Cleaning airbrush

[hubbycat]

I wonder how often you guys clean your airbrush? Or what do you do after paining to prevent it getting clogged. After painting I clean it and then blow it with alcohol to make sure that there is no paint inside but it still gets clogged. So I have to take the needle out and clean it.

Tom

[Steven000]

It depends a bit on the type of airbrush and paint you're using.

In my case I use acrylic paint, I have a spray bottle with water (it was a dettol spray bottle), when I done with a color I spray a lot of water inside the cup... then I empty the cup over a 5L bucket by holding the airbrush on it's head...

I do this a few times, and with a long-hair brush I mix the water with the remaining paint in the cup, so the larger paint pieces are emptied over the bucket without spraying the airbrush...

Then after a few times I start spraying water and IPA with the airbrush.

For varnish I now use a dedicated airbrush, after use I remove all the front parts and clean them with IPA and water...

[LeytonO]

Just used mine for Revell Enamel and cleaned everything with their thinners. Afterwards ran some water through and made sure it was clean.
Nozzle caps and nozzle cleaned then needle pulled out from the front. Cleaned and reinserted from the back. Also cleaned between the cup and front of airbrush with a dental brush.
Like to know everything is clean and ready ready to go next time.
If using acrylics its the same routine using airbrush cleaner, I do this every time before putting it away.
Never leave it with a dirty needle, just asking for trouble.

[Gern]

Ask a dozen modellers about their A/B cleaning routine and what they use and you'll probably get a dozen different answers. Here's mine.

I've tried most of the branded A/B cleaners over the years and none of them work to my satisfaction (even when used with their own brand paint). For any given cleaner, you will find some modellers who swear by it, and yet others who will swear at it! I only use acrylics and now I stick to IPA for my Vallejo paints, and Mr Levelling Thinner for all my glass bottled stuff - mostly Tamiya. You will develop your own routine and it's worth your while to try a variety of cleaners until you find one that you're happy with (Clearly the alcohol you're using doesn't work for you).

I suspect it's very expensive to use MLT as a cleaner rather than a thinner, and I daresay some will agree with that, but all I care about is that it works for me. My cleaning routine is now down to less than 2 minutes with no need to dismantle any of the components of my A/B, although I do strip it down and run it through an ultrasonic cleaner (plain old tap water with a couple of squirts of cheapo liquid hand soap) every week or so depending on how much I've used it.

Hold it under the cold tap (or use a sprayer and bucket like Steven000 does if you're not next to a sink) and rinse out any remaining paint. Then a few squirts of water through the nozzle while it's still under the tap. Empty out any water and follow up with half a cup of cleaner and spray half of that through. Use a decent paper towel ('cos the cheap ones can leave tiny fibres which can block your nozzle) and wipe around the inside of the paint cup using the cleaner left over. Add another half cup of thinner and back flush until it stays clean. You may need to repeat with more cleaner. Once it stays clean, spray another half cup of cleaner onto a paper towel and check if there's any colour still coming through. Tricky if you use white paint or clear varnish on a white towel- but what the heck, the world ain't perfect!

My go to spray paints are Tamiya but if I know I'll be using Vallejo next, I'll run the A/B under the cold tap for a few seconds to get rid of any cleaner that might be left. I've had problems in the past with paint going thick or even fizzy(!) which I've had to put down to contamination from cleaners left in the A/B.

Whatever you do, make sure you clean your A/B after every painting session. DON'T do what I did a couple of days ago and forget to clean it. I found it full of half-dried paint the next morning! My normal 2 minute clean took me nearly 40 minutes!

[Tim Marlow]

Plus one on the MLT as a cleaner……I usually spray the remaining paint out, add a cup full of MLT (for Tamiya type paint) or water (for water based acrylics) to the reservoir and mix around with an old stiff paintbrush to solvate the paint, then spray it out again. I then add more thinners to the cup and repeat. Once I’ve done that I pull the needle out of the back of the brush (my Iwata is hot rodded to make this easy) and wipe it with a fold of kitchen paper moistened with MLT to get off any dried bits. Every now and then I also strip out the nozzle and cap to give them a soak and brush clean in a few mls of MLT (just enough to cover them) and bottle brush the cavities with a brush moistened with the same stuff. This is followed by drying the cavity and parts with a twist of kitchen roll. If you are careful you can do all of this with about 25 ml of MLT, which is hardly going to break anyone…..

[PaulTRose]

For me its plenty of proper air brush cleaner....flush with lots of water....repeat til im happpy.....pull out the needle and wipe clean.....wipe the body....put back together and give another flush through

learn to strip your ab.....give a proper proper clean regulary....you will be surprised how quick you become with practise

buy a ultrasonic cleaner.....cheap enough

dont use screen wash as a cleaner....or anything with ammonia in like glass cleaner......will knacker any chrome plating

[Andy T]

My routine depends on what I'm spraying. With water based acrylics I'll generally spend more time stripping & cleaning than actually painting!

For lacquers I use a similar method to Tim, although I use standard/cellulose thinners since I get it basically free from work.

Another great thing about lacquers is that they never fully cure like water based acrylics, they just dry, so even if you happen to leave a bit behind in the airbrush it can be easily re-dissolved with some thinner next time.

[Jim R]

I find this stuff works very well. Seems to shift anything.

[hubbycat]

Thank you every one very much for you replies. I’m just starting using air brush so I was a bit disappointed when I discovered that at the beginning my cleaning up time exceeded my painting time. But I’m getting better at it.
i have one more question, what do you do with the air in the air compressor after you finished painting? Do you let the air out or do you leave it in the tank?

Tom

[Andy T]

There should be a drain on the bottom of the tank Tom. It's good practice to open that after each session as it'll empty out any water that may have collected inside it too.

[flyjoe180]

Public safety warning: Avoid undoing the drain plug until the tank has been emptied of under-pressure air. It is like a bullet under pressure. Most tanks have a pressure relief valve that can be opened manually. Avoid pulling this valve too hard, just enough to release the air. I use residual pressure after spraying for cleaning, then release the rest.

[hubbycat]

Thanks Andy for confirming. I’ve been doing just that.

Tom

[LeytonO]

When i bought a neglected compressor to restore it also came with an equally unloved airbrush.
You can see from these photos that even something grim can be returned to a useable condition.
I have found a budget Ultrasonic Bath works wonders for thoroughly cleaning airbrush parts.
Warm soapy water is usually enough although on the one shown I also used a bit of Astonish cup cleaner.