QUICK TIP NOVEMBER 20, 2015 BY TERRY COMBS

Spot Cleaning Guns – One drop of ink, one misplaced thumbprint, one pinhole can ruin a shirt and cost you money. A spot cleaning gun can save the shirt and your production run.

Besides the gun, a device with a screen and exhaust (commonly sold with spot cleaning guns) will help to hold the shirt in place and to quickly dry the spot cleaned area of the garment. Until you can afford this exhaust product, fill a metal coffee can with misprinted shirts and use this as your base for spraying out the shirt. Always use a spot cleaning gun in a well-ventilated area.

Tip: There are OSHA guidelines for most spot cleaning chemicals. And some states have additional regulations. “California, you know who you are.” Talk to your supplier for details.

Spot cleaning guns will take care of small fingerprints, pinholes, etc. For large areas of ink, better to print another shirt and move on. There is only so much you can do to save a misprinted or mishandled garment.

Hold the gun about six to eight inches from the garment and shoot short bursts of the cleaning chemical. Avoid any contact with the print area (that you want to keep). The cleaning chemical will likely ruin the shirt if coming in contact with the image area.

The first temptation is to run the shirt down the dryer belt after cleaning it to dry the chemical. You should avoid this as the chemical may leave a ring on the garment. Air dry or use an exhaust device to pull the chemical from the garment. The spot cleaning chemicals will commonly evaporate quickly without the forced air of you conveyer dryer.

Unfortunately, this spotting solution does not work with water base ink and, therefore, does not work with DTG machines.