Earlez Sprayer Question

[Ed Gibbons]

If I spray with an acrylic finish, can I let the finish sit in the sprayer for the 2 hours recommended drying time? I have been washing it immediately after each use but that gets to be a pain because I usually give the piece at least 4 coats.

Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

I leave finish in my gun all day long when I'm spraying multiple coats. (I generally use Target Coatings products) I just "clean" the tip with my finger nail where the needle closes things off before starting to spray again. .... IE, everything needs to be air tight when you are not pressing the trigger. Note that some finishes do have a "pot life" that you don't want to exceed, but most folks like you and I don't use that kind of thing.

[Rob Young]

My HVLP uses a bleeder gun and I've had no issues with leaving waterborne finishes in the cup for several hours. Do the same as Jim and make sure the tip is clean. Sometimes I've had to pull off the cap and give it a quick clean if things are getting too goopy that a wet rag won't do the trick. And I shut down the turbine of course.

The bleed air comes out AROUND the tip. If you leave things running for 10 minutes while moving stuff around it doesn't cause any problems. That's been about the limit of time I've kept the turbine running without spraying.

[Jim Becker]

Good point about the bleed coming out around the nozzle, Rob. I had forgot that and misspoke. Editing my post...

[Prashun Patel]

I spray enduro clear poly. I am not sure how similar this is to your finish.

First, I don’t wait for 2 hours between coats. I wait about 30 minutes. You may double check your recoat time.

Second I also dont clean between coats. I pick the nozzle clean like Jim before the next coat.

If the day is long or hot, I have sometimes removed the gun from the cup, poured the contents in a jar, wrapped the gun in a plastic bag and put both in the fridge. I rinse out the cup with water and strain before refilling.

[Ed Gibbons]

I appreciate the feedback. Have taken the advice here and haven’t had any issues and obviously saved some time. I have been using Miniwax polyacylic had have been pleased with the outcome.

[Justin Horne]

I have the earlex 5500. I shoot exclusively target coatings. I have left finish in the gun for several hours, even overnight.

As was already stated, just scrape off the nozzle before you resume spraying. When I have left finish in the gun overnight, I plug the air hose port on the back of the gun with a rag...just to try and reduce access to air even more.

PRO TIP: if you are going to leave finish in the gun overnight, make sure you loosen the air cap nut, or else residual finish will "glue" the nut in place...not even vice grips could get it off.it ended up spinning the nut and brass fitting, thus ruining the gun.

On the bright side, I purchased a brand new gun and cup, so now I have one cup for clear coats and one cup for primers/colors...and an extra gun for spare parts!