I LOVE building models. Absolutely love it. And I love how an airbrush makes my models look. What I DISLIKE about airbrushing is the clean-up afterwards. [bnghead] I have a Paasche VL0707 dual-action that I bought at Hobby Lobby about 10 years ago with the 40%-off coupon, and it does great for me. I had a Testor’s Aztec before that, and it was ok, but it gave me some problems when spraying acrylics, such as clogging (not sure why).
But, as with any airbrush, it’s the clean-up afterwards that I dislike. It’s this aspect of modeling that makes me put a model on a shelf for awhile and not want to touch it. I get to the point where I’ve GOTTA spray some paint, and the knowing that I’ve got to clean that airbrush afterwards, plus the bottles, plus the lids for the bottles, plus whatever else is gonns need cleaning, just makes me procrastinate almost endlessly for that model. I finally hafta FORCE MYSELF to get that model back out and use the airbrush on it. Once I do, I try to get all my necessary spray-painting done over the next day or three, just so I can get the airbrushing phase of the build over with (until it’s time to paint the entire exterior of the model). Then, I can make some much-needed progress on my build. I think this is why I have so many builds awaiting finishing - AIRBRUSHING!!
I am the opposite. I hate setting up. I have to clean the patio and the table, chase away the lizards, then prep to airbrush. It’s quite a production, and even though I have it down to a routine, it takes about 30 minutes till I’m painting.
Once in a while the big roaches in the yard throw a kegger. They suddenly show up in large numbers, flying around and running everywhere. They play loud music, do drugs, get liquored up, dance wildly, crash into everything (including my model parts, my face and the opening of my shirt around my neck), and have unprotected sex right out in the open. Completely intolerable. I had to pack it up and retreat inside twice because they stayed out longer and the DJ started playing hip hop.
And the 30 min prep does not include prepping the model, which can take hours if fancy masking is involved.
I find cleaning my airbrush relaxing and a nice way to unwind the painting session for me. Try thinking of it that way and it might not seem so bad.
Painting of any description requires a lot of clean-up afterwards. It takes longer to properly clean a paintbrush, even after applying just a single drop of paint.
I did notice that when I switched to a gravity feed airbrush, cleanup time was reduced significantly compared to my previous Badger 200. Even changing colours mid-session became much quicker and simpler. No longer did i have to wash out the bottle, dip tube assembly etc. Just flush and wipe the bowl out, spray some clean thinner through it and it’s ready for fresh paint.
I am now happy to use my airbrush for the tiniest of jobs. Just one or two drops of paint? No problem…
Yes, with my siphon feed airbrush long ago. I find gravity feed much easier to clean, and cleaning has turned into a pleasant and surprisingly relaxing ritual. I have stripdown, clean, and reassemble down to 2-3 mins on both my Iwata and H&S.
That said, siphon feed airbrushes are wonderful tools and I am not in any way trying to suggest otherwise.
I do two types of cleaning- a cleaning after each session of spraying, and a thorough cleaning between projects. I do find one has to take extra care in cleaning, because of what stays in the pickup tube.
I have found a little trick to that session cleanup. I take a Kleenex and fold it twice and set it on my workbench as a blotter. I have a jar I keep filled with thinner. I start the cleaning by backflushing, then using another piece of Kleenex to wipe off the pickup tube (after removing the paint jar, of course). Then I dip the the pickup tube into the thinner and pick up the thinner into the brush, hold it a few seconds, then tap the pickup tube on the blotter. That will leave a spot of paint. I then repeat as needed until the spot the tapping leaves is only thinner. The tapping seems to help overcome the capillary action and speed the removal of the paint from the tube.
I have enough paint jars to mix up all the colors I need for most projects. Then, the thing I hate is cleaning out all those paint jars before I can start my next model project. I do buy new jars every so often. They are not a big cost considering the cost of kits nowadays. I find I have to buy some new jars every half dozen models or so.
I wonder how you go about cleaning your airbrush. My Badger 155 is similar to your VL. Here’s how I clean it. It just takes a few minutes. As for bottles and lids, I never shake or invert a bottle of paint. I stir to mix, use a dropper to transfer paint, and the lid and bottle threads stay clean.
