Most tools need a bit of cleaning now and then, depending on what you use them for, but roofing nailers perhaps more so. After all, they get exposed to the tarry stickiness of roofing shingles – which is something that tends to stick and build up on the nailer after a while. Obviously, you have to clean it off from time to time – but how?

I will discuss how to clean a Hitachi roofing nailer, but it could be any brand really, as most of them are quite similar in construction.

First of all, always make sure you disconnect the air hose, before doing any kind of work on the nailer. Imagine accidentally shooting yourself in the finger while trying to clean the push lever! A frightening prospect.

Then open the nail guide and check for dust and debris. You may use a rag or a fine-haired brush – or just blow it clean with compressed air, since you have that handy already. There obviously shouldn’t be anything stuck in the nail guide or in the magazine – especially not something abrasive like grains of sand or slate (from the shingles), as you might see premature wear as a result, or stuck nails, etc. When you are done cleaning the nail guide, apply some lubricant to the whole area to keep things moving smoothly and to prevent it from rusting. Don’t slather the lube all over the place – just a few drops rubbed out with a dry rag will do.

(Here’s why you want to go easy on the lube: If you leave too much of it, then it will actually attract dirt and dust and allow it to build up – which is what you are trying to clean off in the first place. Just a thin film of oil where ever oil is needed – is enough.)

Now, if you look at the nose area, the push lever and the outlet, it is common to see some buildup of tar and such. This is because this part of the nailer comes in contact with the shingles, and during hot days the tar is especially soft and prone to stick. You don’t want that stuff there, so get some kerosene or diesel oil and use that to clean the parts mentioned. These will do just fine, so don’t tempted to use something more flammable like gasoline. It’s just too dangerous. And don’t get your chosen solvent anywhere else than one the nose parts (steel parts) as other parts of the nailer may be damaged. Plastic parts may actually dissolve! Remember to dry off any lube or solvent after cleaning (to prevent dirt from building up, remember?).

That should pretty much do it, so good luck with it!

A few years back, in 2006 to be more precise, this guy (we can call him Big Pete – his name happens to be Pete and he is pretty big) had a roofing job on a large property down in SoCal. He is up there with his nailer and a co-worker who is laying out the shingles, sun is shining, all is good – then he slips. Falls on his butt, and slides down the roof, which is on the steep side. About 3 yards below him is a dormer, and by the most incredible strike of luck, his Hitachi roofing nailer, which he is still holding, snags the hose on the rain gutter. He holds on with all his strength, seems to have regained his footing – but then loses his balance again, his grips slips off the gun, and now he starts to slide down further!

Now, for some reason, there is no scaffold below that side of the roof – or just that section, so he is facing a drop of over 20 feet off the roof and into the bottom of a stairwell to the basement – a pretty hard fall. But now the luck turns downright freaky! His nailer, which he lost hold of up at the dormer, is falling again, and since the non-skid rubber pads are all worn down, it too slides merrily down the roof. It actually goes down faster than Big Pete, who is fighting to stay on the roof, it passes him and seemingly disappears over the edge of the roof.

A few seconds later, so does Pete. His partner, who is terrified, rushes down the nearest ladder as fast as he can, and runs around the house – only to find Big Pete once again hanging onto his nailer, this time stuck on some old hook sticking out from the wall above the stairwell, looking like he saw a ghost. After this ordeal, Pete told me, he never went anywhere without his beloved Hitachi roofing nailers (he has two actually) “since you never know when your life needs saving”, he said. Well, I’m a big fan of that brand too, but to trust them with saving my life is something else. I do think they are great roofing nailers though.

Which is the best roofing nailer for your money – or entirely? Since there are a lot of different brands, all capable of making good to great nailers, and since personal taste plays a role too, it is no easy task to pick a clear winner. But maybe there just isn’t one roofing nailer to rule them all. The thing is: How can you gather useful information about a nailer, before ordering one?

Read a lot of Roofing Nailer Reviews

This is where I would start. You can find tons of reviews of nailers and other tools online, and Amazon is one of the best places for it. Here, you get to review the specifications (and the sales copy) of different makes and models, with the added bonus of actual user reviews on the same page (just scroll down). That is not to say that you will get exhaustive reports of all the pros and cons of a product, but usually, you will get some kind of feel for any problems a product may have. Remember to always use your common sense while reading these reviews though – you don’t know if someone complaining about a nailer simply got a “lemon” – a slip in quality control. This happens, even with the best brands. You might also benefit from reading more thorough reviews in tool magazines and websites, as these often go in a lot of detail and catch a lot of the little things worth knowing about different roof nailers. But still, the reviews on Amazon and other shopping sites are a good place to start looking.

Click to see the Best Rated Roofing Nailers at AMAZON

Borrow a Roof Nailer for testing

Armed with some useful information from reading reviews, you might want to ask around if you could borrow a nailer for a weekend. It is best, if the nailer is new, – or you at least know the model is still on the market. The Hitachi NV45AB2 is an example of a coil roofing nailer which came out several years ago, but is still easy to find for sale (Buy it on Amazon). This way, you get a chance of trying it out for yourself, and not only do you learn about it’s features, strong and weak points – but in trying a used model, you also learn about the durability of the product. You can see what holds up and what wear down quickly, and you can ask the owner about his or her experiences of the quality level.

Buying and Returning a Roofing Nailer

If and when you feel like you have done enough research on the matter, don’t be afraid to jump in and just buy one. Most stores that sell professional tools are decent with their return policies, since they are smart enough to know what makes customers keep coming back. This means that you can try one out and return it if you don’t like it – or you could put it on eBay for that matter. Just make sure you read the return policies of the store or shopping site, before you buy, and if in doubt – call or send them an email and ask first.

