The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Primer gun

I have a cheap primer gun I bought from Eastwood 10 years ago. The gun has a 1.8 tip I have no problem spraying primer except for high build primer. The tech sheet says use a1.6 to a 2.0 tip. I always run a lot of lacure thinner through the gun when I’m done. I don’t know why but the high build primer will sometimes clogg the small holes in the gun. I always stir it thoroughly and strain it before I put it in the gun . What am I doing wrong .Also is there a better way to clean the gun tip

You might need to reduce your primer a bit.

Also, if you don't break down your gun to clean it after every spray job, it is slowly clogging up. Just spraying cleaner through it won't cut it.

The reducer you use for the paint will clean the gun but it is very expensive to do it that way. I use SEM XXX Universal Gun Cleaner #77763.

I've always found that gun cleaning was a PITA. I still have a 50+ year old suction feed gun that I painted my Model A and a couple other cars with, but don't use it at all anymore. My solution was a 3M Accuspray gun with their PPS system (disposable tips and cups) Current model. It cost me about $200, plus some additional for liners, etc. It cleans like a dream, and I'm still on my original 1.4 tip that I've used for primer on my current project so far. It takes about 3 ounces of solvent to clean the tip.
The production shops use a gun cleaning machine, but those are pretty much out of reach of the hobby painter. Paint gun cleaner
While looking that up, I also ran across this Gun cleaner spray that might be worth a try.

I clean my guns between applications (flash times).. If it's drying on sheet metal its drying in the paint gun.

That’s a good point The tip of my gun has been sitting in lacquer thinner about a week and I can’t seem to get the small holes open is it junk?

I have a paint gun cleaning kit that has various brushes in it and also various sized short wire sections, made for pushing through and clearing said holes.. Mine is a Snap-on, and likely not worth what they charge, but TCP global has this one, more economical...


https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Global-P...a1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

I have a Binks model 7 and a Binks model 37 that I bought new in '75, tear 'em down and clean with lacquer thinner each time. I just used the 37 to prime and paint my freshly sandblasted 22.5 wheels, gun still shoots like new.

If you were using catalyzed primer (epoxy primer) and allowed it to dry (cure) in your gun, I'm sorry to tell you that was a mistake you might not be able to correct. With some of these epoxy primers and paints, acetone will help dissolve them after they've been cured (hardened), but it isn't a promise. And your spray gun may never be the same again. We used to use MEK (methyl ethyl ketone), but if you can even find any MEK...use that stuff ONLY in well-ventilated areas, don't get it on you or your clothes and don't inhale it any more than you must. Lacquer thinner won't do much even over a very long time. Good luck.

We use a 2.5 tip for 2k primer and a 3.0 for polyester (Feather Fill). Runs are WAY better than dry spray which has poor adhesion. Used to use our gun cleaning machine but the air motor went out and solvent is pricey so now we just trash can the Harbor Freight primer guns and lay out another thirty bucks for a replacement. Our finish guns are expensive; Iwata and Sata.

The Guard unit had one of those gun cleaning tanks in our shop. It was problematic and as Evan said the solvent was pricey. We used the old school siphon gun for our primer as we had quite a few and they were easier to clean. We sprayed finish coats with a Snap-On HVLP gun.