When it comes to painting exterior surfaces, like stucco on a commercial building, the job is much easier if you have a pneumatic spray gun. However, using a spray gun takes a little bit of prep and practice. Most importantly, you need to clean your gun after every day of painting. This the best way to ensure that your finish is clean and consistent. This article explains how clean your paint gun during the project.

Clearing Out the Hose Lines

Cleaning your gun at the end of every work day is vital. Since your paint job will probably take several days, you need to repeat this process at the end of every painting day. First, you need to remove the paint bucket from the machine and remove the intake valve. Replace this paint bucket with a bucket of water and submerge the intake into the water.

Now, spray the gun until only water (and no paint) is coming out of it. Of course, you will need to spray onto a scrap piece of wood or cardboard. Once only clear water is coming out of the gun, it will indicate that the hoses are free of paint. If your hoses are filled with paint overnight, the paint could dry up and cause clogging.

Cleaning the Spray Tip

Next, you need to clean the spray tip of the gun. This is super simple because most guns have a removable spray tip. Pull the spray tip out wipe it down well with a wet rag. You might also want to consider soaking the rag in a little paint thinner. It is also a good idea to soak the tip overnight in a cup of water with a little bit of paint thinner. Also, wipe down the gun, especially around the trigger. Then, remove the gun from the hose. Make sure both couplings (on the hose and the gun) are also free of paint. As paint dries, it becomes harder to remove, so you don't want to let it sit overnight.

If you repeat these simple steps at the end of every working day, your paint job will look much better in the end. This simple cleaning is not time consuming. In fact, cleaning your gun immediately after spraying for the day will save you time. If the paint dries up, you will waste a lot of time cleaning the gun on the next day. For more information, talk to a professional like Decorators Service Co., Inc.

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