Gravity feed is the only way to go man. I tried siphone feed and it was a major pain in the butt and seemed to waste a lot of paint. Gravity feed brushes clean up quickly and easily. Painting is my favorite part of the building process.
I use the Iwata NEO Trigger style AB and my clean up is super easy. Once i spray i just does the steps below and move on to the next color.
Dump any remaining paint from the cup
fill cup with either Thinner or IPA
Using a Q Tip, i clean the inside of the cup and anything i can reach in there
Spray the thinner or IPA through it until it is all gone
Repeat
This makes the AB fairly clean and it allows me to move on to the next color. At the end of the session or usually when i finish a project i will power clean my AB. There are a number of videos on line that show how to power clean your AB.
I started my airbrushing with an airbrush made in the USSR! That’s right, it was a piece of commie heavy metal. It was gravity feed with needle for paint control, no air valve. To clean it you had to completely disassemble it, otherwise the paint would make many parts stick together and that could be a problem. After using it for a few years, I got a Paasche VJR from my father - in comparison to my previous airbrush it also felt like a Rolls Royce! I was shocked how much easier the cleaning of it was, mainly because how mach shorter the paint line was. I have also found, that I don’t have to completely strip the whole airbrush after each colour - just between the projects, like Don wrote. This way cleaning only takes a few minutes and is no major problem. Although it is true, that when I paint, most fumes come off not when painting, but when cleaning, as I run some thinner through the airbrush in order to make sure that it’s clean.
Good luck with your airbrushing and have a nice day
After reading the comments posted (so far), I might just hafta gits me a gravity-feed airbrush. I’m liking what I’m reading here about them, especially changing colors during the same paint session. Keep those comments coming!!
Gary, maybe just get a metal side cup for your siphon feed, they’re usually about $10 or so. It picks up a few drops of paint vs a bottle where it leaves several drops of paint in the bottom. I use one all the time that I swap between my Paasche H and Badger 200 if doing smaller jobs, testing paint etc. Like today I’m shooting some Metalizer aluminum Plate, then seal coat on about half a spru tree worth of parts. It works well for that sort of thing. I use the bottles on overall priming or base coating, top coat etc. But hey, just a thought. I haven’t found the need to buy into a gravity brush because the side cup covers my need, same quick color change etc… And I use the same air pressures I use with the bottles.
I use a suction feed brush. My quick flush/clean works fine even when changing colors, and then I just grab the bottle with the next color. I generally only do a disassembly clean between kits, unless I am on a major long time build and I get symptoms of a dirty brush.
As I said, I find cleaning out bottles far more effort than cleaning the airbrush, even the disassembly cleaning.
I had a pass he siphon feed and I did find set up, adjustment, cleaning, reassembly to be a little tedious.
Then I had an Aztec and it was really prone to clogging. The design flaw is that the needle spring is in the paint path and gets mucked up.
Now I have a Badger 105. I really like it. With the gravity cup it is low parts count, easy to clean. I rarely disassemble it beyond drawing the needle, wiping it and flushing the body with a little LT.
Gary - As was mentioned earlier, if you are using a bottle with siphon tube for feeding the airbrush, they are a major pain in the tail. A metal cup that gets inserted in the AB intake port takes the majority of that messy process away.
The metal cup is so easy to clean after use, about the same time and effort as cleaning the cup on a gravity feed. If you are happy with the spray results you get with your VL, you may be able to continue using it with satisfaction if you use a metal cup.
I have several metal cups remaining, I’m almost exclusively a Badger gravity feed user. If you PM me with an address, I’ll be happy to send you one for free. Let me know and I’ll get one headed your way.
I airbrush models in many separate stages usually, even primer might be half the spru trees and another session or two for separate parts etc. But generally each session start to finish isn’t more than about 15 minutes time. I clear coated some floor boards and dash parts yesterday and the whole operation was between 10 and 15 minutes, the parts are in a baggie waiting to be used now. I haven’t the slightest idea what some of you are up to that has made it such work for you, I mean it sounds like hours per session. It doesn’t have to be that way. Believe me, if it had to be like that I’d have gone back to spray cans 4 decades ago.