How to clean an HVLP spray gun??

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Bill Crowell

Bill Crowell

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I've been spraying quite a bit of epoxy primer, and I had thought that spraying lacquer thinner or acetone between uses would suffice to keep it clean inside. That was wrong. The epoxy paint did build up inside the passages of the gun, despite spraying lacquer thinner each time after I used it, until it quit spraying completely. I took it all apart, scraped out all the built-up paint and got it working again, but it was time-consuming and tedious, and I would like to avoid having to do that again. I guess I'm just not clear on how you are supposed to clean the gun after spraying paint like this. Would it have made any difference if I had sprayed reducer instead of lacquer thinner between uses? Or do I need to disassemble the gun completely to clean it after every use? I'd appreciate suggestions of any easy-ish ways to clean an HVLP gun. Thanks.
 
I put some laquer thinner in the cup, shake while holding my thumb over the vent and then pull the trigger and let it flow into my waste can. You can use air to spray it out but your just putting all that material airborne.
After doing that a couple times pull the gun apart and clean each part, dry then reassemble. No, you cant get it clean by just spraying through it.
I always clean as soon as possible once finished spraying. Its not as critical with epoxys as it is with a 2k high build. I had some flash off too early once and had an entire gun full of the stuff. Luckily I caught it while it was still rubbery so I was able to get it all cleaned out.
 
I hate HVLP guns for the same reason. I also hate the price tag and the fact you need several different needle/cap combinations for different fluids. I think I finally solved the problem, and clean up is super easy. I purchased the 3M accuspray gun. It uses the disposable cups that you can spray in any angle due to the atmospheric pressure squeezing the cup as you paint. The gun comes with 5 different size tips which snap off and you simply pour solvent through. They are transparent so you can see when they are clean. The rest of the gun only needs a wipe of the needle end with a solvent rag. The best part is the tips are good for 5-10 jobs and only cost about $6.50 each on amazon if you get a box of 4. I watched some reviews on youtube from actual shops and then purchased mine. It puts my Sharpe FX3000 to shame. Finally I get a nice wide pattern that my Sharpe failed miserably at providing.

Oh and the cup system is expensive through 3m but if you purchase the 1.0 version, you can get cheap ones from amazon that are a knock off. I think I got 50 for aroud $50 but don't quote me on that. EDIT: I may have linked the 2.0 cup system version below. The difference is in how the disposable cups attach to the gun. 2.0 fixed some issues users were having but I never had a problem with the 1.0 and already had a supply of them for my other guns so I chose to go with the older version, which like I said above has an aftermarket supply.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40069842/
 
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With any spray gun to properly clean you have to take it apart. I put Acetone in the cup and spray it to clear out any paint residual. Then I take the gun apart and soak it in Acetone for a short time. Now it's time to clean all the pieces. Or go to Harbor Freight when the cheap guns are on sale for $12.99, use them, toss them in the trash. I do this a lot when I spray Gelcoat.

Tom
 
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MoparMike1974 said:
I put some laquer thinner in the cup, shake while holding my thumb over the vent and then pull the trigger and let it flow into my waste can. You can use air to spray it out but your just putting all that material airborne.
After doing that a couple times pull the gun apart and clean each part, dry then reassemble. No, you cant get it clean by just spraying through it.
I always clean as soon as possible once finished spraying. Its not as critical with epoxys as it is with a 2k high build. I had some flash off too early once and had an entire gun full of the stuff. Luckily I caught it while it was still rubbery so I was able to get it all cleaned out.
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Wow! I'd have been tripping!
 
Sounds like you outlined it pretty good. My advice is if you don't want to take a gun apart to clean it, then don't paint.
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
With any spray gun to properly clean you have to take it apart. I put Acetone in the cup and spray it to clear out any paint residual. Then I take the gun apart and soak it in Acetone for a short time. Now it time to clean all the pieces. Or go to Harbor Freight when the cheap guns are on sale for $12.99, use them, toss them in the trash. I do this a lot when I spray Gelcoat.

Tom
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Box 'em up and send me them! I'll pay freight and buy you a 12 pack.
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
With any spray gun to properly clean you have to take it apart. I put Acetone in the cup and spray it to clear out any paint residual. Then I take the gun apart and soak it in Acetone for a short time. Now it time to clean all the pieces. Or go to Harbor Freight when the cheap guns are on sale for $12.99, use them, toss them in the trash. I do this a lot when I spray Gelcoat.

Tom
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Too bad I tossed mine when I moved but this is a gel coat gun. I would have given it to you for postage. They run about $100 and are the gel coat equivalent of a drywall texture gun.

upload_2022-8-28_20-59-36.png
 
Not sure where the people missed the boat here?

My Binks model 7 Spray guns I take apart, pour 1" of automotive paint stripper into the cup (aviation stripper) and put all the spray gun parts in there to soak for a half hour.

Brush on the stripper to the Spray Gun body and internal paint ports.

After all paint has lifted off after brushing with a fine paint brush, rinse off all the parts with water, and blow dry with compressed air.

Reassemble all the parts and spray lacquer thinner through the gun for the final spray test.

Pefect Spray Pattern every time. Clean as can be.

I have spray guns that are 45 years old and spray perfect patterns to this day.

Just need to strip them clean from time to time.

Screenshot_20220828-221448_Gallery.jpg


Screenshot_20220828-221648_Gallery.jpg
 
George Jets said:
Not sure where the people missed the boat here?

My Binks model 7 Spray guns I take apart, pour 1" of automotive paint stripper into the cup (aviation stripper) and put all the spray gun parts in there to soak for a half hour.

