Airbrush cleaner

[Ricktarsprayer75]

Ive been using an off the shelf aerosol cleaner. i have to order online or travel an hour away to buy it.I wondered what it contained but there are no ingredients on the can. I worked with fibreglass many moons ago and realised the cleaner smells like acetone (headache gear!). i googled the cleaner and lo and behold it contains acetone. i know that nail varnish or polish remover is diluted acetone, i think its 7 parts water to 1 acetone. my obvious question is can i use nail varnish remover to clean my airbrush internally? would i have to dilute it further or will it damage something? if my cleaner uses acetone then surely i can use nail varnish remover? its cheaper basically and available in local shops. does anyone have the answer? i also use water to clean up where i can.

 

[Ronald art]

I would not recommend the use of acetone but others may differ on that , what airbrush and paint are you using ?

 

[Ricktarsprayer75]

I use an iwata eclipse hc with createx wicked,illustration and transparent paints.

 

[JackEb]

Try windex - just flush with plenty of water.

 

[Airbrush Dreams]

Actually when I had a conversation with Kirk at Iwata he suggest nail polish remover with acetone or Lacquer thinner and then rinse with water. This direct out of Iwata's technical support man.


Paint on

 

[Ricktarsprayer75]

It makes sense, if a branded cleaning spray uses acetone as the active ingredient then using acetone based nail polish remover is the same thing. i,ll dilute some further and try it. i think the worst that can happen is the rubber seals may perish if i leave it in contact too long or use too strong a mixture. cheers for that.

 

[jagardn]

With water based paints, I've never needed anything more than Denatured Alcohol for daily cleaning. Every once in a while, I'll leave some Createx W500 High Performance reducer in the paint cup. It loosens dried paint if there is any in the brush or nozzle.

 

[Ricktarsprayer75]

Cheers. i may try that thanks for the tip

 

[AndreZA]

I use a super reduced eco friendly cleaner available from our local hardware store. But that is with E'tac, Com-art and Schmincke. I still have to see if it is going to work with Createx Illustration Colours.

 

[musicmacd]

I find Acetone dipped ear buds and tooth picks works well, but that's only when I do a big clean, other than that I leave water in the cup after a good flushing all the time.

 

[jord001]

I usually use water, airbrush cleaner from badger (it was cheap) or pre-diluted windscreen wash from the local pound shop. In very bad cases i would use either isopropyl alchohol, standard thinners or 2k thinners as they work really well and smell great. I have 2l of acetone for when i am working with fibreglass and have used it to clean up stuff but never my airbrush.

Lee

 

[markjthomson]

Actually when I had a conversation with Kirk at Iwata he suggest nail polish remover with acetone or Lacquer thinner and then rinse with water. This direct out of Iwata's technical support man.


Paint on

This is what I do for a heavy clean. The eclipse has the teflon seal so that is good. The modern nail polish remove is no longer acetone.

 

[Squishy]

If you're using the W500/4012 reducer, just use that to clean.

 

[Ricktarsprayer75]

Its amazing that almost every suggestion is different. theres obviously more ways than one to skin a cat as they say. ive never used reducer to clean with. i,ll give it a go.
Thanks to everyone for there input, i,ll try some of these methods till i find one that suits me.
I mix my colour in the cup. so i put the reducer in first then the colour and use back pressure to mix.
I then give it a shake, with my finger over the hole obviously.
ha ha ha .....just read the last line back to myself........i mean the AIRBRUSH. i dont get THAT excited about mixing paint.
I find that i usually have a bit of pigment left in the cup after spraying out, even after a really good mix.
So i flush with water once, then a little spray of the aerosol cleaner.
I then give a blast of backpressure which normally splats any tiny balls of pigment onto the sides of the cup. i wipe with tissue, a cotton bud then flush with water. im then ready to mix more colour.
I find myself dismantling the brush quite often to clean build up on the needle.
God im boring myself now.

 

[basepaint]

When I do a deep cleaning and take the brush apart I use nail polish remover and have had no prob. with it and have used it going on three years now but all my airbrushs have teflon seals,Also carb cleaner works great just a little will clean everything out fast

 

[DeadlyDesignsNC]

Be careful with carb claner and lower quality ab. It tends to eat seals up and the plated finish quick if your not careful. Also hard to get the reside it leaves off of anything. Id use it to clean a super neglected ab that id get from flea market or ebay dump or a friend who wants to throw it away and finish with laq thinner and then rinse with water . if your ab is that neglected you need carb cleaner to get it working again you might want to pursue a different hobby though

 

[MeeshellMP]

Never use Windex...Your good with just using the reducer for Createx. Its a waste of $$ to buy the Createx cleaner, when th4 reducer works much better

 

[JackEb]

the non ammonia windex is fine, the stuff with ammonia in it can mess with the finish of the airbrush though.

 

[Basstrack238]

4012 works great, restorer too. Sometimes I have to use lacquer thinner for things. Works great.

 

[JackEb]

I use restorer for thorough cleans.... but for colour changes its windex or 'w100' reducer for CI.