuickShot II.
The upgrade therefore makes most sense not because “Gen 2 sprays twice as well.”
That would be the wrong conclusion.
It makes sense because Gen 2 appears designed to remove more friction from owning and operating the tool professionally.
Buying Your First QuickShot: Original or QuickShot II?
For a first-time buyer comparing remaining original QuickShot stock with QuickShot II, the decision is slightly different.
The original remains a capable professional portable airless. Its fundamental concept is the reason QuickShot II exists at all.
But the second generation gives you the revised platform from day one:
Quick Flush.
Easy Out filtration.
Replaceable ProConnect gun cartridge.
Full-metal EasyAccess check valves.
Revised field-serviceable pump.
For a machine you intend to own and use professionally for years, those changes deserve serious consideration.
The original may still make sense when the price difference is substantial and your expected usage is relatively light.
QuickShot II becomes more compelling as usage frequency increases.
The Real Upgrade Is Downtime
This is the part that specification sheets often miss.
Painters are usually paid for completed work.
Not cleaning equipment.
Not clearing blocked tips.
Not waiting for repairs.
Not driving a sprayer to a service centre.
So when Graco says Quick Flush cleans faster, the benefit is not simply “less cleaning.”
It means potentially getting onto the next task sooner.
When Graco adds another level of filtration, the benefit is not simply “there is now a filter.”
It means fewer interruptions.
When the gun gets a replaceable cartridge, the benefit is not the cartridge itself.
It is serviceability.
When check valves become accessible and replaceable, the important part is not what they look like.
It is getting the machine working again.
QuickShot II is essentially an attempt to reduce the time when the sprayer is not spraying.
For a professional tool, that is a very sensible direction.
Graco QuickShot vs QuickShot II FAQ
What is the main difference between QuickShot and QuickShot II?
The core spraying specifications remain similar, but QuickShot II adds Quick Flush rapid cleaning, Easy Out pump filtration, a redesigned instant-response gun with a replaceable ProConnect cartridge, and a revised field-serviceable ProConnect pump with full-metal EasyAccess check valves.
Is QuickShot II more powerful?
Maximum published pressure remains 2,000 PSI, and maximum tip size remains 0.016 inch. The major upgrades concern workflow, durability, filtration and serviceability rather than dramatically higher output.
How much does QuickShot II weigh?
Graco lists the sprayer at approximately 2.9 kg / 6.4 lb.
How much paint does it hold?
Approximately 1 litre / 32 oz.
Is QuickShot II cordless?
Yes. It is a battery-powered airless sprayer using the DeWALT battery platform.
What is the biggest tip QuickShot II can use?
0.016 inch / 0.41 mm. Graco specifies RAC X FF LP SwitchTips from 0.008 to 0.016 inch.
Can QuickShot II spray cabinets?
Yes. Graco specifically lists cabinets and built-ins among its intended applications.
Can it spray doors?
Yes. Doors and trim are core small-project applications for the platform.
Is QuickShot II easier to clean?
According to Graco, Quick Flush can flush the sprayer about 2X faster while using roughly half the water compared with the previous generation.
Can QuickShot II be repaired on site?
Graco specifically designed the second generation around field serviceability. The ProConnect gun cartridge, EasyAccess check-valve kit and ProConnect pump are available as service components.
Can I fit the QuickShot II pump or gun to my original QuickShot?
No. Graco states that the new gun/hose applicator and pump are QuickShot II-specific and are not interchangeable with the original system.
Does QuickShot II replace a normal professional airless?
Not for every job. QuickShot II is optimised for small and medium projects. Large-volume jobs still favour a conventional airless system with a larger paint supply and longer hose. Graco itself positions QuickShot II around smaller projects rather than large multi-gallon work.
Final Thoughts: Graco Didn’t Reinvent QuickShot — It Fixed the Friction
The most interesting thing about Graco Ultra QuickShot II is what Graco chose not to change.
They did not chase a giant PSI number.
They did not turn it into a heavier machine.
They did not make it something fundamentally different.
The original QuickShot formula remains:
A compact professional airless pump on your hip, approximately one litre of paint, a short flexible hose and a tiny electric gun designed for precise small-job spraying.
What Graco has done is look at the areas around that concept where professional painters can lose time.
Cleaning.
Colour changes.
Filtration.
Tip blockages.
Gun wear.
Pump servicing.
Check valves.
Downtime.
And those are exactly the areas QuickShot II addresses.
Quick Flush aims to make cleanup and colour changes faster.
Easy Out filtration aims to keep material flowing and reduce clogs.
The ProConnect gun cartridge makes a critical part of the electric gun replaceable.
The revised ProConnect pump and full-metal EasyAccess check valves make the machine more serviceable in the field.
So, is QuickShot II worth upgrading to?
The useful way to answer that question is not to compare PSI.
Compare how you work.
If your original QuickShot only comes out occasionally and already does everything you need, the similar core performance means there may be no urgent reason to replace it.
But if QuickShot is a serious part of your professional workflow — particularly for doors, cabinets, trim, repairs, maintenance and frequent small jobs — the improvements in cleaning, filtration and field serviceability are much more meaningful.
And if you are buying your first QuickShot, QuickShot II gives you the more developed version of the platform from the beginning.
The original QuickShot proved the concept. QuickShot II appears focused on making that concept easier to own, clean, maintain and keep working.
For a professional painter, that may be a much more valuable upgrade than simply adding another few hundred PSI.
