Ryobi Duet Power Paint System FPR300

Well, here's my wish list. I'd like a paint sprayer that does not involve a separate compressor. I'd like it also to have roller and trimwork attachments. Because I hate pouring and diluting paint, I want to stick the paint can right in the machine. I don't want to carry the paint supply with me, either; I want it on ground-level. Oh, and I want this all to be cheap. Order that up for me, will you?

That's what you get with the Ryobi Duet Power Paint System. And it's called a system for good reason. The Ryobi Duet has three components: sprayer, trimwork attachment; and roller attachment.

If you're not familiar with these kinds of self-feeding painters, they push paint through flexible tubes to your roller or trim attachment. No back-and-forth between your work area and the paint tray or bucket. If this seems like the ultimate in laziness, you obviously haven't done much painting before. Loading up the roller or brush burns up a lot of time and does nothing to improve the quality of your work, because you're always racing to keep a wet edge. Paint feeding systems let you roll, brush, edge, or spray without interruption.

The Ryobi Duet takes up as much floor space as a vacuum--if that--and it's much shorter. Store it in a work closet or even under a counter. The attachment handles clip neatly away on the back of the Duet. There is no pre-determined storage place for all those tubes, but use your imagination. I store my tubes in one of those mesh grocery shopping bags.

When I first saw the roller, I groaned. I thought: Great, another proprietary implement that needs to be ordered directly from the manufacturer at high cost. But then I saw these magic words in the Duet instructions and tears welled up in my eyes: "[t]he paint roller accepts any 9 in. roller, up to 1/4 nap." Yes, that was: any. So you can buy roller refills and toss instead of cleaning them out, as I prefer to do.

What's the worst part about paint sprayers and roller systems? Answer: Pouring the paint into special containers and diluting it. But with the Ryobi Duet, pop off the lid of your paint can and stick the whole thing right in. No mixing, no dilution, no pouring, no mess.

And when you're finished spraying or painting, consider this: you've got 12 feet of tube full of paint. What to do? Does this mean cleaning out the tubes in your laundry sink or outside? Not a chance. Just hit the Reverse button, and the paint sucks back into the can. Nice.

Oh wait, but you've still got paint-caked tubes, right? You'll probably have to pull them out and wash them by hand? Nope. Insert a container (included) of warm water and run it on Forward until clean. That's that.

Two people can use the Duet at once (roller + trim attachment; paint sprayer cannot be used in conjunction with any other device). The system is relatively quiet and pushes paint at a steady flow (the flow is variable).

Two minor beefs: 1.) The attachments do not always positively snap onto the attachment tool. So, it is possible to believe that the attachment is snapped on even though it isn't. 2.) The trigger on the attachment tools is hard to depress and keep depressed. I know the reason for this--Ryobi wants to make sure that paint isn't accidentally dispersed--but it's still difficult for me to depress.

Otherwise, the Ryobi Duet Power Paint System is an amazingly inventive paint system that thinks outside the box, and at a very reasonable price. You'll have almost zero learning curve with the Duet Paint System--its operation yields to logic--and you'll be up and painting in 30 minutes. Not only that, but I estimate you'll cut your total painting time by at least 50%.