What do you use...

When I use Mr. Color/Alclad II paints I clean my AB with hardware store lacquer thinner.  When I use Tamiya paints I clean my AB with Windex and some water.

Windex & water mix? Or either?

I only spray acrylics as well, but here is my method.  For me, it depends upon the paint.  Since cleaning is to remove the remaining paint in the brush, I use the thinner/cleaner for the paint I just sprayed.  For Tamiya, I use alcohol, for Model Master and Vallejo I use the Testors airbrush cleaner.  

When I am done, I spray a bowl or two of plain water through the brush and then use a cotton bowl to wipe it out.  this gets most of it.  I then spray a small amount of either the cleaner or the alcohol and then use some as well on a cotton ball and wipe the inside of the cup/bowl.  I then take out the needle and wipe it down with the cleaner/alcohol until it is clean.  I then put the needle back in and spray some more water.  I am looking for clear spray of just water and a good flow through the brush.  I occasinally remove the tip and the nozzle and clean them as well if the flow isn't clear or as good as I would like.  Every so often, I disassemble the whole thing and clean it down with cleaner.  A lot depends on how much you spray and how thick your paints.  the amount of the cleaner I use is usually very minimal and a bottle lasts me a long time.  I wouldn't skimp on a good cleaning solution as the brush is too important a tool.

I avoid harsh stuff and disassemble the brush as little as possible.  Hope this helps.

John

I should add that when I spray Future, I do use Windex to clean.  I read where others do that and it works for me so I never bothered to try cleaning it another way for that.  I still use the water steps.

John

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Windex & water mix? Or either?

I use Windex to clean the Tamiya paint out of the AB and then I use water to clean out the Windex and rinse off the AB.

Plain cheap lacquer thinner from Home Depot/Lowes's. It will dissolve even dried caked up acrylics.

Lacquer thinner. Windex and alcohol and the like will work to a certain extent on various paints, but you will end up having issues at some point if all you do is shoot that through them and don't do through break down cleaning once in a while.

Want to have a really bad day? Try cleaning Vallejo type paints with alcohol. Lacquer thinner cuts through everything without much trouble.

I bought the 1 gallon container of Klean Strip from The Home Depot.  It lasts for a long time.

The reason I'm asking is I use Testors Universal thinner for acrylics since I use mostly Model Master acrylics anyways. Tamiya is I want to try but want to double check with using what to clean. Although I did buy some Tamiya thinner in the big jar for that (assuming that's what to use).

I always take apart my AB and clean between paint colors. I don't work much with Valljeo paint but I have yet use it. I currently have Aged White (or something like that).

Question - when using alcohol for cleaning Tamiya acrylics, does it matter what % alcohol it is? I know some are 76%, 90%, well you get the picture.

Now I'm getting really confused. Like I said, I use Testors Universal Acrylic thinner for my acrylic paint. Have used it with good results and am happy with it.

I guess I should take pilotjohn's advice as follows: (Correct me if I'm getting this right)

Model Master Acrylic - keep using what I've always been using (Testors Universal thinner for Acrylics)

Tamiya Acrylics - alcohol or Tamiya thinner. Would Universal Acrylic thinner work just as well?

Vallejo -  Universal Acrylic thinner or lacquer thinner. Would either be fine?

Enamels - Testors thinner for enamels (that's a given).

Also, regardless of what I use for cleaning the AB, is it well worth it to get lacquer thinner just to use every now and then?

I use my Iwata ABs to shoot Tamiya & AK acrylics.  They can be easily cleaned with 91% IPA.  No need to use lacquer thinner.  

I occasionally use my Paasche H to spray Vallejo acrylics.  In my experience, only lacquer thinner completely cleans Vallejo stuff.  

Chrisk-k

I use my Iwata ABs to shoot Tamiya & AK acrylics.  They can be easily cleaned with 91% IPA.  No need to use lacquer thinner.  

I occasionally use my Paasche H to spray Vallejo acrylics.  In my experience, only lacquer thinner completely cleans Vallejo stuff.  

Highly interesting considering AK paints are identical to Vallejo in formulation.

