My paint gun started spitting halfway through a full hood repaint

I was working on a 2018 Ford F-150 hood yesterday, about 80% done with the base coat. The gun, a Devilbiss Finishline 4 I've had for about two years, just started spitting and sputtering out of nowhere. It left a nasty texture on a big section. I had to stop, strip that whole area back down, and clean everything. I think the issue was a tiny piece of dried sealer that got stuck in the fluid tip, even though I thought I cleaned the cup well. It set me back almost three hours. Has anyone else had a similar problem with their spray equipment, and what's your go-to method for making sure the fluid path is totally clear before a big panel?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_harris16d agoMost Upvoted

Ugh, that's the worst. I had my old gun do that with some clogged clear once, ruined a fender. Now I run a bit of thinner through it into a rag first, every single time.

wendyk5616d agoMost Upvoted

Absolutely, that spitting sound is a nightmare. My old gun did the same thing with some leftover primer in the line. I always strain my paint now and blow out the air cap with cleaner before I start.

hayden_nelson8511d ago

That bit about the leftover primer in the line is so true. My buddy had a similar mess last year. He was spraying a base coat and his gun started spitting these awful globs. Turns out he didn't clean the fluid tip well enough after his last primer job. It left a tiny dried bit that broke loose. He had to sand down and repaint an entire door panel. It was a hard lesson on taking that extra minute to clean every single part.