Hi guys!
My friend Andre, who regularly looks for info on this forum, told me that my photos on an airbrush thread disappeared. Apparently Photobucket finally caught up to me and started to purge, since free accounts were nixed a year or two back. I hope you all don't mind, but I'll repost the info on this thread and encourage you to add your tips and experiences as well.
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Airbrush cleaning tips:
I often encourage modelers to give airbrushing a go. I admit thate I was stubborn at first, felt intimidated, therefore..."publically" showed little interest in it. Fortunately, a friend encouraged me to try it.
I purchased a new Paasche' VL airbrush and then, a used air compressor. I practiced on scrap Bachman and Life Like freight car shells. As I saw and appreciated the versatility of being able to mix what ever color I wanted, manipulate tones and hues, control the width of the spray pattern, and control how smooth or textured the paint went on....I became hooked and my skills improve with practice!
Don't let the cleaning thwart your efforts and enjoyment. After doing it a few times, it becomes easier and faster over time. You reach the point where you don't even think about it as your hands go through the simple motions.
Acrylics: For waterbased products such as Modelflex, Pollyscale, Testors Acryl, or Duncan I flush my airbrush out with a mix of distilled water and 70% alcohol. I partially disassemble the airbrush, wipe off the needle, aircap, clean the nozzle with a tip cleaner. Then I re-assemble it. Have been doing that for years and have had zero problems. For Acrylics it's wise to flush out within a few minutes after finishing as the paint can dry inside of the airbrush's passageways and on the needle.
Solvent Paints. For solvent based paint products Scale Coat 2, Alclad, Model Masters, I clean out the airbrush with automotive lacquer thinner. Cheaper to buy a gallon at an Auto Body supply store instead of a hardware or home improvement business. (one little trick...you can thin Scale Coat II with it!). A gallon will last you a long time, even if you perform 20 to 30 airbrush jobs per year.
To make life easy, buy a set of airbrush cleaning brushes at Harbor Freight or Northern Tools. They range between $2 and $5 and are worth it! Amazon sells them for about $4, plus change.
Cool factor is that if you IMMEDIATELY flush out your airbrush, you don't have to go this far after every job if, for some reason, you are squeezed for time or you are spraying similar colors back to back.
However I clean out of habit and it only takes me about 2 minutes.
In my former career, I learned to keep my work environment simple by keeping equipment easily accessible. Cuts down on stress. So instead of putting my airbrushes away in the box, I keep a pair of them hanging over my compressor, ready for action! The iso-alcohol is on a shelf above, lacquer thinner on the paint table and the cleaning brush set is hanging on the shelf from a screw. (KISS principle).
For wiping cloths (if you're on a budget) save those old retired cotton T-shirts that you, your siblings, your spouse, your kids, parents, etc., no longer wear. Toss them into the washing maching one last time. Dry them, and cut them up into 5" to 7" squares. They work nicely!
BTW, your attitude makes a difference: If you look at cleaning as a "chore" than yes, it will be just that. But think of your airbrush as a fine tool that helps you perform amazing work. Take care of that tool and, 99% of the time, it will help put that smile on your face! My first airbrush lasted 20+ years! Keep your materials together and cleaning becomes an afterthought.
Last thing. When prepping, painting, and cleaning in my work area, I play music that relaxes and keeps me in a good mood. For me it's part of the "having fun aspect" of this hobby that helps me enjoy the process instead of trying to "get it over with".
I hope this helps
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Some good tips and good advice, Antonio.
I fully clean my VL during painting sessions if I need to change paint types, like from acrylics to lacquers, or if I make an error in my order of painting (clear finishes first, then lighter colours, followed by darker colours - all the same type of paint. A little lacquer thinner in the colour cup is sufficient if the proper order is maintained, but if I need to clear-coat something after painting, the airbrush gets disassembled and cleaned - as you mentioned, if one thinks it to be a chore, it becomes a chore. I look at it as simply a good practice to follow, and I've been using this airbrush for almost 40 years.
I use lacquer thinner as a cleaner for all types of paint: lacquers, enamels, and acrylics, and it works equally well for all. I never leave the airbrush dirty when I finish painting...painting is not done if the airbrush isn't also cleaned.
I use pipe cleaners, dipped in lacquer thinner, to clean the brush's passageways, and place the smaller parts in the colour cup with some lacquer thinner. I never use the colour cup for painting - it's too small and too messy, and would need to be cleaned for every colour change, in some sessions, a half-dozen or more are needed. I use both the short bottles in which Polly S and Model Masters paints came, and the taller ones which formerly held Floquil and Pollyscale paints, as they all fit the Paasche siphon cap - I made a siphon cap for the taller bottles using a Pollyscale cap and some brass tubing.
I don't, however, have music while airbrushing. With the exaust fan running continuously, and likewise for the compressor, it's just too noisy to hear anything else. My paint shop is a small, separate room in the garage, about 100' behind the house, so nobody else gets disturbed - I often paint at night, too, when the electricity is cheaper.
My compressor is a rotary-type, with a 3/4HP electric motor turning two screws in an oil bath. It has no air tank, as the air supply is constant, not pulsing like a diaphragm- or piston-type compressor. In the 25 years it's been in service for me (and perhaps another 15 or 20 when it belonged to my father) no water from the water trap, and no oil from the oil filter, which returns it to the oil sump. It's only drawback is that the oil can get rather thick in cold weather, so I heat the shop for an hour-or-so before painting during the winter - a portable electric heater does the job, as the shop is only 4'x8'.
Wayne