Brush on the stripper to the Spray Gun body and internal paint ports.

After all paint has lifted off after brushing with a fine paint brush, rinse off all the parts with water, and blow dry with compressed air.

Reassemble all the parts and spray lacquer thinner through the gun for the final spray test.

Pefect Spray Pattern every time. Clean as can be.

I have spray guns that are 45 years old and spray perfect patterns to this day.

Just need to strip them clean from time to time.

View attachment 1715977367

View attachment 1715977368
Click to expand...
Only one "people" missed the boat. The one that doesn't want to take a gun apart to clean it. lol
 
George Jets said:
Not sure where the people missed the boat here?

My Binks model 7 Spray guns I take apart, pour 1" of automotive paint stripper into the cup (aviation stripper) and put all the spray gun parts in there to soak for a half hour.

Brush on the stripper to the Spray Gun body and internal paint ports.

After all paint has lifted off after brushing with a fine paint brush, rinse off all the parts with water, and blow dry with compressed air.

Reassemble all the parts and spray lacquer thinner through the gun for the final spray test.

Pefect Spray Pattern every time. Clean as can be.

I have spray guns that are 45 years old and spray perfect patterns to this day.

Just need to strip them clean from time to time.

View attachment 1715977367

View attachment 1715977368
Click to expand...

I wish I had a Dollar for all of those that were sold over the years, including the knockoffs!!

The #7 was the industry standard for umpteen million years seems like!!!

I Remember when they came out with the one that had the agitator built in it for when you used Pearls and Candies...before then, you had to "Shake it" before each pass!!! :lol:

I don't think any other Gun out there spray Lacquer like that one!!!
 
George Jets said:
Not sure where the people missed the boat here?

My Binks model 7 Spray guns I take apart, pour 1" of automotive paint stripper into the cup (aviation stripper) and put all the spray gun parts in there to soak for a half hour.

Brush on the stripper to the Spray Gun body and internal paint ports.

After all paint has lifted off after brushing with a fine paint brush, rinse off all the parts with water, and blow dry with compressed air.

Reassemble all the parts and spray lacquer thinner through the gun for the final spray test.

Pefect Spray Pattern every time. Clean as can be.

I have spray guns that are 45 years old and spray perfect patterns to this day.

Just need to strip them clean from time to time.

View attachment 1715977367

View attachment 1715977368
Click to expand...

I definitely don't recommend soaking newer style guns. Iwata and Sata being the most common have plastic seals in them that can warp and distort when soaked in solvent. I spray about 3 cars per day and I take all of my guns apart fully after each use. I rinse them in thinner then give them a few shots of aerosol thinner. Once a week usually Fridays I pull them apart fully and brush and clean all of the parts.

As noted above I have the newest version of the plastic 3m accuspray gun. I spray almost anything through it and it works well having multiple fluid sets available.

Iwata brand guns do not require needle changes with fluid tip and air cap changes.
 
I have a harbor freight gun that I have been spraying primer with for about 10 years. This particular one sprays super nice. I have others that dont compare.
I use dekups on my good guns. Still doesnt mean you dont have to take the gun apart to clean it.
 
George Jets said:
Not sure where the people missed the boat here?

My Binks model 7 Spray guns I take apart, pour 1" of automotive paint stripper into the cup (aviation stripper) and put all the spray gun parts in there to soak for a half hour.

Brush on the stripper to the Spray Gun body and internal paint ports.

After all paint has lifted off after brushing with a fine paint brush, rinse off all the parts with water, and blow dry with compressed air.

Reassemble all the parts and spray lacquer thinner through the gun for the final spray test.

Pefect Spray Pattern every time. Clean as can be.

I have spray guns that are 45 years old and spray perfect patterns to this day.

Just need to strip them clean from time to time.

View attachment 1715977367

View attachment 1715977368
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think my Binks #7 is at least that old and it still works perfect. I've always cleaned every spec of paint out of it after each use because back then that was about the most expensive gun you could buy. I like the HVLP guns because of less over spray and fumes floating in the air. I used to have over spray everywhere in my garage with the Binks gun but it was and still is flawless. When I was shooting locomotives for the railroad we had two pans, one with lacquer thinner and one with paint thinner for cleaning guns and equipment. They were never marked so we'd take a sniff to tell which was which. My wife says that explains a lot. Lol
 
@MoparMike1974, @Scamp Rhonda, and @PROSTOCKTOM hit the nail on the head when they said you have to take the gun apart for a thorough cleaning. I have 3 good spray guns. A Devilbis SRi Pro touch up gun, Devilbis FLG4 for primer and an Iwata Super Nova for Base and Clear. I take them COMPLETEY apart and clean them thoroughly every time I use them. It doesn't take that long. I can do a thorough job in about 20 minutes. They all still work like new. @RustyRatRod also hit the nail on the head when he said, "if you don't want to take a gun apart to clean it, then don't paint."
 
Sorta like the guy selling his "totally rebuilt" engine, he just put a couple coats of pant on it!!!

Yep, I cleaned by spray gun, ran some laquer thinner thru it and called it good! But sometimes I wipe

off the outside some.

Now I know why the gun comes with a brush or two and a wrench that fit the gun!!!!!:poke::rofl::steering:
 
i find that laquer thinner kinda cleans my epoxy gun but i notice that the epoxy balls up and does not liquify that good...should i be useing something other than laquer thinner for cleaning epoxy?
 
My local NAPA sells a solvent just for cleaning paint guns, used it for years. You still need to take it apart and clean when your done.
 
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