How To Clean An Air Brush

[mark poulson]

It's really pretty simple, and I can clean my brush between coats or colors in about a half a minute.
I use an Iwata two stage gravity brush 95% of the time, and this is how I clean it.
Before I started using this method, it was 50/50 that I would have to shoot some acetone through my brush before I could use it again, and maybe even soak the nozzle parts in it.
But this method has made cleaning a breeze, and I seldom need to run acetone through my brush anymore.
Basically, I wanted a way to backflush my brush quickly and completely, and to avoid the paint in the nozzle from drying out between coats. 
I have a tupperware next to my work bench, with a cheap plastic artists brush in it.
After I spray a color, or when I've finished with whatever paint is in the brush, before I heat set the paint on the bait, I put my air brush into the water so both the tip and the cup are underwater, and shoot a burst of air through it, to get the paint in the brush out, and to keep the paint in the nozzle from setting up. Then I hang it over the edge of the tupperware, so the nozzle is still underwater, and the cup, too, depending on how much water is in the tupperware. That keeps the nozzle and cup wet, so any paint left in them won't dry and become a problem
Then I can take the time to heat set the bait properly.
Once the bait is dried, I go back to the brush to clean it more thoroughly.
I hold the air brush so the nozzle and cup are underwater completely, cover the nozzle with my index finger, and backflush the brush for five seconds. Then I loosen the nozzle a little, and back flush again. This cleans the tiny paint holes in the nozzle. 
I retighten the nozzle, use the artist's brush to clean out the cup and the nozzle, and backflush again. 
Once I've finished my painting session, I follow the same procedure.
Then I pull the needle out, wipe it off, and put it back in and shoot a little water with dish washing liquid in it (a small squirt in a 12oz. spray bottle) through the brush to give it a final cleaning. I work the needle back and forth a couple of times to get the cleaning mixture into the needle channel, and to loosen any last paint that might have found it's way into the channel. Then I shoot the last of the mixture out through the brush.
I think the water/detergent mix leaves a little lubricant in the needle channel so the brush is ready to go next time, but I always shoot some of the same mix through the brush at the beginning of each session, too, to be sure the brush is moving easily. If it's at all sticky, I put some acetone in the cup and back flush the same way, and that usually frees up anything that is sticky.
I hold the airbrush in my right hand, and use my left to cover the nozzle for all the back flushing.
I use a blue nitrile glove on my left, non-airbrush hand because I hold the bait in it while I'm painting, so it's easy to put my left index finger over the nozzle for back flushing. 
If you have a brush with an exposed needle, like a Badger, you can't use this method.
I buy my gloves at CVS or Riteaid, and they last a long time. I'm still on my first box, and have only used three gloves all year.
I am careful to get all the extra water out from around the trigger, or at least to be sure and flush that area out, too.
Dirty water in the trigger area is the biggest drawback to my system, so I always start out with a fresh tupperware of clean water, and make sure there's no water sitting in the trigger area when I'm done, by shaking the brush after I'm done.
It took longer to type these instructions than it does to clean with this method.
Plus, you don't spend a fortune on cleaning solution, which is really just soap and water anyway, and you keep the nozzle from getting dry paint buildup between coats and colors.
Some colors, like black, red, blue, and orange, are really strong, so I take a little extra time after shooting them to clean the nozzle and the needle.
But most transparent colors, for the most part, aren't as big an issue as opaques, and I don't have to clean the needle at all before the next coat or color.
Play around with it, and I'm sure you'll develop a system that works for you.
Good luck.

• Rep