Don't you hate it when...

[RallyRaider]

You go to use your airbrush, only to realise you forgot to clean it after you last used it? As a result you have to dissasemble the whole thing and spend up to half an hour cleaning out the crusty bits.

[tonioseven]

I hate it when that happens!!

[935k3]

That is one reason I love my Crescendo(Badger 175). It almost never needs cleaning. I cannot say that about others I own or have owned. Something about it's design just doesn't let paint buildup in it. It's just a really good all around workhorse of an airbrush.

[BRM]

I wish I hated that feeling...I don't own an airbrush...yet. After the wedding maybe I'll be able to afford one.

[Vric]

that happened to me only one time.. since, my airbrush is unusable and i need to get a new one...

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by Vric

that happened to me only one time.. since, my airbrush is unusable and i need to get a new one...

Unusable??!! No airbrush is uncleanable. What model do you have? I'd easily bet the cost of a new airbrush that if your problem is paint clogging, it can be fixed! The short answer is that laquer thinner or acetone will soften anything you're likely to have used in your airbrush, so that it can be removed (with the possible exception of epoxy paint- but then again, that's not something you're likey to have sprayed).

What do you have?

[MPWR]

And to answer the original question- the thing that drives me nuts is the rare occasions that I switch from spraying acrylics to laquers! When spraying acylics, I find my badger doesn't need to be spotless- but if I then spray a laquer- (like, say MM metalizer, or the like) the laquer thinner will dissolve enough residual dried acrylic that I get dried paint particles sprayed out with the paint. DAMNIT!! Hafta remember, always clean it thouroughly before using laquers....

[mike@af]

I hate doing the monthly cleaning. After a month of use I strip the entire thing down run parts through the dish washer. It takes up a whole weekend.

[Howielong]

I never have that problem. Because i don't use an airbrush. My father has one somewhere in the basment.

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by 935k3

That is one reason I love my Crescendo(Badger 175). It almost never needs cleaning. I cannot say that about others I own or have owned. Something about it's design just doesn't let paint buildup in it. It's just a really good all around workhorse of an airbrush.

Yeah, I have one also and it's very low maintenance, I just run some clean lacquer thinner through it after I paint with it no matter what kind of paint that I used.

[tpliquid]

i stop using airbrush. itz all abuot the cans now! btw any1 kno wheer to buy the heads for the cans? i saw some on tv. they have ones that shoot narrow some shoot wide. etc.

[Layla's Keeper]

I have a Paasche double action that's nearly indestructable. It needs cleaning every now and again, but that's just a matter of spraying a jar of lacquer thinner through it.

Now the Aztek my dad bought, that's a piece of bonafide crap.

[RallyRaider]

Normally my Iwata is easy to clean, just spray a couple of cupfuls of thinner through it. The instructions also suggest you place your finger over the tip while spraying the tinner. Doing so forces air back into the internals and helps clean the paint off the needle and nozzle.

However on the occasion that inspired this thread, I left a few mm of paint in the bottom of the cup! Said paint welded the needle in and even gummed up the air trigger. So for the first time I had to pull everything apart and clean it with lacquer thinners. Happily after doing so it is as good as new. Had the brush for getting on a year and it is the first time I've had to do this. Not too bad a track record!

[lotus_man]

My solution is to use an Aztec A470. It's not the best brush in the world, but it's very easy to clean, and because the head is small and easy to change if one does get clogged beyond fixing it's quite easy to repolace. Plus I can keep a head for Acrylics, one for LAquers and one for enamels...