Thinners through AB

Hello again everyone,

I know there are countless threads about airbrushing paints and thinners etc and after using the search function and reading through a lot, I'm still rather confused about which thinners I should use. I've just made my purchase on that starter kit I talked about in an earlier thread, and am trying to decide which thinners to buy for cleaning it.

After reading through all those search results, I'm still slightly unsure which thinners I'll need. Some people say Mr. Hobby, automotive laquers, Zero, Tamiya thinners...there's just so much choice!

I'm basically planning on using the highly-praised Zero paints as basecoats, and am thinking of buying "Zero Airbrush Cleaner" to deal with it, but would it be strong enough to clean out Alclad Chrome? I heard I needed the cellulose thinner for it. Also, am I right in saying that for cleaning my AB after use, I should shoot thinner through to clear out the paint, then shoot water to clear out the thinner? Oh, and would the Zero Airbrush Cleaner be able to clean out TS-13? I'm assuming I'll be able to use it for TS-13 and the rest of the Tamiya sprays (will try to decant).

Thanks a lot guys.

Kev

If you are cleaning your airbrush after painting with acrylics (eg Tamiya, Vallejo etc) use Mr Muscle household spray cleaner just poured into the cup and spray through 2-3 times, pull out the needle and wipe it clean with the same stuff.

If you are cleaning after Zero paints do the same but with cheap automotive thinners or cellulose thinners form your local DIY store. This will also clean Alclad .

If you are cleaning after using enamels, use white spirits.

IMHO buying anything labelled "airbrush cleaner" is a waste of good money. Cheap cleaners combined with a regular and thorough cleaning regime is more than enough.

Hardware store lacquer thinner is cheap and very, very effective for cleaning airbrushes and just about anything else, including bristle brushes, tools and spilled lacquers, enamels and acrylics. (It will also ruin painted surfaces and the plastic most models are made of, so be careful with it. And it smells fairly strong; my wife hates it. I always close the door before I use it.)

I always keep a large siphon-equipped bottle of it on hand, so no matter what paint I'm spraying, I run some lacquer thinner through my airbrush before and after every session.

BTW, I don't see any reason to run water through your brush after you've cleared it out with lacquer thinner. Water takes longer to dry, and it leaves a residue.

Ddms

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. As for the water, I just assumed the laquer would end up leaving a slightly sticky residue (like a thinned down Future). But if you say I don't need to then great. I'll be on the lookout for some cheap thinners then. Oh, and I didn't realise Mr. Muscle was strong enough for cleaning out paint, lol. Thanks again.

As for the water, I just assumed the laquer would end up leaving a slightly sticky residue (like a thinned down Future).
Lacquer thinner! It leaves very little residue, never a problem. But water, unless it's distilled, is full of sediment. You don't want that stuff in your paint.

Ddms

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. As for the water, I just assumed the laquer would end up leaving a slightly sticky residue (like a thinned down Future). But if you say I don't need to then great. I'll be on the lookout for some cheap thinners then. Oh, and I didn't realise Mr. Muscle was strong enough for cleaning out paint, lol. Thanks again.
I just buy the cheapest I can... around 6.50us per gallon.
I use lacquer thinner when cleaning my AB no matter what paint was used.
If its oil based then just lacquer thinner.
If its water based then a couple runs of Windex during color change and then a couple runs of Windex and final run of lacquer thinner when cleaning out the AB when I'm done with painting for at least a couple hours.

The only difference of lacquer thinner and comercial AB cleaners is that the AB cleaner works faster... but not fast enough to warrent the price tag.