My Biggest Mistake When Spraying HVLP Finishes for Woodworking - How To Clean a HVLP Spray Gun 

Great tutorial. Something I recommend to my customers when using a cup gun to start a job is to grab some cardboard and with the coating in the gun is to spray the cardboard. By doing this it will show you the spray pattern on the cardboard. Letting you know what adjustments are needed to be made. Ex. Tails-when the top and bottom of the spray pattern is heavier then the middle or the finish is leaving little drops of un-atomized material on the cardboard. Spraying on cardboard first will show you everything about your finish quality. Especially with spray stains.

I've been spraying for years and always do this routine after each session, no-one ever told me to clean my guns this way, it just seemed the right thing to do; sure it takes a bit of time, but a hell of a lot less than trying to fix a ruined finish. Something that I was told was "backwashing", spraying with thinners but having a finger over the needle hole so the air goes into the cup and helps to agitate any residue inside. Another top tip is to have a gun for each type, water for water and solvent for solvent, and NEVER mix the two, even cleaning this thorough it's still better to have a dedicated gun for that type of finish.

Very useful, Brian. Thanks!

This is much appreciated. I rarely use my sprayer as I've had such a hard time cleaning it. But honestly this effort is why I tend to prefer Osmo or Rubio. Though I am only making projects for myself no client work.

Clean gun is SOOOOOO important! Great tips Brian.

Awesome

Great info as always, Brian. Thank you for all your work producing videos!

Amazing like always my dear friend.. regards.

Great review on the cleaning process. Good detailed instructions and examples. One thing I would add to the first cleaning is a chemical resistant soft bristle brush to use with that left over cleaner and run the brush over the threads and any small parts.

Hey Brian, new subscriber to your channel. As a 30 year hobbyist woodworker I am impressed with the quality of your work and the content you provide. Keep it up. I've also been a professional painter for 47 years. I agree with Frank the Generalist that a soft brush is the best choice to scrub the threads, I usually just use a cheap chip brush. And I saw a wire on your bench I'm assuming for reaming pugged holes in the air cap, but use caution when doing so as the soft aluminum air horns can easily be worn distorting the spray pattern permanently. Stores that sell quality spray equipment sell a set of long, thin brushes in various sizes ( they look like a pipe cleaner ) built specifically for this purpose. A quality spray gun can easily cost $300. but nobody wants to damage even a inexpensive one. Beautiful work again, looking at your home page.

THANK YOU. IF IT WAS NOT FOR VIDEO'S LIKE THIS I WOULD BE BUYING A NEW SPRAYER EVERY MONTH.

Really huge thanks for taking the time to make this. I'm having flakes on the finished piece and I now suspect it's because I don't do anything with the gun between coats and not cleaning the cup really well like you do here.

Creatures of habit… like me laying out my water based stain rags LOL “………what and I doing?”

Brain. What tip size u use for primer and base coat.. an again the brand of the gun

Great Video, my hands are taking strain with the cleaning process as I can’t seem to find decent gloves, what gloves are you using and can I purchase them online? Thanks in advance 🫡

Use thin bristle brush bristles but never use any metal needles to poke into the tiny air holes. You do it 10 times and the precise geometry will be screwed up and with it the fan pattern. Blow the holes out with compressed air as soon as you take it out of the paint thinner.

Brian: First, great video and extremely useful information. But is your setup true HVLP or is it a standart spray gun system running off your compressor? I realize much of what you are saying applies to both, just question the use of HVLP.Not a complaint- just curiosity.

your paint gun wood holder...plans?

maybe some guns are better than others, and less prone to getting clogged. The ideal gun will self-clean by just running some thinner through it

Info on the spray gun?

The entire video reminds me why I spray waterborne only.

Any spray equipment HAS to be thoroughly cleaned after use.

Honestly, the biggest mistake was using HVLP instead of LVLP or conventional. Most people dont have the compressor for HVLP