How To Clean A Spray Gun

Painting with a spray gun greatly speeds up the process. Using a pneumatic spray gun is definitely more practical if you're painting large exterior surfaces, like your home. However, many people fail to perform the proper maintenance during their painting. Most paint jobs will take several days and you need to know how to properly take apart the gun and clean the nozzle so it works and sprays perfectly the next day. This article focuses on those maintenance tasks because many rental facilities don't explain the proper procedures.

Clearing the Hose Lines

At the end of every day of painting, or when you are not going to be spraying for longer than a couple of hours, you need to take apart the gun and clear the hose lines. First, while the machine is still powered on, remove the intake pump from the paint bucket. Then, place the pump into an equally sized bucket of clean water. You will need a large piece of cardboard or wood that you can spray onto. You should spray onto the scrap piece until no more paint, and only water, is coming out of the gun. This will indicate that the hose, intake pump, and motor are free of paint. You can leave the pump in the water bucket overnight. This essential step prevents paint from drying inside the lines and causing clogs.  

Cleaning the Gun Spray Tip

Next, you want to remove the gun from the hose and do a little bit of basic cleaning before you quit for the night. Most guns have a simple removable spray tip that allows for easy cleaning. Even if you have sprayed water through the gun, there can be paint build up within the nozzle and other components of the gun. So, you should first take out the removable spray tip and soak it in a small cup of water with a tiny bit of paint thinner mixed in. This should help break down any paint that is dried up. In fact, you can dip the entire gun into the diluted paint thinner if there is a lot of dried paint on it. A clean gun will have a more consistent stream and (importantly) reliable trigger pressure.

If you perform this basic maintenance on a daily basis, you can rest assured that your kind of spray gun will produce a consistent stream. This will make it easier to make your paint job smooth and even. For more information, contact companies like American Permacoat.


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