how do you clean your spray equipment?

Chris Mire

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Southern Louisiana
i know it's a bad thing but do to lack of time and laziness i just spray a bunch of mineral spirits through the gun when i am done using it for the day.

so i ask, how are ya'll doin it? what is the best way to clean your gun?

chris

ps. i am using an inexpensive CH turbine powered hvlp.
 
I spray wb conversion lacquer. For the most part, I remove all the finish from the cup and run warm soapy water thru it, then after that run clean water followed by ms. Once a month I pull it completly apart and clean all parts by soaking them in ms for a few hours followed by a stiff brush.
 
Gotta love WB for ease of cleanup. I love just washing the gun at the sink.

I probably only spray them a few times a year, but for oil-based finishes (usually only paints for me) I use mineral spirits. I dump all my scrap in one can. Then I decant off the solvent after a few days into a can of solvent I use for the first round of cleaning--spraying some through the gun, getting the cup clean etc. Then I use some clean solvent. I finish up with lacquer thinner because it cuts the film thats left behind.
 
i use lacquer thinner and only do a tear-down after spraying anything with pigments or if the gun is giving me fits.
 
I have two 1 qt. cup guns. One is for clear lacquer only and the other I use for oil based paints. I only clean mine out if they give me a fit or if I am finished spraying and there is hardly any material left in the gun. It usualy needs to be less than a 1/4 cup before I will clean it. Haven't had a problem yet and it saves money on solvents. Catalized is a different story and you should clean your gun up every time you use it.
 
I only squirt clear lacquer through my gun. Like Alen I just leave it in the holder until I need it again. If I've finished up what was in the cup (it's a gravity feed) I'll fill the cup half way with lacquer thinner and drop the nozzle in it and again leave it in the holder. comes in handy if I need a few drops of thinner to clean something.
 
With all his other hard work, I guess Stu deserves the easy way out with spraying. :rofl:

I tore down any gun right after finishing spraying. Lacquer thinner for solvent and blow dried. Never had a problem with clogged guns because I started with a clean gun each time. I have mostly Binks guns, from detail gun to 2 gallon pressure pots.

I don't use them much now, but thinking of doing some detail coloring of wood turnings, like Vaughn does.

Aloha, Tony
 
how do you clean your spray equipment

I no longer use spray guns,but after about 30 yrs of spraying everything from dulux straight enamel to doing custum lacquer work,I completely cleaned the gun after each an everytime I used it.I found out the hard way that when you take shortcuts,that it can cost you more in time an money than you will save in cleaner.I used a reg gun cleaner.I had 4 binks at one time. :thumb:
 
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Now and then I play with an airbrush which has lots of tiny parts when taken apart. If it has gotten to the point it needs to be taken apart, it is usually going into the sonicator (sonic cleaner). My poor little sonic cleaner came with this very big opening basket, so I picked up one of those plastic kiddie sewing needles, a piece of plastic canvas and some waxed thread (I guess dental floss would also work) and "sewed" the plastic canvas to the basket to give a tigher weave to support the tiny airbrush parts.

Not sure if this will help any of you of not, but reading this thread reminded me of this.
 
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