Hi All
I have a dual action internal mix air brush and I hate to use it because of the cleaning up issue. Before I buy one, would an external mix air brush be a whole lot easier to clean? Also can you just wipe off the nose and switch paint color bottles?Thanks
Lee
It's not quite that easy. I've got a Badger 350 bottle-fed external mix. There's a tube that extends down into the paint bottle, so that's going to be covered with paint. Plus there's going to be paint inside the nozzle. You'll need to spray some solvent through the brush and have a spare siphon tube and bottle if you want to quickly change colors. I usually just do one color at a time and do a thorough cleaning after each time.
Steve S
What brand and model?
strider What brand and model?
Hi
It's a Badger Model 175. I completely disassemble it and clean everything before changing color or putting it away. If I don't, paint residue builds up on the needle and other parts. Spraying thinner through it doesn't clean it thourghly.
Thanks
I have an Aztek model and use acrylic paints thinned with diluted rubbing alcohol. When I want to switch colors, I just fill the paint cup with soapy water and run 2-3 cups through the brush, until it comes out clear into the cleaning station. Then I wipe the nozzle with a rag dipped in Windex (the old fashioned kind, that's made with ammonia).
It's always worked fine for just switching colors, although I have six paint cups and swap those out between colors as well. When I'm done painting for the day, I do a more thorough cleanup, although plenty of soapy water is all I ever do to clean the insides. After removing the nozzle and paint cup, I swish the brush in windex and wipe dry.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Eh... The LION does not own an air brush, though him been thinking of one recently. Cleaning it sounds like too much work for most stuff. Him just bought a bag of 25 assorted paint brushes at Walmart for $5.00. That will have to do for now. For the few things that I must spray, I guess a spray can will have to do. But that air brush sure looks like it will do a good job. Still, I don't know.
ROAR
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Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I have a Badger 200 airbrush, and almost never have had to take the brush apart to change colors. I keep a bottle of dirty (used) solvent, and run that through the brush until it sprays clean, or the color of the used solvent. I spray on to a paper towel, so I can see what is actually coming throught the brush; I do not try to judge it by looking at the spray stream.
The only times I have had to stop, take apart and clean the brush is if the paint is bad and gummy or has not been thinned enough.
At the end of painting, I spray first with dirty solvent, then spray with clean solvent. Then take apart and clean the needle, and check the nozzle for additioal cleaning.
I use solvent paints.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I had a couple badgers but had the same problem, they always seemed to clog up at the most inopertune times. I don't think it was the airbrush themselves, they were very well made. I'm sure it was something I did or didn't do, but one day I just got feed up and introduced them to Mr. Hammer. I use a Paasche VL now and will never look back.
I have a Badger 150-7 dual action internal mix airbrush.
I did a lot of painting during Thanksgiving week and the two weeks for X-mas and New years of 2008.....(three weeks of vacation time).
When I use my airbrush I only use Polly Scale paints because I do not like the smell or mess of solvent based paints...(Floquil, scalecoat, etc.)......so basically only water based paints.
I do not used the jars with siphon tubes Unless I am spray painting track on my layout......I just use the color cup that came with the airbrush.
When I do multiple colors I start with the lightest color first then move on to the next darkest color.
To clean the airbrush between colors or if I`m going to let the airbrush sit for any length of time I will run some 91% alcohol through the airbrush until I get nothing but clear mist.
When I am done for the day I run Windex through the airbrush and then remove the tip and the nozzle......for anything in the tip I use .020 phosphor/bronze wire to remove any gunk.....I let both sit in a jar of Windex until the next time I paint.
The needle I remove and wipe down with Windex and for anything left behind I wipe the needle on a pink eraser.
Dennis Blank Jr.
CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad
Thanks To All that answered.
I wanted to see what others do when air brushing. I might just be too picky or too lazy to clean up.
I appreciate the help.
One other note -- do you strain your paint? Acrylics especially can get gobs of gunk in the paint that will kill your airbrush. I strain the paint through old nylon stockings as it goes into the paint cup.
yankee flyer I have a dual action internal mix air brush and I hate to use it because of the cleaning up issue. Before I buy one, would an external mix air brush be a whole lot easier to clean? Also can you just wipe off the nose and switch paint color bottles?
I have a dual action internal mix air brush and I hate to use it because of the cleaning up issue. Before I buy one, would an external mix air brush be a whole lot easier to clean? Also can you just wipe off the nose and switch paint color bottles?
Lee, even with my hands not as dexterous as they once were, it takes less than two minutes to thoroughly clean my Paasche VL. I use both acrylics and lacquer-based paints. If you want to change colours while painting, it helps to plan your order of application beforehand. If I'm applying multiple colours during the same session, I start with clear finishes (Dullcote, Glosscote, etc.) then progress from the lightest colours through to the darkest, finishing-up with weathering colours. I often spray a colour-cup-load of lacquer thinner through the brush between dissimilar colours, but when painting boxcars of similar, although not identical shades, a quick burst of the new colour onto some newspaper clears the way for the new shade.If I have to go back to an extremely light colour or a clear finish, I do disassemble the airbrush for a more thorough cleaning, but this is more to avoid contaminating the light colour with dark paint than it is to ensure that the correct colour comes out of the tip.I have also changed from acrylics (mostly Pollyscale) to lacquer-based (mostly Floquil) simply by blowing a colour-cup-load of lacquer thinner through the brush. I would not, though, make the transition in the opposite order. Of course, the practice of a more thorough cleaning also applies when the colour change is from dark to light, irrespective of paint types.
