I see lots of posts about acquiring the right gun but cannot find a single post on how to properly clean these beauties. So, what is the best method of cleaning a gun after use - with an eye toward storage?

 

Remove the air cap from the gun and immerse it in clean solvent. If necessary, use a bristle brush to clean dried paint. Blow it dry with compressed air. If the small holes become clogged ream with a toothpick, a broom straw or some soft implement.

Suction, gravity or pressure feed gun with with attached cup should be cleaned as follows: turn off the air to the gun, loosen the cup cover and remove the fluid tube from the paint. Holding the tube over the cup ,pull the trigger to allow the paint to drain back into the cup. Empty the cup and wash it with clean solvent and clean cloth. Fill it halfway with clean solvent and spray it through the gun to flush out the passages by directing stream into an approved closed container. Remove the air cap and clean as above and with solvent-soaked rag wipe off gun. The gun can also be cleaned in an approved paint gun cleaning machine.

Lubrication

The following parts should be lubricated with petroleum jelly or non-silicone grease:

The air valve packing

The trigger bearing

The fluid needle packing

The fluid needle spring

Trouble shooting the Paint Gun

Found that on a search. I always run a lubricant through the gun before I put it away. I buy it at the paint store, it is a gun lube not sure the name.

I have an old and I mean old Sanborn and an older SATA detail gun and they still work even after I put them up for years at a time. I clean them just as said above.

I use them more for wood projects as that I can do. Auto I am still trying to figure out.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. That is essentially what I have always done, it just seems to take a lot of solvent to get everything to run clear. I would estimate I run through at least one quart of solvent per cleaning.

Funny you should mention wood project. Workworking is what prompted my query. My wife is an amateur furniture refinisher. I let her borrow my old Sears gun that came with the compressor and she was immediately hooked on spraying. The unfortunate thing is, she likes to spray polyurethane and no matter how much flushing you do, there is always residual fluid that eventually dries and clogs the gun. I've tried leaving mineral spirits in the cup but it turns to jelly - althought the same stuff in the plastic jug never does. All that residual polyurethane I find in the gun made me wonder if I was correctly flushing my guns.

One wonders why there are no adapters that would permit the siphon tube and air cap to be connected to a hand squeeze pump that would 'power flush' solvent through the gun in both directions.

 

I always finish cleaning the gun with warm water and dawn then I lube it and spray a solution through as for the name, brain fart! it is made for airless guns??

From what I have seen though the auto gun cleaners use like a tube that blow through the pickup and the recycle the solution.

Mineral sprits is not made to clean polyurethane (although it will desolve it, it will gel up) it is more for alkid paints that is why it gels make sure you get the corect solvent for the product you use. Ask at the paint house what they like best, not the dummy at Lowes and such.

 

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Lacquer thinner is my preferred solvent for cleaning a gun. It's cheap and strong. If nothing else, I use it for my final rinse after the gun has been completely cleaned with the 'correct' solvent. By 'correct', I mean the solvent that is used to reduce your product.

Paper towels are great for swabbing out the cup before you use any solvent. It helps cut down on the amount of solvent you have to use.

If you have a gravity feed gun, you can 'perk' the gun clean. To perk:

1) Turn your air pressure down to about 5 p.s.i.
2) Loosen but do remove the air cap
3) Put about an ounce or two of solvent in the cup
4) Pull the trigger
5) Pour out the solvent
6) Repeat steps 3-5 until the gun is clean

Be careful the first few times until you get the hang of it. The solvent can be blow back into your face. You might have to fiddle with the correct settings of the air cap to get the correct amount of blow back. After a few times, I stopped turning down the air pressure and just depend on the proper amount of trigger usage.

Perking works great and is quick. I do a complete clean (without having to break down the gun) in about 10 minutes and only use about 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of solvent. If I have been spraying all day, then I take the next step of breaking down the gun.

With a syphon feed gun, I have seen people hold their hand over the nozzle while they pull the trigger. I believe this causes the excess paint to be blown into the cup.