Airbrush maintenance

Hiryu02 · Post by **Hiryu02** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:01 pm

Hey guys,

I finally got my compressor (thanks TER-OR), and airbrush, and I am steeling myself for my first attempts at airbrushing.

I have a few parts already primed with Tamiya Fine Surface primer out of the can, and I am getting all my ducks in a row to prepare.

Watching the AB tutorial over at Fichtenfoo, he uses a 3-step cleaning process between colors. This is fine so far. He then states to dis-assemble and full-clean the AB after every use. The thought of this scares the hell outta me. Heck I won't even breathe on the AB hard, and I've never even used it!

In any case, will it be ok if I forego the full disassembly for a little while til I get familiar with what I am doing, so long as I CLEAN thoroughly?

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:26 am

I caution against tearing down an airbrush after each painting session. I used to do it back when I first started, but it was mainly because I was a bloomin' klutz and got paint all over everything. Nowadays I just blow water or cleaner/thinner through them and do a backflush and I'm done. I do even less than that if I'm using my Aztek-- I just blow thinner through it and drop the nozzle into a jar of Createx cleaner.

Zen-Builder · Post by **Zen-Builder** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:39 am

Agree, no need to tear it apart after each usage.
Joseph does the same steps I usually do.

If you use it often take it apart maybe once a week and do proper cleaning and needle lube job.
Lots of damaged needles, etc occur during the dis-assembly and assembly process.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:12 am

A basic tear down is no real big deal but depending on the brush doesn't have to be done every time provided you rinse well.

Acrylics: easy clean. Spray a cleaner (windex in a pinch) through for 30 seconds between colors, 60 seconds @ end of session.

Enamels: dunno, been too long since I used enamels.

Lacquers: Lacquers are only dangerous if you let some paint dry in the AB. So I get a little nuts when cleaning up after lacquers. I spray 4 full cups of lacquer thinner through, using a q-tip to clean out the nozzle. Then I spray a bit of basic (acrylic) cleaner through to remove any last bits.

One of the reason I perfer to use the EZ-Air acrylic ab cleaner is it has a wee bit of lube to it and help keep all the parts moving nicely.

Hiryu02 · Post by **Hiryu02** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:40 am

A backflush is done by covering the nozzle and forcing the air back through the cup, correct? I guess I just have to be very careful not to damage the nozzle/needle. Does it make a difference if it's a top or bottom cup? I have an Iwata Revolution top-feed.

Lastly, should the cup have thinner in it for the backflush? or is it an air-only deal?

Thanks again.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:35 pm

Hiryu02 wrote:A backflush is done by covering the nozzle and forcing the air back through the cup, correct? I guess I just have to be very careful not to damage the nozzle/needle. Does it make a difference if it's a top or bottom cup? I have an Iwata Revolution top-feed.

Lastly, should the cup have thinner in it for the backflush? or is it an air-only deal?

Thanks again.

Yes, when backflushing put some thinner in the cup/jar/reservoir and spray a little through to make sure it's in the body. Pull the trigger all the way back and cover the tip with a rag and let some air through. It'll bubble back into the cup. Discard this thinner now! Do not let it back into the airbrush body! Just dump it out into a suitable container. Wipe the cup clean and do another backflush and you should see the thinner is noticeably cleaner. Iwatas are super nice quality-- use some needle lube and it'll hardly ever need more than a basic cleaning. Good luck and have fun!!

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:54 pm

Also, to clean out the nozzle, roll a piece of paper towel into a point, soak it in the appropriate solvent, and compact it into the nozzle from the aft end to give it a good cleaning.

I hope this helps.

Kenny

Sci Fi Smoker · Post by **Sci Fi Smoker** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:41 pm

After each session, I always remove my needle and clean it of any residue. A clean needle is the key to a smooth coat.

Breaking down an airbrush might be a little intimidating at first (it was for me anyway), but after you know how to put it back together it just gets easier and faster.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:18 pm

Here's a link I meant to post yesterday. It's a great general guideline for using and cleaning airbrushes:

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/objects/pd ... ushing.pdf

I hope this helps.

Kenny

Hiryu02 · Post by **Hiryu02** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:34 pm

Well, today I finally used my airbrush for the first time. The result was successful, even though I only sprayed half a dozen parts. And I only sprayed one color.

Sprayed 409/H2O solution, 91%IPA and plain water through til it ran clear, and I hope that will do for a basic clean. I'm gonna have to break down that baby soon. That's a scary thought.

But hey, it was easy to use once set-up, and I'm stoked at the results. Baby steps. Now if can only figure out why my compressor wont "auto-shut off" like it's supposed to do according to the manual...hmm. Well, it worked just fine left on running steady at 18 psi or so, I can't wait to get it all going again.

Now I have 9-10 models that I need to actually finish building/sanding so I can paint em.

Oh yeah, I soaked a splattered part in Windex, and it took the Tamiya paint right off, but left the Tamiya Fine Surface Primer intact. Imagine that, i won't even have to re-prime the part. That was a cool little bonus.

Thanks for reading my "Yay, I painted for the first time" bit. I'll return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:44 pm

Congratulations, Hiryu02! Isn't it great when apprehension is replaced by success and fun? If you are using waterbased paints you'll find the routine cleaning will be fairly painless.

Post by **TER-OR** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:38 pm

Yeah, the Mr. Surfacer and Tamiya primers are impervious to windex for a short time, and very resistant to sodium hydroxide. Alcohol will remove it after a while, so don't let the parts soak too long.

Anyway, to the compressor. There's one dial for the tank pressure, and one dial for output pressure. Make sure the tank pressure dial isn't super high or it will take forever to fill. But if not high enough, the compressor will kick on and off frequently.

If I know I'll be painting again right away, a flush with cleaner is sufficient. If not, or I'm going from say RED to WHITE, I'll dissemble the brush and thoroughly clean.

kitty · Post by **kitty** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:50 am

One of the reasons i like the harder and steenbeck airbrushes, they allow you to unscrew the back, pull the needle back 6/8"or so, then remove the needlecap + nozzle , while the needle is still protected by it's guide, then you can push the needle forward and take it out through the front, never touching the tip that goes into the nozzle.
I use createx auto-colors and between colors i do clean it with water, disassemble it, clean nozzle and needle with a q-tip and interdental brush and reassemble.
Disassembling, cleaning and reassembling it completely in less than a minute.
At the end of the painting session i use a little createx restorer and after that rinse it with water thoroughly because the restorer is pretty agressive, but it will desolve every tiny bit of acrylic left.