How to clean a polyurethane foam gun?

For the implementation of repair and construction work, a gun for polyurethane foam is very often used. The mechanism of using the device is very simple, so it is used by both professional craftsmen and amateurs.

The gun allows you to accurately and efficiently fill the seams with the help of polyurethane foam. But every tool needs care. This is especially true for the gun, as cured sealant can affect the performance of the tool.

Modern construction equipment manufacturers offer a wide range of quality and convenient foam guns. The rules for cleaning this instrument depend largely on its type.

To date, the following types of assembly guns are offered for sale:

• Plastic... They are considered to be disposable, since plastic is an unbearable material. Such a tool does not need to be cleaned. If the work on filling the joints is completely completed, and there is still foam in the cylinder, then it is necessary to wipe the nozzle of the gun from the remains of the sealant, and in the future the gun with the cylinder can be used again.

• Metallic... They are characterized by durability and reliability. A gun made of quality metal can be used for several years. This option can be easily disassembled for thorough cleaning from the remains of polyurethane foam.
• Teflon... This variety is the most durable, high quality and expensive. Each metal part is protected with a Teflon coating. Cleaning such a gun is easy enough. The tool can be disassembled to clean the sealant.

The assembly gun offers many advantages:

• produces an accurate dosage of foam;
• regulates the feed rate of the sealant;
• allows the use of foam even in places with limited access;

• it is enough to release the trigger to stop feeding the material;
• allows you to use only part of the bottle with a sealant, while you can be sure that the foam will not harden until the next time;
• if you use the gun every day, there is no need to remove the congealed material.

The peculiarity of the assembly gun mechanism is that in the pauses between work, it guarantees complete protection of the sealant from oxygen ingress, so the foam is not prone to drying out. The tightness of the alignment is carried out due to the foam residues that remain at the end of the tube, and the trigger mechanism in the closed form is responsible for the tightness of the cylinder.

To get back to work, just cut off the foam ball on the nozzle of the tool.

When choosing a quality gun for polyurethane foam, you should focus on the material and price of the tool. Expensive options are characterized by a long service life. There is no need to buy a new tool every time, so an expensive pistol easily pays for itself.

The lifespan of the assembly gun depends on its maintenance. After work, sealant remains inside the tool. It will not damage the product if you quickly clean the nozzle, barrel, adapter and other elements of the mechanism.

It is not always possible at the end of the work to start cleaning the foam gun, therefore many are faced with hardened foam. In this case, its elimination will take more time and effort.

Inexperienced craftsmen do not always understand why a pistol needs to be cleaned, so they ignore this procedure. As a result, upon further use, it stops working, since the foam has dried up and the barrel is clogged. The tool requires cleaning if the repair and construction work has already been completed... Next time it will be ready for use.

If you need to seal the seams with foam once, then there is no need to spend money on buying a gun, then you can do just fine with a sealant bottle with a special applicator.

According to experience, even home craftsmen prefer pistols, since they will have to be used more than once.

To keep the gun always ready for use, ideally it should be flushed after each use. Experts recommend flushing the tool, even if you plan to change the sealant cylinder from one manufacturer to another., or if you want to use foam with a different temperature resistance.

Usually, materials from different companies have different impurities in the composition, and if they come into contact, they can turn into a mixture that no cleaner can help eliminate. The tool will have to be thrown away.

When buying a sealant, you should immediately purchase a cleaner so that they are from the same manufacturer.... This approach will allow the gun to be cleaned quickly and easily, as the company has made the most effective in-house sealant cleaner.

In reality, there is not always a cleaner on hand or free time for flushing the tool, so the flushing of the gun is usually carried out at the end of the working day.

If there is no special tool for cleaning the tool from foam, then you can use the tools at hand.

To make a high-quality cleaning of the foam gun, you should perform the following sequence of actions:

• It is necessary to remove the empty sealant can from the gun with the tool at the top.
• A special container of cleaner is required to clean the tool.
• The flushing agent must be fixed in the same place where the sealant was located, but the cap must be removed from it before using it.

• It is necessary to bring the gun into working condition, while the bottle with the cleaner will be located at the top.
• Gently pull the trigger of the gun, continue this action until foam stops coming out of the nozzle of the tool.
• Remove the chemical canister.
• If, after cleaning, the agent has not ended, then it should be closed with a lid, and the composition can be used for the next cleaning of the instrument.

If it was not possible to clean the gun immediately after the end of the work, then before cleaning it is forbidden to pull the trigger of the tool, because this can break the entire mechanism.

You need to do the following:

• Using a sharp object, remove the remaining frozen foam from the barrel of the tool.
• The pistol can be flushed with Dimexidum or acetone.
• It is necessary to lower the device with the nozzle down, and drip a few drops of solvent into the trigger mechanism.
• Leave the instrument in this position for one minute so that the foam inside the instrument begins to soften.

• Squeeze the trigger with ease.
• If the pressure is soft, and the foam comes out of the nozzle, this means that the product has worked, and the gun can be used for work.
• If the sealant does not come out of the nozzle, then you need to drip a few drops of cleaner onto the ball located in the adapter of the device.
• After five minutes, screw on the cleaner bottle and gently pull the trigger.

If the above methods of cleaning the gun did not help to remove the frozen foam, then all that remains is to disassemble the tool:

• it must be held from the bottom of the nest;
• first unscrew the crown;
• remove the valve;
• drip the cleaner into the socket and on the rest of the internal parts of the tool;

• leave in this state for 20 minutes;
• remove foam residues with a cotton cloth;
• then you need to collect the tool;
• flush with solvent.

If more than six hours have passed since the end of work with the gun, then you can immediately proceed to the mechanical cleaning method., because during this time the sealant solidifies tightly inside, so conventional rinsing cannot cope with the task.

The polyurethane foam gun requires special care. If you do not clean it regularly after use, it will stop working. It does not take much time to clean this tool, the procedure itself will take no more than 20 minutes, so do not be lazy, since the operating state of the device depends on this.

If you clean the foam gun at home yourself, then you must adhere to safety precautions. Remember that the solvent is a chemical and can be harmful to human health.

Basic safety precautions when cleaning the foam gun:

• The nozzle should always be directed downward, as this will eliminate the possibility of getting the cleaner on open areas of the body, eyes or clothing.
• A container with solvent or polyurethane foam should always be kept away from direct sunlight, heating devices and open flames.
• Do not incinerate the used solvent container.
• Do not smoke while flushing the gun.

• It is advisable to carry out all work in protective gloves and goggles.
• If the liquid gets into your eyes, you should see a doctor right away.
• If the solvent gets on the skin, you need to treat the affected area with a special solution (one teaspoon of baking soda per 200 ml of warm water) or wash off the solution with laundry soap under a strong stream of water.

How to clean the gun from dried polyurethane foam, see the next video.