So I discovered I’ve been cleaning my airbrush wrong for 10+ years

[ScottsGT]

Yesterday I did a YouTube search of Iwata HP-CS cleaning out of boredom.  Glad I did. I’ve always removed the back of the handle, loosened the needle nut and pulled it out the back to clean it. And I was wondering why it was getting gummed up and hard to pull out. 🤡

Removing the nozzle and pulling it out the front doesn’t wipe all the paint off the needle and pack it into the back half of the airbrush.  I feel so much like a maroon now. 
 

When in doubt, YouTube it! 

[belugawhaleman]

26 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:

Yesterday I did a YouTube search of Iwata HP-CS cleaning out of boredom.  Glad I did. I’ve always removed the back of the handle, loosened the needle nut and pulled it out the back to clean it. And I was wondering why it was getting gummed up and hard to pull out. 🤡

Removing the nozzle and pulling it out the front doesn’t wipe all the paint off the needle and pack it into the back half of the airbrush.  I feel so much like a maroon now. 
 

When in doubt, YouTube it! 

Oh well, ...live and learn. I have an Iwata Hi-line Hp-bh and cleaning the needle requires

removing the nozzle..... A tiny thing, with a special tool. I'm always afraid I'll lose that

nozzle...or strip the threads! But that's the way to do it best.

[Martinnfb]

Ultrasonic cleaner anybody ?

 

 

 

[ScottsGT]

I’ve heard pros and cons about using ultrasonic cleaners on airbrushes.  FWIW, I have a very high end cleaner in my shed.  They were tossing it out at work and I volunteered to carry it to the dumpster.  
 

I might give it a shot.  

[JohnB]

Whew! I'll stick with my old easy to clean and use Paasche H. LOL

[ScottsGT]

40 minutes ago, JohnB said:

Whew! I'll stick with my old easy to clean and use Paasche H. LOL

Whaaatt?  A single stage siphon airbrush?  You can’t build/paint models with that.  You gotta have the latest and greatest whiz bang triple stage pressurized gravity feed airless 400 psi gun to do it the right way.  
 

[JohnB]

1 hour ago, ScottsGT said:

Whaaatt?  A single stage siphon airbrush?  You can’t build/paint models with that.  You gotta have the latest and greatest whiz bang triple stage pressurized gravity feed airless 400 psi gun to do it the right way.  
 

LOL And I've been doing it wrong all this time! 🙃

[HubertB]

13 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

Ultrasonic cleaner anybody ?

 

 

 

Me !

(plus you can also propose SWMBO to clean-up her jewellery - not with the same solvents, obviously)

Hubert

[k5ikl]

2 hours ago, JohnB said:

Whew! I'll stick with my old easy to clean and use Paasche H. LOL

Me to John.  

[Bill_S]

On 10/28/2022 at 11:28 PM, Martinnfb said:

Ultrasonic cleaner anybody ?

 

 

 

I got an ultrasonic cleaner a couple of years ago; it's been a game changer! I also have an old Badger 350 single action siphon feed airbrush. It's dedicated to spraying Mr. Surfacer. No way am I spraying abrasive granite particles through my Iwata.

[GazzaS]

On 10/30/2022 at 12:20 AM, JohnB said:

Whew! I'll stick with my old easy to clean and use Paasche H. LOL

C'mon man.  Even Paul Budzik says it's more of a museum piece.

[GazzaS]

On 10/29/2022 at 1:28 PM, Martinnfb said:

Ultrasonic cleaner anybody ?

 

 

 

I have one.  But I have heard you can overdo it with them.

[JohnB]

32 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

C'mon man.  Even Paul Budzik says it's more of a museum piece.

LOL I'm not interested in what Paul Budzik or anyone else says, I'm sticking with my "museum piece". I have two other "museum pieces" I rarely use, a Paasche F and a Binks.

[GazzaS]

On 10/29/2022 at 12:32 PM, ScottsGT said:

Yesterday I did a YouTube search of Iwata HP-CS cleaning out of boredom.  Glad I did. I’ve always removed the back of the handle, loosened the needle nut and pulled it out the back to clean it. And I was wondering why it was getting gummed up and hard to pull out. 🤡

Removing the nozzle and pulling it out the front doesn’t wipe all the paint off the needle and pack it into the back half of the airbrush.  I feel so much like a maroon now. 
 

When in doubt, YouTube it! 

In 6 months, will you come back and let us now how this new information has improved your modelling results and modelling experience?

[ScottsGT]

52 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

In 6 months, will you come back and let us now how this new information has improved your modelling results and modelling experience?

Gladly!  And I might even give the ultrasonic cleaner a whirl too.

[belugawhaleman]

I have three Paasche  H's , one for each nozzle size. A very useful 'brush! Great for

flat & clear coating, base coating, putting on primer and most likely, the airbrush I'll

use for painting the Tamiya Monkey I recently purchased. A great, simple, design

that's been around for decades.....and for good reason! As for cleaning, I've been

using Tamiya's airbrush cleaner.....O.K. It's probably repurposed glue, but it works!

Drop some in your airbrush's color cup, swish a bit with a large, soft paint brush, spray

at high air pressure until the cup is empty....... and hey presto....you're ready for the next

color! Works for me! Anyway, about the ultrasonic cleaner...probably not necessary, but

hey, an excuse for a new gadget....always cool. Incidentally, I've found that those little

dental brushes work well for cleaning my Iwata hi-line Hp-bh airbrush. After removing

the frightfully tiny nozzle, I use one of these brushes with a little Tamiya airbrush cleaner

to clean the tube the nozzle screws into....works a treat! Needless to say I use 3.5 magnification eye ware headset to do this.....that damn nozzle... It's tiny!

