This has been batted around before, but it seems a bunch of youse guys use acrylics. If you spray enamer, Model Master or otherwise, what is good to use in the ultrasonic cleaner?
Lyle.
I use acrylics almost exclusively, but in the past, I’ve used both lacquer and enamel based paints, and in all cases I use a hot water bath and a small amount of dish soap in the ultrasonic with good results. The point of using the ultrasonic bath is not using chemicals, but rather the ‘collapse and explosion’ the water molecules undergo as part of the vibration, lifting the paint away from the airbrush parts. From everything I’ve read, you do not want to use anything volatile (flammable, such as thinners) in an ultrasonic cleaner. I find the dishsoap helps break surface tension in the water. This being said, I generally hand clean the parts with lacquer thinners afterwards.
Andrew, thanks. Sounds like good advice.
New to airbrushing, I just purchased an ultrasonic cleaner-cleaning an AB, does the ultrasonic vibrations affect the seals in the airbrush?
Not enough experience to say from my point of view (if it can be screwed up, i’ll mange to do it)… I’d think if you stick to very mild (water and a drop or two of dish soap) solutions - things that are not detrimental to the O-rings, we should be ok…
I did run into a situation with an airbrush that had a red colored “barrel”. You know, that back part on some airbrushes that screws off as it covers the needle and its associated mechanisms.
Anyway, the ultrasonic totally removed the red paint. However, it didn’t affect its function.
It would work fine for enamels. Put solvents in - I use several brews that include lacquer thinner mixed with windex or IPA. Solvents are also the best thing to remove dried acrylic paints (or Future) which can be real trouble if you forget them in an airbrush - or your favorite sable paintbrush. Art house vendors like Blick, whose sales of acrylic paints dwarf model paints, use a cleaner that’s mostly IPA. (For anyone with a nose it’s obvious that Tamiya A-20 thinner is also mostly IPA. Lacquer thinners are a different story.) As noted above it’s the vibration that weakens the bond, so I suppose soapy water would help somewhat with even enamels, although there’d be no reason not to mix water and paint thinner for a ultrasonic cleaner. (Good idea to cover what your cleaning. I use it for paint brushes, paint cups, all kinds of things.)
Be careful with airbrushes. Some makes specifically warn against putting a whole airbrush in a cleaner. I’d guess O-rings could be dislodged. However the cleaner works great with nozzles and that’s where really nasty clogs rest usually. (While you’re at it, get some interdental brushes at the local drug store - the best nozzle/airbrush cleaner known to mankind. Dirt cheap and better than larger brushes for anything other than a complete clean, something which should be done every year or so at least.)
Eric