air brush cleaning up

Thanks for the tips Mike and all.

Specifically, I am now using flat acrylics but I would also like an opinion of recoating times for gloss acrylics, if you can hazard an opinion.

The type of paint you're using will make a difference too. Metallic paints will separate and settle in short order and may potentially clog your brush.

Some other paints which are comprised of multiple pigments, eg. Tamiya Olive Drab, will begin to separate into layers of colour (distinct green and brown) very quickly. This may result in what appears to be discolouration and uneven coverage.

If you're using a gravity feed brush, if it's going to sit idle for more than a few minutes, pou the paint out into a suitable container and flush the brush. When ready to continue, stir the paint again before putting it back in the brush.

pathvet9 wrote:

Is it just me but do others feel like they spend more time cleaning up after shooting than actually using the brush?

Welcome to airbrushing! Learn to like cleaning them as they do take longer to clean than to use as you said.

Specifically, I am wondering if anyone has an idea/opinion about how long one can leave the paint in the cup to be used for multiple coats before everything gets all gummed up. I am now experimenting as I write and will wait about 15-20 minutes to recoat.

Letting paint sit more than 10-15 minutes is one of the reasons some people have problems with their airbrush. If it is going to sit that long it is best to pour the paint into a container, spray out the color in the airbrush and shoot a little cleaner and then water through it before continuing.

Using Tamiya Acylic, my brush can usually sit for about 30>45 minutes before clogging - if it does a couple of full air / paint trigger presses or nozzel wipe with meths usually clears it.

If I am putting down multiple coats of the same paint, I will usually turn my compressor up to max & air dry the first coat before going straight onto the second - I have read that this isnt the best practice, but so far it has not caused any problems.

Another thing I have noticed makes a big difference is using a cap or cover on the paint cup, this also makes clean up easier as well. If you use a cover, the remnants of paint that line the inside of the cup will stay liquid for some time, whereas they will dry straight away without a cover.

All this works well, apart from with Future - which dosen't really like being "blow dried" & gum's up pretty quickly - you cant win em all. 

  Hey I hear ya! I do spend a lot of time cleaning the airbrush. One thing I've found useful when working with multiple coats is to use an air gun and speed the drying time between coats. That way the brush doesn't set idle long, and I can get more painting done. As for how long before the gun plugs up, I've never actually tried to, err plug it up, but it always seems to happen at the worst times. Just 2 cents worth.