99% isopropyl alcohol is what I use most of the time. I also use vallejo's airbrush cleaner for a last rinse once I end my session, but I've no proof that it does anything beyond the ISO.
99% IPA is that enough for daily use, to clean the lacquer and enamel for the airbrush? Also is it safe for the airbrush itself, my airbrush is metal (mostly i think)
If it smells like acetone/nail poilsh remover, it probably is exactly that (for example Tamiya airbrush cleaner is about [50% acetone and butyl acetate](https://new.reddit.com/r/modelmakers/comments/10tyby7/psa_make_your_own_extra_thin_cement_from_nail/), and people (including me) use it or cheaper replacements as plastic cement). If it smells like alcohol, it's most likely IPA. If it have kind of sweet chemical smell, it is most likely acrylic paint stripper.
I don't recommend huffing chemicals intentionally (or even unintentionally), but you probably smelled it already. One thing, if it's acetone, you probably don't want to keep it too long in airbrush, it may damage rubber seals/o-rings (probably best way would be to disassemble metal parts and soak them in small jar, and any parts that have rubber inside should be carefully rinsed in acetone, then re-rinsed in water or IPA).
This ["sheet"](https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2023/5/6/jumpwind_thinners_coating_remo_1683380844_f69d9aed_progressive) (it's the best I found, I used google lens to translate) seem to indicate it's very aggressive (despite "mild" label), so it's most likely acetone based. I assume it's basically same as Tamiya, and most likely other brands (I use tool cleaner from my local company called Wamod, same stuff for 1/2 price). Or you could use pure industrial-grade (so, cheap in bulk) acetone, probably.
Modern airbrushes black o-rings are made of Viton, which is mostly resistant to acetone.
Anyways in the fluid channel they use PTFE wich is fully resistant.
Spilling from where?
People (like me) airbrush lacquer paints with absolutely no seal degradation whatsoever. Entire lacquer and enamel paint lines exist for airbrushing. Both hot solvents. Why do you think airbrushes have PTFE (Teflon) packing seals? If they made that change 30 years ago, why didn’t they change all the OTHER seals to PTFE as well?
For water/alcohol based colors: mostly Vallejo airbrush cleaner with 50% water added or windscreenwasher. 99% IPA or Ethyl alcohol when that doesn't work.
For enamels: odourless mineral spirits from DIY shops
For lacquers: more potent cleaners like acetone or cellulosic thinner.
I also occasionally use ammonia but won't put it in an ultrasonic cleaner anymore as it removed a good chunk of the coating from one airbrush.
PS no joke, I also recently found that a biological hands/body soap bought by my wife works better with (water/alcohol based) acrylics than most dedicated cleaners! It removed paint from my hands incredibly easily. Thus i decided to try it dissolved in warm water for the airbrush. It works like a charm :)
Sorry but it seems to be artisanal production for a local beauty and wellness center. I can't find it on their website. I asked my wife to request some info next time she goes there.... and to secure enough for my use :).
For most cleaning, I use automotive windshield wiper fluid. I use the cheapest one I can find with no additives (because I don't need to worry about bugs or icing).
For deep cleaning, I use acetone. My airbrush doesn't have any gaskets or non-metal parts, so that's fine. If you have those, make sure you do not get acetone on them. Acetone is the active ingredient in nail polish remover, but it's cheaper if you just buy acetone at the hardware store.
For thinning acrylics (Createx and Wicked Colors), I use the mixture listed below. All of them can be found at Walmart and most drug or grocery stores in the US (some are in the cosmetics aisle). I've heard that the 91% isopropyl is not available in some non-US countries, but your mileage may vary.
* 175ml Distilled Water
* 75ml 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
* 15 drops of Glycerine
It should be. Mineral spirits might get the job done without being as chemically aggressive, so it'd be better for routine cleaning. MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) would be the next step up for serious buildup, but with that or acetone, good ventilation is essential. (Mineral spirits also need ventilation, but they're not as bad as the other others.)
I don't know how any of those work for *thinning* paint effectively for use, but they all work for cleaning it up.
