Tips needed on cleaning, and purchassing a high quality brush

[tripxrcer]

Hey, well ive had a airbrush for a wle now, its the paashe dual action one, anyway i can never get it to work properly now. I am planning on buying a higher quality brush that i would like to last for a wile. How can i completly clean out the paint? should i use chemicals? Ive been only ussing windex and it dosnt really cut the paint. Im ussing water based paints.

Also can you recamend a airbrush too me? can i get a nice dual action brush for 125$ or less?

do you like the Eclipse CS from http://www.airbrush-depot.com/scripts/depot.exe?pgm=ieclipse.bbx

[LEADFOOT]

look at the Iwata Revolution series. They have all the great Eclipse features, just 1/2 the price. Many top level artists use 'em. I got mine for $60 from Dixieart, which is $20 less than from the site you listed. www.coastairbrush.com also has them for near the same price.

[SteveK]

To really clean out your airbrush good, try some plain old lacquer thinner. The problem with acrylic paints is that, unlike solvent-based lacquers or enamels, the thinning agent in the subsequent paint you spray doesn't disolve bits of dried paint that are left over from before.

Because of that, you really have to clean the airbrush well between colors and after uses, unless you can get at the paint while it is still wet. Disassembly, especially with lower-quality airbrushes like Badger and Paasche, is recommended after a few colors or at the end of a session. They are quality airbrushes, but don't have the super-tight tolerances or design or Iwata brushes. I have a Paache VL and there is always color all the way back through the brush after using it, even after spraying a full bottle of thinner through it. The airbrush expert at my LHS also says the Iwatas use higher-quality materials, and they don't rely on replacement parts to make money like the others do.

I haven't tried one, but most people I have talked to say simply spraying out an Iwata brush will clean it out completely. Testors Aztek line of airbrushes are also supposed to be extremely easy to clean out because of their design: One review I read estimated half the thinner and 1/4 the time. I've had the cheap A320 for a while but haven't had the chance to use it yet, but I can see how the simple design would work so well. I will probably end up with this one soon:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDEF3&P=0

Lacquer thinner is pretty much like Colon Blow for your airbrush: Whatever is in there before, won't be in there after. Just flush the airbrush with isopropyl alcohol/windex, and then water, to keep from affecting the paint.

[tarvymoto]

I use and recomend the Badger Anthem 155 . It is an excellent brush. Nice thing about it is that "Michaels" arts/craft store stocks it as well as replacement needles. Michaels is also where you can get Createx paint. The Badger 155 is easy to clean and works great. I've been using mine for 3 years + and I paint alot.

[kyle_tdr]

Do NOT order anything from www.airbrush-depot.com under any circumstances. I ordered paints from them in August and received them only last week and even then they were the wrong quantities. I am currently trying to get some of the money back that they "stole"!

[SteveK]

If you want to use a Badger or Testors airbrush, wait until Michaels or AC Moore has one of their 40%-off coupons and buy it then. If the Badger Anthem setup they have now is the one with all the goodies, then $135 X 0.60 = $81, and Tower has the same set for $92. AC Moore carries Badger and Testors, and the A470 is $100 there, $60 after coupon, and about $80 at Tower.

[HauntedMyst]

Steve,

Testors are very easy to clean. No paint actually enters the brush, paint is pushed through the end and then through the needle/tip which screws in but is seperate. The down side is the needles need to be cleaned every bit as much as a regular brush because they contain the spring and the spring is a paint collector. While ultimately easier to clean, the Testors tend to be more expensive because you go through needles much faster. I've never replaced a needle in my Iwata's but went through about 5 a year with my Testors. I'll say this though, the Aztec is the most comfortable brush to spray with.

[SteveK]

HM-

I was wondering about the nozzles, and have heard that you do and do not have to disassmble them to fully clean them. Did you try soaking them after use, or just spraying cleaner through them? I have the single-action A320 that I am going to experiment with for a while, and see how I like it before dropping $60-130 on a new setup.

Do you have to disassmble the Iwata to clean it out, or does spraying do the job? Like I said, the my VL needed to be torn down after each color because of all the paint that flowed back into the brush. Since I do plastic models as well, and want to airbrush pretty much everything, I'll go with whichever is easier to clean out.

[HauntedMyst]

I use my gravity feed Iwata for most things so I just flush and back flush the brush between colors and that seems to do the trick. With the Aztec, I do the same thing except when I'm spraying white or yellow (the two colors most prone to showing leftovers), and I then take the needle apart as well. When I'm done, I'll take the brush and flush and back flush it with either window cleaner for faskolors or thinner for lacquers. The only time I take the Aztec needles apart is when I think they really need them. (Taking them apart is part of what wears them out.) You can even the tip in thinner or Aztec airbrush cleaner to really get the small hardened pieces out. Every now and then, I'll take my Iwata completely apart and just clean the pieces, which you never have to do with the Aztec.

[SteveK]

Please explain the difference between 'flush' and 'back-flush'. I assume flush it to just spray thinner through it like normal, right?

[Cosmo]

Backflushing is covering the tip with a rag (or your finger) while spraying. It backs the cleaner up through the paint cup which helps clean it. Flushing is just spraying cleaner through normally.

[SteveK]

Ah, got it. The guy giving a demonstration on airbrushing at a moodel expo years ago (Using a single-action Paasche) would keep his paint mixed in the color cup by holding his finger on the tip and spraying.