Paint gun clean-up

matty49

Sharpest Tool
Dec 8, 2017
239
Seneca Lake Oh.
First Name
Mathew
Willys Model
  1. Pickup
Willys Year:
  1. 1949
Im new to every aspect of the willys build. I have a rather simple question. Ive been doing body work 1 piece at a time, and when l get them down to metal l spray them with epoxy primer. My problem is with clean-up. I see on the internet where they clean their guns in 5 minutes and it takes me 45 min. Every speck has to be scrubed off.
I read somewhere that there is more or less 2 kinds of lacquer thinner. A cheap grade for common tasks and a good grade used for painting and clean-up. I bought mine at Auto Zone or one of the other big auto shops. Mine was made by Duplicolor. Did l buy the junk brand or does all epoxy primer clean up that difficult.
There is a family owned auto store near here that specializes in body and paint. Im sure they would carry a top brand. Thanks for reading. matty49

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Matt,

I use acetone to clean up my paint gun and it takes me just as long as you. I make sure it is spotless.

Dave
 
I use the home depot lacquer thinner and it works just fine. It don't take me that long but I let all my parts soak for 15 or 20 minutes then do the scrub and dry with compressed air. It.s about a half hour
 
I have a buddy that has a body shop, when l asked him what to use for clean-up he said acetone won't touch it (epoxy primer) need to use lacquer thinner.

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Go to an auto paint supply house. It is cheaper and not “watered down” for the box stores. A gallon is in the 10 dollar range.
 
Thanks for the reply. I was going to check the local paint and body place next time I'm in town. I cant believe how shi--y this stuff works. Really frustrating trying to clean stuff when it dries back on before you can get it off. matty49

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Hi Mathew,
I had the same issues you mention. I did a couple things that have helped greatly. I have been using DP25 and DP27 epoxy primers. Great stuff but I think it sticks to my gun about as well as the panel being painted. I first got rid of all my leaks at the fittings, spray nozzle and vent hole in the cup. Just a little primer on my hands would get transferred all over the gun. A Binks M1G fixed the leak problem. (I am a firm believer that a good painter can make a lesser quality gun do some pretty good work but it takes a pretty good gun to stop all the leaks) Next I switched to the DeVilbiss DEKUPS system. No more vent hole problems and I can spray at any angle without fear of spilling paint thru the vent hole. The liner keeps the cup about 95% clean saving me thinner and time. I would suggest the 9 oz. cups if you are working tight areas as the cup on the 24 oz cups are a little bit in the way on bottom sides of fenders if you are trying to paint it all in one shot. Just my thoughts. Keep up the good work and would like to see some pics of your progress.
Gary
 
Haven't done much painting for a while, but I definitely remember I always had that same experience, and epoxy primer (I usually used DP90) was a bit worse than paint, although some of the paint was pretty tough, too. It just takes a while to get everything all clean, no matter what type of lacquer thinner I used. When I got pretty close to clean, I would put thinner in the gun and spray it a against a rag, keep doing it until everything was crystal clear. Kinda like mowing the grass, you just gotta keep going until all the blades are cut, no good short cuts (get it?).... I learned to always store my gun half-full of lacquer thinner when I put it away too.
 
Thanks for the reply Gary. This is my first time painting, other than a rattle can. I do have a problem with leaks and drips. I've thought about investing in a little better gun, but there's a good chance this may be my one and only project, and don't want to spend hundreds more on a good gun. I'm beginning to believe that epoxy primer is just some tuff stuff to remove. Next time l buy lacquer thinner l will buy good stuff from paint shop and see if that helps. I like the idea of the disposable cups. Do they make them to fit my lovely H.F. gun? Thanks for the info. Mat

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Matt, That changes things a bunch. I too have a Harbor Frieght gun. When they are $8.99 how can you not have a couple. I got mine to quit leaking when I stopped cleaning it so well. I just clean the nozzle and the cup without taking it apart and wipe it down. After a couple small jobs the leaks sealed themselves with old paint and primer. I took one apart once and it never did stop leaking. HF has a decent gun and more than a couple folks that used it love it. I bet you get it to stop leaking as soon as you stop taking so much care of it. Weird huh?
 
I agree, weird. I guess l shouldnt be afraid of ruining the gun when they can be replaced for almost nothing. It did a pretty fair job the second time l used it. First time wasn't enough atomization and had bad orange peel. Matt

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Thanks for the reply Gary. This is my first time painting, other than a rattle can. I do have a problem with leaks and drips. I've thought about investing in a little better gun, but there's a good chance this may be my one and only project, and don't want to spend hundreds more on a good gun. I'm beginning to believe that epoxy primer is just some tuff stuff to remove. Next time l buy lacquer thinner l will buy good stuff from paint shop and see if that helps. I like the idea of the disposable cups. Do they make them to fit my lovely H.F. gun? Thanks for the info. Mat

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Yes, it the same system. Just have to get the adapter that fits your gun.


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