Airbrush maintenance

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I have recently purchased an Iwata HP-C Plus airbrush and it is fanastic. I wish to look after it as well as I can. Are there any tips for cleaning and general maintenance for this AB. After I use acrylics I flush it with Windex and after I use enamels I flush it with mineral turpentine or lacquer thinner. I think I read somewhere that parts should be oiled, if so what type of oil and what parts should be oiled. I mainly use Tamiya acylics and Model Master and Humbrol enamels.

Thank-you

ozmod

2

Iwata-Medea makes an airbrush lubricant, I think it’s called “Superlube”. Badger makes one called Regdab. At any rate, check with your LHS or art supply store and buy a lubricant specified for airbrushing. The parts you want lubricated are the needle and maybe the stem of the trigger if it gets sticky at the top of the air valve. Hope this helps.

E

3

Iwata sternly recommends not using light machine oil and the such. They say it can get in the needle bearing and get gummy and impede needle travel. They recommend only airbrush lubes which are supposed to be based on glycerin. If you can’t find any at the LHS or don’t order from www.dixieart.com or www.greatmodels.com you might try getting some glycerin in the drug store. I found it by the cosmetics and face cleaners at Walgreens and around the vitamins and OTC drugs at Wal Mart. I use Regdab but Medea superlube is just as good for what it does… It’s only about $5 a bottle and I have had the same bottle for about 1.5 yrs now and it is well over half full.

4

Thanks guys I’m really appreciative, I have now ordered some Superlube.

5

Couple of questions based off this thread. When do you have to completely clean out your AB? After your done with a color? or would you only need to clean out the siphon up on the top?

How often must you oil? after each cleaning when the parts have dried? and how do you oil them?

Sorry for my noob questions, about to buy a Iwata CS

6

I use acrylics. I pour out any paint in the cup, wipe out the cup and add some windex and spray it out until it blows clear. I then re wipe the cup and add a couple drops of acrylic thinner and blow it out. I then add my next color. When finished painting I clean the airbrush like I was changing colors then I blow a few drops of windex through it, leaving some in the cup and set the cup end of the airbrush in a jar half full of windex and clean the airbrush thuroghly the next day. Greg.