cleaning your airbrush

[tracey louise]

hi,ive recently bought the sim air tc2000 compressor and the evolution airbrush and im unsure of cleaning it.ive got some cleaning fluid but it says about filling up a 15ml bottle and then attaching it to the airbrush and flushing it through.anyway i understand that its just that i dont have the 15ml bottle to attach so is there another way that is safe for me to clean it properly between colours etc...?
i really want to use it but i dont want to untill i know what i need and how to clean it properly,so can someone please help me.:cry: thanks

 

[Isabella]

Hi Tracey, I have used an airbrush for a while and I rinse out my airbrush with water from a spray bottle and strip the brush down as best as possibe and clean the needle etc with the cleaning fluid, I then put the gun together and rinse out with the cleaning fluid until the fluid runs clear. Some paints can block your gun up more than others, so it is important to clean the gun out thoroughly after every use. Water based paints I find are great takes less time to flush out of your gun, just don't allow any paint to dry in your gun. I am no expert, it's just what I do myself and how I was taught.

 

[Susie H]

Hi Tracey, I have used an airbrush for a while and I rinse out my airbrush with water from a spray bottle and strip the brush down as best as possibe and clean the needle etc with the cleaning fluid, I then put the gun together and rinse out with the cleaning fluid until the fluid runs clear. Some paints can block your gun up more than others, so it is important to clean the gun out thoroughly after every use. Water based paints I find are great takes less time to flush out of your gun, just don't allow any paint to dry in your gun. I am no expert, it's just what I do myself and how I was taught.

Yep thats what I do to.:lol: I got the dvd from essential nails and its very clear on how to clean, use and maintain your brush as well as covering all the basics.

 

[Louise Manby]

Hi, cleaning your airbrush is very very important and very hard for people to get right (strangely enough?). Anyway I dont use the cleaner that they provide (alcohol) as it thickens the paint and then theres no way you can get it out! Very annoying. I fill up a bottle with a little bit of window cleaner, or washing up liquid (just a little)and then fill it with water. Water is the best cleaner for cleaning in between colours or when you are cleaning it after using colour. You can only use the alcohol cleaner AFTER you have cleaned out all the paint. You can soak the parts in it overnight for a proper clean. But I dont do this (a-I'm lazy and b- I dont need to as I clean the airbrush properly anyway). I Always leave the little paint feeder/cup on the airbrush filled with water. Any paint left that gets dry will eventually cause a blockage.
Techniques on cleaning
1 - spray out any colour left after airbrushing before putting water in it. Shaking it/flicking it is a good way to make all the paint in the barrel come to the nozzle and therefore more paint will come out
2 - Put water in and spray out
3 - Put more water in and cover the end with your finger or cotton pad and do a 'spray back'. Basically you are rinsing the inside of the barrel. The cup will bubble from the water being sprayed back.
4 - empty water and fill again and spray out until water is clean or near enough
5 - shaking/flicking the airbrush is a good technique to use when you are changing colour as it gets more of the previous colour out. A good tip when airbrushing is to start with the lighter colours and go darker as then you dont have to clean the colour out completely in between colours. You can even just spray out the rest of the colour and then put your darker colour in, you wont see the previous colour as its lighter.
6 - leave the airbrush with water in it.
7 - regularly take off the nozzle cap and clean it and the hole that the needle comes out through. Sometimes a tiny bit of dried paint will be in that hole (miniscule...only fleas can see it) but it will stop the paint coming out properly. I remove it with the tip of the needle.
8 - Regularly clean the needle
If you ever try to clear the tiny nozzle itself (with the tip of the needle) be very careful as if it gets cracked/split you will have to buy a new one. Its good to keep a couple of spares around. Im not sure what your airbrush looks like but I think most of this will be relevant.

 

[tracey louise]

thanks for all the replies ive had so far,they've been very helpful.would still love some more info as you can never have to much.thanks again everyone you've been a great help.

 

[tracey louise]

do you all use water out of the tap? as my instructions say to use distilled water.also is it ok to put water in where you put the paint in,is that how you flush the colour through?

 

[Louise Manby]

do you all use water out of the tap? as my instructions say to use distilled water.also is it ok to put water in where you put the paint in,is that how you flush the colour through?

I use tap water and yes I put it in the same way I would do paint

 

[tracey louise]

I use tap water and yes I put it in the same way I would do paint

thanks louise,i did buy some distilled water yesterday just to be safe as i so badly wanted to use it.