I use windshield wiper fluid.  Pretty much the same thing as your regular Windex, but cheaper.  I only spray acrylics right now (not much ventilation in the basement), and use a Testors Aztec.  The windshield wiper fluid has done me well so far, but some of these other suggestions are in my "Notes" book now!  Thanks all!

Eagle90

For between colors,enamels I use mineral spirits,the big jug from the hardware store,acrylics I just use tap water.

every once in awhile,I use one of those ultrasonic jewlery cleaners

I don't understand if you are asking what to thin the paint with or clean it with.

You don't need 14 different cleaners for 14 different kinds of paint. If you are ONLY spraying acrylics all you need is 91% alcohol, Windex, and water. Alcohol will clean everything EXCEPT Vallajo type paints (Vallejo -all lines, Italeri, AK, and AMMO). For those you can clean with WIndex.

However, if you have the ventilation just get some lacquer thinner from the hardware store or Wal-Mart. It cleans everything with a fraction of the effort.

As for thinning:

Tamiya: yes you can thin with Alcohol, but it lacks the retarder that their own thinner has, so paint is going to dry in your AB tip and it will be chalky on the models surface. You can make it work, but adding some retarder from the art supply store will help.

The Vallejo type paints are junk for airbrushing....except the Model Air line. MA can be sprayed straight from the bottle but only for general coverage. You aren't going to be doing delicate German camo with it. To thin the Valleo types your best bet is Future in my experience. But I will not spray those unless I absolutely have to. They are way too finicky.

Model Master Acryl is another lousy paint. It sprays ok, but it is a fragile as paint comes. It will strip off from under tape 9/10 times.

Tamiya (and Mr. Hobby Aqueous if you are outside of the US) are by far the best acrylics out there. The problem with Tamiya is that they don't make many specific color matches.

That being said, if you have the setup to do it (proper ventalation etc), I recommend enamels and lacquers. I use MM enamel and Mr. Color almost exclusively now. I thin them both with lacquer thinner. If I need to do delicate work I use Mr. Color Leveling thinner (also the best thinner for Tamiya acrylic).

I forgot to mention windshield washer fluid. It is not the same as Windex...in any way other than being blue...but it has glycol and methanol which slows drying time and increases flow. It can be used to thin most all acrylics. It's useless as a cleaner...unless you really just want to use a lot more than necessary and work harder.

dflu78

Highly interesting considering AK paints are identical to Vallejo in formulation.

I've heard that rumor, too. But I don't know if it's true. The Mr. Vallejo of AK Interactive is not associated with Vallejo paints. But even if Vallejo does in fact manufacture the AK paint, they seem to behave quite differently in my experience. This would appear to indicate a difference in formulation.  Of course, I can't prove it because neither company is very open about the ingredients of their paint. Do you have any reliable information?

Chris

It's pretty common knowledge that AK was a collaboration between Vallejo and Mig Jimenez...not at all rumors. It's also pretty common knowledge that the paints are identical. As is Italeri paint, which is just relabeled Vallejo FWIW.

migjimenez.blogspot.com

dflu78

Chrisk-k

I use my Iwata ABs to shoot Tamiya & AK acrylics.  They can be easily cleaned with 91% IPA.  No need to use lacquer thinner.  

I occasionally use my Paasche H to spray Vallejo acrylics.  In my experience, only lacquer thinner completely cleans Vallejo stuff.  

 

Highly interesting considering AK paints are identical to Vallejo in formulation.

I wasn't clear about my use of AK.  I use AK acrylic primers, which is totally different from Vallejo acrylic primers.

dflu78 - the question is about what to clean with.

I think you are going to find more opinions than you can sort through, and I am not saying any of them are not correct.  When I got back into this about 3 years ago, I stayed with what the manufacturers of the paints said to use and then experimented from there.  Clean Tamiya with Tamiya and Testors with Testors.  I think Vallejo makes a cleaner for the AB also.

John

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

dflu78 - the question is about what to clean with.

Which I addressed if you care to read. I'm sorry. It slightly boggles my mind that people think you need brand specific cleaners for paint. You're just wasting money, but by all means have at it. 

