Airbrush, Cleaner/Lubricant ?.

[Guest]

OK, im just starting to use the Airbrush more & after each session I strip it down & clean with Acrylic Thinners... Would I be better off using one of the special Airbrush Cleaner spray ,& does the cleaner lubricate as well as clean?? Confused.. ...


John.

[Guest]

Hi John. Not sure what you mean by acrylic thinners, but to me thinners implies something that will wash off 'wet' paint, but might not be so good with anything that's dried on. For acrylics I use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for cleaning, and give it a final flush through with the Vallejo airbrush cleaner at the end. I believe the Vallejo stuff does lubricate, but I'm not sure how important that is. I'm sure others will share soon!

[Guest]

It can be a bit mis-leading John , I only use tamiya and vallejo acrylics - for tamiya I use tamiya thinners X20-A for cleaning and for vallejo I use their airbrush cleaner , then blow through loads of water for a final clean , I`m in the camp that you should use the same make cleaner for which ever paint you use but there are no set rules , some use car windscreen wash some use IPA like Doug , if it works for you and your ab is clean then all is fine.


As for lubricating I only do a complete ab strip down and clean every now and then if ab feels sluggish and lube with Iwata lube not cheap but lasts an age


Richy

[Guest]

Hi John. Not sure what you mean by acrylic thinners, but to me thinners implies something that will wash off 'wet' paint, but might not be so good with anything that's dried on. For acrylics I use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for cleaning, and give it a final flush through with the Vallejo airbrush cleaner at the end. I believe the Vallejo stuff does lubricate, but I'm not sure how important that is. I'm sure others will share soon!

Hi Doug, as ive only used the brush about half a dozen times & strip it each time I have not come across any dried on paint yet! lol.. I am using Tamiya Acrylic Thinners as I mostly use Tamiya Acrylic Paints, due to health reasons I do not use enamel paints..


John.

[Guest]

It can be a bit mis-leading John , I only use tamiya and vallejo acrylics - for tamiya I use tamiya thinners X20-A for cleaning and for vallejo I use their airbrush cleaner , then blow through loads of water for a final clean , I`m in the camp that you should use the same make cleaner for which ever paint you use but there are no set rules , some use car windscreen wash some use IPA like Doug , if it works for you and your ab is clean then all is fine.
As for lubricating I only do a complete ab strip down and clean every now and then if ab feels sluggish and lube with Iwata lube not cheap but lasts an age


Richy

Hi Richy, yes it is the X20-A thinners im using, but as I sometimes get a blockage when spraying & on stripping down find a build up of paint on the needle im wondering if I need to lubricate the needle after cleaning...


Tha airbrush im using is the cheapo one that came with the compressor lol... Hoping for a proper airbrush for my birthday next month ..


John.

[Guest]

Thats normal John I get that with tamiya and vallejo paints there is a fine line getting the right thinning of the paint to ab nice and the right amount of paint and the time it sits in the cup its always going to happen at some stage , when this happens I use a small brush with thinners on to clean the needle tip 9 times out of 10 it normally works - if not empty cup of paint - fill with thinners blast through half of thinners do a couple of blow backs ( hold finger over nozzle cap until bubbles start in cup ) then blow through rest of thinners ( you may have to do this a couple of times ) all should be fine and you can re-load paint and off you go again .


Using a cheap ab does not make much difference using acrylics ( I use a couple of Iwata ab`s and still have these issues sometimes its normal )


Richy

[Guest]

Thats normal John I get that with tamiya and vallejo paints there is a fine line getting the right thinning of the paint to ab nice and the right amount of paint and the time it sits in the cup its always going to happen at some stage , when this happens I use a small brush with thinners on to clean the needle tip 9 times out of 10 it normally works - if not empty cup of paint - fill with thinners blast through half of thinners do a couple of blow backs ( hold finger over nozzle cap until bubbles start in cup ) then blow through rest of thinners ( you may have to do this a couple of times ) all should be fine and you can re-load paint and off you go again .
Using a cheap ab does not make much difference using acrylics ( I use a couple of Iwata ab`s and still have these issues sometimes its normal )


Richy

Thanks for the help Richy, I am just moving from Armoured Vehicles & Aircraft Camo,s to 1 colour cars, LOL... so hope to improve my Airbrushing skills for painting the bodywork... .


John.