Clogged spray paint cans

pull the nozz hole, run your thumbnail through the little slit at the bottom of the round part, try again. if it still doesn't work, soak the nozzle in a little lacquer thinner (the plastic cap of the spray can is perfect for this.)

When you're done spraying, hold the can upside down and spray until no more paint (only propellant) comes out of the nozzle. this will clean it out for the next use.

nate

I've always thought so. It's very frustrating, and happens a lot with hairspray too. You're stuck with perfectly good product that you can't use. I've not found anything that works, but hopefully there is an answer. It might just be a good idea to save the receipts and start returning those damned things to the store every single time it happens.

Cheri

I don't know what is wrong with this can, but I save all the unclogged nozzles from spray cans so I can change to a new one when I need to. They're small and 10 years' worth doesn't fill one 8 oz. margarine contrainer.

Thanks, I'll try that next time.

I tried punch a hole in the edge of the can, on top. Figured I could vent the gas, and then make a larger hole. Pour the paint out.

Well, shazaam, I got foamy spray paint flying all the heck over. I had done the poke hole in the sink, with a paper towel over the hole. I got paint all over a lot of things that aren't supposed to be painted. I'm not gonna try that again any time soon.

Take it outside-- prop it up in a box. Shoot a pellet through it near the top. Should keep enough paint to make the whole deal less frustrating.

Jim

Shake the can longer before you start. It clumps up in the can and plugs the nozzle. Rustoleum (and the Ace clone) seem the worst for this. The best nozzles are the blue ones that have a slit in back and an exposed wire going into the can.

I had the same problem too. After many years of cleaning and swearing I discovered the root cause. All of the problematic cans were very old, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 plus years. Once I threw out all of the old cans and bought some new ones the problem was solved.

There is probably a shelf life for this stuff and it would be nice if it was printed on the can. YMWV...

G.S.

I'll try that next time. Pointy hunting pellets?

Which brands work properly?

Yes, these were a couple years old. Bet that's it. I wonder, if I stored the cans upside down..... ???

I hate those. I like the plain old Krylon ones.

nate

Sounds like you made too large a hole and the gas which may have been absorbed in the liquid paint caused it to foam out like opening a shaken up bottle of soda pop.

I've saved the paint in several plugged cans over the years, by turning them upside down with the lid on and punching a VERY small hole in the bottom with an awl and a hammer.

I always punched through a several layers of rag and just tapped on the awl several times until I heard gas begin to escape and then waited until that sound stopped, then made the hole larger to make sure it hadn't just plugged up.

After that I used a church key to make a couple of decent sized holes in the can bottom and rescued the paint.

I never experienced the "foamy explosion" you described.

Mayb I was just lucky.

Jeff

I have used a spray gun, and the fan spray is kinda nice at times, but those @#$%# blue nozzles always seem to clog easier and also require more force to operate, IME. At times I've ended up switching to using my thumb to operate those things as my index finger gets just plain tired. The plain old Krylon ones seem to work easier so they're less fatiguing on the finger and they just plain work.

Just MHO, YMMV...

nate

I guess that is why they make both kinds. The blue ones shoot a vertical "fan" spray. If you are not used to using a spray gun that might throw you. I think they start and stop more reliably too.That is important if you are laying up light coats instead of just spraying it on till it droops and backing off a bit ;-)

if I have anything REAL big to do, I'll fire up my friend's HVLP, but most of the time I'm detailing small car parts where I'll clean one part, prime it, clean the next part while the first one is drying, paint the first, prime the second, etc... so yeah I get a lot of quality Krylon time :)

I'm pretty good with a spray can if I may say so myself; if I'm being careful it's hard to tell that a part wasn't done with a gun (I've used spray cans for steering columns, dashboards, etc...)

nate

LSMFT huh? I guess I don't use a spray can for anything that takes that long. If I have anything close to a whole can of spraying to do I like my little touchup gun or a cup gun. I did shoot the roof of a van once with spray cans. Two light coats of primer and a coat of white Rustoleum. I bought one of those clip on trigger deals that holds the nozzle down for you. I was really surprised at how well it came out. If I didn't have air now I would have one of those.

It sounds like you need one of those clip on spray handles. Get a real one from an auto paint store. They make working with spray cans a whole lot easier. I can do some pretty good work with a spray can too. Once you learn how to paint you can work with almost anything. I had some good teachers. I knew a guy who could shoot better than stock quality paint on a motorcycle with a spray can.

On 3/27/2008 3:07 PM Stormin Mormon spake thus:

Dunno if this has already been mentioned in this thread (OK, I'm lazy and don't want to read the whole thing), but what I do is keep all my spray-can nozzles in a jar soaking in lacquer thinner. Pop one onto the spray can, use it, then return it to soak when done. I have no problems with clogs (at least with nozzles), though sometimes the damned *cans* clog.