Airbrush Newbie - A few questions (clogs & cleaning)

I shoot both Tamiya and Model Master acrylics.  I use windex with ammonia to clean-up both.  And when something gets really stuck, a good cleaning with 91% isopropyl alcohol.

-Fred

MM Acryl paints can be a real pain to clean after they have dried.  I suggest getting three items to help you:

1. Model Master Detail and Fine Line Thinner.  It's the best thing to thin Acryl with.
2. Model Master Acryl Cleaner.  Use this the clean you airbrush and brushes after use.
3. Model Master Dried Acryl Cleaner.  Once the acryl dries, use this to clean it.  You shouldn't have to use this that often.

Testors does not recommend thinning with Tamiya thinner or water (though some people do).  I use the above three products with my Acryl airbrushing and never have any problems.

Jesse

Keilau: Thanks for the info.  BTW the wiper fluid was a recommendation I had read somewhere recently...

Hey folks - I am going to hijack my own thread here and ask about lightening armor colors...

I am currently using some acrylic OD on an armor kit as a base.  I always hear about lightening up the base color (for example with buff or yellow) and then spraying selected areas to give more realism.

Any suggestions on mix ratios here?  I assume a few drops of the lighter tone to a full jar of base would work?

Thanks, Steve

Steve1209 wrote:

I spent my first airbrush session this past weekend with a new Paasche single action and was pleased with my results.  However I was using acrylics and found that after about a full cup of paint was used, the brush clogged.  I was surprised given that I had already thinned the MM acrylic about 10% with windshield wiper fluid.  Is this normal using acrylics?  If I want less frequent clogging, should I stick with traditional enamels? Why wiper fluid? What is it good for in addition to not freezing below -30 degrees? Is it compatible with acrylic paint? Also a question about cleaning - I've soaked my nozzle and cup for a few days in mineral spirits but still can't remove some paint residue.  Is this also typical? Yes, dry acrylic does not come off easily from metallic parts. Thanks! Steve

Steve,

I am a weekend modeler and my experience with airbrush paint is limited after using an airbrush for the last 20 years. I found a good discussion on cleaning MM paint here:

http://www.apc.net/mechworks/airbrushes.html

I use both Tamiya and MM acrylic. I now thin MM with water only after some bad experience using other brand of thinner with MM paint. Tamiya works well with thinner that I have, Polly or Tamiya. It is generally recommended that MM should be used with the MM brand thinner. MM acrylic also works well straight out of the bottle without thinning most of the time.

I recently added an Iwata and an Iwata-clone airbrushes to my old external-mix Paasche. The new ones are much easier to clean and cared of.

Steve1209 wrote:

I spent my first airbrush session this past weekend with a new Paasche single action and was pleased with my results.  However I was using acrylics and found that after about a full cup of paint was used, the brush clogged.  I was surprised given that I had already thinned the MM acrylic about 10% with windshield wiper fluid.  Is this normal using acrylics?

I've never used winshield wiper fluid.  I always use Tamiya thinner which is mostly alcohol anyway.  I usually use a lot a lot more than  10% thinner, so you might not be thinning enough.  The rule of thumb is to thin to the consistency of 2% milk.  I find that properly thinned acrylics (I use both ModelMaster Acryl and Tamiya) will spray fine at about 15 PSI through my Paasche H using the fine #1 tip.  Even when the the paint does eventually build-up, I can simply adjust the tip to open it up a bit an keep going.

Steve1209 wrote:

If I want less frequent clogging, should I stick with traditional enamels?

Not necessarily.  I use enamels more frequently than acrylics, and I do find that they are less prone to tip-dry than acrylics, but I nonetheless use acrylics for some situations with no real problems.

Steve1209 wrote:

Also a question about cleaning - I've soaked my nozzle and cup for a few days in mineral spirits but still can't remove some paint residue.  Is this also typical?

Acrylics dry very fast, and I find them more problematic to clean than enamels.  Basic acrylic solvents, alcohol or windex, smell better and are somewhat less toxic than mineral spririts, but are less efective against acrylics for a given drying time than are mineral spirits on enamels.  The main trick is therefore to promply clean your airbrush when painting with acrylics. 

Mineral spirits are the wrong cleaner, being incompatible with acrylics.  For immediate cleanup, use alcohol or ammonia based window cleaner.  For more agresssive cleaning, I'll use straight ammonia.  Once acrylics actually cure, I find that they can be rather resistant to cleaning.  When that happens (which sounds like the your situation), I'll go to lacquer thinner which is different from regualar mineral spirits, and will pretty much dissolve any acrylic or enamel, even when fully cured.  

I'm not familiar with MM Acrylics as they're not very common here in Australia, so I can't make any suggestions as to a suitable thinner.

Regarding cleaning however, mineral spirits won't touch dried or cured acrylics. A better option is Windex (with ammonia), which should clean it out successfully. Another option for really stubborn deposits is lacquer thinner, which will rip it right out in no time at all.