- Understanding Spray Guns: Types of Equipment and Essential Components
- Optimizing Performance with Regular Spray Gun Maintenance
- Common Problems with Spray Guns & How To Fix Them
- Advanced Troubleshooting & When to Hire Professional Help
- Extend Your Spray Gun’s Lifespan with Proper Maintenance
Spray guns are one of the most important pieces of equipment for industrial surface finishing, protecting and painting. They are easily the most frequently used portion of a spray system and undergo quite a lot of wear and tear, especially considering multiple users could use the same spray gun. Keeping up with frequent maintenance is crucial for extending the lifespan of your spray equipment and ensuring exceptional performance.
Below, we’ll address some common issues that spray technicians face and how these problems can be troubleshot and resolved.
Understanding Spray Guns: Types of Equipment and Essential Components
There are three main types of spray technologies, each requiring a type of spray gun. Knowing how your spray gun operates is critical for performing maintenance and repairs. Air Spray technology uses a low pressure fluid stream mixed with compressed air at the air cap to break up the fluid particles for atomization. HVLP and LVMP (Compliant) spray guns fall into the air spray category. HVLP spray guns rely on large amounts of air for atomization and have a slower spray speed, resulting in less material waste. LVMP spray guns atomize at higher air pressures than HVLP but not more than 29psi to meet standards while still providing high finish quality and efficiency spray, making them better suited for large spray jobs where efficiency is key. Airless spray guns utilize an air, hydraulic or electric powered pump to transport spray materials. They’re generally higher-powered and are best for materials with thicker viscosities and where high production rates are required. Finish quality is not high when using airless spray technology.
Furthermore, there are a variety of spray guns that are designed for use in specific industries. Some examples are: texture guns used to apply coatings like popcorn ceiling, stucco and highly filled coatings, roof coating guns are used to apply rubber membranes, foam guns are used for spray foam insulation, and electrostatic powder coating guns are used for protective finishes on consumer products and structural materials.
Each spray gun has a few key components that need to be maintained the most. These include the:
- Air Cap/Spray Tip: The air cap (in air spray guns) and the spray tip (in airless guns) are the final parts of the spray gun that the material goes through. Most spray gun clogging issues begin here as well as deteriorating spray patterns due to wear.
- Fluid Needle: The fluid needle is another prime place for malfunctions and can frequently become clogged or misaligned.
- Adjustment Knobs and Hardware: Each gun has various knobs and dials that are used to control the amount of fluid and air that enters the gun. Keeping these operational is critical.
- Fluid Passages: Fluid passages transport spray materials throughout the gun and they must be kept clear for proper functionality.
Optimizing Performance with Regular Spray Gun Maintenance
The most effective way of keeping your spray gun in top performing condition is regular maintenance. Although it may feel unnecessary at times, keeping your system clean, free of debris, and well-maintained will significantly improve your gun’s lifespan and performance. Follow these maintenance steps and paint gun tips as a guideline to know how to clean and store your spray gun:
- Thoroughly Clean the Exterior of the Spray Gun and Remove Any paint or material
- Flush Your Spray Gun’s Fluid Passages to Remove Excess Material either with cleaning agents or purge air (foam guns).
- Disassemble Your Fluid Needle and fluid sections of gun to inspect, change gaskets and o’rings and to lubricate. Be sure to use the correct grease depending on the type of gun and application. Foam guns must only use low viscosity, moisture free grease such as Fusion Grease.
- Remove the Air Cap or Nozzle and Clean or Soak to Prevent Clogs
Common Problems with Spray Guns & How To Fix Them
There are a number of issues that can affect your spray gun, and learning how to identify them is the first step toward resolution. In most cases, problems can be fixed by cleaning spray guns, disassembling them, and reconstructing the equipment. Some of the most common issues technicians run into include clogging, inconsistent spray patterns, paint drips, and gun jams, cured material
Why is My Spray Gun Clogging?
Most spray gun clogging is due to infrequent cleaning. When spray technicians use their guns and put them into storage without flushing internal components, leftover paint and material can dry and cure. Over time, this creates a blockage that needs to be cleared. This often results in the spray nozzle not working. Another potential source of clogging are dirty fluid filters. These can be mounted at the pump or right in the gun handle of fluid manifold. Ensuring these filters are checked and replaced are critical to the operation of the spray gun.
Fixing Inconsistent Spray Patterns
There are numerous causes for inconsistent spray patterns. Various scenarios are due to improper fluid pressure, insufficient material temperatures, plugged spray tip or chamber, air pressure, or spray gun wear and tear at the nozzle.
How to Fix Spray Paint Drips
Typically, this occurs when too much paint is applied. This can be because a technician is spraying too close, they’re not moving the spray gun during application, or the fluid control knob is set too high.
Why is My HVLP Spray Gun Spitting?
Spitting often results when either the spray material is too thick or the pressure is too high. For better results, lower the pressure or use a more compatible material with lower viscosity.
How to Unjam a Gun Caused by Parts Damage
Spray gun jams are typically caused by improperly installed components like fluid needles and springs. If you’re consistently having issues with this, try taking apart the gun, cleaning it fully, and putting it back together.
Gun jamming can also be caused by structural damage to gun components. These will need to be replaced to prevent the issue from persisting.
Always use the gun safety lock when available and follow proper safety procedures.
Advanced Troubleshooting & When to Hire Professional Help
Occasionally, spray gun wear and tear can be very complicated and is not resolved by a quick fix or cleaning. In this situation, it’s best to put the spray gun out of service and consult the manufacturer’s documentation
Many spray technicians don’t have the time to intimately understand their equipment and diagnose complex issues, so troubleshooting spray guns with the help of a professional can be advantageous. Enterprise customers, in particular, can benefit from having a reliable service company that maintains their equipment. Look for a reputable service provider with certifications and experience repairing multiple different brands and types.
Extend Your Spray Gun’s Lifespan with Proper Maintenance
When well cared for, a high-quality spray gun such as a Graco Fusion AP gun can last for many years. Frequent maintenance and quick troubleshooting are the keys to fantastic longevity and performance. By disassembling and thoroughly cleaning and lubricating your spray gun periodically, you can prevent many of the clogging and spray pattern issues technicians commonly face. Your spray gun is an investment.
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