best solvent for cleaning paint gun

IP address: 54.214.159.168Time: 2016-09-25T15:53:19ZURL: http://www.youtube.co.id/watch%3Fv%3DlVR6rMroxuI%26feature%3DrelatedPaint sprayer nozzles can be easily cleaned by using the right tools, choosing the appropriate solvent, flushing the system, and disassembling the gun to manually clean the nozzle. Depending on whether you use an airless sprayer or a HVLP (high-volume, low pressure) sprayer, the steps for cleaning a paint sprayer nozzle will vary slightly. TIP: Painting professional Pam Estabrooke, of ProTect Painters, adds “Do not neglect this part of your project and always follow the instructions that came with your sprayer.” Step 1 - Choose the Cleaning Solvent All spray guns require that you flush the sprayer with a solvent after painting. For a water-based paint, flush cool water; for an oil-based paint, use lacquer thinner; for shellac, flush with denatured alcohol. TIP: Pam says, “If you plan to stop spraying for a short period of time, you can submerge the gun in a bucket of water or solvent if using oil paint.

Dry it off well, shoot a short test pattern on a scrap piece of paper and continue with your project.”
air vent cleaning brush Step 2 - Flush the System Be prepared to use about 5 gallons of solvent or water when flushing.
dual max air cleanerAfter painting, relieve pressure from the hoses by following the safety instructions for the sprayer you are using.
home air purifiers for moldEngage the safety switch and if you are using a sprayer tip, remove the tip and tip guard from the nozzle. Immerse the tip and trigger guard in the appropriate solvent while flushing the system. Remove the intake tube from the paint and put it into a container of solvent. Disengage the safety switch, and spray the gun into an opened can of paint until the solvent is visible.

Then switch over to a waste can and run solvent through the system until there are no visible traces of paint in the solvent. HVLP sprayers may have a paint cup attached to the spray gun. In this case, there is no intake tube, and the paint is transferred into the cup and pulled directly from here. When flushing, remove paint from the cup and replace with solvent. Also, HVLP sprayers don't require you to remove the tip while flushing. Step 3 - Brush, Dry and Reassemble Remove the tip and tip guard from the solvent and use solvent-soaked bottle brushes to clean the inside of the tip. Use the brushes to clean all remaining openings on the nozzle, including the nozzle needle. HVLP spray guns have an air cap that must be removed to get to the nozzle. You can then remove the nozzle with a wrench and clean with a brush. Dry off disassembled parts with a cloth or paper towel, being sure not to bend the nozzle needle. Reassemble the spray gun and store it in a safe place until you are ready to paint again.

Pam Estabrooke, district manager of , contributed to this article.What cleaner should I use to clean my airless sprayer? Typically you should use whatever the thinner is for the material you are spraying, for example; Oil-base = Mineral Spirits Lacquer = Lacquer thinner After thoroughly cleaning your sprayer you need use a protectant such as Pump Armor. Is there a solvent that will loosen dried and semi dried latex paint when running it through your airless spray unit? Something that will dissolve it? Removing dried material from an airless sprayer can be anywhere from a small chore to tuff to extremely difficult. About the only solvent that works very well and that is readily available is lacquer thinner. This may or may not work depending on how much dried material is in the sprayer and how long it has been in there. Be forewarned that lacquer thinner is a "hot" solvent and it may take some of the life out of packings and/or other seals in the sprayer.

Also be warned that once you start loosening the dried paint with lacquer thinner that it will continue to come out here and there for quite some time and plug your pump and/or gun filters and the pump itself. Also sprayers with a flexible intake tube are more prone to this than rigid intake tube machines. Be sure to follow grounding procedures for your sprayer when using flammable materials! Often one can run some lacquer thinner through the pump for awhile and get out most of the old dried debris if the sprayer does not have too much in it. If your sprayer has a flexible intake tube, flex it, move it around while running the thinner through it to try to dislodge the dried material inside it. If it has a moderate amount of old stuff in it you may want to let it set with the lacquer thinner in it for a few hours then run it for awhile and then run some clean thinner through. If you are still getting junk out of it, repeat this procedure. If you are still getting rubbish after repeating this, try the next procedure.

Last ditch procedure after trying the above; same as above but let the sprayer sit 2-4 days with the lacquer thinner in it between flushing's. Note that if the sprayer is already in bad shape this may finish-off packings and/or seals. On the other hand if the sprayer is in that bad of shape to begin with, the sprayer will most likely need to be rebuilt anyway. Be sure to properly clean and store your airless paint sprayer afterwards, unless you like repeating this procedure! Rather than wasting money and your valuable time on trying to clean a hose, just buy a new one. Clean your airless paint sprayer immediately after using it each and every time to avoid this problem! As we have said elsewhere throughout our website - An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! What is a "whip-hose"? A whip hose is a shorter and usually narrower in diameter piece of hose that you use between your regular hose and the gun. This allows for more flexibility at the gun and easier movement thereby reducing hand fatigue.

Great for trim work, fine-finish work and cabinet finishing. A whip hose is also a great accessory to have if you are going to be spraying for long periods of time. The extra flexibility provides the user with the ability to spray for longer periods of time. Why would I want a shorter hose? If you use a are spraying a small amount of paint regularly or are in close proximity to what you are spraying and don't move from that area it may benefit you to have a shorter airless hose. Priming a full-size pump such as an Ultra 495 while using a 50-foot hose consumes about a quart of material. You can reduce that by using a shorter hose. You can reduce that further by using a smaller diameter hose if that is possible. You can reduce it even further by using a Hopper - great when spraying a gallon or less. Remember that less hose equals less clean-up! At a minimum however you would want to use at least 15 feet. Because the pump still builds up pressure, using too small of a hose may cause back-pressure into the pump.

This can cause severe problems with the pressure control system, whether the sprayer has electronic or mechanical. See Also: Hopper and About Airless Hoses What is the difference between the blue gun filters and the black ones? Is it just the plastic? If we're talking about Graco gun filters manufactured by Graco, the difference is that the black ones are what's known as a "60 Mesh" which is what most new Graco sprayers come with and what is typically used for latex paints. The blue ones are what is know as "100 Mesh" and are a tighter screen than the 60's. The 100 mesh are for fine finish work such as lacquers, cabinetry work etc... These are available in a two pack which has one each: 60 mesh & 100 mesh. Sprayer manifold filters are also measured in this way so if you do fine finish work you should get both the gun and manifold filters in the same 100 mesh. Can the same airless sprayer be used for poly & varnish as well as lacquer? Can it be cleaned well enough to avoid cross contamination, particularly in lacquer?

Is an extra spray gun and hose a good option to help in the cross contamination, or are there other options? You will have clean your sprayer very very very thoroughly after each use and... You should have one hose just for the lacquer and one for the polyurethane & varnish. At the least, you should also have a filter set (gun and pump/manifold) for each material and these should be 100 Mesh. Preferably you would have one gun just for lacquer and another for the varnish and polyurethane. Ideally you would have one sprayer for just lacquer to avoid contamination. Also, if you were to throw latex into the mix, which we don't recommend if also using lacquer, you may want a hose, gun, tip and filter set for that as well. Lacquer thinner is a fairly "hot" solvent that will soften, loosen and/or dissolve most other materials that were not cleaned out of the system and will contaminate your lacquer, plug filters and tips. That being said and if you must use one airless sprayer for all materials, you may want to store your machine differently when it is not in use, a way we don't recommend as it will ruin your pump packings and other seals in your sprayer and that way is with lacquer thinner with a few splashes of engine oil in it.