Custom Paint World – Tips & Tricks

Guess we’re gonna start with an occasional tip section for the custom paint world, and anybody else for that matter.

Paint Gun Care

Little tips for paint gun care, that can make your investment last a little longer. Clean your gun as soon as possible after use, everybody tells ya that, but what happens after you clean it? Do you store it in with cleaner in it, leave it in pieces till next use, or throughly wash & dry it. Hopefully it’s the latter. Once you clean your gun, run a little cleaner through it, and make sure all color is gone, and the fluid is clean. Remove all drips, runs etc.. from the outside surfaces, under the knobs, in the cracks, anywhere where you see color, it needs cleaned. Old toothbrush works great for this step. Next, when stored, back off the needle pressure. Run the volume control almost all the way out after cleaning. This helps reduce needle, nozzle wear, and spring tension issues. When the gun is returned to use, run a little reducer/thinner through it just to be sure it’s clean, and make sure you use the same reducer/thinner as the paint you will be using. Don’t cross brands, or types of products. Bad things can happen ……..

Next area is care of the fluid tip. Ever see tip flats completely rounded off? Check your wrench fit on the tip. If it’s loose, don’t use it. Find a regular wrench in your toolbox that fits properly, and use that to loosen the tip. You don’t have to “gorilla” the tip back on after cleaning, just snug it up tight enough that is seals. If you have issues with it leaking, look to worn seals, o-rings, nylon washers etc for a leak. Most rebuild kits include these, or the manufacturer offers them separately. Good idea to keep a few extra on hand. Manufacturers have exact specs for the tip tightness, so check your specs if in doubt.

Air cap cleaning is another overlooked area. Never ever put anything metal into the air cap orifices. This will deform the passage, and change the spray pattern, clog up prematurely, or worse yet, cause your gun to fall out of compliance. A trick I learned was to snap apart a stirring stick length wise (small ones work better), and use the point it leaves to push through the small holes in the cap. The side passages require a small brush to clean properly (harbor freight)

till next time, be safe …………………………………….