seabasshunter3 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Are these good to have to clean your brush? Thanks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I've never used one and I bet most guys who paint with acrylics just clean under a stream of cool water. Airbrush paint companies sell detergent concentrates to soak parts for a more complete cleaning. Frankly, I can't see much difference so use plain water, a toothpick and a small cleaning brush designed for airbrushes. If you have an Iwata HP, the tube is too small for any brush I've seen so I reverse the needle and use the butt end as a cleaning rod. Careful -DONT bend the needle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seabasshunter3 Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I think this is for in between paint colors when you go to discharge the remaining paint you spray it into this cleaning pot that has some water in the bottom of the jar with a small filter. So you need to clean your brush completly between color changes? or can you just shoot some water thru it if it's water based paint? or do you need to place some type of solvent in the brush? Thanks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator Bass Baits Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 water works fine for me, I have the cleaning pot and it works nice, you could always use like a 2 litter bottle with a hole and a exhaust hole just as easily but it would be more tippsy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 If you have an Iwata HP, the tube is too small for any brush I've seen so I reverse the needle and use the butt end as a cleaning rod. Careful -DONT bend the needle! The needle trick is a good one, Bob, but actually there is a brush designed for cleaning the needle channel on the Iwata HP's. It comes in two kits. The first kit is available from Dixie and costs about $35 or so. The Dixie brush kit includes a variety of brushes, from large to small, and a pick that looks like a dental hygenist's tool. I found another smaller kit for $6.95 from TP tools in Canfield, Ohio (which is a great store that offers a ton of compressor parts and supplies such as fittings, gauges, filters, etc). The smaller kit from TP includes 5 different smaller sized brushes including the one that easily cleans the needle channel on the HP. Dixie also offers an oil that is applied to the needle shaft and the trigger plunger, which is encased in the apparatus to which you attach the air hose. The oil has zero effect on the paint, does not cause fisheyes or any other problems, and prevents the trigger from sticking and reduces wear on the needle. It comes in a small plastic bottle about 2 ounces and is bluish in color. Its also cheap and really keeps the brush operating smoothly. I use it every time I thoroughly clean my Iwatas...which is every time I'm done painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjbass Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Get yourself a big plastic jug, I use a big clorox bottle. Drill a round hole just below the neck just big enough to insert the tip of your airbrush. On the other side punch a small vent whole near the top. Now you have a cheap, useful cleaning station. You can tape some paper towels over the hole and punch through to prevent mist. As far as cleaning in between colors, use a mixture of windex and water 50/50. It will not effect the paint and keeps the gun pretty clean. Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 I shoot water from a spray bottle into the cup on my gravity Iwata to clean it, then shoot a cup of water through the brush. Quick, and one thing to love about gravity feed brushes. On my syphon brush there's more paint to clean out so I take it inside and give it a quick clean with cool tap water. At the end of the session, I disassemble the brushes for a thorough cleaning. Fingers, thanks for TP Tools cite. I lube needles with Superlube, a white synthetic grease. A little grease film on the fingertip does it. Superlube also works great in reels, so it stays handy on the workbench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Bob, I'm glad I could help. You offer an awful lot of help and tips on this site and I'm happy I had something to share with someone as knowledgeable as you. Here's a link for anyone else interested: www.tptools.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reeves Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Some real great info in this thread, so I thought I would add the Lazy Man's method. I use the Paasche VL entirely on spinnerbaits, so I have to change colors quite often. I keep a small bucket of warm water next to me when shooting. When changing colors, before removing the color cup I backflush the brush by placing my finger over the tip and pressing the air trigger only. This pushes the paint out of the siphon tube and back into the color cup. I then remove the cup and place the airbrush into the water so just the siphon port is under water and shoot air. I will also use the backflush method rotating several times back and forth until the color dissipates. Add new color to the cup and start shooting again. I several years ago found a cleaning brush kit at BearAir that contains like 6 brushes with one so fine it fits through the brass cone that fits over the needle in the nozzle (not sure of all the correct names here). I use these when totally cleaning the brush. They also carry a lube called 'needle juice' and it too works great. Personally, I don't know how anyone could do without a good cleaning brush set. I went a long time using the toothpicks and pipe cleaners and they just didn't get the job done. Hope this becomes useful to some. Great thread, keep it going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 I think this is for in between paint colors when you go to discharge the remaining paint you spray it into this cleaning pot that has some water in the bottom of the jar with a small filter. So you need to clean your brush completly between color changes? or can you just shoot some water thru it if it's water based paint? or do you need to place some type of solvent in the brush? Thanks.... I use one (the Iwata cleaning station) and find it quite handy. It contains the cleaning spray of water and Windex, or whatever else I use for quick cleaning between colors, like a little alcohol or the RTU cleaners for acrylics; doesn't take up much room right where I'm painting, yet has decent heft for stability. I use a little nylon bristle brush for the exterior parts of my Iwata around the head, and this gets me by between colors. It's main purpose in life is keeping the humidity low where I'm painting by containing the bulk of my cleaning spray though, and I really like it, just for that. Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR KNOW IT ALL KIND OF Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 I mix Purple Power and water... just make sure you run water only through the gun after you use the purple power mix... on a side note.. its a great soda remover if you ever have some stains in you car.... MIX it 10 parts water.. 1 part purple... Its great stuff. you can find it a Walmart in the Automotive section.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
