Originally Posted by
Tom M King
Use water to push out waterbourne/ water based finishes, and mineral spirits, or your choice, for others. Clean the tip, and tip holder that screws off the gun by hand, and you're done. Amount of pushing fluid depends on the hose. Turn the tip around, and push what you have in the pump and hose into another container until you see the "pusher fluid", and keep that, then run the cleaner through the system until it runs clear. If I'm in a city, the cleaning water goes down a sink with running water, and at home, I spray it out on the grass by the shop, and it's gone with the next grass cutting.
Water is a LOT easier than dealing with thinner, so I can't remember the last non-waterbased that I sprayed with the airless rig. I keep a cheap HVLP specifically for oil based primer.
I keep a 1/4"x25' hose for inside work, and a couple of hundred feet (in three pieces that can be combined) of 3/8" for outside. The smaller, shorter hose makes for much quicker cleanup.
If you are spraying water based over multiple coats, or days, take the tip and end off, clean them between coats, and drop the gun in a bucket of water until the next session. Put a piece of Saran Wrap on top of the finish in the container you're sucking it out of. There is no air in the system, so that way, nothing sets up anywhere except maybe a little on the pickup tube.
I put a drop of oil on the tip, and pump saver in the pump for long term storage. I think I bought the pump I'm using in the late '80's, but may have been the early '90's. You have to put pump oil in once in a while, but it's easy.
The handhelds are more clumsy, and don't do as good of a job, without a lot of experience, as a real airless rig.
If you will be spraying things other than cabinets, you will want several extension wands, that come in a bunch of different lengths, and go between the gun and the tip holder, so you can stand on the floor, and paint a tall ceiling, or paint a roof without bending over. For cabinets, spray them before you put the backs on. Overspray is not a problem, like with air rigs, but you do get some bounceback, depending on pressure.
edited to add: The handheld ones are a lot more trouble to clean, or at least, mine is. Mine is Graco's first version of the battery powered sprayers. I haven't looked at the newer models, but I have to take mine completely apart, including the gasket that goes between the head, and the cup. It takes me longer to clean the unit, than to spray what I spray with it. I haven't used it in years.