How much time do you have without spraying, before the airbrush tends to set up and clog? Can you spray on a thin coat of acrylic paint, and wait 5,10,15, minutes in between? Or do I need to clean it out after each coat?
Acrylic paint starts to harden almost immediately. If you left paint in your airbrush for 15 minutes (assuming you have an internal mix one) you’d have problems. I tried to clean the brush out the instant I finished painting, then went back and did a second coat or whatever later. Even with that, my internal-mix airbrushes ended getting gummed up with acrylic paint anyway, so I switched to external-mix only for acrylics.
Keep a tub of water next to your airbrushing area. When you stop painting, just pull the paint cup or bottle off the airbrush and dunk the airbrush in the water for a few seconds while holding the trigger. Tap the nozzle with your finger, (while submerged) to allow the water to backflow. This will give you plenty of time between coats without having to take things apart for thorough cleaning. Before you reattach the paint cup/bottle, pull the trigger again to blow out any excess water and you’re back in business. This takes less time to do then it took to read this.
BTW, nice D&H shot in your avatar!
…or you can go with an Aztek airbrush where you only have to clean the tip…
David B
modelmaker51 - Doh! Good idea! Never thought of just sticking it in a cup of water like that.
Thanks for the tips. I used my airbrush couple times, and had just cleaned it in between. I will try the tub of water, grear suggestion.
BTW Jay where in the adirondacks are you from? As my avitar says i’m down near Albany, but I know the Adirondacks are quite expansive.
Micro-Mark sells a jar equipped with an airbrush receiver that will accept almost any airbrush. It’s well worth the money and will handle all types of paints. Bob Whitten
As a pro-painter I can say how I relate to this: It all depends on what brand of waterbased color you are using, I have left some of my Airbrushes for 1 to 2 hours in between uses and more often than not is there no problems. I usually put my airbrushes in a jar of water deep enough to cover the tip. If I was to clean my Airbrushes all the time I wouldn´t get much done in a day[8D].