You know the one, nobody wants to admit it.... Leaving paint dried in the paint gun What's the best way to clean dried epoxy or enamel paints after they sat in the gun for a while? Obviously, I pick out what lumps I can, but what's a good solvent for the rest of it? I'm an occasional painter for myself, on my own small stuff, so I buy $50 guns at Home Depot. Is there a good solvent to use for long term gun storage as well? THANKS!
I assume you realize it's best to just clean them when you're done painting, and this is just one you "forgot" to clean before it dried. I've never had to clean a "dried" gun. Not sure what you'd use to dissolve the epoxy paints, I suspect acetone would work on enamel. And I've not heard of using a solvent for storage. After I clean and blow my paint guns dry they go on the shelf, and work well the next time I need them. 10 minutes of cleaning now beats the hell out of 2 hours of cleaning a congealed, clogged, dried mess later......
"Kleen Strip" (Naked Gun Cleaner) GSG14. Get a gallon of it, soak the gun in it, replaced any packing nuts and/or soft gaskets. It's reusuable, so you can save the stuff for the next time. Don't do that again. Stu
Make it simple....Toss it and spend another 50....youll spend half that trying to clean it plus hours of grief
I agree 100% with this post. And a good thing to do is always run all of the paint out of the gun, and then run thinner through the gun a few times until it comes out clear and then let thinner set in the gun if you're not able to clean it right away.
start buying guns from harbor frieght. 14 bucks , like a bic lighter , throw aways. klean the damn things after using them & stop being lazy . OR.....START USING WATER COLORS.
If the gun's worth saving, buy a rebuild kit, a cleaning kit, with the tube brushes of all different sizes, and a gallon of paint stripper. A liquid one is best to get intp the small areas. Solvents usually don't remove dried catalyzed paint.
I too have learned the hard way,have one good gun that you clean immediatly after use like it was going to be implanted in your body..and have as many cheap ones around with interchangable parts to make one serviceable gun as necessary. An oxy/acetaline tip cleaner or a tiny drill bit set is a must have.
fill it full of laquer thinner. set it on your stove and turn burner to high. Leave house for 2 hours. you can get a new house and the guns free. Or just go buy a new one.
I usually do clean them right after use, but sometimes a distraction can happen. I'll try the stripper, since I have some, then replace it if I have to. I really don't want to spend hours of my life cleaning a cheap gun!
You know your not going to buy GSG14 gun cleaner and new seals. DON'T FORGET THE LESSON YOU LEARNED HERE. Go buy yourself a good quality spray gun and take of it . You won't regret it.I painted for over 40 years. BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT.
aircraft stripper works good and it doesnt take much. Ive been painting for 50 years and have a lot of practice doing this
Tie a wire to the hanger hook and suspend the gun in hot caustic soda block cleaning solution. It will only take a few minutes to clear all the passages.
Used aircraft remover in the pot, worked great! Rest of gun was clean, got to painting within 20 minutes!
It is amazing to me how many small commercial paint shops advocate using the cheap Harbor Freight type of guns now and when they begin to foul up they just toss them and grab a new one and keep on painting. Ditto on cleaning them when you are finished but I can relate to getting busy and forgetting them until it is too late!
+1 It's all about discipline. Clean that gun as soon as you finish. My old man ran a fiberglass repair and manufacturing business for 25 years. He used to spray gel coat and learned very early on that you NEVER let that shit dry in a gun. If it did you may as well throw it in the dumpster because it's DONE. That discipline carried over into painting cars.
An old timer in the shop years ago told me you could boil the gun in Anti freeze to remove the hardened mess, I never tried it though.......................
After spraying I just run thinner through the gun for what ever type paint I'm using and at the end, spray into a clean folded paper towel till it's clear on the towel-no color.
I saw a gun cabinet a while back, was similar to a parts washer, guns were hooked up to it and it flowed solvent constantly through the guns. Way overkill for my minimal usage, but wouldn't mind having one.
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