Mike - I'm another one who has always taken the needle out from the back (on my Iwata HP-CS). I always looked into the cup as the needle came through to see how much gunk was on it, and would douse it with lacquer thinner and a q-tip until I thought it safe to pull all the way out. I tried to make sure that any paint left was on the tapered part of the needle, but I still cringed everytime I completely removed it. My Iwata never came with any of those sort of tips, or really, no instructions at all!
Thanks for your tip, as I think I'll spend less time overall with the process, and the nozzle will get a good cleaning everytime, too!
[green]
stinger