How To Keep Your Spray Gun Nozzle Clean

If you want to paint the exterior of your home, you would be smart to use a pneumatic spraygun. Trying to paint exteriors with traditional paint brushes and rollers can be very time consuming. Most people don't own a pneumatic spray gun, so they will have to rent one. If you rent a gun, it will likely come with basic operation instructions. However, the instructions do not always adequately explain how to clean your gun. Since the project will probably take several days, you will need to learn how to thoroughly clean your gun at the end of each day of painting. This article focuses on when and how to clean the nozzle of your paint gun.

Keeping the Nozzle Clean

The key to a steady stream on a pneumatic paint gun is keeping the nozzle clean at all times. Most paint guns have a simple, removable nozzle that should be cleaned and removed at the end of each workday. However, you also need to take measures to prevent the paint from drying on the nozzle whenever you take an extended break in the middle of the day. You need to be especially vigilant if you are working in hot and dry conditions. For instance, you should probably take the following measures if you are taking a lunch break. All you have to do for such short breaks is to pull the nozzle out and place the gun and nozzle in a small bucket of water. You can leave the gun attached to the hose, but make sure the engine is turned off. When you resume painting for the day, wipe down the nozzle and make sure there is no dried up paint before you put it back in the gun.

Nightly Clean Up

When it comes to cleaning your gun at the end of the day, you need to do a little more work. First, you replace the bucket of paint with a bucket of water. Place the intake hose into the bucket of water and then spray the gun. You can spray onto a spare piece of cardboard or plastic. Keep spraying until only clear water is coming out of the nozzle. Next, you can turn off the compressor engine, but leave the intake hose in the bucket of water overnight. Now, remove the nozzle from the gun and immediately clean off any paint. You can also use watered down paint thinner to help remove any paint.

When it comes time to paint the next day, simply replace the water bucket with the paint bucket and put the nozzle back in place.

For a painting service, contact a company such as American Permacoat.

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