Relieve pressure as your sprayer's manual describes and lock the trigger. Flush the gun and hose with what the manual and the coating maker recommend, then remove and clean the tip and guard, clean the gun filter and check the tip seal. Store the gun as the manual advises and protect it from freezing.
Why clean after every use
Coating left to dry in a gun, hose or pump does not wash out later. It hardens in the filter, around the valve and in the tip opening, and the next job starts with spitting, pulsing or a blocked tip. That applies to latex and every other coating. Cleaning at the end of the job is far easier than dealing with a gun full of dried paint.
The routine below is process-led on purpose. Flush materials and exact steps differ by sprayer and coating, so your model's manual and the coating maker's instructions give the details. If you do not have the manual, find it on our manuals page.
Relieve pressure first
Before you clean, change a tip or touch any part, follow the pressure relief procedure in the manual for your sprayer. Switch off, relieve pressure through the gun and the prime or drain valve as the manual describes, and engage the gun's trigger lock. We do not give model-specific steps here because they differ.
Flush the gun and hose
Flush the system with what the manual and the coating maker recommend for the coating you used. Run it until the fluid leaving the gun runs clear, and keep the gun pointed into a waste container as the manual directs. Do not improvise: the manual and the coating maker know what suits the coating.
We do not give flush volumes or solvent names here, because the right ones depend on the coating. They are on the coating's label and in your sprayer manual.
Tip, guard and seals
With pressure relieved and the trigger locked, remove the tip and guard and clean them. Check the tip opening for dried coating and inspect the seal behind it for damage. If the tip is a reversible one and it is clogged, the handle can clear it as the tip's instructions describe, rather than poking the opening with metal.
- Tip: clean the opening, and replace it when the pattern degrades. A worn tip wastes paint.
- Guard: wipe clean and check it for damage. Do not spray with a cracked or missing guard. Our Tip Guards page lists the options, such as the 0289228.
- Tip seal: replace one that is cut, flattened or leaking. The 651-020 and the 661-020 5 pack are on the Titan Seals page.
Filters
Clean the gun filter after every use. Titan's RX-Apex manual says so for that gun, and it is a good habit on any gun with one. A partly blocked filter causes pressure loss, pulsing and spitting, which is easy to mistake for a pump problem. If a filter will not come clean, replace it. The unthreaded range is on the gun filter page, with the green 0089957 and yellow 0089959 as 2-packs.
A gun without its own filter can take the 550-223 in-line gun filter, which needs the same cleaning.
Store and spare parts
Store the sprayer with the fluid your manual recommends, and protect the pump against freezing as the manual describes. Do not leave a coating sitting in the system between jobs unless the manual says it is safe for that coating.
Cleaning is also when you spot what has worn. Two small parts are worth having to hand so that a bad seal or filter does not stop the next job: a 651-020 tip seal and a spare 0089957 gun filter. For a full list of what to carry, see our airless gun spares guide.
Relieve pressure and lock the trigger
Follow your model's manual.
Flush gun and hose
With the fluid the manual and coating maker recommend, until it runs clear.
Clean tip and guard
Check the tip seal while the tip is out.
Clean the gun filter
Replace it if it will not come clean.
Store as the manual says
Keep it out of freezing weather.
Clean-up and replacement parts:
The Short Version
Relieve pressure, flush with what the manual and coating maker specify, clean the tip, guard and filter, check the tip seal and store the sprayer as the manual describes. Make it a routine after every job rather than a rescue when the gun clogs.
Need a filter, seal or tip guard?
Call (713) 931-0006 with your gun model and our parts team will confirm the part before you order.
(713) 931-0006Order by Parts Diagram