If you are going to paint the exterior of your commercial building, it is a good idea to use a pneumatic spray gun. Even though you will probably need to rent the spray gun system, this will still save you money because it will save you so much time in the long run. It is more practical than using brushes and rollers. Spraying allows you to get full coverage on exterior walls with rough textures. However, spraying will still take several days, so you need to know how to properly break down and store your gun when you are not using it. This article explains how to maintain clean and store your gun between uses.
Storing the Gun During Short Breaks
Whenever you are going to take a break for about an hour or longer (like a lunch break), you need to store the gun properly. The paint in the spray tip can dry up and ruin the stream. This happens even quicker on a sunny, dry day. To solve this problem, just keep a small bucket of clean water on hand. You can place the entire gun in the bucket, you don't even need to remove it from the hose. When you pick up the gun to start painting again, you should just spray for a few seconds to clear any water that might have soaked in.
Storing the Gun Overnight
Storing the gun overnight is a little more complicated because you need to clear the hose of paint. To do this, you need a bucket of water that is the same size of the paint bucket attached to the compressor. Basically, pull the intake hose out the paint bucket and place it into the bucket of water. Make sure it is fully submerged, and then find a scrap piece of cardboard or word that you can spray onto. Spray the gun until only water is coming out. This not only cleans out the hose and compressor lines, it also cleans out the gun nozzle. The gun also has a removable spraying tip. Pull this tip out and wipe it down with a rag. If there is any paint stuck the outside of the gun, you can wipe it down with a rag soaked in paint thinner.
When it comes time to start painting on the next day, just put the intake back into the paint bucket, replacing the spray tip, power up the machine and start spraying until only paint is coming out.
For more information, contact a company like Paintworks Unlimited.
