Airless paint sprayer protectant?

[nthach]

My parents have a Graco 190ES paint sprayer they use once in a blue moon. I have the sprayer stored and protected with a mix of paint thinner and a shot or two of whatever motor oil I have on hand. Solvents evaporate and I need to redo the job again this weekend as I noticed the bucket holding the paint thinner/oil mix is just barely covering the pickup screen on the pump's inlet.

I know Graco has their own protectant - Pump Armor but the SDS shows that it's like non-silicated antifreeze with ethylene glycol, dipotassium phosphate and sodium nitrite. It's close to Toyota's red coolant without the OAT. Some people use RV antifreeze to store their paint sprayers.

Since I have a uncomfortable feeling my dad will carelessly use the sprayer without a water purge to flush out the solvent/oil storage solution and I have a gallon of Toyota red coolant left over I might just use that to store the sprayer and all that needs to be done before spraying is to flush the pump. I'll use a 2 gallon bucket with a hole drilled in the lid to prevent an accidental spill or poisoning. If I can find a cap that has the same threads as the inlet screen, I can simply turn the sprayer upside-down and fill it with the storage solution and seal it.

Will this work or just stick to what I've been doing with the paint thinner and oil?

 

[demarpaint]

I use mineral spirits after a complete and through cleaning. They are stored inside. I have three machines all stored the same way. As my business has shifted more toward high end wall covering installation the airless sprayers get used less and less. Last year I rustproofed the under carriage of my Rubicon with a Titan sprayer that wasn't used in probably ten years. The insides of the machine were clean and plenty of mineral spirits exited the unit. The pick up tube is cleaned by hand first. Next the machine gets cleaned by running either soap and water through it for latex, mineral spirits for oil base products. Once the unit is spraying clean soap and water or mineral spirits I give it a final rinse with mineral spirits. Then I relieve the pressure after turning it off, roll up the hose and store it with the gun attached minus the tip. There is enough mineral spirits remaining in the unit to keep it problem free for a very long time. Finally I wrap the gun and pick up tube in a plastic bag to keep dirt out.

 

[WhyMe]

i think they need stuff in there just to keep it from freezing in case its left in a unheated area , which a lot of them are .

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted by WhyMe
i think they need stuff in there just to keep it from freezing in case its left in a unheated area , which a lot of them are .

They also don't want residual paint that might be remaining from a poor cleanup hardening and plugging things. FTR mineral spirits won't freeze either.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by demarpaint
I use mineral spirits after a complete and through cleaning. They are stored inside. I have three machines all stored the same way. As my business has shifted more toward high end wall covering installation the airless sprayers get used less and less. Last year I rustproofed the under carriage of my Rubicon with a Titan sprayer that wasn't used in probably ten years. The insides of the machine were clean and plenty of mineral spirits exited the unit. The pick up tube is cleaned by hand first. Next the machine gets cleaned by running either soap and water through it for latex, mineral spirits for oil base products. Once the unit is spraying clean soap and water or mineral spirits I give it a final rinse with mineral spirits. Then I relieve the pressure after turning it off, roll up the hose and store it with the gun attached minus the tip. There is enough mineral spirits remaining in the unit to keep it problem free for a very long time. Finally I wrap the gun and pick up tube in a plastic bag to keep dirt out.

That has been my MO and last time I sprayed the pump worked like the day I put it away.

I just need to "build a better mousetrap" to prevent a well-meaning but occasionally clueless dad from ruining the works. Hence why looking into coolant or Pump Armor.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by WhyMe
i think they need stuff in there just to keep it from freezing in case its left in a unheated area , which a lot of them are .

That's what I get - which also explains the phosphate and nitrite content as a corrosion inhibitor just like coolant. Glycols also serve as a humectant. Since airless sprayer pumps have leather and Teflon/P-tex packings, the glycol in a pump protectant(or oil if paint thinner is used) serves to keep the leather "moisturized".

 

[928]

Don't over think it- get a gallon of diesel fuel, when you think it's clean enough switch to the diesel (seperate bucket) then turn it to "prime" let the diesel circulate for a couple of minutes. Lubes everything & won't let anything inside corrode

 

[nthach]

Looking for your thoughts on high volume low-pressure paint sprayers, the kind with the paint container that sits on top of the sprayer mechanism. Do they work with water-based/latex paint? I have a regular sprayer with the tank under the nozzle and it works fine with oil paint, but not so well with water base. It's so dry here that paint comes out as a powder and does not stick. Even the latex paint conditioner does not help. Just wondering if the other kind would be better.

I ordered this for my dad - he was planning on spraying a overhang but I didn’t want him using the big sprayer(which now I have to purge the clean the motor oil and mineral spirits out of since I’m helping him paint the house soonish).

The nice part unlike the Graco is that it will spray straight paint - no thinning required. The Wagner handhelds come with a viscosity cup and you have to time how long the cup takes takes to empty and thin appropriately. HVLPs need their paint within a certain viscosity range. This one is an airless.

My dad doesn’t always follow instructions but he liked how this sprayed. It handled Behr Ultra just fine - but that’s not a “high-build” paint.

Graco 17A466 TrueCoat 360 DS Paint Sprayer - - Amazon.com

Graco 17A466 TrueCoat 360 DS Paint Sprayer - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[dareo]

Idaho Painter on youtube just runs antifreeze through his pumps and i believe he has kept one running for like 20 years. He's a really good painter/info channel too.