Omni 4000 Cleaning

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I love my Omni 4000 airbrush. After every use I fill the cup with lacquer thinner and use an old paint brush to scrub the paint loose. Then I spray that out. I then wipe the cup out with a paper towel and fill the cup again with lacquer thinner and spray that out before I hang it up to dry. I do a complete teardown cleaning about once a month(clean,oil and inspect). I spray properly thinned enamels at 6 to 15 psi and I paint for 5 to 20 minutes a day. This system has worked well for me up till now.

Today I was spraying a P-51 with Alclad when the airbrush started to spit and sputter. I took the brush apart and found the tip clogged with the interior green paint that I use to paint the cockpit with yesterday. After cleaning the tip the brush worked like new again.

There are two things that I would like to know:

  1. Should I increase air pressure during the daily cleanings? If so, how much pressure?

  2. Should I make the monthly teardown cleaning a weekly event?

I really like this airbrush and want to care for it properly. But I don’t want to wear it out by takeing it apart to much.
Thanks, Jazz

2

It is a good isea to increase the pressure. I use a 4000 also (aint she a great bush!!). I increase my psi about 15 above wha I was spraying at, but it doesnt matter unless you are spraying into soemthing that is enclosed like I do, I have blown the lid off my spray station once and it wasnt fun. Just pay attention and raise the psi a little bit.
Also another thing I do is I break down on about the same schedule as you but I open my tip up every few times in between and clean it out with a ab cleaning kit. remember to loosen the head assembly a little when not in use and tighten it when it is.
Jeff

3

Thanks for the reply Jeff. I think I’ll raise the pressure to 30 or 35 during the daily cleaning and see how that turns out. This brush is so well made and has never given me any trouble, so I never had to do anything to it. I am going to start cleaning the front part 2 or 3 times a week to keep her in fighting trim.
Thanks for the great advice. Later, Charles

4

I spray mine out at 50-60 psi but some of you may be limited to less pressure with some compressors.

Mike

5

My Omni 4000 doesn’t get used on a daily basis, maybe once or twice a week. I used to completely disassemble it for cleaning after every use but have gotten lazy recently and it only gets torn down every 3 or 4 uses now. I spray mine out at about 40-50 psi.