How To Clean an HVLP Spray Gun? (5-Step Guide)

So you've wrapped up another successful DIY painting project and now it's time for the fun part: clean up.

You may be wondering how to clean an HVLP spray gun after you've gotten it all covered in paint. Luckily, spray gun cleaning isn't that hard if you follow the right steps.

So, before you dive into cleaning your spray gun, keep reading to learn the key steps you'll need to take to get the best clean possible!

What Do You Need To Know About HVLP Spray Gun Cleaning?

Take Caution During Disassembly

Although this process is fairly simple, the important thing to consider here is your unique HVLP spray gun and how it's meant to be disassembled.

You'll want to do your research, either online or in your user manual, on how to disassemble your unique HVLP gun.

The reason this is so important is because each gun has a different set up and often has little gun parts that are delicate and should be treated as such.

As you take the gun apart, you'll want to be very careful not to bend or otherwise harm any of those tiny parts like the needle or the fluid tip because that can make it almost impossible to put the gun back together again.

Keep Track of Parts

The other mistake folks make is simply dumping all the gun parts in a sink basin together. Then they'll fill it up with soapy water and start scrubbing.

The problem with this is the little parts, like the fluid needle, can easily get lost in the soapy mess and can end up getting bent or broken.

That's why we recommend developing a process where you keep the small discrete parts away from the larger parts of the gun while your cleaning them.

Paint gun cleaning doesn't need to be a super difficult process, it just needs to be thoughtfully done to protect your spray gun in the long term.

Supplies You’ll Need For Cleaning Your HVLP Paint Gun

How To Clean an HVLP Paint Sprayer (5-Step Guide)

1. Clean out the paint cup
2. Disassemble the gun body
3. Submerge the parts in paint thinner
4. Wipe everything down thoroughly
5. Reassemble the spray gun

Step 1 - Clean out the paint cup

First things first you want to clean out the paint cup.

This is the part that will likely have the most paint or fluid on it. So you'll want to start by filling up the cup with your paint thinner or other cleaning solution.

After you've filled it up, put the cap back on the cup and give it a good shake to really loosen the fluid up. Then, go ahead and pull the trigger and let the paint thinner spray into a plastic cup or bucket. 

This will allow some of the thinner to work it's way through the inner mechanisms of the paint spray gun and do some of the deep cleaning work for you.

Then, you'll want to run a paper towel with some paint thinner on it through the inside of the cup  (make sure you use nitrile gloves for this to avoid getting it on your skin) to clean paint out of the main body. You'll also want to clean off the inside of the cap.

Step 2 - Disassemble the gun body

Next you'll want to unscrew the gun body from the paint cup and set the paint cup aside to dry on a paper towel. Then, you'll move on to disassembling the rest of the spray gun body.

Start by unscrewing the air cap of the gun. Then, be very careful as you go to unscrew the needle. The fluid needle is usually spring loaded, so as you unscrew it, it will shoot off the gun if you don't hold it in place very carefully.

Now, you'll need to grab the wrench that likely came with your gun to unscrew the inner part of the air cap and then set that aside with all the other smaller gun parts.

Step 3 - Submerge the parts in paint thinner

After you've taken the spray gun apart, it's time to give all those smaller parts a thorough cleaning. While we recommend using paint thinner, since it makes the job much easier, you could use a simple cleaning solution or soapy water for this step if you prefer.

The important part is that you just take care of all these small parts and make sure they don't get damaged during the cleaning process.

So, we recommend you take the outer air cap, inner air cap, and the main gun body and dunk them in a plastic cup or bucket full of paint thinner.

Allowing them to fully soak will break up any paint residue that is lingering inside and make it much easier to detail clean the parts.

However, we don't recommend dunking the needle or the spring in the solution with all of these other parts as they can easily get lost or bent during this process.

Step 4 - Wipe everything down thoroughly

Once you've given everything some time to soak (usually a few minutes to a half an hour) it's time to take them all out of the cleaning solution and start wiping them down.

This is where a bristle cleaning brush and some toothpicks can be helpful. Use the brush to scrub the fluid tip and air cap pieces to get any additional residue off. It should come off much easier now that it's been soaking for a while.

Then, if you notice any buildup around the little ridges inside, you can (very carefully) take a toothpick to get any paint out of those grooves.

Next you'll take a rag or paper towel with a bit of cleaning solution on it and wipe the fluid needle and spring down thoroughly.

Step 5 - Reassemble the spray gun

Finally, once you've given all of the parts a thorough cleaning, you'll start to reassemble the spray gun.

First, put the needle and spring back in place. Then screw on the inner air cap, then the outer air cap.

Put the paint cup back on the gun body and put the cap on it, and now you're done!

Final Thoughts on Cleaning an HVLP Spray Gun