I find I'm a bit paranoid about my airbrush clogging up, and therefore After I think I'm quite thorugh with my cleaning protocol. When I use Tamiya acrylic paints with my airbrush, if I am going to stop painting for more than a 30 seconds I will then run Tamiya acrylic thinner through the airbrush for a few seconds into tissue paper, I also block the nozzle so as to force the air back into the jar of Thinner. I will then run some new fresh thinner through the airbrush. I will then run some Laquer solvent (I use to use Cellulose thinners) through. And then at the end of a painting session I will disconnect the nozzle and soak the nozzle in the Thinners as well. With my Aztec airbrush I disassemble the nozzle.
Does anyone have a good cleaning protocol, and is my method overzealous or wrong even?

I only spray acrylics through my Badger 100, so after painting I spray some warm water though it followed by some alcohol. I then break it down completely and clean everything with alcohol. I also clean the tip with a toothbrush dipped in alcohol. While I'm painting, to help keep the tip from clogging, I'll dip a toothbrush in alcohol and gently brush the tip.

As for you being overzealous, well it's your airbrush and you have every right to be as thorouogh as you want. Nobody wants clogs and if your method works, stick with it.

I too spray acrylics almost exclusivley and to clean my A/B I boil water, pour them in a jar and put the Badger paint cup and the airbrush inside.
I make sure to dissaseme the teflon ring to prevent it from melting.

this ussually lifts off any paint remains which are then cleaned with an ear bud, sometimes soaked with Cutex when needed.

I use Tamiya acrylics too, with a Paasch VL airbrush. I usually break it down and clean everything using the Tamiya Acrylic Thinner and pipe cleaners. I have to make sure that I've gotten out all the wisps of the pipe cleaners out of it too using fine tweezers and a few quick blows into it.
I then reassemble the airbrush and it's pretty well ready for the next use. It takes about 10 minutes for the whole operation.

I just spray alot of warm water thru my old Badger till it runs clean.

NEO

I think your method for cleaning your airbrush is a sound one, i use mostly acrylics and at the the end of every painting session i dissasemble my airbrush and put all the parts in my ultrasonic cleaner with a solution of water and acrylic paint cleaner i then run it threw several times, takes about fifteen minutes that keeps it working like new every time.

Hi Colin, your gun is your gun and you treat as kind as you want... BUT....never leave any part of your gun to soak.especialy internal parts with rubber washers etc as they will in time harden and crack..I have been a pictoral artist for too long now and have had as many as four or five guns being used at any one time..with many different types of paint, and at the end of each run Id sho ot thinners through untill they would ran clean, give them a good wipe and put them away.. a couple of these air brushes are over forty years old and still work like they are new........
Phil

I join the line!!

I also spray exclusively acrylics, and everytime I stop airbrushing I spray some Isoprpanol alcohol through it. After that I'll break it down and clean everything I can find with alcohol. For cleaning the inside of the A.B. I use those small interdental brushes.
Once a month I clean my A.B. in my Ultra-sonic cleaner....you are amazed how much brownish dirt is still coming out once in a while!!

Just my two cents,

John.

The cleaner you keep your airbrush, the less problems you will have with it, and the longer it will last you.

Hi!. I have the Aztek 4709. I see in several post about this AB, but I don`t see what is the procedure to clean this airbrush.

I suppose that it is not neccesary to dismount all the AB, only the nozzle ( I see this in internet pages). Is True?

This is my firts AB, I will painted with acrylics Tamiya paints...But I don´t know what is the process to clean it.
(thinner tamiya, also, I think).

Can anyone help me?

Thank you very much.

Hello Miguel!

I also use a Badger airbrush and Tamiya acrylics and my cleaning procedures are the following:

1 - I use the paintbrush
2 - When finished I spray water until there is no paint left
3 - I disconnect the nozzle
4 - I put the nozzle in Tamiya Thinner until the next use
5- I sometimes clean the airbrush body with Tamiya thinner

That's all!

Jean-Luc

Thanks Jean-Luc. Ok. The Tamiya Thinner is very expensive. When I change the paint color , I have to clean the cup also. I don´t know if it is possible to use Isopropilic Alcohol 96% or water.
Thanks-
PD: I don´t know if The Aztek cleaning station is very important. I need to buy this product ????? Thanks