Author: José Albiac

Every hobby has its cleaning work, but few are so critics as the airbrush cleaning. The dry paint in the delicate airbrush can ruin the next painting work or, still worse, destroy the same airbrush. Clean the airbrush after each painting session. The cleaning with thinner is recommendable because it dissolves all type of dry paints, but does not leave too much in contact with the compression ring or rubber o-rings, because attacks the rubber. Use it absorbed in a cotton swab, a pipes cleaner or simply with paper napkins, and uses solely toothpicks to remove dry paint; if you uses wires or another metallic object will enlarge the orifices and will line the metal of the apparatus.

Quartering of a simple action airbrush 

The first step in the cleaning of any airbrush is to flow clean thinner through it; fill the paint jar or bottle and do flow; soon disconnects the paint jar. Unscrew the paint nozzle completely and soon retires the adjustment nut. Push the paint tip outside his assembly, and soon removes the nozzle. The Photo A sample a typical airbrush of simple action disarmed.

Wet a cotton swab in thinner and carefully cleans the tip and the paint nozzle. The nozzle is fragile, so dont force the cleaning utensil within it. A firm but careful circular movement remove the dry paint of its interior. A cotton swab enters perfectly in the paint channel of the tip (Photo B).

Clean the siphon-tube of the paint jar or bottle with thinner, and soon with cotton or a paper napkin makes the same with the own jar or bottle. The compression ring (o-ring) within the nozzle also needs cleaning. This is inserted behind the retention nut and contains the paint so that don’t flow by the nozzle thread. Unscrew the retention nut and remove the rubber ring (Photo C).

Clean it well and put again in its place. Clean with thinner any paint splash that sees in the air nozzle. Now you can arm the airbrush again. Place the paint nozzle within the air nozzle, followed by the tip; dont force it because can enlarge the orifice of the nozzle. Screw the adjustment nut, put in its place the paint jar or bottle and is ready to use it again. 

Quartering of a double action airbrush

The double action airbrush is more complicated and, consequently, its cleaning is more difficult (Photo D) .

First, unscrews the airbrush tail to leave at sight the retaining or needle stop. Unscrew the air nozzle now and soon it unscrews the paint nozzle with a tool. The nozzle threads are very fine and they can be easily damaged, so do it carefully. Also retire carefully the needle, is very fine and is damaged easily. Clean the needle with a cotton cloth absorbed in thinner (Photo E).

 and soon cleans the paint nozzle with a pipes cleaner, cotton swab or similar (Photo F).

Take off the retention nut of the needle and throw backwards this one until frees the paint conduit. Clean this conduit with a cotton swab. Review that the air nozzle dont have paint spots, if it had clean it, as well as the paint jar or bottle. Now can arm it again. Screw the paint and air nozzles. Advance the needle carefully until the end makes top in the nozzle. Be sure that the drive button is totally towards ahead. Soon tightens the retention nut of the needle and screw the airbrush tail. Finally, verifies that the drive button moves the needle smooth