Thought with all the questions about airbrush spitting.stopping and not working right I would show what I got out of my HP-CS AFTER A NORMAL CLEAN UP AFTER PAINTING, Heres after cleaning normally Heres after soaking 5 min in restorer and heres after soaking 15 min in restorer see all the old paint I Removed on the paper towel and q-tips I use the lip bam to seal my threads on cap
Nice one Mr Base sir, I have said many a time as have one or two others "clean until you think it's clean and then again" this proves I'm not full of it, we'll at least where cleaning is concerned I hope they makes this a sticky so that it becomes easy to find fir our new peeps. Damn nice of you to take the time to show this, I believe our @JackEb did a similar thread a while back which makes me think an airbrush care and maintainance section on the forum would be a huge help to everyone starting out I confess to not going this far after every session but I do do it regularly and always before using a brush has lay unused for a long time. Oh!! And think you were right to think that this message is so important it definitely requires 2 threads
Yes @Madbrush this is important like a good machine you need to maintain your tools , just a little warning : dont soak the whole airbrush , rubber seals can get damaged by the restorer
I've never soaked a brush since I soaked a cheap four years ago and destroyed it Other than being extremely clumsy with needles I do take good care of my brushes, and I'm even working on ways to protect my needles from ME, I've always been fussy with cleaning as well constantly trying to promote it, so sticky care section would be great for beginners
wow guess I'll be buying some restorer next paint order. I know my regular cleaning with alcohol and ultrasonic cleaner doesn't get everything. The lip balm on the threads doesn't interfere with painting? Thats a great tip as I've been getting bubbles in my paint from improper sealing during reassembly. Started putting lube on the threads. Fixes problem but doesn't last long. Speaking of lube what do you recommend. Should I just start a new thread about that? Iwata lube is expensive.
heres another thread to add to the knowledge bank : ) we may as well put as much info/experience as we can in one spot Despite the title, it is block nozzle related http://www.airbrushforum.org/threads/no-paint-or-water-flow.12004/
I bought the restorer on my next order after my fun and games as per my link an I must say its one of the items that should be on everyones 'starter kit list' !! It has made life so much easier, and its reusable so its economical : )
This thread is one of the reasons I use my H&S Evo more than anything else. A quick disassembly and single twist of the nozzle cleaning tool and all the paint is gone. No soaking necessary. I have restorer and use it on my other brushes when needed, it does work really well.
I don't use much lube because it is a dirt magnet and gets gummie too,but when I do its just a drop in the tension spring,as for the lip balm no it's just like bees wax no prob.with the paint
so you soak the nozzle after every painting session? I usually run restorer (actually PPG's multipurpose solvent) through my brush and wipe the needle but I am not in the habit of breaking it down every time. Maybe I should reconsider.
If your not having issues with the brush after you clean it you should be good to go,But if you still have issues this could be why as it shows you don't aways get the brush as clean as you think
Get rid of the PPG JUNK , this is not a solvent based paint , This is water based , And do not spray restorer through your airbrush only use it to soak the Nozzle in. You should not have to do it after every session. I only do it when the airbrush starts acting up. which might be once every 3 to 4 months .
Will try the Restorer again . So where is the Q Tip going? You're not getting that into the nozzle are you?? What about on a micron where it's itsy bitsy?
I only use Q-tips (what we call cotton buds) to clean around the inside of the cup and them flush the cup out a couple of times before letting anything go in the direction of the nozzle, the little hairs that come off of them are seriously bad for nozzles and will cause problems, which I suppose is what you was hinting at, right?
For me, very timely as I just dealt with a "normal" cleaning that resulted in skips and splats. Solvent cleaned and all the nasties ceased. Thing is, nobody wants to hear this because it means more time and work. Ugh.
Hmmm, maybe that is the source of my problems with poor performance as I use them time to time. The problem being that I start out with the tool working well but then it very rapidly deteriorates no matter what paint, additives, air pressure, etc., I use. I'll start out with a hair-thin line and in 15 seconds its 1/16"/2mm wide. Solvent clean thoroughly and it starts all over again.
You can use xylene which is water soluable and will dissolve dried water base VERY quickly. Best of all, it costs $7 a quart instead of a puny 4 oz. bottle. Available at any hardware store.
I've just gained my first teaching qualification and I had do a real lesson on any subject I wanted to. It was suggested that the subject was something you had knowledge of so I did a basic airbrush lesson with 4 setups. It was at 9:30 but the class didn't end till 4 and there was nowhere to clean the brushes out. By the time I got home I had left the paint in the cups for 10 hours Tried flushing out with water when I got home but it wasn't having it. Got the old urethane thinners in there and within a couple of minutes they were spraying perfectly. Gave them a good clean after too. Wouldn't do it all the time but once in a while is ok. Smells nice too Lee
