Help with cleaning please?

[FDDragon]

I spend more time trying to clean my airbrush than I do painting and it's frustrating. I'm using an Iwata hp-c+ with wicked paints and wicked's restorer. But there's this little area in the bottom under where the needle sits that I cannot get clean. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[markjthomson]

Jump on youtube, search "cleaning an airbrush" there are some great bits there. To get that hard to reach place, remove the needle and use a small brush.

 

[FDDragon]

I have the needle out and the tiniest brush I have is a tight fit. I don't want to scratch the insides

 

[markjthomson]

I have the needle out and the tiniest brush I have is a tight fit. I don't want to scratch the insides

Use a q-tip or a tooth pick... or get a smaller brush...

 

[Malky]

I have the needle out and the tiniest brush I have is a tight fit. I don't want to scratch the insides

You won't damage anything unless the tiny is brush is metal wire as long you don't enter the nozzle, if your brush is wire you can interdental brushes at the pharmacist which are nylon nnd ideal since they are smaller too, that's what I use.

 

[FDDragon]

The bristles are nylon and after trying to use it, I spent some time fishing bristles out. I think I've got it more or lease clean now, ran the needle through backwards and it shoved out what looked like boogers. Did it a couple times and it looks a lot cleaner now.

 

[Malky]

The bristles are nylon and after trying to use it, I spent some time fishing bristles out. I think I've got it more or lease clean now, ran the needle through backwards and it shoved out what looked like boogers. Did it a couple times and it looks a lot cleaner now.

Your cleaning brush was clearly too big, get yourself the ones I mentioned for future use, since they are made for your teeth nothing comes off of them

 

[twood]

I spend more time trying to clean my airbrush than I do painting and it's frustrating. I'm using an Iwata hp-c+ with wicked paints and wicked's restorer. But there's this little area in the bottom under where the needle sits that I cannot get clean. Any help would be appreciated!

What you are describing is the little cup in the cup .....
When I do a cleaning, I dump the paint....Pour in water, dump, Wipe inside, pour in water, and then back flush. Dump that then put cleaner (not restorer) and spray through. I put in more cleaner, back flush, then dump that. For the finish I spray more cleaner, then done. more wiping inside of coarse...
You get that paint under your needle by back flushing....for me anyways.
Restorer is for soaking and a deep clean and never spray. Can re-use, so a bottle goes a long way
This method is for wet paint and I will tear down and do a deep clean once a month or when spraying becomes erratic ..........
Good luck...it is easier to clean properly all the time than to deal with dry, hard to get and move paint....I learned to take that extra minute....

 

[Squishy]

If you are using the Wicked W500 reducer (and if you aren't then I really recommend it) use that to clean. I avoid any water any where near Wicked, it has a small amount of solvent and water can make it go a bit gummy. Empty your cup, wipe it, put a little reducer in, back flush then dump it, a bit more reducer, spray through, and you're done. If it hasn't come out clean, repeat if needed. You don't need to use much reducer, and if you get the larger bottle it works out way cheaper. Its definately worth it to paint trouble free.

 

[Phaze]

Donna from Maple Air gave me a good piece of advice if you mix your paint I the cup. Put your reducer in first then the paint and you don't get so much paint unmixed at the bottom. Makes cleaning a lot easier

 

[twood]

I only use water as the initial paint in the cup remover. I use cleaner to actually clean. Doing the water thing is to save a bit on cleaners....every little bit helps.
Cheers

 

[musicmacd]

And that little bit under the needle wont kill your gun, maybe just clean it deelly once a week. Also leave water in the cup when not in use

 

[FDDragon]

Thank you all, my problem apparently is thinking restorer WAS cleaner! And at the moment I'm only using my airbrush once a month or so, so I have time to find myself downtown looking for the proper cleaner before the next time. And them tiny brushes.

 

[tgolden]

cleaning has all to do with what kind of paint your using . I use solvent bass paint ( 1- shot and house of kolor ) so I use spray gun automotive gun wash , I and run it through the air brush . I only take it apart when there is a spray problem .

 

[musicmacd]

Restorer is a cleaner!

 

[JackEb]

Restorer is a cleaner!

almost the 'last resort' cleaner......if that doesn't get your createx paint cleaned up then nothing will LOL
I think it should be part of every noobs kit.

 

[Squishy]

I've never found restorer that effective. I have some and after a couple of times never used it. The reducer is better for me, and I don't have to wait for it to soak. Maybe I'm just to impatient .

 

[Airbrush Dreams]

The trick I do is load up the cup with airbrush cleaner (not restorer) then I loosen the needle chuck nut, hold the needle end and pull it back and forth. This is after clearing the cup of all paint. Just don't ram the needle forward too hard. Then I dump the cup and fill it again and repeat. Then I spray all the fluid out. Then I disassemble the head and remove the needle. Then I clean the cup with a Q-tip and use an airbrush cleaning brush that fits the needle tube from the front to the trigger with water only. Then I flush water from the back to the front to wash out paint particles that may have dried and dislodged. At that point you should be clean so just spray some water through and dry and put away.

This kind of cleaning is only needed at the end of your paint session. During painting work from light to dark as much as you can and all you need to do is flush the cup and nozzle with water ( distilled is best) because it won't attract pigment to the needle. There is a real chemical reason for that. That should be sufficient to go to the next color without cross contamination.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jord001]

I wash out with water or reducer, depending on paint, i have a small diameter stiff paintbrush to get in the bottom reservoir where the needle goes through. If i need to retract the needle to clean the cup i will. Tip out any really contaminated fluid and refill, repeat as needed and use the brush to clean again, wipe out with paper towel or cloth, spray some reducer or water through to make sure its clean. If i have left the paint for more than a couple of hours for any reason (unusual) i spray through with 2k thinners, and then flush with water. That cleans everything out!

Lee

 

[RebelAir]

whats cleaning?..my brush sits there for weeks between uses..I pick it up, shake it and start painting again..Maybe once every 6 months I break it down for a deep clean..I use spectra paints and at the end of a session just dip it in a bucket of water and spray...When I remember to at least, otherwise on restart i just pull the needle, pick the tip then start going again..But maybe just lucky with my gun paint combo but so many seem to have to clean their guns so often..