Airbrush cleaner for Valejo Model Air paints?

Hardware store Lacquer Thinner ,blue can clean everything

Ditto on the Lacquer thinner. Another cheap cleaner for Vallejo paints is Windex.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

I use original windex 

Jim, Nick, and Tojo - Thanks for the info. I've got both laquer thinner and original Windex on hand, so I'll give them a try.

For most acrylics I go right to the sink ( I spray in the kitchen) and flush the brush with warm water, back flush, flush , backflush till the water is not tainted. Then I use alcohol, flush, backflush. Rinse with water. This includes Model Air. Softimes I use a drop of dish washing liquid. I've also made up airbrush cleaner. And there are generic brands of acrylic airbrush cleaner, not to mention Vallejo makes their own. I've never bought a brand name airbrush cleaner though and my Badger is over 45 years old and counting. Every few weeks I strip the needle out and maybe remove the nozzle. I can do that on my Badger and Paasche single action, my double action can be more fussy sometimes.

Once you get the main liquid out of the brush alcohol will cut the rest, it's just not good as a thinner in Vallejo. Lacquer thinner works as others said, stinks but works. That is what I use for enamel and lacquer paint jobs, cheap efficient.

When I switched to acrylics, I found this receipe on the forum:

1 part distilled water, 1 part windex, 1 part Simple Green cleaner.

I use this mix to initially clean out the paint cup and flush the airbrush and then switch to Testors Universal Acyrlic Cleaner for another flushing.  I then disassemble the airbrush (single action) and flush the nozzle and needle with the Testors Universal Cleaner.   I probably go overboard, but it has worked and keeps the paint flowing.

 

oldermodelguy

For most acrylics I go right to the sink ( I spray in the kitchen) and flush the brush with warm water, back flush, flush , backflush till the water is not tainted. Then I use alcohol, flush, backflush. Rinse with water. This includes Model Air. Softimes I use a drop of dish washing liquid. I've also made up airbrush cleaner. And there are generic brands of acrylic airbrush cleaner, not to mention Vallejo makes their own. I've never bought a brand name airbrush cleaner though and my Badger is over 45 years old and counting. Every few weeks I strip the needle out and maybe remove the nozzle. I can do that on my Badger and Paasche single action, my double action can be more fussy sometimes.

Once you get the main liquid out of the brush alcohol will cut the rest, it's just not good as a thinner in Vallejo. Lacquer thinner works as others said, stinks but works. That is what I use for enamel and lacquer paint jobs, cheap efficient.

 

Interesting that you've had no problems using alcohol to clean the airbrush after using the Vallejo MA. I've read that alcohol has a bad reaction with that paint and gums things up. I recently tried using Tamiya Acrylic thinner to clean my airbrush after using MA because I was running low on the Vallejo thinner. I ended up with a gummed up nozzle and equated the issue to the Tamiya thinner maybe having alcohol in it. Then again, maybe it was something else?

But hey, maybe your water rinse removes whatever it is that causes the bad reaction with alcohol. Anyway, thanks for the input. 

KenK01

 

 

 

But hey, maybe your water rinse removes whatever it is that causes the bad reaction with alcohol. Anyway, thanks for the input. 

 

It is a risk. I would always stay away from alcohol. It WILL gum up vallejo paint! Try what dhenning suggests, or Windex, or Lacquer thinner. Oldermodelguy is a great resource of course, that is a given, but I wouldn't do it in my airbrush.

KenK01

 

But hey, maybe your water rinse removes whatever it is that causes the bad reaction with alcohol. Anyway, thanks for the input. 

 

Ya the brush is basically already clean, I think the water has taken away pretty much all that is going to react with the alcohol, the alcohol just gets the residue loose. If you pull the needle you will see little deposits on there and if you took a paper towel with either alcohol or lacquer thinner it will come right off pretty easy. I found this out using a Qtip soaked in alcohol to clean the air cap . But never put straight alcohol in the liquid Vallejo mix unless you want to make a jelly mold of your airbrush cup. And of course if you feel better with lacquer thinner just use that, especially given the fact ipa is about impossible to find these days anyway.