Can anyone recommend an ultrasonic cleaner for airbrushes?
I have ruined an airbrush with one. I do not reccomend it. I did make a mistake, but if I didn’t use the ultrasonic cleaner it couldn’t happen. It never made a difference in the cleaning anyway, I keep my airbush and tools clean so it was redundant. Save your money and buy a kit with it.
I have an ancient 3M Nuclear Products Ultrasonic Bath that is still going strong. Keep in mind though that I’m using it to clean the color cup, needle, and cap from a siphon-feed, external mix Paasche H airbrush. I don’t know if it would be a good idea to do any kind of soaking on a gravity-feed, internal mix airbrush though. Now, if the first scenario applies to you, what I do is to have my cleaning solution (I use MEK) in an old relish jar, and I pour a little bit of water around the jar as it sits in the bath to help transmit the sound waves. The thing gets those critical parts completely clean, no matter what kind of material was run through the airbrush, without any action required by me. Use latex gloves to remove the parts from the jar after cleaning if you use my method. You DO NOT want to get MEK on your skin. Then, a quick rinse of the parts under hot water so they dry quicker. I’ve been using this method for years, and haven’t had to replace any airbrush parts yet.
Just a couple of safety notes. Make sure you set a timer of some kind so that you won’t forget that its running. The ultrasonic waves do end up slowly producing a lot of heat in the cleaning solution, so just make sure you don’t ever let it run beyond about 30 minutes. Also, if your relish jar is new and still has a good seal, open the jar slowly to allow the built-up gases to slowly escape. I haven’t had it happen yet, due to never going over 30 minutes, but the heat and built-up gases in a sealed jar could, theoretically cause it to explode. Yeah…that would be bad.
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I see that as a bit of overkill for a 30 second cleaning of an airbrush. Okay 5 minutes if I completely disassemble it for a detailed cleaning, which is only between builds. I’d save that money to spend on something else.
I have been using this no-brand cleaner, that I got new from eBay for around $40, for anything imaginable: parts, jewelry, moldy razor handles, you name it… Never failed me. If you decide to get one, make sure it has a stainless steel reservoir.
(Cat for scale)
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I’m reviving this topic to see if anyone has an update on ultrasonic airbrush cleaners. I found one on Amazon that is under $30 but don’t want to waste my money if it’s no good (link below).
https://a.co/d/4Nk5ADZ
No matter how I try, there is gunk in my airbrush that I can’t clean out. My Iwata Neo is running a bit rough and I am hoping that an ultrasonic cleaner will fix that.
Thanks!
I bought one on Ebay, a ‘professional’ one that was around £60, double the usual price, but I wanted one that would last. It’s been amazing. Big metal square box. Love it! (I also got it for free, as the power cord or something was declared to be non-compliant with UK law, missing a label or whatever, so Ebay emailed me to tell me, and gave me a full refund).
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I picked this one up for probably 1/2 what they are asking now, had it for probably 5 years and I love it. I don’t use it every time I air brush but probably every 5-10 times. Strip it down, put it in the ultrasonic and set the timer. Easy. Never had any issues.
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Do you just put water in it or do you use a solvent (X-20A, Leveling thinner, white spirits, etc)?
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My wife purchased one for jewelry cleaning. It came with a blue liquid in a bottle that you add to the tank. Specifically for the ultrasonic cleaner. Worked great on my stripped down airbrush. Couldn’t believe all the crud that was in the bottom of the tank. Not sure about using other cleaners.
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I just use warm/hot water, never used anything else. Looks like my link never posted though but this is the one I got off amazon.
InvisiClean Professional… Amazon.com: Ultrasonic Cleaner, Professional Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner for Diamond Ring, Silver, Gold, Earrings, Necklaces, Glasses, Denture, Retainer, Cpap, Coins, Mouthguard, Razors - VisiClean : Industrial & Scientific
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Usually only water, sometimes some stuff that’s sold to go with it, but only because it came with it, or something like that.