Thread: Cleaning? How often and how thorough?

Hey Bigsby,

The way I do it, is if I'm going from a dark color to a light color, I'll give the brush a good rinse with just water. But if I'm going from a light color to a dark color, then I don't usually bother.

At the end of the painting session, then I'll give the brush a thorough cleaning with soap and water.

I hope this answers your question

Gio

Bigsby,

When I'm using my bottom feed, I flush it out real good with tap water and then a little cleaning solution. I'm painting where I have a sink and water. I loosen the chucking nut and move the needle back and forth to help. It only takes a few seconds. While I'm doing that, I'll pull the needle and wipe it off. I'll also clean out the pick up inlet also. Bottom feeds seem to have a lot of paint stored in them, which I think is normal. I'm lucky to have 3 that I use, so I don't have to clean that much. With the Gravity feed, you can dump the extra paint and since it's right at the needle, they clean easy. I always clean mine real good after each use. I leave the chucking nut loose and the needle pulled back to store it. I run a bit of cleaning solution through them, just before I start using them the next time. Just my way of doing it.

Jan

Going from light to dark i just run some reducer through the brush but at the end of the project i totally disassemble my airbrushes completely and clean every part with warm water and a small thin brush

thanks for the input folks.....on another note is there a recipe for making your own cleaner(or reducer for that matter)? I remember seeing something about window cleaner or amonia or something of that nature, I have gallons of windex and was hoping I could make my own instead of buying the stuff. Thanks....l8r

Bigsby,

I make my own cleaner. Don mentioned that the ammonia in glass cleaners dulls the finish over a period of time. So, if all those gallons of Windex have ammonia, you might want to purchase some without it. I just use mine for cleaning not as a reducer. I don't have to thin the Createx I use for shirts. I haven't done anything yet that needs to be thinned, but I'll cross that bridge, when I start on the car this summer.

I use 1 cup water, 1 cup glass cleaner(no ammonia) 2 cups 91% rubbing alcohol and put a teaspoon of glycerin just for good measure. I like the high mixture of alcohol because it just cuts the paint fast. I would not recommend it for a reducer. This is just for cleaning.

What mixture are you using?

Jan

I got a small 2 0z bottle of concenetrated stuff with the airbrush kit,media I think it was called ,er whatever iwata has. I was reading one of the windex gallons i have and there was no mention of amonia,and of course there was no ingredient list(they are afraid I will duplicate thier product). ty sir......l8r

Bigsby,

I make my own reducer, by mixing:

70% Water
25 % Isopropanol (90% Alcohol Usp)
5 % Glycerin (Usp)
Mix it all together in an old clean paint bottle.
The Isopropanol and the Glycerin can be found in just about any pharmacy.
Works great and it's allot cheaper than the commercial stuff most people buy.

As far as a cleaning solution goes, I use Fantastic cleaner mixed 50\50 with water.
Important Note:
Make sure you do a final rinse with just plain tap water though, as fantastic cleaner can eat up the chrome in the brush if left in there for to long.

Let us know how it works for you if you decide to try it.

Gio

Gio do you use that reducer for createx paints, or for any paint?

Hairy,

I use it for Createx, Golden, and Auto Air as well.
So far so good.
I haven't tried it on anything else but the ones I mentioned above, so I can't say that it will work all others.

Gio