Simple version: lacquer thinner will clean everything. If you're sticking with acrylics and don't want to use harsh chemicals: WINDEX AND ALCOHOL 

I use 8 different paint brands frequently and I clean it all with lacquer thinner or windex. 

I spray Clorox Green Works natural glass cleaner (a Blue liquid, lol), followed by distilled water. (our water is veryyy limey)

Then, after I am sure I don't see any color in the spray anymore, I shoot a  teaspoon of

Medea Airbrush Cleaner through. I keep the Medea in mind for any time I think I have a nearly dry paint film in the cup or brush passages, because its other use is to cut dried paint out of a brush. (just in case)

I know I pay more now for specialized thinners, cleaners and waters,,,,,,,,,but, my old lacquer thinner habit would get the bench kicked outside, and she wants me to model "nearby" from now on.

Rex

dflu78

It's pretty common knowledge that AK was a collaboration between Vallejo and Mig Jimenez...not at all rumors. It's also pretty common knowledge that the paints are identical. As is Italeri paint, which is just relabeled Vallejo FWIW.

migjimenez.blogspot.com

I tend to doubt "common knowledge" that doesn't have a reliable source, especially when it is contrary to my personal experience. And especially when we hear rumors that contradict each other. Which one should we believe?

Why assume that two paints are identical if they come from the same manufacturer? Paint makers are capable of making a variety of paint. I'm not saying you are wrong, I just need a reliable source, such as an MSDS sheet from AK Interactive to compare to those from Acrylicos Vallejo.

I've gotten off the original topic of this thread. There are plenty of good answers to the original question, but I use windex or water to flush out acrylics, then follow up with lacquer thinner.

Chris

For acrylics I use plan old water, that and a brush to clean it with does a good job. I then use a liquid reamer to get rid of any stubborn deposits. For enamels I use white spirits followed by the same reamer.

Chris;

That was the point I was trying to give to the gentleman who was asking about this, as a manufacturer would be completely foolish to supply a thinner/cleaner for their own brand of paint that didn't work well.  I was watching some stuff on YouTube earlier around the whole who makes the Italeri acrylic line of paints.  I have never tried them, but it was interesting to see all the comparisons.  I try to go as "mild" as possible with all the solvents and cleaners especially since lacquer thinner has such an odor.

There are many ways to clean and thin as we have all talked about so each person can find what works best for them:)

John

You are free to believe what you want. Just because you're ignorant of something doesn't make it any less true. The information is out there. It's no a secret. Not everyone keeps up with industry insider information like this. I get that.  You've made up your mind and nothing is going to change it, and I'm not going any further out of my way to convince you because it serves me no purpose. I don't have to prove to you that I'm right.

MSDSs are not hard to find...if you really want to. But I think you're just more interested in arguing than learning anything.

Just consider that FSM and it's forum are not the only source of information on the hobby out there. In fact...they are targeted at beginners...expand your online presence in the hobby and you will find there are much better sources of information out there.

Hold on, let's not turn this into a sparring match. LOL!

I use both AK primers and Vallejo primers and the difference is like night and day.  For example, dried Vallejo primers do not dissolve in IPA and Windex, whereas AK primers do.  Another example, Vallejo primers are not sandable whereas AK primers are.  I haven't used AK acrylic paint, so I can't comment on it.

All I know based on threads at other modeling sites is Vallejo manufactures AK & Italeri paints.

and the Manufacturer of those three paint lines use a formula for each that is close enough that all three can use the same thinner from AK (#712)

the two polyurethanes are both from outside of the regular paint lines for each company, though. And they don't share a formula with any of the three acrylic paint lines, or with each other

one other test that I learned from an old FSM user named Triarious (sp) is that some acrylics are so close in formula that they are almost considered the same,,,,,,as in mixing Model Master and PollyScale to create a missing color

you can do that same mixing with Vallejo, AK and Italeri

to quote an old logic axiom "a difference that makes no difference IS no difference"

I hope this helps in some way

Rex

ps,,,,,,,the Medea Cleaner works equally well on all 10 Acrylic paints I have so far, but I haven't bought XtraColour or MisterKit paints yet.