Spray Gun Modification
© Frank Ford, 7/4/99; Photos by FF, 6/24/99
Here's my DeVilbiss EGA automotive touch up gun:
It's classic siphon feed spray gun, and one I've used for better than 20 years. This spray gun has given me trouble free service, except for one nasty little feature - that nasty paint cup.
Like almost any other spray gun this one came with optional cups of varying capacity, but one common feature:
That BIG mouth! These things are ALWAYS getting their lids stuck on with dried lacquer, and are a giant pain to unscrew. It seems I'm always in a rush just at the time when I can't get the stupid thing open.
So, I planned to fix the problem, but never quite got around to it. Never, that is, until about 4 years ago when the siphon tube split from old age and started sucking air. Faced with the need to do a bit of repair work, I finally put my plan into action.
I got hold of some 1/8" brass pipe fittings, and a 1/8-1/4" adapter, and simply made myself a new siphon tube:
Right at the top of the tube (white arrow) I soldered on a brass collar. Then I simply screwed the thing together through a loose hole drilled in the polypropylene cap that fits those regular 8oz. poly bottles.
It fits so loosely that it wobbles around like crazy when I wave the gun around, but, you know, it never leaks or causes any problem.
Now I have a cheap source of quick connect spray bottles, all labeled and capped, ready for use:
And, the best part is that the caps are small enough diameter, and all polypropylene, that they never get stuck!
I should have done this years before! I presume a similar modification would work for virtually any siphon feed spray gun.
Update 9/16/03:
Never to be outdone, Roy Noble just sent me this photo of his modified EGA gun. He took the gravity cup from a cheap import and used plumbing fittings to set it up:
