Cleaning a spray gun - like new

[Arron]

Any secrets on cleaning spray guns used for spraying pre-cat lacquer. I'm talking here about once a year spring-cleaning type cleaning - getting it back to like it had just come out of the factory - not the sort of superficial clean routinely done at the end of a day's spraying.

I thought about soaking them in thinner for a day or so but have been told its bad for the seals - no idea whether thats true or not.

Cheers
Arron

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Seals are replaceable, aren't they? To my mind they're certainly consumables, anyway, in that they perish before almost anything else does.

And if you're trying to get the gun back to "as new" condition...

[Master Splinter]

Ummmm there should be no such thing as a superficial cleaning, at least for the insides.

See here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG2nsV-4UkE

Any more than that and you're doing a full recondition - only really justified if it's stopped working properly.

[Arron]

OK,let me clarify myself. I just put the bit about getting it back to new condition in to make it clear that I am talking about a really good clean. I'm prepared to invest a few hours (for 3 guns) in this - but I'm still talking cleaning, not reconditioning.

After each use I wash it with thinners, brush the orifices with those things like toothbrushes and spray a heap of thinners through it, and maybe pull the needle out and clean it. That has proven to be whats needed to keep spraying clean, but when I look at a gun I see, for example, dried lacquer in the deepest parts of the screws of the reservoir lid, and black lacquer from when I painted the dining room chairs a year ago lodged in the crevices of the embossments of the handle. So how do you get rid of that?

[Bedford]

So how do you get rid of that?

Gun Wash, http://www.quicksales.com.au/ad/gunwash-thinner-cleaning-solvent-4l-gun-wash/7992582

There are other brands and any automotive paint place should stock it.

[Arron]

Gun Wash, http://www.quicksales.com.au/ad/gunwash-thinner-cleaning-solvent-4l-gun-wash/7992582

There are other brands and any automotive paint place should stock it.

Thanks for that. Question - are these gun washes allocated the task because they are particularly good at cleaning (ie compared to using thinners, which aren't much good for the job) or just because they are very cheap.

cheers
Arron

[Bedford]

I've found it dissolves older/harder residue better than thinners.

[Arron]

Sounds exactly what I'm after.

Do you see any problems soaking a gun in it overnight. i'm talking Star Hvlp, if that makes any difference?

Thanks for the reply
Arron

[Bedford]

I don't know about that gun but I've been using it on a CIG Arnold for 30 years without trouble.