Painting - Pump protectant for storing airless sprayer?

I've heard of people using some different types of pump protectant for their airless sprayers for long term storage. I've heard of using straight diesel or a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and motor oil. Is there an old timer out there that can validate either of these? Thank you very much.

I always use kerosene to clean out my pump because it is cheaper than paint thinner. It is also oilier which IMO is better for the pump. Diesel fuel will also work. I think there is an additive you can use but I never have.

The main thing is you never want to leave water in the system! When cleaning up from latex you should ALWAYS run a solvent thru the pump to remove all the water.

I always use kerosene to clean out my pump because it is cheaper than paint thinner. It is also oilier which IMO is better for the pump. Diesel fuel will also work. I think there is an additive you can use but I never have.

The main thing is you never want to leave water in the system! When cleaning up from latex you should ALWAYS run a solvent thru the pump to remove all the water.

Keorsene is TERRIBLE to run through a pump. Not to mention that it is highly flammable, and you are running an electric motor (or gas if it is a large pump). Kerosene, and gas are very dirty solvents. They contain lots of impurities that can gum up your pump and destroy packings, and not to mention ruin your hoses.

You are penny wise, as those fuels are cheaper than mineral spirits, but pound foolish as you are ruining your equipment to save a few dollors.

If you use your pump for latex only, Titan makes a pump saver that is mixed with water. This protects the integrity of the pump and its inner workings. It is a blue color and works GREAT! If you doubt it, think about your automobile. Your radiator is FULL of a water mixture, and it works great. Would you fill your radiator w/keorsene? No of course not.

If you use your pump for oil paints store it w/ mineral spirts. If you use epoxy, clean w/ MEK or expoxy solvent. Then flush and store w/mineral spirits. This will extend the life of your packings and hoses.

Please disregard the advise of diesel and or kerosene, it is dangerous and will ruin your pump.

graco also has a pump protector solution, in fact most manufactors of spray equitment do. these are designed to help extend the life of the packings. However, if you let a pump sit long enough, it will dry the packings out and then they should be lubricated before the next use.

graco also has a pump protector solution, in fact most manufactors of spray equitment do. these are designed to help extend the life of the packings. However, if you let a pump sit long enough, it will dry the packings out and then they should be lubricated before the next use.


Agreed. Some pumps are getting away from leather packings altogether to avoid these issues. Of course the new synthetic packings are more expensive.

I was wondering if there was a cheap homemade solution that the pros were mixing up. I've seen the Graco product but its $7 a quart. I didn't look closely at it to see what the ingredients are.

I was wondering if there was a cheap homemade solution that the pros were mixing up. I've seen the Graco product but its $7 a quart. I didn't look closely at it to see what the ingredients are.

Keep in mind that the Graco product is not to be used 100%. Usual ratio is something like 2-3 oz per gallon. You only use it AFTER cleaning out the rig w/clean water. It is the "Final" step. So in reality, with mixing it properly, and only using it for the last step, you should get about 8-10 uses out of a quart bottle.

Now your cost is closer to $.70 per application. Not to bad if it protects your $300-5000 sprayer.

There is no way to safely cut corners on pump maintenance. Its like putting vegtable oil in your crankcase because its cheaper than motor oil. After all, oil is oil right?