parker085 Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I just received my first airbrush, an Iwata Revolution CR, in the mail today and was playing with it. I did a lot of looking around and reading on here and I think I did a good job of cleaning but wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. I cleaned out the cup and flushed the cup with water 8 or 10 times then took a soft towel and wipe everything out. Pulled the nozzle and wiped the needle and nozzle all down. Do I also need to pull the needle and clean it out every time i use it? BTW i was using Createx Opaque paint. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoopa Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I clean my airbrush everytime i use it. It just works better when its clean and not jammed up full of paint. To answer your question about taking the needle clean out after everytime you use it is a yes. I even sometimes do this while im changing colors Goodluck, Jacob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68KingFisher Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Spoopa is right....."YES", pull your needle and wipe it down everytime you clean....and I also pull my needle and wipe it when doing color changes most of the time....it depends on what color i'm using and what color i'm fixin to use....I might just let the new color overpower whats left in the airbrush....this works mostly when switching from a light color to a dark color, or colors on the same side of the color wheel....like switching from yellow to orange I wouldn't worry about much cleaning if any....but if I was going from purple to yellow then I'd clean it alot better cause I wouldnt' want the purple turning my yellow into mud....unless thats the effect I was goin for.....You get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted October 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Thanks for super fast replies. Just got done putting it back together, way easier then i thought it would be. for some reason i thought it was going to be way harder then it was. what about oil? i see some people say they oil there guns after cleaning? I'm sure i will have some "mud colors" coming out a few times before i learn. i can see it will take a lot of practice to get this right but i live in Pittsburgh so i get some long winters to practice. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 When I'm finished, I spray plain water through mine and then "backwash" it by shooting water while holding a finger over the tip of the brush so it is forced out of the mix chamber and into the cup. Backwashing gets paint out better and faster than simply shooting water through it. I also backwash between colors to make sure the tip is free of the last paint. After backwashing, pull the needle and wipe it down with solvent, then use a Qtip to clean the nozzle cover and tip cavity. That's all. I occasionally take the brush apart and soak everything overnight in an airbrush cleaning solution. Lubricating - I often put a drop of oil on my fingers and lube the needle before storage. You can also put a drop in the trigger hole. I don't know how if it helps but figure it doesn't hurt. Airbrushes are pretty simple machines. If you don't bend the needle or the nozzle, it will work for a long long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR KNOW IT ALL KIND OF Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Lacquer Thinner... I get some glass Mason canning jars out and dump some Lacquer Thinner in the Glass Jar. You can put the lid on it after you done and save the Lacquer for next week...plus you kill the smell... Then I put the tip and the needle in the jar and pour some lacquer in the paint cup on the gun and let it drip out slowly into the jar.. I wipe off the needle with a paper towel and put the tip back in the gun.. then I put the needle back in and slowly let the lacquer to continue to drip out while I move the needle back and forth with my hand.. you will see alot of paint junk come out of the gun even when you thought it was clean if you use water base paint. Soon the drip will start to really flow out and you know your tip is good and clean along with your gun. I also get a small brush and clean out the cup and wipe it out with chemical wipes.. I dont care how much you clean it during the day or between colors with water, windex, alcohol etc.... small amounts dry up in the gun as days and weeks go by and over time cause problems. Might not be a problem for others that dont use water base paints but it is for me.. I do this once a week or before Im about about ready to lay some paint on a bunch of lures at one time. I also oil my needle and moving parts once or 2 twice per month. A happy gun is a clean gun. I dont recommend soaking your gun over night in Lacquer thinner because you have some rubber seals that it might hurt or damage over time..and nobody like to blow a seal...ask anyone... It does a great job bringing a difficult gun back to life or like Brand NEW again! Good Luck The Rookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted October 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Bobp, Thanks for conforming the backwashing. I Googled "airbrush cleaning" last night and they talked about backwashing the gun, it really worked well, i just wasn't a 100% sure it was good for it. Rookie Thanks for the tip on Lacquer Thinner. i really haven't used it enough yet to worry about it but i will make sure i give it a good cleaning with Lacquer every few uses to make sure i keep it nice and clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 So backwashing is done w/ the needle removed and your finger over the tip? Is it the air that is backwashed into the cup? Stupid ? I know ... I've cleaned my AB every other way but have never backwashed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted October 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I left the needle in when i was backwashing mine. Should i have taken it out? I just put water in the cup and held my finger over the front and air pushed the paint up in the water. Hope that was correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Needle in, needle out. Either way. I backwash between colors so leave the needle in, but take the needle out at the end of the session before backwashing. Solvents like lacquer thinner, acetone are fine for metal parts but they will damage the small rubber O rings in your air control valve and they can harm the packing in some older brushes do not use solvent resistant packing in the barrel behind the paint cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker085 Posted October 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Thanks. I pulled the needle tonight when I was cleaning it and it worked way better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
