Badger Stynylrez Primer

PS: For the sake of discussion I will run a test. I need to paint the primed piece. I will give my AB and AB cup a thorough cleaning ( no swabs), followed by a major flush of the system. I will let the system dry to illiminate  any possible cross contamination, and then paint the piece. I will report back what happens.

I even bought some Tamiya cotton swabs and useful as they are for some things, they're just too hard for wiping any film out of an airbrush cup.

I'll admit to not being as cautious as I used to be. Painting military subjects that are going to be weathered anyway I haven't been nearly as particular as when I painted model cars. I have a paint booth too, with a door and lights, etc. I used to go to great lengths with vacuuming, cleaning, clothes I wore while painting, not moving in front of the paint booth or stirring up anything in the room. Lol  And, being very particular about how I cleaned my equipment. 

But, enough about that.    Be sure and clean the inside of the nozzle on your airbrush. Things get caught in there too and will build up. The smaller the opening the more effect it has. You can sand down the point of a wooden toothpick to fit. It won't hurt anything as long as you don't force it. Insert it from the back, not the front.

I tested it and it DID work much better. There was one tiny fiber that ended up in the finish, but it was very small, and unlike the much larger ones that I had before. Maybe it was a residual piece in the brush, or it was airborne. But I can say for sure, it came out much better. From my perspective, I am done using cotton swabs to clean my AB and/or peripheral.

Having said that though... I need to create a better cleaning process because it is harder to clean some of this stuff by just using a dental pick. It works, but it takes more time and more solvent, neither I am thrilled about.

I did a little checking and there is such a thing as foam swabs. They say they are lint free and they can take solvents. I need to do a little more research but I think I will buy some to try. Link is below for a possible source. 

https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-Multi-Purpose-Cleanroom-Automotive-Detailing/dp/B082TYJSY1/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&aaxitk=0wZY2HKhILK6YDBbgEdF9w&hsa_cr_id=9600522220301&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_0

Wingman_kz

Be sure and clean the inside of the nozzle on your airbrush. Things get caught in there too and will build up. The smaller the opening the more effect it has. You can sand down the point of a wooden toothpick to fit. It won't hurt anything as long as you don't force it. Insert it from the back, not the front.

Yup, with every use. 

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it!

The linked swab might be too large a diameter to fit the AB opening. Like I said...need to research more.

This might work for me. They make these in all sizes and even pointy shapes. Gonna try some.

Ok done now. Lol.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6DSYXH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those look good. Let us know how they work out.

Wingman_kz

Those look good. Let us know how they work out.

 

I sure will!

PS: just did another spray session and there was zero fiber/lint. Giddy up!

Hey Wingman, the foam swabs came in and I gave them a try. Wow! I like them! They are super absorbent and they work fantastic to clean my brush and paint cup/jar. The foam soaks up the paint beautifully. I dip the swab in some thinner and give things a wipe. So easy. No more of my using cotton swabs, and no more paper towels. They both leave fibers behind.

Not being sure of which ones would work best, I ordered two sizes. In testing I found that the smaller diameter swab works fantastic to clean my paint jar paint tube. It fits perfectly, and the swab can be pushed all the way through it. Cleaning that tube is never easier. What is amazing too is how the foam glides along the surface. There is no sticking, no resistance. 

The larger of the two swabs is closer to the size of a standard cotton swab. Both are useful for my purposes.

My only regret with this is that I didn't get these much sooner. Since stopping the use of cotton swabs and papertowels, the paint fiber issue seems to be history. 

Thought I'd let your know.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CCFVL26/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6DSYXH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wingman_kz

Be sure and clean the inside of the nozzle on your airbrush. Things get caught in there too and will build up. The smaller the opening the more effect it has.

Good advice. This is why I scratch my head when I read comments from folks who claim they have used their a/b for x years and have never disassembled it. I hope they at least unscrew the nozzle cap and clean the nozzle!

I bought a nozzle reamer when I was getting back into the hobby. It sat in a drawer all this time. I was afraid to use it because by definition, a reamer removes material and I was afraid of literally 'reaming' the taped I.D. of the nozzle and ruining it.

For some reason, last summer I pulled it out and inspected it. Reamer is a misnomer, it isn't a reamer at all. It is a tapered point with about half of the diameter ground down. It cannot 'ream' because it does not have a cutting edge. It is brilliantly simple. Afer reading your idea of using a ground down toothpick, I wonder if one could do that, then file half of end down and have a little Jerry rigged nozzle 'reamer'?

Here is a lower cost nozzle 'reamer' I found whilst fetching the link for the one I own. I suspect it works just as well.

Steve, those foam-tipped swabs look neat. Glad they're working out for you.

I'm always looking for a way to clean the inside diameter behind the rear seal of my a/b's without using a pipe-cleaner. I wonder if the smaller foam tipped swab might work for that?

Bakster, that's great news. Going to order some of those myself. Might come in handy for other things too. Like weathering. I knew there had to be something better, just didn't know what to look for! Thanks.

Greg, I've seen that word used before but didnt realize what they actually looked like. Badger sells a "reamer" to remove or install nozzles on some of their airbrushes like the 100 series. They're threaded but don't have flats on the outside so you use that tool. But you can remove the head to clean it so I didn't need to remove the nozzle. Like you, when I saw the term reamer, I figured it would or could remove metal. 

Sure, you could sand a flat on a toothpick to use it for cleaning. I've done it in the past for cleaning larger nozzles like a Badger Patriot or 360. When you get to a .3mm or .2mm nozzle there won't be much left though. Just my opinion but the texture of the wood is probably enough.

On other forums I've seen folks suggest using an old airbrush needle for this. File or grind off the fine tip of the needle and put a flat on the side. But that was people that made a living airbrushing and went through a lot more equipment than I ever will.

Greg

I'm always looking for a way to clean the inside diameter behind the rear seal of my a/b's without using a pipe-cleaner. I wonder if the smaller foam tipped swab might work for that?

Hey Greg, I am not sure because I am not familiar with your AB. I can tell you that I was able to use the smaller swab to clean my head assembly and the opening in the body of my AB, that is just forward of the needle bearing. It does a fantastic job cleaning and it has sped up my cleaning process by a bunch. I use a Badger AB. The swab does NOT fit into the tip portion of the head assembly but, I noticed they offer a conical shaped swab that might. You'd have to check the size. For the tip I use a rubberized dental pick and that works very well.

Anyway, these work great. I wish I found them much sooner.

Wingman_kz

Bakster, that's great news. Going to order some of those myself. Might come in handy for other things too. Like weathering. I knew there had to be something better, just didn't know what to look for! Thanks.

You are welcome.