Cleaning Nordson 100 Gun: Safe, Smart Fix for WD-40

Summary for cleaning nordson 100 gun Discussion

Cleaning Nordson 100 gun from silicon/oil contamination was the main concern after Mario Spina said he had sprayed WD-40 into an oilless compressor pump and then started seeing moon-crater/fish-eye defects during powder coating flow-out. He asked what chemical would safely clean his expensive Nordson 100 and a Chicago Electric gun without damage. The answer from the thread advised that denatured alcohol is suitable for the job and should not hurt the gun. However, the responder also warned that the contamination is likely not limited to the guns: all air lines and regulators between the compressor and the gun, and even some parts inside the power unit, may also be contaminated and may need cleaning or replacement. The reply emphasized that WD-40 is difficult to remove from a powder system, so the best outcome depends on thoroughly addressing the whole air path, not just the spray guns.

Q. Folks,

I think I did something really stupid. While trying to preserve the life on my compressor since pump piston life has shown to be only 12 months give the cramped quarter in shop and all the sanding dust around, I sprayed WD-40 into the oilless piston chamber of the compressor pump. While I have filters all around, I suspect the WD-40 has made its way through the filters into my guns. I say this because just about every powder coating cycle now have almost 1 moon crater/fish eye per square inch. They show up during flow out. While I can add new filters at the compressor and the guns, I need to clean out my guns. I have a Nordson 100 (expensive) and a Chicago Electric gun (cheapy). Does anyone know the best process/.chemical for cleaning out the guns from oils/silicon? Would denatured alcohol, regular alcohol, acetone

on

eBay
or

Amazon

[affil link] Flammable!
, lacquer thinner

on

eBay

or

Amazon

[affil link] Flammable!
, or oil and grease remover go through the gun without damaging?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Mario Spina
Self – Vienna, Virginia
2006

A. Denatured alcohol works for what you want to do, and it won’t hurt the gun. Don’t forget that all of the air lines and regulators that are between the compressor and the gun will be contaminated too(there are some inside the power unit also), so they will have to be cleaned or changed. it’s hard to get WD-40

on

eBay

or

Amazon [affil link]
out of a powder system, good luck.

Sheldon Taylor
Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina