Airbrush Cleaning-what am I doing wrong?

Centurion wrote:

MikeV wrote: I never soak my airbrushes in anything. How long are you letting the airbrush set with paint in the cup? If it is longer than 10 minutes I would suggest spraying it out and putting some water through it, if using acrylics or thinner if using enamels, to flush out that paint until you are ready to start painting again.  I would also be careful with pipe cleaners as they can leave traces of lint in the airbrush. You are better off buying some Airbrusher's Brushes and using them. I personally never run a pipe cleaner or brush through the body of the airbrush as it is unnecessary unless you have pulled the needle out while paint was still in the cup and the paint flowed back into the body past the needle bearing.   Good points MikeV.   I just got done talking with Iwata technical support and found out some interesting facts.  I've been going back and forth for a couple days now and my waiting paid off with some great information from Adam. He gave me very detailed  information on how they clean their brushes and one of the things he said is not to use pipe cleaners. Instead, he says to use Airbrush Brushes as MikeV has stated so I totally back up his words on this one.  Another thing I thought was interesting is that he said to not spray ammonia through the brush. Now a lot of people have recommended using Windex as a cleaner but if I'm not mistaking that is what Windex is made up of right? I'm not trying to step on anyones toes, I just thought it was a good point to bring up for discussion. The Iwata site also states to use lacquer thinner for enamels and to avoid paint thinners. Any thoughts or feedback?

Yes Windex contains ammonia and the reason he told you this is because ammonia can dull the finish of the chrome on the airbrush, although I have never had it happen.

MikeV wrote:

I never soak my airbrushes in anything. How long are you letting the airbrush set with paint in the cup? If it is longer than 10 minutes I would suggest spraying it out and putting some water through it, if using acrylics or thinner if using enamels, to flush out that paint until you are ready to start painting again.  I would also be careful with pipe cleaners as they can leave traces of lint in the airbrush. You are better off buying some Airbrusher's Brushes and using them. I personally never run a pipe cleaner or brush through the body of the airbrush as it is unnecessary unless you have pulled the needle out while paint was still in the cup and the paint flowed back into the body past the needle bearing.

Good points MikeV. 

 I just got done talking with Iwata technical support and found out some interesting facts.  I've been going back and forth for a couple days now and my waiting paid off with some great information from Adam. He gave me very detailed  information on how they clean their brushes and one of the things he said is not to use pipe cleaners. Instead, he says to use Airbrush Brushes as MikeV has stated so I totally back up his words on this one. 

Another thing I thought was interesting is that he said to not spray ammonia through the brush. Now a lot of people have recommended using Windex as a cleaner but if I'm not mistaking that is what Windex is made up of right? I'm not trying to step on anyones toes, I just thought it was a good point to bring up for discussion. The Iwata site also states to use lacquer thinner for enamels and to avoid paint thinners. Any thoughts or feedback?

I never soak my airbrushes in anything.

How long are you letting the airbrush set with paint in the cup?

If it is longer than 10 minutes I would suggest spraying it out and putting some water through it, if using acrylics or thinner if using enamels, to flush out that paint until you are ready to start painting again. 

I would also be careful with pipe cleaners as they can leave traces of lint in the airbrush.

You are better off buying some Airbrusher's Brushes and using them.

I personally never run a pipe cleaner or brush through the body of the airbrush as it is unnecessary unless you have pulled the needle out while paint was still in the cup and the paint flowed back into the body past the needle bearing.  

Vinnems wrote:

Now, is there any kind of brush I can buy from like Wal Mart or Target or local stores that is thin enough to be able to get inside the airbrush and let me clean it?

Pipe cleaners, either from a tobaconist (ideal beacuse they're more absorbent and thinner) or the craft kind. You should be able to carefully push this all the way through the needle channel. Moistened with the appropriate thinner, it will clean places nothing else can reach.

I've been having the same problem as the original poster.  I guess I'm gonna have to buy some laquer thinner, becau se my brush still keeps getting clogged.  I've soaked the parts in 409, alcohol, super clean, and nothing has gotten in unclogged.  It'll spray OK (not as good as it should) for a minute, and then go back to being clogged :(

EDIT: OK, I got my airbrush soaking in some laquer thinner, I'll leave it in till I get home from school tonight.  Now, is there any kind of brush I can buy from like Wal Mart or Target or local stores that is thin enough to be able to get inside the airbrush and let me clean it? 

