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Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plus

8/17/16       
Charles Member

Yes, I know. Clean the gun immediately after use with water. That's what the MLCampbell info sheet recommends. But, that's not real life sometimes. So...

There are times that some of the finish gets on the spray cap and hardens. There are times when the schedule goes crazy and someone forgets to clean the gun just before the weekend. Now what?

What will remove the cured Agualente Plus Clear finish? I would like to be able to soak the air cap and nozzle overnight and return to see the finish dissolved. I would like to find something that will dissolve the cured finish inside the gun. Am I asking too much? What might work?

I have tried lacquer thinner. I have tried acetone. Neither of them seemed to pass my experiments. I am trying DNA tonight on the aircap. I will see what happens tomorrow.

I do see a product on the MLC website called "ML Campbell WB Gun and Line Cleaner Concentrate" but the info says to use this AFTER flushing the lines with water. I cannot tell if this will work on cured/hardened finish.

Any experience out there that can direct me, please?

8/17/16       #2: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Leo G

GLC10 is what I think the line cleaner you spoke of. It will work.

Get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner. I got one from Cabela's. It's big enough to hold all the parts from the spraygun including the body of the gun.

Mix the GLC10 30% to 70% water. Set the temp to 140F and set the ultrasonic cleaner to 30 minutes.

After time expires take the parts out and inspect them. Use a brush to clean stubborn areas. Repeat as long as it takes to get things clean.

I use Clawlock, Stealth, Krystal and other conversion varnishes. The Clawlock is the toughest to remove. Sometimes it'll take 2 hours in the USonic cleaner to get things clean. But when I'm done the spraygun looks like it's new.

I don't think you are going to find something that will just dissolve the finish and you get to pull a completely clean gun out of the solution. It's finish, it's meant to stick.

8/18/16       #3: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Charles Member

Leo,

Thanks for your response and instructions. I will get the GLC10 from my distributor.

Which brand/model ultrasonic cleaner did you get that will fit the entire gun body? There are (too) many choices at Cabela's and others.

Thanks!

8/18/16       #4: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Leo G

I have the Lyman Turbo® Sonic™ TS-6000 Sonic Cleaner

Best thing to do is make your own basket out of some stainless steel screening. The plastic one that comes with it limits the ultrasound. Or you could just cut around the areas where the transducer are and get the same effect.

If it's to pricey, mix the GLC10 with hot water, that'll speed up the process. The mixture should be at 140F.

I'd try to afford the cleaner, you'll use it a long time. I throw my tips in it after each session for 5-7 minutes. Put them right on top of the transducers. Keeps them sparkly.

8/18/16       #5: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Charles Member

Thanks again.

New unit on order from Cabela's. (Might as well reward them for good performance for you.)

Any need to remove the rubber o-rings with either the U-sonic cleaner or the GLC10? Or, any special prep before dropping an entire gun into the unit? Anything to remove besides the air-cap, needle/nozzle? The air pattern adjustment knob?

MLC's website says GLC10 can also be used with solvent-borne products. Would you use the same ratio (30% GLC10 and 70% water)?

8/18/16       #6: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Robert Member

Would a small container of a water based stripper work to soften the finish enough so all you had to do was use a bristle brush to clean it off ?

8/18/16       #7: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Leo G

Yes, same ratios. But if you have something stubborn don't worry about going 100%.

I pull my gun apart as far as I can to get everything exposed. I couldn't get the needle out of my MVX gun. And I took all the teflon washers out, but cleaned them with the gun anyway. Took them out so the nooks and crannys were exposed.

If you have a fiber/cloth type packing where the needle enters the gun I would probably keep that dry and not submerge it.

8/19/16       #8: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
herb johonson

i typically use fifty fifty water and acrastrip

since most all gun packing are teflon or something similiar not much can get hurt in the guns

good luck

herb j

8/22/16       #9: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
DannyB Member

As was said, use an ultrasonic cleaner.

If you want a solution that will remove pretty much anything (including krystal, clawlock, etc) in about 10 minutes, use a mixture of NMP, triton-x (both can be gotten on amazon), and water. About 20% NMP, 1-2% triton-x.

Heat it to 160-170 degrees.

You can get this commercially, it's just more expensive than mixing it yourself -- if you want to buy it premixed,
Terpinal RS-75 is basically this (15% NMP), and chem-crest 121 is a higher NMP version of this (90% NMP).

NMP is more of a delaminator, so it will just make the finish easily come off whatever it's on, rather than flat-out dissolve it

The nice part about it is that this means you can reuse it for a long time. Just occasionally filter it through a 5-25 micron filter to separate the gunk, and it'll keep going.

Acrastrip is another good one.

9/2/16       #10: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Charles Member

Update:

I now have the Lyman ultrasonic cleaner and GLC10 gun cleaner from MLC.

So far I have cleaned two guns that had Agualente Plus in them. Both cleaned up well and tested fine. It took multiple passes with the ultrasonic and some cleaning with a small bottle brush in the fluid passages. I used 30% GLC10 to 70% H2O solution. And, 140F on the temperature.

The only part that has not come completely clean yet is some finish on the inside of the plastic cup on the gravity cup gun. To be fair, this gun was left with some finish in it for several months. It was misplaced during a recent move. The gun, however, cleaned up like new and works fine. I may try simply soaking the cup in the solution for a day or so.

My next challenge is to clean some guns that have MLC solvent-borne HP white. The MLC literature states GLC10 can be used for solvent-borne finishes as well. Hopefully the results will be just as good.

Thanks to all! :-)

10/20/16       #11: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Folz Custom Cabinets (Joe) Member

Where can you get the Acrastrip?

10/21/16       #12: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Denny J

If you are cleaning parts used for WB finishes, Get a parts washer available about anywhere and use a 10-15%solution of simple green.

10/22/16       #13: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
DannyB

Just be careful with regular simple green, they have an FAQ on using it with aluminum (IE a lot of spray guns) that says "keep it to 10 minutes".

They have versions of the cleaner meant for aluminum, but the regular stuff ain't it.

10/22/16       #14: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
Denny J

It's the water that causes the problem which is also why if you use WB that the parts of your spray equipment should be stainless steel for best performance.
That being said in addition to my AAA guns which have aluminum in them I also use a lot of cheap grizzly spray guns that I can set up for small runs of special colors and I have soaked all of them extensively with no issues. This is real world, not hypothetical. I have been spraying water based for nearly Two decades and have done this for most of them.

10/22/16       #15: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
DannyB

I agree that it's definitely about the water's ability to cause corrosion.
Apparently the simply green accelerates it by 10x or so.

All that said, i certainly trust real world experience over "cover our ass" guidelines on a website.

While we are on the subject of all this stuff, random pro tip for those who have never done it before: Most of the cleaning agents we're talking about don't really stop working (NMP, etc) because they don't evaporate easily and they aren't really being absorbed. So you can usually filter them repeatedly and they will still work great.

For my ultrasonic, i just attach the drain hose to go to a 1 micron filter in a standard house filter housing (total cost: about 35-40 bucks on amazon).

If you have no drain (or want to get the last bit through the pump), you can also just use a transfer pump.

Happily filters all the gunk/etc back out of it and leaves you with nice, clear, cleaning agent.

Don't try this with solvents, of course, unless you make sure to get a solvent proof housing and filter :)

10/24/16       #16: Gun Cleaner for cured Agualente Plu ...
francis

MEK


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