I've stopped using Windex to clean my AB's because ammonia damages chrome plating and brass. So I'm looking at ammonia-free glass cleaners.

It seems that the majority of ammonia-free cleaners have vinegar. Does anyone know vinegar attacks chrome?

I would use 90% alcohol for acrylic paint residue,lacquer thinner for anything more difficult to remove.Vinegar? never tried it to clean my airbrush tastes great on a salad.

Vinegar is acid so I would assume that eventually it would corrode any coating.

Hello everyone,

Vinegar is a mild acid like as stated and using it to clean an airbrush would not be a wise idea.
Reason, it will leave a film over the noozle and other parts and the paint will pick this up and it will not stick to the model.
Vinegar will not work well if you are using oil based paint. They don't play well each other.

HTH.........See ya in the funnies................

The concerns about ammonia induced "seasonal cracking" in the brass parts of airbrushes has got to be one of the most overblown issues in the modeling world.

"Seasonal cracking" is only an issue for brass parts that have been formed by die striking (which creates internal stresses in the metal)- not normal machining. Brass that's been annealed properly to reduce stresses before die-forming is not generally subject to this problem, anyways. This was a problem back in the 18th century with brass cased rifle ammunition that was not properly annealed before the cases were drawn and formed.

The ammonia will not have any effect on the chrome parts of an airbrush. Resistance to corrosion and ease of cleaning is why those parts are chrome plated to begin with. It's also the reason why some rifle gun barrels are chrome plated - to resist corrosion inside the barrel and chamber.

The worst that can possibly happen from using glass cleaner in an airbrush might be some slight discoloration of any exposed brass, but this is going to tarnish anyways, and that normal tarnishing will be indistinguishable from tarnishing caused by the glass cleaner.

Use as much glass cleaner as you want - Your airbrush will not suffer any sort of catastrophic, stress-corrosion cracking failure as a result.

I have never ever thought of using vinegar to clean an airbrush , this is new to me . I have always used lacquer thinner the Home Depot type and a lot of elbow grease and little brushes to clean the airbrush after each use . But then I don't have any breathing problems so maybe that's why I live under a rock .

For the amount of time that Windex sits in the airbrush for the
purpose of cleaning, I would not be too concerned. Besides, you
should flush any residue out with water as a final step.

I would be more concerned with Windex being used as a thinner,
as some do, the ammonia breaks down the binders in acrylic paints.

I really don't see any point in using vinegar.

Cheers,
Joe

The ammonia and brass issue comes us frequently on just about every modeling forum.

Here's what the folks at Badger Airbrush (Thayer & Chandler) say about it:




This statement from Badger has been posted on numerous modeling forums, including here on Armorama. It took me a while to dig it up, but I think it pretty much lays the issue to rest.

If cleaning products containing ammonia were deadly to airbrushes, then the manufacturers would all be including warning statements against their use to include info that the use of such products would void any warranty.

BTW: The same thing applies to damage to airbrush seals from lacquer thinners. Badger includes lacquer paints as recommended for all of its airbrushes with not a single word of caution about lacquer thinners attacking and / or degrading the seals.

I'll go back to Windex. Nothing else removes Tamiya acrylics better than Windex. I asked about using Windex to clean AB's at an airbrush forum where so-called professional airbrush artists hang out. They advised against Windex Those people use their ABs for hours a day, whereas I use my ABs for hours a year.

Chris invest in some Medea Airbrush cleaner, it is cheap enough and if you purchase a big bottle it will last a good while. Using that will mean you no longer have to be concerned about the airbrush.

Chrisk-K,

I presume you spray acrylics? If so, try Simple Green. It obliterates the acrylics I shoot (the late-great Polly Scale; Lifecolor; Vallejo). FWIW, I shoot ammonia through my Paasche and Aztec to cleanse them of Future. No problems noted.

Vinegar is acetic acid. I can't imagine how you could be worried about using ammonia based glass cleaner but think using acid would be a good idea!

As long as you flush with water afterwards, glass cleaner is fine.

I have three Iwata AB's, so it's fitting that I 'd better use Medea cleaner. I didn't know I have two bottles of Medea cleaner. I must have bought them when I bought my first Iwata (HP-CS) two years ago.

Anyway, it cleans my AB's in no time!