How do you clean your airbrush

[julianb]

Hi,

After two or three lengthy sessions recently with my Iwata HP SBS, it started to play up, being unable to maintain a smooth supply of paint, instead it would pulse slightly and stutter. A blast of paint and air would clear it momentarily, but after a few seconds it would block again.

I just dismantled it for a proper look, and ten minutes work with some cotton buds and acetone free nail varnish remover dislodged all manner of crap, particularly from the nozzle and the three small air holes around it's seat in the main body.

Do these brushes dismantle any further than the obvious screw fitting parts?

How do you clean yours!

regards

Ju

[Steveonamission]

I suffer from this aswell, though mines only a cheapy HS-30, so thought it was just one of it's features. It helps me between colours if I fill half the cup with water, then put my finger over the end of the nozzle and pull the trigger back and forth, the pressure normally pushes anything clogging it back into the cup.

[Rich D]

Tel told me about liquid reamer. It seemed to shift loads more after you thought you`d got it all out.

Didnt help my piss poor painting, but the brush was clean

[Supercoolnothing]

+1 On the liquid reamer the stuff works wonders. I use it to clean my airbrush every time I use it, a word of warning tho it stinks so make sure you've got a window open.

[eyeayen]

The stink in the liquid reamer is Trichloroethylene it's pretty nasty stuff. If you have anything anodised or powered coated they usually dip it in this first as a wash, don't get it in your eyes it stings like bugger. Had splash back from the airbrush once, nasty.

Generally I clean mine in between colours with water and screen wash ( doesn't affect the rubber seal ), however if you've got a genuine Iwata they screw together and don't have silly rubber seals ( well my HP-B ) doesn't.

Keep it clean, when you've finished, take the nozzle out, pull the needle out and clean everything you can, reassemble, squirt through with neat screen wash. Leave until next time

[U1timate PigDog]

I do similar to Ian, I flush each colour out with water after its use and I also you airbrush cleaner after I ve finished, followed by water then I break it down and get the miniture brushes out and clean anything thats left and give the needle a wipe down, then I build up without needle in.

Seems to work great!

[julianb]

I found an old needle and gently rubbed it around in the very tip of the nozzle and forced an amazing amount of old paint out of the actual nozzle itself, and the three tiny air holes under the nozzle cap... fink i found the prob... ;-)

Tried the screenwash trick too - good one!

Cheers for all the tips, now to get my B44.1 shell to match the Kifo shell that came with the B4.1 Centro I just picked up on here...

(Blimey, actually doing one of my own for a change!!!!!)

cheers

Ju

[telboy]

Yep as above matey. Clean the brush EVERY time in between colours and it will keep it in good condition. I've had my Iwata CS for well over 8/9 years now and I could sell it on as a new airbrush, it's that clean. For Createx/Fascolor I clean during a colour change with water in a Windolene squirty bottle, make sure you get right down into the cup's bottom with the squits. Then get a rag and wipe out the remaining paint, THEN squirt it out again until the water is clear coming out of the brush.
For Pactra Acrylics and solvent paints I use the Liquid Reamer in the same way as above.
I quite like the smell of the Reamer stuff, so I guess its personal preference .
But yeah it does sting when it gets in the old eyes. I got back up in the airbrush once and it just sprayed up into my face .

But every now and then it does get to a point where the brush requires a good old strip down and soak all the tip and nozzle bits over night in some reamer...you'll be amazed what crap still sits there.

[telboy]

Originally Posted by julianb

I found an old needle and gently rubbed it around in the very tip of the nozzle and forced an amazing amount of old paint out of the actual nozzle itself, and the three tiny air holes under the nozzle cap... fink i found the prob... ;-)

Tried the screenwash trick too - good one!

Cheers for all the tips, now to get my B44.1 shell to match the Kifo shell that came with the B4.1 Centro I just picked up on here...

(Blimey, actually doing one of my own for a change!!!!!)

cheers

Ju

Yeah I use the blunt end of a needle sometimes to have a scrape around.

Shouldn't have paint coming out of the three holes though. they should be spotless. A blockage down the handle chamber possibly?