My Messy Spray Gun Disaster

Alright folks, grab a coffee. Today’s story involves paint, frustration, and finally figuring out my dang spray gun washer. We've all been there, right? You finish a project, look at that beautiful paint job, then glance at the gun… it’s covered in gunk. Past me would just dunk it in thinner overnight and hope. Spoiler: that never worked well. Last week I fired it up for another coat and got splatters everywhere. Total rookie move. So this time, I tackled cleaning it properly.

Figuring Out the Washer Thingy

Honestly, I didn’t even know I had this specific washer attachment until I dug through my toolbox. Found this metal cup thing screwed onto the gun’s paint inlet? Turns out that IS the washer attachment! Felt kinda dumb. I fumbled around, unscrewed it. Okay, step one was just realizing it existed.

The Actual Cleaning Steps (What Worked!)

Here’s the simple 5-step dance I did that actually cleaned it properly:

• Empty the Paint: First, obvious but gotta say it. Drained every last drop of paint back into the can. No wasting that expensive stuff!
• Dump Some Cleaner In: Took some of the thinner/cleaner juice, poured it into the washer cup until it was about half full. Didn't measure, just eyeballed it.
• Screw It On Tight: Put that washer cup full of cleaner back onto the gun inlet and twisted it on snug. Didn't wanna leak.
• Spray Into a Bucket: Pointed the gun into my big ugly cleaning bucket, squeezed the trigger. Fired air and cleaner through the whole system for a good 10-15 seconds. Saw nasty paint color shooting out into the bucket. This part is important! Kept spraying 'til what came out looked mostly clear.
• Take It Apart & Wipe Down: Unscrewed everything – the nozzle tip, the needle guard, the cup. Used a clean rag and an old brush dipped in cleaner to wipe out any left-over goo inside the cup and off the parts. Wiped the outside of the gun down too. Left the pieces sitting on a rag to dry before putting them back together gently.

Turns out? This whole washer rig actually saves cleaner instead of just dunking the whole gun! And guess what? Next time I used it, smooth as butter. No sputters, no drips. Still kinda amazed something so simple worked so well. Goes to show you gotta use the tools designed for the job. Hope my fumbling helps you avoid my paint-splatter mess!