I almost never use the colour cup for painting, as Floquil, PollyS, PollyScale, and Testors paint bottles all fit the VL's siphon cap. Also, the colour cup doesn't hold enough paint for most jobs, as I like to paint in worthwhile-size lots - the ongoing batch is 14 freight cars, but I've done over four dozen in the same session. Also, the colour cup is messy to fill and, of course, needs to be cleaned thoroughly for every new colour. Instead, I pre-mix colours in suitable bottles beforehand and usually have 15 to 20 mixed and thinned colours on-hand at any time. When a colour is almost finished, either a new batch of a similar colour is added to it, or the remnants are dumped into a bottle with other left-over bits and used for weathering. Empty bottles are cleaned and stored for re-use.Here's a look at some of the paint I keep on hand, as I very rarely use a colour straight from the bottle:
I use distilled water to thin acrylics and lacquer thinner for most solvent-based paints, but clean-up both types with lacquer thinner. My paint shop is in the garage, about 100' from any water supply, and the lacquer thinner is faster and less messy than water clean-up. The location of the shop is also one of the reasons I like to paint in multiples, as I need to thoroughly pre-heat the compressor before painting - not required in the warmer months, but in the winter,it takes 1-2 hours with an electric heater aimed directly at the compressor before the oil is thin enough to not stall the motor.
One other thing: if you need to strain your paint before airbrushing, it's either not thoroughly mixed or the paint is no longer useable. Straining paint removes components (in the lumps) which are meant to be integral parts of the paint and contribute to its finished qualities.
Wayne
Wayne Hi
Wow! You must be a fast typist. I appreciate such an informative response. After I bought my airbrush I painted a few pieces and put the air brush away for a couple of years, when I wanted to paint something I would grab a spray can and shoot. It just seemed so much easier. I'm thinking that spray cans spray a thicker paint than the airbrush, so that is why I ask about the external mix airbrush. I'll have to use it some more and see how much I've learned.
Thanks to all.
I neglected to mention that, when changing colours, I sometimes spray a little thinner through the siphon tube and wipe-off its exterior with a rag - this depends a lot on the colours being used and the object(s) being painted, though.
doctorwayne One other thing: if you need to strain your paint before airbrushing, it's either not thoroughly mixed or the paint is no longer useable. Straining paint removes components (in the lumps) which are meant to be integral parts of the paint and contribute to its finished qualities. Wayne
Not at all. I'm talking about the pieces of dried paint that can accumulate on the lip or neck of the bottle and sometimes fall down in during the mixing process.
CTValleyRR doctorwayne: One other thing: if you need to strain your paint before airbrushing, it's either not thoroughly mixed or the paint is no longer useable. Straining paint removes components (in the lumps) which are meant to be integral parts of the paint and contribute to its finished qualities. Wayne Not at all. I'm talking about the pieces of dried paint that can accumulate on the lip or neck of the bottle and sometimes fall down in during the mixing process.
doctorwayne: One other thing: if you need to strain your paint before airbrushing, it's either not thoroughly mixed or the paint is no longer useable. Straining paint removes components (in the lumps) which are meant to be integral parts of the paint and contribute to its finished qualities. Wayne
You're right on that, but wiping the bottle's top and the interior of the lid before re-closing it is simpler and neater, and also prevents that crud from making the bottle difficult to open the next time.
doctorwayne CTValleyRR: doctorwayne: One other thing: if you need to strain your paint before airbrushing, it's either not thoroughly mixed or the paint is no longer useable. Straining paint removes components (in the lumps) which are meant to be integral parts of the paint and contribute to its finished qualities. Wayne Not at all. I'm talking about the pieces of dried paint that can accumulate on the lip or neck of the bottle and sometimes fall down in during the mixing process. You're right on that, but wiping the bottle's top and the interior of the lid before re-closing it is simpler and neater, and also prevents that crud from making the bottle difficult to open the next time. Wayne
CTValleyRR: doctorwayne: One other thing: if you need to strain your paint before airbrushing, it's either not thoroughly mixed or the paint is no longer useable. Straining paint removes components (in the lumps) which are meant to be integral parts of the paint and contribute to its finished qualities. Wayne Not at all. I'm talking about the pieces of dried paint that can accumulate on the lip or neck of the bottle and sometimes fall down in during the mixing process.
I have to disagree with you doc, when straining the paint, the amount of particulates and lumps will, (assuming the paint is well mixed and thinned), be minute. The proccess of cleaning the rim of the bottle can itself cause particles to drop into the bottle. The amount of particles or lumps removed by straining is not nearly enough to affect the qualaties of the paint, on the contrary, one will have a smoother finish and the airbrush is less likely to clog. This is the same reason that professional auto painters strain their paint before painting. I have been following this regime, (learned from many pro auto painterss) for over 25 years as a customer painter without any ill effects.
You can buy the cone shaped screens auto painters use from auto paint shops, but stockings are better suited for our puroises and usually free.
Jay
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Hmm, very unusual. I've only ever strained paint once: the paint was old and the resultant paint job, of course, wasn't satisfactory. Beyond that, I've never had occasion to strain any paint, and have thrown out very little over the last 30-odd years. If it works for you , or if you're having problems with the paint, by all means try straining it as outlined.