Air brush cleaning

[gillieman]

Whats the best solution to clean my air brush guys?? and where can i get it from!!

When i finished work earlier today i went to model zone and hobby craft and still come away empty handed.

In model zone they only had it in spray form and they were sold out in hobbycraft.

 

[Ferrets Bueller]

As you know mate i use windoline to get the majority of paint out then use vallejo airbrush cleaner to get everything out then water and the cleaner together at the end. And this gets my airbrush spotless, ,and only takes a minute.

 

[m1ks]

I use a thorough strip and clean after every airbrushing session, theres no substitute for thorough, no special cleaners, just the thinning agent appropriate for the paint i'm spraying.

A quick overview based on Enamels

Materials:

Cotton buds

Paper towel

2 containers, (I use a tin and a plastic pot)

Turps

Water

Procedure

Wipe bowl clean with paper towel

Pour in a little drop of Turps, backflush then spray into container one, tip out then wipe bowl, (do this again another once or twice until the turps in the bowl is near enough clean), twice is usually enough

Strip brush as follows

back of body, screw off and place aside, loosen needle chuck and draw needle back a couple of mm

Take off cap

nozzle cap

Nozzle

Place all in container two with enough turps to cover, (you don't need much)

Loosen needle chuck and push needle out until you can grip and draw it out from the front

Use cotton bud, (one end dipped in turps) to clean bottom of bowl / needle hole area and tip where nozzle screws in

dry up residue with dry end

Use paper towel dampened with a little turps to wipe needle whilst gently rotating it along it's length, dry with towel.

replace needle from front drawing it back so needle is drawn into body, tighten chuck.

Remove nozzle from turps bath, prod a brush through to ensure it's clear, blow through, refit

remove nozzle cap and air cap, clean with cotton bud, (as above), replace

Loosen needle chuck and push needle into position and tighten, replace rear of body.

Part fill cup with water and spray to check pattern and correct seating of needle, (better to find out now than after you've loaded it with paint the following day)

I do this over a hard surface and take care with the needle

It sounds lengthy but provided everythings to hand it's very fast indeed and the brush will be spotless. Acrylics is the same with Isopropyl Alcohol, (you could use an ammonia solution)

Note, this is after a spraying SESSION, not after every colour, a quick flush through between colours is adequate.

 

[Fenlander]

I think Mike has just about done it there. I do use a cleaner for in between, simply because it works and it is ultimately less expensive and less nasty than thinners. To be honest, I know that people get on well with windscreen wash and window cleaner but I have it doesn't work as well, or consistently, for me. Could just be me being awkward though.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

I always thought Windowlene was a thick pink creme!!!

 

[m1ks]

Ahh, you're old school, I remember me mum doing the windows, rub it on, leave it to set like concrete and then spend an hour scrubbing the bugger off, it worked a treat though.

No the Windolene referred to here is a blue squirty bottle with watery contents, (think mr muscle window cleaner), the reason it works is that it contains ammonia, HOWEVER, (and this may be a reason for Grahams occassional inefectiveness), not all cleaners in the UK market contain Ammonia, (because the nanny state deems it unsafe for us and thinks we should stick to alcopops and fags? maybe, I don't know).

What you can do, is buy a bottle of household ammonia and mix your own in a squirty bottle, I find a 6 - 10% ratio works pretty well, the stuff reeks though, use it in a well ventilated room or you'll have all the neighbourhood cats thinking you're a local convenience

 

[stona]

I'm obviously a bit lazy!! I only ever do a thorough clean at the end of a project. Inbetween sessions I usually just give a bit of a flush and wash,I don't even take the needle out unless I've had any problems.

Each to their own I suppose.

Cheers

Steve

 

[m1ks]

I'm obviously a bit lazy!! I only ever do a thorough clean at the end of a project. Inbetween sessions I usually just give a bit of a flush and wash,I don't even take the needle out unless I've had any problems.Each to their own I suppose.

Cheers

Steve

Yes you are, you are a bad man, naughty Steve, don`t come running to us if you get a blockage

 

[Richy C]

Same here Steve , if alls working well why strip an AB , I mainly use acylics and used to use the correct cleaner ie- vallejo AB cleaner and Tamiya`s X20-A thinners but have started using Halfords windscreen wash , and then run clean water through it, works well for me , but for Alclad and Zero paints which are solvent based I still use the recommended cleaners and then run loads of clean water through - again works well for me ,

having no model shops near to me I tended to use ebay but as above my local halfords sorts out my acrylic cleaning now

Richy

 

[m1ks]

Each to their own but my thoroughness for cleaning comes of spraying full size models back at the garage I used to work for, where an improperly cleaned gun could mean the difference between a days lost workshop use, a days lost wages, a days costs for spraying and a couple of litres of wasted paint, (believe me, when you have to spend half a day stripping a half arsed paint job from the night before, not mine i`ll hasten to add, i just drew the short straw for cleaning as the sprayer had `done one`, you realise the importance.

Simply put, for me, following this cleaning routine, I KNOW that when I refuel with fresh paint it`s not going to give me any problems

Add to that I don't like doing the same job twice and a partially clogged brush can lead to that, also as above, It doesn't take log once you have the routine.

