Aerosol Spray Paint Can Revival - Any Helpful Tips or Tricks ?

[MarkF48]

Buy a can of spray paint, use a small amount it for a project, invert and blow nozzle clear, and then put it on the shelf. Go to use it 6 months later and the nozzle plugs up and nothing seems to work to get it working again consistently. Sometimes it'll sputter a bit paint and then just quit. Occasionally a nozzle from another can might work. Putting the can in hot water sometimes helps boost the pressure and maybe thin the paint. Soak nozzle in lacquer thinner and blow out with high pressure sometimes helps.
Two small projects today got kinda frustrating with two different cans that I only used last fall

Any tips or tricks you've used to resuscitate a spray can?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Before you try to spray it again give it a lot of shaking -- several minutes. Not too hard. The agitator will dent the bottom. Lay the can on its side any time you stop. The problem seems that the settled paint leaves a persistent clot at the end of the pickup tube. Its hard to get all settled paint broken up and any particles that get in the tube have to come out the top.

 

[sixdogs]

When done, I turn upside down and then spray until clear. Then I wipe the tip clean and that seems to be the key. I haven't had a plugged spray tip in several years.

 

[/pine]

After they have been sitting and I know I'm going to be using some beforehand...I shake them up and set the can upside down for a while before I'm ready...then shake the heck out of them again before spraying...

 

[Billrog]

If it's going to be sitting for a while I plow the tip out with my compressor after I use it. If that doesn't work I blow some air into the can. Some times it's just to dried up in the tube and nothing works.

 

[Katahdin]

I take the caps off after spraying and store them in a jar of paint thinner.

 

[Sysop]

Be sure they're stored within recommended temps too. Once a rattlecan has frozen it never works. It has got darned cold a few times in the past six months..

 

[SPIKER]

Best way I have found is to use BRAKE CLEAN and pop off the nozzle and spray thru the nozzle with brake cleaner little red tube and also spray it into the neck of the can where nozzle goes. then when done set upside down on the lid so anything that settles ends up on top.

The above has made reuse of cans work well long term. I also will take a job that needs 2 or 3 cans then I use one nozzle for all of the spraying keeping one or two unused nozzles handy. Keeping to the same brand of paint makes it sure they interchange.

Mark

 

[kidr]

Replacement nozzles are cheap. Keep a few on hand. They come in different spray patterns too.

 

[doxford jim]

Replacement nozzles are cheap. Keep a few on hand. They come in different spray patterns too.

Not to be sarcastic, but where can a person purchase new spare spray nozzles !