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Love Your Airbrush!

Kreighshoer

Active member
Airbrushes - the always repeating mistery of modelling!

A lot of modellers face problems with their airbrushes and consider them a mistery where no mistery is! One thing i repeatedly read is that the airbrush is more like a paintspitter than a painting helper that can bring your models to life!

This may have several reasons - air pressure too high or too low, paint thinning ratio too high or too low, wrong distance between airbrush and object, too much beer ... various reasons that are more or less based on experience and trial and error!

But the fundament for having no problems anymore with the above mentioned issues is to take care of your airbrush!

The very first step of approaching a better relationship between you and your airbrush is to love your airbrush!

This may sound silly to some of you but i mean each and every word absolutely serious!

Love your airbrush!

Speak to your airbrush! build up a personal relationship, don't consider or treat it as a tool and your airbrush will pay back to you!

For this tip from me i took my trusty Iwata Revolution CR:

iwatarevolutioncr.jpg


The very first thing when i buy a new airbrush (what i already did too often and still can't get enough! :roll: ) is to completely disassemble the airbrush to loose all fear of the delicate parts! Then i seal every single thread with lengths of teflon tape - you may also use bee's wax but you have to be very careful not to clog your nozzle when using wax! Teflon is easier to handle!

This helps to prevent the air and paint coming out of unwanted places and leaky spots!

disassembled.jpg


After each session with your airbrush refill the cup with either distilled water or the thinner recommended for your color! Never use tab water!!! The nozzle, sealings and bearings in your airbrush don't like the lime in tab water! After that again fill the cup but this time use window cleaner and brush the cup empty and repeat that action with distilled water again! Take out the needle and let airbrush body and needle dry completely over night! If not you may have a clogged needle that loosens only with brute force!

After several sessions it helps a lot if you disassemble your airbrush and immerse the parts in special airbrush cleaners like e.g. Schmincke Aero Clean Rapid or my most preferred cleaner Createx Airbrush Restorer! When you do so you will be surprised how much color comes out of your airbrush! Proceed strictly as per instructions or else you may damage the airbrush! I do this repeatedly in a 2-3 months period!

cleanersolutions.jpg


This applies only to metal airbrushes with teflon sealings and bearings - soft plastic may be dissolved!

After having rinsed and reassembled all parts you think you are done?

Then you are mistaken!

This is the needle of my Iwata Revolution CR - looks pretty clean, doesn't it?

needle.jpg


Then i have a nasty surprise for you!

Polish your needle carefully!

This is the needle before polishing:

beforepolishing.jpg


and after the first run of polishing:

polishingstep1.jpg


all dirt gone?

No!

Second run:

polishingstep2.jpg


I use a two step polishing system, you don't have to but this is my preferred way of polishing!

Now all you have to do is to carefully wipe away any remaining polish from the needle and reinsert it into the airbrush body! Do this carefully with the trigger always pressed down and continuously rotating the needle until it sits flush with the nozzle!

Now you have a well prepared airbrush for doing a satisfying paintjob!

NOTE: I don't take over any responsibility if you damage any part of your airbrush while following those steps! Be careful and don't forget to ...

Love Your Airbrush!
 
The tip regarding applying teflon tape to threads was one of those 'why didn't I think of that?' moments for me and is a good one. Beats tightening things up to the point of stripping thread or never being able to unscrew it again.

I have read a couple of articles from airbrush artists that say to be wary of using window cleaner if you have a chrome cup/brush as it reacts with the surface but are not backed up with evidence. Does anybody know if this is a genuine risk?
 
Ozzie Jo wrote:
Does anybody know if this is a genuine risk?

no it isn't as long as you clean the ab after the window cleaner with distilled water at least twice immediately after usage of window cleaner!

spray distilled water through the ab twice, then wipe the cup clean with a hanky and you're done!

none of my 4 ab's have any surface troubles and i spray pure isopropanol, then windex, then distilled water every time i use one of them!

you don't need that much of window cleaner anyway ... a half filled cup or 1/3 filled cup is enough!
 
Good reading Laura. When you polish the needle, you use the Quixx polish first, then the Quixx finisher? I googled it and they sell this system at Canadian Tire, so will go there tomorrow and see if I can buy. Hopefully this will help me as I try and fix my airbrush.
James
 
first the polish, then the finisher - yes!

if your brush is clogged and the needle won't move, put it into cleaning solution for about two hours, then disassemble and repeat that bath in cleaner, then proceed like shown - you ab will be like brand new afterwards!
 
first the polish, then the finisher - yes!

if your brush is clogged and the needle won't move, put it into cleaning solution for about two hours, then disassemble and repeat that bath in cleaner, then proceed like shown - you ab will be like brand new afterwards!
Thanks Laura. The needle moves, just the air pressure has decreased to nothing. Internal problem. I think.
James
 
Good Article!

My AB always looks like brand new, even though it gets heavy use, it is too costly a tool and too important to let it got to pot!

I wonder about the window cleaner. It contains Ammonia, this is what dissolves the paint, but it can damage internal parts slowly over time, especially where the needle meets the nozzle. Also if you use a custom matched needle/nozzle, you must be careful about polishing!
 
well, when you rinse the ab with lots of distilled water the ammonia in the window cleaner has no time for any reaction. i always brush three or more cups of water after using window cleaner, remove the needle and let ab and needle dry separately. but since i wrote that article i turned away from window cleaner and spray some pure isopropanol instead, followed by distilled water and letting dry everything disassembled ...

polishing isn't really needed that often and i agree that polishing has to be approached carefully!
 
Oooh, nice to know how to take care of an airbush. So now I don't have to keep buying a back up (I gave away three so I am down to five). Don't laugh, I had plans to have some big names over for a session. I even bought a commercial compressor with tank and a 4 way valve.

Spring is coming and I am building so I will test my airbrushes.

Regards,
 
Thanks for this- I'm still learning how to punish my H. I have an external mix AB. I should not have to take the air valve apart for awhile?
 
Nice info Laura :) will make sure to take care and talk a little to my AB :D
//Mats

Does swearing count as talking. Ran some Windolene through after Enamels the other day.

#@%&@ AB blocked up solid. Was not very impressed with myself :blush:
 
Nice info Laura :) will make sure to take care and talk a little to my AB :D
//Mats

Does swearing count as talking. Ran some Windolene through after Enamels the other day.

#@%&@ AB blocked up solid. Was not very impressed with myself :blush:

Dave,
Windolene is a glass-cleaning product,right?
It will NOT clean your airbrush from enamelpaint then,try to clean your AB with enamelthinners next time you use enamels,that will work MUCH better! ;)

Greetings,Ron.
 
Agreed. Be careful what you clean with, think about what paint medium you're using and judge the cleaner accordingly. Dave have you got a ultrasonic cleaner?
 
I have been cleaning my Paache H with lacquer thinner- of course mine is an external mix brush so there is not much to take apart.
 
Does swearing count as talking. Ran some Windolene through after Enamels the other day.

#@%&@ AB blocked up solid. Was not very impressed with myself :blush:

get yourself a bottle of createx airbrush restorer, pour it in a bowl and submerge your ab in it for about two hours and it's like brand new! don't forget to rinse afterwards!
 
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