My spray gun's air cap blew out mid-job on a Tuesday morning

I was about halfway through a base coat on a 2018 F-150 bed side. The gun, a Devilbiss I've had for about three years, just made a loud pop and started spitting paint everywhere. It was a mess, all over the fender and my booth floor. I shut it down right away. The little center hole in the air cap was cracked clean through. I keep a basic kit of spare parts, but of course, I didn't have that specific cap. Had to stop everything, clean the gun, and run to the supply house in Tacoma. It cost me nearly two hours of shop time. I'm torn between just buying a whole new gun versus stocking up on every single wear part. Has anyone else had a critical small part fail like that, and how do you decide what spares to keep on hand?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade22123d ago

Man, that's the worst. Tuesday mornings are cursed for stuff like this, aren't they? I feel your pain, my backup plan is usually just staring at the broken part and swearing. I keep a couple common nozzles and needles, but air caps always seem to fail at the worst time.

matthew_owens923d ago

Wait, you actually keep spare nozzles and needles on hand? That's some next-level prep work right there. Most of us are just out here hoping the old parts hold together with wishes and tape. An air cap blowing right before a big job is basically a rite of passage at this point.