When flushing or cleaning an airbrush, is it OK to use plain water (for acrylics) or hardware store thinner (for enamels)?

Hi blank,
I think that those are okay for flushing you airbrush out. But I'd strongly recommend that you still take it completely apart for a through cleaning after each use. It doesn't take much left over paint to ruin it. I just started using laquer thinner to clean mine out and it works great.
Looks almost new again
Craig

I use water for the quick cleanings after a short painting session or just spraying a bit of future. Every few times or after a long painting session, because acrylics dry so fast, I've started cleaning it with laquer thinner. The laq really dissolves any dried paint that may still be in there.

Gentlemen,
For acrylic paint, I find that either "Windex" or other brand of window cleaner works well for cleaning my a/b.
Automotive windshield washer fluid also works well.
If. by chance, you let any paint dry in the a/b, lacquer thinner or Testors liquid cement removes the dried paint. However, you must have plenty of fresh air ventilation when performing this operation.

Hi! As for me I use enamels for airbrushing. To clean them, I put some more thinner on the bottle then spray hardly to clean the "straw" inside the bottle. Collect that thinner again and disassemble your airbrush. Use that thinner to clean part by part. After all that, rinse all of them in water + soap mixture to remove the remaining thinner on the AB. Wipe it all with a cloth to dry.

Hope this helps

I spray enamels. When I am done, I replace the paint in the jar with thinner and spray awhile. During this process I also do a little backwashing, by covering the tip for a second with an old sock I use for my rag. Then I take apart the brush and soak the parts (needle, needle cap?, and siphon tube) insome thinner for awhile. Finally I rinse with water and put the brush back together.

I used to have some troubles with clogging, but after I started this regiment (with thanks to some others on this site) things have gone very well.

What airbrush do you use, kabayan? What type of paints to you use?

I use Tamiya airbrushes. The way I clean them depends on what paint I use (I use different types).

If I use enamels or lacquers, I first clean by backflushing the paint. I load the a/b with lacquer thinner (no doubt the strongest stuff I've ever used). There's no limit on how many times you back flush the a/b. The best way to test if it's clean is by spraying. If there is no more paint coming out, it's clean.

If I use acrylics, I backflush it with water mixed with detergent (I use Joy dishwashing liquid).

When my paint session is complete, I always disassemble by airbrushes and I immerse the nozzles (the most important pieces) in a jar of lacquer thinner. NEVER immerse plastic or rubber components (like the O-rings) since the thinner will weaken the material in the long run.

To speed it up, I shake the jar to get the paint out of the nozzle. If that's not enough, I floss the nozzle clean with fine wire to make sure it's not clogged.

It's tedious but it's the only way to keep your a/b working for a longer time as you want it.

Ron