Somehow managed to break my FLG4

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:46 pm
I haven't used my FLG4 in about 4 years and the other day I wanted to use it, come to find out my air spreader (fan) knob was completely seized, it has some gunk in it which looks like clear silicone I can only assume was dried up clear coat, I don't even know how clear coat would make its way in there.

I had to put pliers on it to unscrew it essentially accepted I would be sacrificing the knobs looks but the entire thing ended up striping out the threads.

I have tried to reach out to Devilbiss to see if they carry the part separately but haven't gotten a response yet, I have the part number I just need to find a reputable place to order it from.

Anyone know where I can find this part or if any other gun uses something identical I can substitute?

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:16 am
Sometimes the gun cleaning and lubrication lesson can be expensive.

Next time soak the top of the gun in some thinners and that will soften that bit of paint that locked the thread.

Any Devilbiss distributor should be able to order the part for you.
Chris



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 8:42 am
This really feels like it was an issue of Aluminum being used on an unlike metal versus poor cleaning, the threads were clean but the gunk is on the inside on a smooth area of the nut, and it is still rubber like so I think it is a sealant and not clear coat.

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 9:10 am
Dunno mate, but it's your gun and if it was silicone then who would have put it in there? You reckoned that it was clear and that seems the most likely. Who in their right mind would use any kind of silicone on or even near a gun used with automotive paints?

Lesson is that you dismantle a gun completely at the end of a project (I do all my regular use guns about monthly) clean thoroughly and lube every thread or contact surface.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 9:58 am
sometimes when lookin for a replacement part, ill search the part# online, then call the comany that says they have it in stock. looks like this place may have it:
https://www.pittsburghsprayequip.com/pr ... ent-valve/

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 4:31 pm
NFT5 wrote:...Lesson is that you dismantle a gun completely at the end of a project (I do all my regular use guns about monthly) clean thoroughly and lube every thread or contact surface.


I am a weekender rookie hack at painting and have a couple of different guns.

After changing colors or before switching guns, I always thoroughly clean the gun, taking out the needle and removing the air cap and clean with acetone, brushes etc.

I have one of those little bottles of Devilbiss spray gun lube but am very reluctant to use it as I always fear that I will get in the wrong place and screw up a future paint job.

Do you lube the whole needle? and the needle control knob?

When you say "every thread" does that include the fan control, etc?

Thanks for any help
Sent by the random thoughts from the voices in my head...



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:17 pm
No I took a picture of what stripped, it is the knob part of the fan control, you can't take this apart normally there is a little c clip behind that that prevents it from unscrewing all the way, I had to remove the c clip to unscrew the knob.

I already ordered the part

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:57 pm
On a typical day I go through the gun cleaning process maybe 15 times.

I have a gun wash station that uses recycled thinners to do the dirtier part of the job, after first flushing through what's left in the pot into slops. Cleaning is done with a Schultz gun and this blasts any paint away. I always remove the aircap and clean this separately with clean thinners, but then remove fluid tip so that I can blast out anything in there and any paint left in the back where the needle comes through. On Devilbiss guns it is also necessary to remove the pot and clean inside the neck where there is always a buildup. I then rinse with clean thinners, inside and out, making sure that I get any threads.

This is because even the residues in the recycled thinners are enough, when dry, to make the threads stick if not flushed with clean thinners. Also, you can get dribbles/splashes on those knobs and threads that you may not see (e.g. clear). I also make sure I clean the needle where it comes out of the gland packing - this again is a common spot for paint to accumulate and, when dry, the needle will be well stuck.

About once a month I take a cleaned gun and dismantle including needle and soak the removed parts and the front of the gun in clean thinners, clean individually and reassemble. I put a very light smear of Vaseline on moving parts, all threads and on the needle from the packing gland back. This keeps things operating nice and smooth and helps to reduce wear. Needles for ProLites cost more than a lot of the guns people use on here and it's worth looking after them, not least because how well my tools work directly impacts on my earnings.

I treat my guns as pieces of fine engineering, being careful and gentle. I'd never take to a gun with hand, or other, tools that could cause damage. Apart from one employee who cracked a gun body with excess force, I've never damaged one of my guns. Sure, they get wear - they're used daily, most of them, but the thought of using so much force as to strip a thread gives me the horrors. I've had stuck threads, every painter has, but addressed them by soaking, rather than brute force.

After lubing I then spray flush a little clean thinners through the gun - to get any lubricant that may have snuck inside. Doing this means that I've never had a problem.

I feel sorry for OP. It's a hard learned and potentially expensive lesson that I warrant he won't repeat.
Chris



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PostPosted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 1:12 pm
I'm sorry you keep saying this is a lesson learned and I won't repeat it but we are talking about a part that was damaged that isn't designed to come apart, I took the entire fan knob assembly apart and the inner knob is the part that broke it is made and designed not to come off from the nut that threads into the gun there is a small c clip to prevent this, this is also an area where there should be zero liquids reaching it from the gun if base or clear reached the knob this far up it would essentially leak out the knob. The material needle threads are fine and the threads on the nut that hold the fan knob are fine it was just the outer most threads on the inner knob, this appears to be more of a design flaw as the knob is soft aluminum and the nut isn't looks to be steel, the threads seem to have been damaged from seizing up in there versus improper cleaning, the soft rubbery sealant I found never even reached the threads.

I just read through the entire FLG4 manual and there is no mention of having to lube up these particular threads.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:34 am
f575gtc wrote:the inner knob is the part that broke it is made and designed not to come off from the nut that threads into the gun there is a small c clip to prevent this


Exactly. However, you said:

f575gtc wrote:I had to put pliers on it to unscrew it essentially accepted I would be sacrificing the knobs looks but the entire thing ended up striping out the threads.


Correct. You stripped (just stripped, not out) the thread by the use of excessive force, applied improperly to the knob, rather than to the housing that contains the spreader valve and knob.

This is what it should look like (in this case from an FLG5), disassembled, with the correct tool for removal.

Image


f575gtc wrote: this appears to be more of a design flaw as the knob is soft aluminum and the nut isn't looks to be steel, the threads seem to have been damaged from seizing up in there versus improper cleaning,


I disagree. The design is common to almost all guns that have the fan spreader control on the back of the gun, as opposed the the SATA style where the spreader is on the side. It is made from aluminium for lightness and so that the needle can seal properly in the seat machined into the gun body.

I'm not going to get into too much conjecture about what the material, that you found inside, is, or how it got there, other than to say that it's most likely clear that's leaked up into that chamber. Less likely with the Devilbiss design where there is a baffle behind the fluid tip, but on other guns that don't have the baffle it's very easy for paint/clear to drip out of the fluid tip and laying the gun on its side or turning upside down would have that fluid very easily run into the air passages.

However, if the gun had had the full periodic cleaning that I described earlier then that would have been found and the opportunity to clean it would have been available before it set. Hence my position that this is a lesson, which if learned, should not result in repetition.

If you look at the photo you'll see a brass bush with a nylon (I think, plastic anyway) insert inside the inner end of the housing. This is to stop air leaking past the threads and out the back where the knob is. If a gun is soaked in thinners so that this part is flooded then this seal may be compromised. I don't know your gun cleaning regimen but after many years in this trade I do know what can cause damage. When I soak a gun body I only soak the front end, ensuring that the areas that contain air valves are not wet.

As for lubrication, the following is a small screenshot from the Owners Manual for the FLG4. You'll notice that they recommend lubrication of the fan control (Item C) daily.

Image
Chris
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