Thread: Spray gun lacquer

If we are talking clear nitro cellulis lacquer.
Hang it on a hook until you are looking to use it again,put you're thumb over the vent hole and give it a swirl to mix and spray I rarely clean out my lacquer gun and it can be days or weeks between sprays. Some times the vent will get a seal of lacquer and simply scrape it off and occasionally the nozzle will have a film of lacquer that requires being removed with fingernail that's it. I am sure others will say you need to clean the gun after every use but with thinners based lacquer I have never had a problem in 30+ years in cabinet shop or since at home the gun only gets a clean out when I change the type of product I am spraying then it gets a thorough clean. I always put a disposable ear plug in the air supply fitting in all my air tools here otherwise they become home to mud wasps here in Queensland that is the only prevention I use.
Regards Rod.

That's really good information. I don't know what vent you're talking about. The only one I know about is on my cpap machine. I'm using sherwin williams high bild lacquer. It's made for pros so there is very little information in the label.

Hi sussertown,
The vent I mean is the small vent hole in the lid of the spray gun.
regards Rod.

My reading of your original post is that you are asking what to do with your gun between coats in the same spraying session. I take it this is related to your previous post where you seem to be having some problem arise after your first coat that makes subsequent coats difficult - dry and dusty I think.

Generally, you shouldn't need to do anything between coats. Just make sure there is some product in the gun and hang it up. Come back to it an hour or two later and it should be good to go. If not, something else is wrong.

I had a lot of the same problem when learning. Can't remember exactly what the problem was, but I do remember incompatible thinners, cleanliness (a bit of crusty old lacquer going through the system) and too smaller nozzle all playing a part at some time. If the first coat is good and wet, but the second coat is dry and dusty then the product supply is choking somewhere. Both the air and the lacquer take separate paths through the gun so it shouldn't be that hard to work out what is choking the lacquer path.

Check the path the lacquer takes. If you hold the gun nozzle down with the air supply off, then pull the trigger then lacquer should flow out the nozzle (not blast out, more like a fast trickle). If not, it's choked.

Then check the air supply. Checking the air is obvious. Pull the trigger. If a good strong blast comes out then no problem there.

If the lacquer path is choked then I'd probably start with nozzle size, then cleanliness (looking for clogging). i remember I kept getting a gummy mix clogging up the nozzle area, but don't remember what I eventually found was causing it.

Check the product documentation, but with a name like 'hi-build' then that indicates to me that your choice of lacquer might have a lot of solids and so need a large nozzle.

Perhaps try spraying just thinner, and nothing else, till everything works perfectly, then add the lacquer in 20% increments. That how a lot of people learn.

Ultimately, it's not easy to self-teach lacquer spraying. People who have been doing it a long time tend to forget that, but it willtake you a few weeks to get it right. Just keep practising and experimenting.

I found the vent. It was well hidden and a surprise.

An eloquent and helpful response. Thank you.