I've had more than a few clogged, or just useless rattle cans of spray paint over the years.
Does one brand work better than other brand? Do the cans have a shelf life?
Should I shake them for some number of minutes?
Yes and yes
The best spray heads are the ones where you see the wire between the top and the base of the spray head. They can be removed and cleaned easier. The actual tip comes off the sprayer. Be sure you invert the can and blow out all the paint from the head when you put it away. I know people who remove the heads and store them in thinner between uses but that is a bit much for me.
When you are using an old can of paint. be sure you shake the hell out of it. One little chunk of gummy paint coming up the tube will put you out of business. At a certain point, you may just be throwing these old cans away.
I'd not noticed about the little wire. Will look for those. And yes, I've thrown out a lot of cans with plenty of paint left.
One time I punctured a spray can. Figured I could let the pressure out, then later punch bigger hole and brush the paint on. The paint and propellant sprayed and foamed all over the place, and I'll never do that again.
I have had some luck soaking the spray head in lacquer cleaner for a few days and poking the hole out with a very fine piece of piano wire.
The strand of an old IBM card brush is perfect but they have been pretty hard to come by for about 40 years
Here's a video on how to make a cheap device to re-pressurize spray cans safely:
The little wires that come off the cheap Dremel-clone wire brushes you get at Harbor Freight are great for poking holes in clogged spray nozzles. You can acquire quite a few whenever you use them (about four times until they're bald!)
I recently discovered you can chuck a cut-in-half Q-tip into a Dremel rotary tool which is really useful for some cleaning apps like gunked up keyboards.
Do you turn them over after use and spray until the nozzle is clear?
Next time, just take it with you on one of your outdoor adventures and quietly toss it into the campfire.
I had a couple that don't or can't clear.
Greg
Would a Q-tip spinning at 10,000 RPM work on stubborn ear wax?
No, I figure that's a waste of gas, and the rest of the paint probably won't have enough pressure to dispense.
Hmm. We do have a church camp out this weekend. I'll have to ask permission.
Get down to a paint store and buy some Preval sprayers. They fill with YOUR paint and spray much better than any of the cans I've used. You can use oil or water based paints, put a cap on the bottle to store the leftovers and they don't cost much (price has gone up since I last purchased one). If it is a job that matters, I use the recommended thinner for the paint I'm using; if it doesn't matter that much, I use water or turp. They are perfect for smaller jobs, like odd shaped stuff and (especially) louvers. They don't seem to make as much overspray as cans do, and don't dry as fast as the canned crap so's you can fix booboos. I redid an old range vent hood using the P.S. and Rustoleum enamel and it looked like new when I finished; also painted it place in my kitchen with a little newspaper for protection.
Stormy,
If the nozzle is clogged you can pull it off and clean it with paint thinner. Most hardware stores sell brand new nozzles though, so put on a new nozzle. remember that nozzles come in sizes and you want a paint nozzle. Ask in the paint section of the store. If the valve had a slow leak then the propellant is gone. I don't know a fix for that.
Dave M.
I think all the "you libs" on this list should try it, and report the findings.
Sticking to the subject line, I would comment that Spray Paint will NEVER replace duct tape for home repair. It simply lacks the necessary holding power!
That's interesting. I've not tried cleaning nozzles, nor purchasing replacements. Hmm.
I thought I was the only person who reverted to subject lines?
BTW, WD-40 is a lubricant, and a poor one at that. It also puts a nice shine on the yellow counter top at a store where I used to work.
For that matter, you can take the nozzles off when you throw the can away (in an EPA approved manner, of course). In the infinite wisdom of People Who Make Stuff, there seems to be two non-interchangeable styles.
That is why you are having so much trouble. Gas is cheaper than paint. They put in plenty.
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