MGB & GT Forum

Hi,
Having finished the prep I am just about to start spraying part of my wing.
A neighbour has lent me his spray gun and he suggested cleaning it with white spirit. Not too sure about that!
Is it best to use thinners to clean all the parts.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks.

When I was a young man I worked in an auto body shop. We always clean our guns with lacquer thinner. Here in the US white spirits
is an oil based solvent. Any traces of an oil film may cause "fish-eye" and other defects in your final finish. Best to call a local auto paint supply company and ask the experts, or the paint manufacturer.

I can only tell you what we used back in the 70's.
Best of luck

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John;

In order to achieve excellent results one must be fastidious in cleaning your gun.

A couple of references for your use:

https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/spray-gun-maintenance
https://www.autorefinishdevilbiss.com/Portals/0/documents/Cleaning%20Your%20Gun-Rev1.pdf

Here is a photo of a disassembled primer gun.
I start by wiping out the spray gun cup with lacquer thinner.
Then put some thinner in the cup and spray some thinner through it.
Then unscrew the cup and disassemble the gun as shown. And get each piece spotless.
And reassemble.
The guns usually come with a spanner and brush.
In America we use lacquer thinner to clean spray guns. In our jargon they are called “wash thinner”.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-04-17 04:32 PM by Rick Fawthrop.

John,... your cleaning solvent is dependent on what type of paint you are spraying. If using a standard automotive type paint lacquer thinner should be used. With other types of paints you may need something different. The directions on the paint can should tell you which type is recommended for that type paint and cleanup should be done as soon as possible especially if a hardener is being used... Jerry o

As in "paint spray gun".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-04-17 06:26 PM by NOHOME.

Many thanks everyone.
Some really helpful people on this forum. Am now a lot more confident in embarking on the final spraying phase.
Wish me luck!

X2. Rick’s got it

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Chip Long
Charlotte, NC

EPA / Air Resources Board in California, recommends, "Gun Cleaning" solvent, or Acetone. Not Laquer Thinner.

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To me, a member of the inexperienced unwashed, it makes sense to wash your gun with the same solvent you thinned your paint with using the procedure outlined by Rick.

That's what I do - but what do I know. I wash my hands with WD40, then soap.

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That could get expensive. Especially since the primers, sealers, basecosts, clear coats all use different thinners. Gun wash was what we use to use. Just don't know if the same gun wash is used for waterborne paints vs. the solvent based products.
Wally

I pay $63 for 5 gallons of wash thinner and $30-$55 for a gallon of reducer.
There is an aerosol can in the top photo that is 3m spray gun cleaner. The attachment that holds the disposal cup is removed from the gun after spraying. And the aerosol cleaner is shot into the gun while the gun trigger is pulled.

Haven’t bought any lacquer thinner recently but i believe it is in the same price range. There is the more expensive version vs the cheap universal type which i use for cleaning the guns, cleaning bare steel for painting and cleaning engines and auto parts prior to painting. I’ve not used the actual gun cleaning solution yet as the cheap thinner has always done the job for me. I might give it a try if i found a gallon at a good price... Jerry o

Coming from the leather finishing world many years ago...

As production manager and QC at a leather finisher some 40 yeas ago, I held strict rules about mixing lacquer, water, and oil runs and employees.
Top coating was (is) lacquer. The old single headed sprayers I cleaned first thing in the morning (even though it was also the last thing cleaned the night before) the nozzles sat in lacquer thinner overnight. After assembly I would run thinner through the lines (typically 15 feet of hose), spraying useless hide to check spray pattern before dropping the pickup into the barrel (55 gal drum) of color.
The lines, gun, and nozzles were cleaned between every run or any time the system was idle for more than 20 minutes (hence 15 minute cigarette breaks were by bell). The guns were disassembled and cleaned between runs, changes of color, and at lunch, every day. Then at lose of business everything above the rack or outside the spray booth was cleaned before punching out.
No water was allowed near the lacquer booth, not even a cup of coffee or a bottle of spring water. The lacquer run was physically separated from the base coat (water based) spray runs by 25 feet at the closest point. Oil treatments were performed in completely different buildings. Though staff was all quite social, there was no mingling between start of business through lunch and start of afternoon work through close.

Keep your gun clean, wash using the same type of solvent you are spraying with.
Keep your spray booth clean, Keep distractions (and people) away while you are spraying.

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Michael J. Caputo
'79, '77, '76, '74.5 (rubber dual SU), and '73 owner. 12v Audio System design. Vendor of Regalia and Promotional Products since 1993. Supplier of Accessories to MOSS. Forum Member since 2009. Warped sense of humor since birth.
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Since you understand british terminology watch the gunman painting videos on youtube he is in Oz
Best info for free and he is good...

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