Post your own Roofing Nailer Review

Don’t forget to pass your knowledge on to others looking for good quality tools. Why not write up your own little review on the nailer you ended up with, and I’ll post it right here on this site – to be of help to others wanting to spend their money wisely.

There are a bunch of major brands making roofing nailers – names like Bostitch, Porter-Cable, Max, Paslode, etc – may be familiar to you. There are even more opinions as to which one is the best, fastest, most reliable, and so on – but experienced professional roofers know that there isn’t just one answer to the question of “which is best”. As with so many things, it’s different strokes for different folks, though mostly when it comes to ergonomics (which is extremely important for a tool you are using 8 hours a day).

See all roofing nailers at AMAZON

But some things just have to be done right, before a nailer is any good. From my experience with Hitachi roofing nailers – the old model Hitachi NV45AB2 and the newer NV45AE – I have to say they, erm… hit the nail on the head in terms of quality where it counts. Whether every single design choice will be your personal cup of tea, is another matter.

Hitachi NV45AB2 Coil Roofing Nailer Review

I have owned a NV45AB2 for a few years now, and have used it more or less every day, with nary a hitch. A few anti-skid pads have been replaced, and have had to grind down the driver a couple of times to keep it flat-headed, but otherwise, it has stood up to the abuse. Someone (not me – I swear) even dropped it off the roof once – straight down on the concrete. It survived that, although I did have to re-align the exposure gauge after the incident.

I always found it to be plenty fast for bounce nailing, and very consistent in driving nails to the same depth time after time. Nobody is perfect of course, there will always be nails that don’t quite make it, or get cupped heads, but I have tried nailers that caused bigger problems in those departments than the Hitachi. I did read a review once, where someone complained about the small size of the depth-of-drive knob, but as my fingers aren’t too stubby, I don’t seem to have any problems there. It depends on the individual, I guess.

You can still get the NV45AB2, and I can only recommend it – you can get it from Amazon, which I would do in an instant – their price is right, and you can always return it with Amazon.

Click link to buy from AMAZON: Hitachi NV45AB2 7/8-Inch to 1-3/4-Inch Roofing Nailer (See all Nailers)

Hitachi NV45AE Coil Roofing Nailer Review

Since a pal of mine recently got the newer NV45AE, I figured I would give it a try too. Hitachi says in their sales copy, that it nails up to 30% faster, cups fewer nails and uses less air per nail than the old model. Certainly sounds good. I tried it on the job, and have to say that initially, it was just as fast as my older model. I didn’t think more of it, until a colleague asked if i was trying to put him out of work – without noticing at all, I had started nailing faster than I usually did. I’m not sure why, but I guess I had more speed in me, than was realizable with the NV45AB2. Your mileage may vary of course.

It seems to be built as sturdily as the old one – which means it is built like a tank. If it wasn’t so shiny and new (and belonged to someone else), I might have dropped it off the roof – just to see.

So which one should you get? Amazon has the Hitachi NV45AE for a little more than the NV45AB2, and it may be worth it to you. No matter which one you go for, you get a truly professional tool for roofing shingles – one that will stay with you for years and EARN YOU SOME MONEY – which is what counts really.

Click link to buy from AMAZON: Hitachi NV45AE Coil Roofing Nailer with Side Load Magazine (See all Nailers)

This was a guest review by Andy Finn – who nails those shingles all over the Tri-State Area.

It’s alright to want to do a bit of roofing or roof repair yourself, but at least try to be safe while doing it. The prospect of falling down a few yards and seriously hurting yourself, should not be very alluring to anyone. Do yourself – and you family – a favor, and read through these safety tips:

Scaffolding

The best way to prevent falling (or at least to reduce the damage from a fall) is to erect scaffolding around the perimeter of your roof. Of course, if you are only working on one side of the roof, don’t splash out on scaffolding for both sides, as it can be rather expensive to rent and have set up. It is best to leave the installation of larger scaffolding systems to professionals, especially if it needs to reach two stories high or more. You don’t want the whole thing to collapse underneath you, do you?

Roof Ladder

Scaffolding is number one for major roof repair, but for smaller things, you will be fine with a roof ladder. These are especially useful for roof pitches over 30 degrees, as roofs sloping that much get increasingly difficult to stand on. If your roof is clad in tiles or slate, then you should always use a ladder, since you need to distribute your weight a bit wider over the roof surface, and also because these roofing materials are not easy to stand on directly (they may even break under your weight).

Hard Hats And General Safety On The Construction Site

Since you may as well be working on the ground sometimes, while others are on the roof, it makes sense to wear protection for your head. Any time you enter the site, put it on. You never know when a roofing hammer comes down from above – or a roofing nailer. Speaking of tools: Practice good habits of not leaving various roofing tools perched insecurely somewhere on a batten or a ledge. Instead, force yourself to at least lay it flat on the scaffolding – if you have no way of fastening the tool in question to your belt or put it safely in a pocket.

When working with a pneumatic roofing nailer, you will often find that the air hose snags on something, preventing you from moving the nailer with you. If this catches you by surprise, you could tug yourself out of balance – which could lead to a dangerous situation. Always keep an eye on where the air hose is going, and never assume you can just pull it as hard as you like – it might be stuck somewhere.

The best advice though, is to not rush anything and not work when you are too tired – as this is usually a sure way for accidents to happen. And if you want to be completely safe, then don’t do the work at all – leave to professional roofing service instead.