 

[stona]

That's fair enough. When I had my first airbrush which was shall I delicately put it "a while ago", I used to strip it and clean it every time I sprayed anything through it! I've just adjusted that routine to what works for me. After each session I do give the things a good flush and backflush but I get away without dismantling them. I would never store them between projects without a thorough strip and clean. I work away so sometimes they will be stored for weeks.

I reckon I can dismantle,clean and reassemble a typical Iwata airbrush in less than ten minutes so maybe I really am a lazy b**ger LOL.

Richy made the point that it does depend what you spray, I always strip and clean after Alclad because I've had that totally gum up a brush in the past.

Once again there isn't a right and wrong,everyone develops a routine that works for them.

Cheers

Steve

 

[AVB99]

I read the other day that a woman spends five days of her life looking at herself in a mirror. I reckon I must spend five years of my life cleaning my airbrush and I'm totally fed up. It is of course something I'm doing wrong or maybe it's a bad airbrush everythingairbrush. No matter what I do and how I clean, I have to strip it down to its bare components and clean everything each time - it's a drag. Am considering an ultasonic tank - any one got any input please? Surely life should be simpler than this!!!!!

Frustrated from Fulham

Depressed from Dagenham

Angry from Aylesbury

 

[Fenlander]

I am sorry to say that I mostly follow Steve (Stona) on this. I do take the needle out if I have been spraying anything other than acrylic and I have had on one occasion that scary moment when I set up the AB, pulled back the trigger to find it solid. I just gently pulled the needle out and flushed it through with Cellulose (Lacquer) thinners and wiped the needle with the same. A drop of AB oil thinly spread along the needle and all was well again. But usually, I just connect the airline and go.

 

[Apokalipse]

I always dismantle my airbrush and clean it up and then a few quick flushes. I never really pay attention to how long I spend cleaning.

Feels like hours.

I have cleaned it less thurroughly before, but I had some problems and decided to step it up.

It's my dad's airbrush, so it would not be a good idea to ruin it haha

 

[Ian M]

When in the process, I tend to just flush in through with the same thinners as the paint after having removed the worst of it with my mixing brush.

At the end of a session, it gets a full strip down bath. Again with the same type thinners as for the paint. => Acrylics water, Enamels White spirit. I purchased some between the teeth toothbrushes the other day. Like tiny bottle brushes and they are perfect for scrubbing out the feeds and the like.

In the event of a totally dried up air brush. (Yep I can forget to clean it if some thing crops up) I have a big bottle of Xylol that I use. great stuff about £2liter in the DIY shop- Removes paint any paint, (that I use) from any surface. Including my jeans!! Som of you might have notice in some of my photos, I paint direct on my desk. After four or five builds, I open the window, grab the Xylol and a cloth and toothbrush. Five mins and a bit of elbow grease and my desk is white again.

Ian M

 

[Ian M]

Bugger XYL OL stupid thing!

 

[andygh]

This is what I do after every colour, I only spray acrylics

spray the remains of any paint left in the brush into the cleaning jar

1 squirt of Muc Off, spray that through till empty

2 squirts of Muc Off, scrub the inside of the paint cup with a stiffish paint brush and the tip likewise, pour dirty Muc Off out into a jar

1 squirt of Muc Off and spray it all through again

1 squirt of Vallejo airbrush cleaner and back-flush it with my finger over the tip, if cleaner is dirty (got paint in it) I start over again, if it looks nice and clean I spray it through

if the needle feels a bit sticky I whip it out and give it a wipe with the cleaner

it all takes about 3 minutes

Every once in a while I do a propper strip and clean it all with pure alcohol

 

[stona]

I do almost exactly that ^^^^^^. I only do a strip down at the end of a project,before storage,after spraying Alclad or if I have a problem.

I know my use of WD40 caused consternation amongst some of you but I finish with a squirt of it through the brush followed by a final flush of Muc-Off and then water. This lubricates the needle. I lubricate the air valve/trigger with a swab of WD40 on a cotton bud. A sticky trigger can seriously ruin your paint job!!

I always store my airbrushes with the needle slightly withdrawn. I always start a new session by spraying a cup of cleaner followed by some thinners/water before the paint. This just ensures everything is clean and working properly before I fill the paint cup.

I've never used an ultrasonic tank but I have a friend and long term modeller who used one for the first time recently and reckons it works very well.

Cheers

Steve

 

[john]

I've got an ultrasonic cleaner I don't use it after every use when I do use it I use about 1/4 AB cleaner then top up with warm water run it for 5 mins and it comes out sparkling that said if I didn't have it I don't think I would miss it, after every clean I use Iwata superlube

 

[sprayman]

Sticky trigger is usually due to pulling out the needle when its dirty, as you pull the needle out your scrapeing paint from the needle on to the trigger pass (where the needle passes through and under the trigger), then the paint is been pushed down into the air valve.Where it stays and builds up and clogs.

Remove the needle for cleaning after you have cleaned your airbrush, 3 flushes are best before needle removal. You will be suprised how many people pull the needle out first before airbrush cleaning.