End of Day Routine? - Graco Linelazer IV 5900's

Hi All, We've used Creswell machines for over 25 years and recently made the plunge into the line lazers. We've found that these machines are very finicky compared to the creswells. I'd like to know what everyone's routine is for the end of the day when you're putting the machine to bed for a day or two. We're mostly using Sherwin setfast Acetone or setfast oil paint. How often do you clean the intake tube filter head/screen and the manifold filter? How often do we need to flush the system with Acetone? (just when we switch colors or routinely do it weekly/daily)? Do anything with the guns? We use the 15 gal hoppers most of the time and between the two machines we'll put down 30-120 gal of paint EVERY night that its not raining. Any other tips for these machines would be greatly appreciated! We've been through so many clogged hoses, etc already and Im trying to figure these things out. We were switching between oil and latex a ton last year and I think thats where our problems came from. Great Forum! Thanks everyone!!

That setfast tends to settle out in the hoses, unlike the Creswell you don't have a big hole to spray any small chunks through, may want to cycle some thinner through it for the night.

we have never had a problem with the acetone setfast setting up in the hoses, we have 9 machines with paint in them. we do not use everyone every night. At the end of the night we turn it off dump the valve and thats it. If you are getting a lot of clogs, you may not have a filter installed or you are getting air in the system somehow.

ive had yellow oil in one of my machines for 2 weeks, used for 10 of those days. no problems. are you straining or filtering the paint prior to putting it in the machine, esp. the latex? the latex to oil can cause issues from time to time. its more than likely buildup in the intake that releases after time and goes right into the bottom of the pump a little at a time or large chunks. they can be cleaned out or replaced easily enough. I remember going from conventional equip to airless 25 years ago and it was very different. once you get the hang of it youll never go back to the old equipment.

We havent ran latex through the machines for about 6 months and havent had any clogs since then. We do filter/strain when filling. The guys keep telling me that acetone setfast is drying super fast and builds up quick on the intake tube, intake tube filter/screen head and the manifold filter. My thinking is that if everything is kept covered with paint and paint in the lines, it shouldnt build up as fast. Its the air that causes the quick dry effect correct?

we use setfast oil base from Sherwin, we keep the machines with paint on them, only change the filter when they get rip, that happen only once every 200 gals or more, i remember one time we didnt use our machines for almost 3 weeks and all we did was change the paint cans and we were back in business, every time we get a new machine we get the return hose plugged, we have different machines for latex, we dont mix them. most of the time we use 319 yellow tips.

Same as jpanz, dump the valve and that's it. They sometimes sit for a week and never any problems. Fire machine up, flip valve, clear tip, spray. Acetone paint is awesome, I'd never go back to latex.

We use white latex for sealer jobs only....Acetone for everything else Thanks for the replies

Are you guys using 15 gal hoppers or buckets with the acetone? If using hoppers, do you have any problems with paint build up on intake tube after several days of sitting?

All we use are 15 gallon hoppers for the acetone paint. Never have a problem with build up.

buildup is greatly reduced if you splash a half cup or so of the proper solvent on the top after refilling each time. For latex, we always clean the machines. For Acetone based paints, we never clean them except when we shut down for the season. Dump the pressure and load the machine on the trailer . . on to the next job or next day.