Heyoh
Just woundering, I generally only use acrylics and future in my airbrush and between colours/spraying bouts I just dip my brush into a container of water/windex (75/25) and blow air through it. My question is this; at the end of each spray session I take my airbrush completely apart and clean each part with isopropyl (sic) alcohol and then air dry. Am I over doing the cleaning? Do I need to take the brush apart after each session or can I limit myself to once a week kinda thing? I’m worried about harming the components of the brush. I should mention it’s a Pasche double action.
Builder
I don’t know if you can over do the cleaning. I use a badger 150 d/a and I take it apart and clean it after each session or when I change spray mediums i.e. acrylic to enamel. I have found if I wait to long to do a thurough cleaning the task becomes much more diffucult, with spots of dried paint in the oddest nooks and crannies of the gun. If I clean it after each session I don’t get great amounts of build up in any area. Every type of brush has places where paint will build up after time and the sooner you get these spots clean the better off you are.
From personal experience, if you don’t take it apart and thoroughly clean your airbrush, the paint will dry and clog your airbrush when you are ready to paint your next model. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
If you use some SuperLube on the needle it will coat the inside of the airbrush and you won’t have paint sticking very often.
I can spray acrylic T-shirt paints in my brush and let it sit with the bottle still attached for a week and it doesn’t affect the trigger action at all.
You can get it here: http://dixieart.com/IwataMain.html#anchor3074
Mike
Thanks Mike, that’s a good tip! (sorry pun intended)!
My pleasure Builder. [;)]
Mike
I clean my airbrushes after each spraysession. And if I use my finest needle .15 with metallic paint I clean it even during spraying because this needle tends to clog with this paint. And after finishing I put a little grease on the needle.
Don’t forget to get rid of the grease before painting again.
That’s why I mentioned Super Lube as you don’t have to remove it. [:D]
Mike
Is super lube a common enough product that I could pick it up at Hobby Lobby or a similar store around here? I’ve not heard of it before, but I’m getting my new Iwata Revolution today and will need this kind of thing.
madda