UNIQUE SOLUTIONS TO CLEANING UP A PAINT JOB – ISSUE NO. 444

There are things my wife asks me to do, but I don't really want to do. These things get pushed off 'til the weekend of course. And then they get pushed to the next weekend and after getting pushed off enough weekends, I usually get around to them. The task at hand was to spray some furniture pieces for our son Shepard's nursery. Everything needs to be gray or white, right? So I opened the box of the Wagner spray gun that was re-gifted to me and turned the garage into a makeshift finishing shop, complete with boxes propping up furniture and single use drop cloths. Everything was set and ready, I had my ventilated mask and was wearing my favorite shirt because surely I wouldn't spill any paint. How could you spill paint when you're just spraying? Spoiler alert: I made a huge mess, but I digress. The furniture was sprayed, my wife brought me a cold beer, and all was well. Just let it dry. But then, cleaning the spray gun! Have you ever used one of these things? There are multiple parts and each needs to be cleaned and oiled for the next time I am called upon to play Picasso. This is where it becomes a bit like cleaning a medical device: delicate parts with white dried on paint instead of red dried on blood. You know this all too well. The brush included in the kit was like the brushes I see in so many decontam areas. A toothbrush style with flimsy bristles that wear out within minutes. I'm hovered over the sink and not making any progress, and maybe even slipping out a few naughty words. But then the light bulb in my head went off. Why not try those highly touted LTA brushes from Healthmark? I used the Model 570 toothbrush style and the stubborn dried on paint came off almost instantly. The bristles on the LTA brush are very stiff to effectively clean, but are made of thermoplastic to limit micro-scratching. This brush was awesome! If you have a worn out brush sitting on your decontam sink or if you've ever slipped a naughty word at your brush, you owe it to yourself to order some LTA Brushes. They are reusable and will last 1-3 months depending on the model. There are versions for general cleaning, heavy duty, orthopedic instruments, delicate instruments, lumens, and many more. When all was said and done the furniture pieces looked great in Shepard's nursery. Having a vintage dresser sprayed white to match his crib was definitely the key to sleeping through the night.