Every airbrush is a little bit different.  I have a Paasche double action airbrush.  When I take mine apart, what that means is removing the handle and unscrewing the items that lock the needle in.  I then remove the needle, the two tips and the internal tip for cleaning.  I also spritz some windex through where the paint flows through the brush to flush any remaining acrylic out of the airbrush.  I do the same for the needle, and all the tip parts, then rinse them completely.  Be sure to keep your drain stoppered..... I've had to fish an airbrush part out of the p-trap before.  LOL

If you need more clarification and if it would help, I can take a series of photos showing how it gets taken apart, and how I clean.

espins1 wrote:

I had similar issues, so now after each and every session, I completely take my airbrush apart and clean with windex.  No matter how much Windex I spray through the airbrush I always manage to get a lot more paint out if I flush windex through the body with all the parts removed.  I think your issue is that you're not getting all the paint out of the body by just spraying running windex and water through it.  Squirt some windex through the body while it's all disassembled.

 I know this thread is old but I'm new to this and came across it in a search and am hoping someone can help out. So when someone says "take apart airbrush" what do they mean? I just got my airbrush yesterday and tried taking it apart just to see what it looks like inside and all i can get to is the needle and a couple nossles. Is there more to taking it apart when cleaning? This is a concern if your not supposed to submerge the entire brush. Note: I'm dealing with the Iwata Rev CR and the Ecl CS. Thanks

The one at the jewelry counter at the local Wal Marts is a Sonic cleaner, cleans ok but not as good as the ultrasonic,  I was so anxious to get one I ran out and bought it and didn't realize till I opened the box it wasnt ultrasonic.  The sonic cleaner cleans at about 6k Hz I think, the Ultrasonic at around 44k Hz., it will scrub the shine off a penny! 

You can get them online from Amazon, Target or Wal Mart (make sure they say ULTRA sonic).. Bed Bath and Beyond has them in stock in the store too... they're about $45 but worth every penny.  I just dunk the parts in for 3 or so cycles and it's done! 

Bgrigg wrote:

Oh no, you're still nuts... LOL!!

I used to do a fairly simple cleaning, but I've lately discovered that short cutting the cleaning process doesn't work so hot. So now I do as you do, squirt cleaner through, backflush when changing colors, and do a serious bit of cleaning when done. I consider "wasting" time now to replace eliminating problems in the future to be a fair trade!

Cleaning an airbrush is much like the old Purolator oil filter commercial; "Clean me now or clean me later, and it will cost more if you clean me later".  The bottom line is that sooner or later you will take the time to get the paint out, it's just a question of whether you want to spend a little time while the paint is still wet or a lot of time after it has caked up the airbrush.

I have a friend who was having airbrush troubles, and he swore that his airbrush was squeaky clean.  I told him to completely disassemble it and soak it in lacquer thinner overnight and see what happened.  Next day he said he couldn't believe the amount of crud that came out of it.  I told hime to do it again, and this time get some small interdental brushes to brush it out.  Follow that up with compressed air.  He said there was no reason to since he was certain everything was out of it now.  Next day he said he couldn't believe the amount of crud that came out of it.

No matter how clean you think your airbrush is, it can always be cleaner.  Lacquer thinner works great for most all-steel airbrushes as it will dissolve nearly every kind of paint we use for modeling.  An ultrasonic cleaner also works great.  I use both and have even gone so far as to use mineral spirits in my ultrasonic cleaner.

Iwata specifically warns about using petroleum based products as a needle lube.  Specifically light machine oils are called out (clipper oil?).  They are listed as causing "gumming" of the internal parts and other hinderences, I'll have to find my manual to see what else they list.

I agree with Bill, my bottle of Regdab was $5 and I've used it for 2 yrs now and it is more than 3/4 full.  A small price to pay to be sure..

I have heard glycerin from the drug store works just as well though...

crockett wrote:

You need to coat your needle with petroleum jelly. If you wish you can buy the expensive airbrush lube, but generic petroleum jelly works fine. Lube the needle at every cleaning session. My 360 runs great. The thin coating of lube prevents acrylic paint from sticking to the needle and also promotes smooth paint lines and gives a silky double action trigger for precise control.   Steve

jhande wrote:

Thanks Bill, I thought maybe I was going nuts and over cleaning unnecessarily.

You need to coat your needle with petroleum jelly. If you wish you can buy the expensive airbrush lube, but generic petroleum jelly works fine. Lube the needle at every cleaning session. My 360 runs great. The thin coating of lube prevents acrylic paint from sticking to the needle and also promotes smooth paint lines and gives a silky double action trigger for precise control.

Steve

jwb wrote:

jhande wrote: Thanks Bill, I thought maybe I was going nuts and over cleaning unnecessarily. I've only been using my airbrush a little over a month now, but I'm quickly finding there is almost no such thing as over cleaning. I short-cut cleaning one day, and the next time I sprayed, I had to clean it before using and afterwards....

jhande wrote:

Thanks Bill, I thought maybe I was going nuts and over cleaning unnecessarily.