what is the best way to clean a airbrush
Take it apart !!! [swg]
Mark.
Yes, take it apart. Just make sure you don’t bend the needle tip. Also take it apart piece by piece. I took on apart and forgot how it went back.
A word of caution on repeated disassembly. I use Paasche brushes, H set and VL set…I learned from experience that repeated disassembly will cause the rubber O rings to deteriorate rapidly and you will have problems with the tips fitting correctly. Also the constant disassembly will wear out your parts more quickly. Especially set screws.
My preferred method of cleaning is to spray the appropriate paint thinner through the brush until you have removed all the paint from the tips [this works very well for the VL set]. Then I clean the paint cup\bottle with thinner. I do this immediately after a paint session so the paint hasn’t cured yet.
I do take my brushes apart every once and while for a thorough cleaning, I use pipe cleaners to get in all the tight places and remove any residue.
I don’t know about any other brands and what their manuf. recommends, but if you have a Paasche brush, less disassembly is better.
I used to use the pipe cleaners…well actually I still do but I am more careful about them. I used them to clean the tip where the needle passes through on my Badger 150 and over the last year little pieces of the brush were left behind. My spray was starting to be affected till one day, no spray or air for no apparent reason. A total tear down including the very tip of the tip finally yielded the culprit.
I had lint problems too, I was using cheapo pipe cleaners and they left fuzz in the tips, since I switched to Dill’s pipe cleaners I haven’t had any trouble, I use the regular cotton and the bristle cleaners. The bristle cleaners don’t leave any fuzz and really scrub the tips good. The cotton cleaners can sometimes leave a bit of fuzz on the end of the tips, I just blow the tips out with the comp. when I’m through.
I have a Paasche VL and disassemble it for cleaning after every use. I have replace the “O” rings once, the tips several times, and the needles 2 or 3 times. The tips and needles needed replacement only due to my carelessness - overall not too bad for over thirty years of use, much of it custom painting for others. [swg]
Wayne
I also use a Paasche VL. I have used it for over 20 years. I use Polly Scale, Tamiya, Gunze, Model Master and Badger water based paints. I completely disassemble the air brush for cleaning after ever use (except for the air valve assembly). I also use pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. The cone tip should periodically be replaced because wear and tear will gradually enlargen the hole size in the tip. The ends of the fine needles (e.g. Paasche VL size 1) are fragile and can be easily bent, but it is just an easy job to straighten them by carefully running a fine blade along the needle tip while rotating it.
I recently installed a new air valve assembly which includes the vavle washers (O-rings), valve plunger and valve spring. The airbrush works like new!
Once and a while I clean my air brush parts in “Createx Airbrush Restorer.” This is great a great product that is found in art stores. It readily cleans any hardened dry paint that you may have missed with your routine cleaning.
Regards,
Empty Net