 

[CANicoll]

I think I saw the same YouTube video a while ago.  I sent my HP-CS back to Iwata for a rebuild (after about a dozen years of use!).  That's when I found out about pushing the needle, not pulling it out of the back.  No problems since then!  I also have the trigger-Grex which I love for camo work. and an H&S that is supposed to be able to paint a line as thin as a hair.  I just never seem to NEED a paint line as thin as a hair.  So 90% of the time I use the Iwata, the rest the Grex.

I've heard the ultrasonic cleaners really get the airbrushes clean.  Maybe one day...

[Winnie]

I've always been told to never pull the needle out the front though. Even the pro's that paint full size stuff pull the needle from the back? There is a bushing that sits in the front that is fragile...

Anyway, I have an Iwata HP-CS and a Neo, the Eclipse I use a "tripple action handle" which makes the pulling of the needle a breeze. 

[belugawhaleman]

21 minutes ago, Winnie said:

I've always been told to never pull the needle out the front though. Even the pro's that paint full size stuff pull the needle from the back? There is a bushing that sits in the front that is fragile...

Anyway, I have an Iwata HP-CS and a Neo, the Eclipse I use a "tripple action handle" which makes the pulling of the needle a breeze. 

The eclipse is a great 'brush...I have several of them, some over 20 years old...

..pull the needle from the front...easier to do that way. A couple of years ago I

Rebuilt them by purchasing new parts where needed....easy to do and really...not

too cost prohibitive. I now have essentially new eclipse airbrushes. I've since

moved on ..a..little bit to Iwata's "better" airbrushes... My skills probably haven't improved,

but I decided to make the move......Iwata makes great products... And I'll remain very

loyal to the brand.

 

 

[CANicoll]

2 hours ago, Winnie said:

I've always been told to never pull the needle out the front though. Even the pro's that paint full size stuff pull the needle from the back? There is a bushing that sits in the front that is fragile...

Anyway, I have an Iwata HP-CS and a Neo, the Eclipse I use a "tripple action handle" which makes the pulling of the needle a breeze. 

The Iwata rep told me to pull it out from the front, but to insert the (clean) needle from the back to avoid damaging the teflon washer that is keeps the paint from getting into the body.  The thinking is the square end of the needle could damage the washer.  Why they don't taper it, is beyond me...  Honestly, anymore I load the needle from the front after I clean it.  Carefully and slowly, but have not seen any adverse effects so far.

[GazzaS]

Unless someone proves to me the superior benefit of front extraction, I’ll stick to the rear pull.  The thought of losing that tiny part, or stripping it out is more than I want to deal with every time I paint.

[ScottsGT]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Unless someone proves to me the superior benefit of front extraction, I’ll stick to the rear pull.  The thought of losing that tiny part, or stripping it out is more than I want to deal with every time I paint.

Paint build up on the front half of needle will deposit onto the seals behind the trigger and into the guide gumming it up inside as it is retracted out the back.  
I was experiencing the needle hanging up over time and wondering what the heck was going on.  It was to the point I needed pliers to grip the back of the needle to pull it out.  I knew that wasn’t right, so I looked into cleaning and rebuilding.   Once I saw the video, it was like a lightbulb went off.  
I flushed out the needle guide with thinner and closely examined my air cap and related parts since they didn’t always get a deep cleaning and I had all kinds of buildup in everything. 
I do like the idea of reinserting from the back.   I’ll stick to that method. 

[belugawhaleman]

3 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:

Paint build up on the front half of needle will deposit onto the seals behind the trigger and into the guide gumming it up inside as it is retracted out the back.  
I was experiencing the needle hanging up over time and wondering what the heck was going on.  It was to the point I needed pliers to grip the back of the needle to pull it out.  I knew that wasn’t right, so I looked into cleaning and rebuilding.   Once I saw the video, it was like a lightbulb went off.  
I flushed out the needle guide with thinner and closely examined my air cap and related parts since they didn’t always get a deep cleaning and I had all kinds of buildup in everything. 
I do like the idea of reinserting from the back.   I’ll stick to that method. 

I usually reinsert the needle from the back as well.

 

[ScottsGT]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:23 PM, GazzaS said:

In 6 months, will you come back and let us now how this new information has improved your modelling results and modelling experience?

Well, I’m digging this one up before I forget about it.  Just wanted to report back that since I’ve been following this new cleaning procedure my airbrush has been working flawlessly for me with the exception of one tiny lesson learned.  
I was doing my typical cleaning and the shoot a drop of clean lacquer thinner through it and I was getting bubbling in the cup like I was back feeding it with my finger. 
Closer inspection revealed that there was a buildup of paint on the body of the airbrush in the tapered hole up front where the brass nozzle sits. It would not seat into the taper.  Quick dab of lacquer thinner on a pipe cleaner fixed it. 
Clean up time has been cut in half now that I have this technique down pat and no more slow build up of crud due to pulling the needle out the back.  

I still need to get some of the micro cleaning brushes though.  I do know I have some paint build up behind the cup where the needle goes through.  I still have not pulled the ultrasonic cleaner out of storage. 

[GazzaS]

6 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

 

I still need to get some of the micro cleaning brushes though.  I do know I have some paint build up behind the cup where the needle goes through.  I still have not pulled the ultrasonic cleaner out of storage. 

Let me know if you find some that can stand up to lacquer thinner.  I bought some, but after a few seconds of lacquer thinner, they start to melt.