cleaning earlex questions

[Matthew Hills]

A couple of questions from a new earlex user:
- how often do you put petroleum jelly on the needle after cleaning?
- if/when you do put petroleum jelly, do you do anything to remove it before use?
- where do you clean out the gun? (I've heard common to spray clean water into a bucket if using a water-borne finish, but I seem to get a lot of mist around this; not sure I want to do this in the garage utility sink -- so is it pretty much an outside activity?)
- how do you tell the gun is clean if you have been spraying a clear topcoat? (it seems straightforward if using a tinted coating)

thanks,
Matt

[Curt Harms]

The easy cleanup is one of the things I like about the earlex gun. There are no small or convoluted passages. I loosen the cup and partially lift the gun and squeeze the trigger so any fluid in the gun can run out. Then remove the gun and clean the outside of the pickup tube. Remove the knob that holds the needle and remove the needle. Then remove the pieces that make up the business end of the gun and run a stream of warm water through the fluid passage. Clean the cup and that's pretty much it. I just lube the part of the needle that goes through the gland (the little brass colored thing) on reassembly. I have a laundry tub to contain any mess. I use waterborne finishes most of the time so water cleanup. Shellac I drain as much as possible then empty the cup, run DNA through it then disassemble to make sure the tip and needle are clean.