Cleaning My Paasche

QUOTE: Originally posted by ajlafleche THe good things is that with a new assembly, your'e getting rid of any tiny cracks and bends you might not be able to see with your Mk I eyballs.

I haver some Mk II eyeballs, but they are hard to install

Someone suggested Simple Green. I'll try the Nail Polish remover after that.

Have you tried fingernail polish remover? If there are no plastic parts, this may do the trick. But as Mike said, a new nozzle assembly is probably in your future. THe good things is that with a new assembly, your'e getting rid of any tiny cracks and bends you might not be able to see with your Mk I eyballs.

Well, I didn't have lacquer thinner, so I tried the enamel paintbrush thinner that I had on hand. I let it sit for a couple of days (all plastic parts removed) and still no luck. It looks like I will have to go and get a new tip.

Try straight Windex or Simple Green.
If it is plugged that bad and straight Windex won't even cut it then it's time to bring out the big guns and put it in lacquer thinner.
If lacquer won't even cut it then buy a new one as they are pretty cheap.

Mike

I use Testors Acryl and I have the Paasche H. For some reason, I forgot to clean the parts after I was done, and the pain in the needle has dried it shut!

It has sat in a rough 50/50 windex and water for the past several days, and I am still unable to get it clean.

I need suggestions on what next to try to unclog it.

You better hope none of that WD-40 gets into your paint or it will mess it up.
If you use acrylics then mix 2 parts filtered water, 1 part Windex and 1 part Simple Green to clean it. If you use enamels or lacquers then I would use lacquer thinner as it is cheap and cleans better than anything.

Mike

I use WD 40 to clean up my Paasche when using enamels. I don't think it works so well with acrylics, but the long red tip on the spray can gets right into the tips and nozzles perfectly, and the aerasol has enough power to blast away at any dried on bits. I then clean up with a small wash of thinner. I spray the items over a stainless steel bowl and reuse the bowl several times until I have enough that requires proper disposal.

Using this method for over 3 years has rarely required the use of a brush or pipecleaners. This also saves on the expensive thinner and does not smell as bad either. One can of WD last a long time and is easy to handle. I haven't encountered any corrosion problems and the WD should actually act as a lubricant as well and add to the life of the O rings. I clean up after my enamels, metalizers, and my hands after any accidental overspray lands on my fingers (that never hapens, does it?).

Hope this helps,
Bryan

I use micro size round brushes to clean my AB's....... A good Spraygun cleaning kit has everything u need.

Whether or not you thin your paint is probably going to depend on how you use your airbrush. I paint at about 15 psi and I thin Tamiya acrylics about 3 parts paint to 1 part thinner. For thinner I use 90% isopropyl alcohol.

Here's a link to the manual:
http://www.paascheairbrush.com/parts_2003/HHSAirbrushPartsList.pdf

Cleaning a Paasche H is simple. There's three main parts that typically need to ble cleaned . 1) nozzle - the cone shaped thing you turn to adjust the paint output 2) needle - which the nozzle screws onto and is held into the ab body by an allen head set screw and 3) aircap - the thing that screws into the body of the ab and has the orifice where the air actually comes out. Often times, you only need to clean the nozzle and needle, as the aircap doesn't get fouled with paint very quickly.

Back off the set screw a turn or two (if you go further, you risk it dropping to the floor and it's hard to find because it's so small). Unscrew the nozzle all the way and use it to push the needle out of the airbrush. Clean with thinner (I use WW fluid because I only shoot water based acrylics) . Cotton swaps and/or pipe cleaners can be used (careful with pipe cleaners so the metal core doesn't damage anything). Compressed air can be helpful too, but it's not necessary. If the aircap is dirty (mine's only been so once in my last several painting sessions), unscrew it and clean it, too.

Reassemble, making sure the needle shoulder is fully seated into the airbrush. That's it!