Cleaning Airbursh paint bottle caps

If you are using water base acrylic paint you can use Windex, Alcohol or Ammonia to clean the caps.

Any other paint you can use lacquer thinner.

Its more a question, how do I actuially get the gunk out of the tubes in the cap, the thinner can only do so much

Pipe cleaners, don't get the cheap ones from a crafts store, try and find a proper tobacconist and get proper ones.

Castrol Super Clean will dissolve/strip most of the paints I use. I keep a small tub of it with an airtight cover to drop my airbrush bottles and caps in when I'm finished for the day. I use the Badger Fast Blast caps with the nylon pickup tube and scrup the caps with an old toothbrush and run a pipe cleaner through the tubes. The paint breaks down a lot easier when it's fresh. You can use the same pipe cleaner over and over.

Tony

Thanks!  I never thought of using motor oil, also, how could I have forgotten pipe cleaners?!

Here is what I use to clean almost everything on my airbrushes and accessories.

http://www.micromark.com/5-PIECE-MICRO-CLEANING-BRUSH-SET,7911.html

You can use them until you wear them out.  Work better than pipe cleaners.

Woah, I don't believe Wingman was talking about using motor oil for paint stripping.  Castrol Super Clean is a cleaner, degreaser found in automotive bepartments.  It works well for removing paint and Wal-Mart has it in a purple 1 gal. plastic container as "Super Clean".

As for cleaning in tight areas, good quaiity pipe cleaners work very well, but you might also try going to your local grocery / department / drug store and check out the small brushes in the dental supply section for cleaning braces,  orthadoncha (sp?), etc.  You will find them for a couple of bucks and in cylindrical shapes.

Hope this helps,

Michael B.

Yes, Michael is right, it's a degreaser. You can also find a brand at some WalMarts and auto parts stores that's simply called Purple Power. Here's a link to an auto parts store that happened to have an image of the gallon container of Super Clean. You can get it in smaller spray bottles too. Sorry for not elaborating on what the product actually is.

Auto Barn

Also, you need to wear some type of rubber gloves when handling this stuff full strength. I keep an old pair of dishwashing gloves handy. There's a lot of chemicals that will work as paint removers that you can use but you have to be careful with them.

Tony