Hi,
I have been trying to find a reasonably priced Acrylic paint remover, both for the purpose of actual paint removal but also simple airbrush cleansing.
Windex has been recommended as one available option but I have not been able to find that in Sweden.
So I decided to just check a number of window cleaning products (my understanding is that that is what Windex is) and found that AJAX Fönsterputs (a colourless product) created quite a powerful chemical reaction with Tamiya paint and basically stripped the paint in seconds.
Johan, apparently it’s fine to spray thru quickly, and I think windex is only a small proportion of ammonia. I found this quote:
Do NOT use any cleaning solution with ammonia in it.
Ammonia is a great cleaning solvent for water based paints, however, ammonia doesn’t like brass or chrome. This means an icky green substance will build up inside your airbrush (brass core) and the exterior chrome plating will peel off.
Just use denatured alcohol (AKA methylated spirits in some locales). No corrosive effects on metals and it just rips acrylic paints off faster than you can blink.
I was wondering if denatured alcohol would be okay to use. Good thing I have some. I had been using Windex myself to clean my airbrushes and never knew it wasn’t good for that.
Correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve read somewhere that denatured alcohol fumes are extremely toxic and damage brain cells. I once used denatured alcohol but couldn’t stand its smell.
Denatured alcohol is basically ethanol (albeit in a higher concentration), which is the same type of alcohol in beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages, to which other chemicals are added to render it undrinkable. At one time, Methanol (methyl alcohol) was added as a denaturant (hence the name "methylated spirits). Methanol is extremely toxic. Use of methanol as a denaturant is declining in favour of other chemicals, but it is still used by some manufacturers.
On the other hand, Isopropyl alcohol, which is used as the base for many acrylic paints, is more toxic than ethanol, but less so than methanol.
Inhaling the vapours is far less hazardous than actually drinking it. Assuming you use adequate ventilation, it shouldn’t be a problem.
The CEO of Badger has written a note that shooting ammonia-based solvent does not damage Badger ABs at all. So, I guess using Windex to clean ABs is fine.