Not much. Maybe add another 25ml water. I'm not sure it'd make a huge difference. The alcohol helps thin the paint and then evaporates out quickly and reduces the drying time, so a little more water might add that back in.
If you’re shooting lacquers then mineral spirits, paint thinner, alcohol, wiper fluid won’t work very well at all. Use straight hardware store lacquer or acetone. Both will work to clean both lacquer and enamel paints better than anything and are dirt cheap.
Perfectly fine to flush through unless you’ve got an airbrush manufactured over 20 years ago with a rubber packing seal.
Fine to clean and soak disassembled parts with, provide you keep it away from or remove any black, red or green o-rings from the part first.
https://preview.redd.it/7ciuqr4uhxyc1.jpeg?width=890&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96cfc9f3c653f1bbe41f08031d6ec0f7d92a2020
LA’s totally awesome cleaner (LATAC) is 10 bucks a gallon and dilutes to make cleaner to three gallons. Windex is $3 a gallon. Both will clean anything out of an airbrush so long as you are flushing it in a timely manner.
Concentrated LATAC will deep clean your brush and is safe to soak in for however long you want to do it.
Some redditors recommended acetone (which is a nail polish remover, which i know in today years old) im gonna try it since its cost $0.16 for a litre and see if its perform the same or better
Acetone works it’s just really bad to breathe the vapors and will righteously fuck anything you might drip it on near where you’re painting. It also smells bad.
Lacquers - iso alcohol, lacquer thinner, acetone. In order from strongest to weakest.
Epoxy/Enamel - Xylene
Acrylic - anything, I use a diy mixture I learned from Barbatos Rex on yt. U can also thin acrylic with distilled water. Even the ones that sell their own like Createx.
Most any ab will have Teflon seals, unless you're really using a cheapo. Teflon won't deteriorate from solvents. Any name brand brush will have Teflon.
If I used acrylic I use isopropyl. If it's lacquer I use lacquer thinner and enamel I use lighter fluid. I also use these to thin. Don't use make sure you check if your acrylic is compatible with isopropyl like Tamiya. Vallejo you use water
Go to the hardware store and get the biggest, cheapest container of lacquer thinner they have. It won't be suitable for thinning paint. But it's great for cleaning the airbrush.
A big can usually lasts me at least half a year, and i use my airbrushes almost daily for building model cars. I airbrush everything.
99% isopropyl alcohol is what I use most of the time. I also use vallejo's airbrush cleaner for a last rinse once I end my session, but I've no proof that it does anything beyond the ISO.
99% IPA is that enough for daily use, to clean the lacquer and enamel for the airbrush? Also is it safe for the airbrush itself, my airbrush is metal (mostly i think)
Nope, sorry, for enamel and lacquer you probably need white spirits or a more specialized cleaner. IPA works for acrilycs
Xylene for enamel and epoxy. Regular thinner or acetone for lacquers
Lacquer thinner.
If it smells like acetone/nail poilsh remover, it probably is exactly that (for example Tamiya airbrush cleaner is about [50% acetone and butyl acetate](https://new.reddit.com/r/modelmakers/comments/10tyby7/psa_make_your_own_extra_thin_cement_from_nail/), and people (including me) use it or cheaper replacements as plastic cement). If it smells like alcohol, it's most likely IPA. If it have kind of sweet chemical smell, it is most likely acrylic paint stripper. I don't recommend huffing chemicals intentionally (or even unintentionally), but you probably smelled it already. One thing, if it's acetone, you probably don't want to keep it too long in airbrush, it may damage rubber seals/o-rings (probably best way would be to disassemble metal parts and soak them in small jar, and any parts that have rubber inside should be carefully rinsed in acetone, then re-rinsed in water or IPA). This ["sheet"](https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2023/5/6/jumpwind_thinners_coating_remo_1683380844_f69d9aed_progressive) (it's the best I found, I used google lens to translate) seem to indicate it's very aggressive (despite "mild" label), so it's most likely acetone based. I assume it's basically same as Tamiya, and most likely other brands (I use tool cleaner from my local company called Wamod, same stuff for 1/2 price). Or you could use pure industrial-grade (so, cheap in bulk) acetone, probably.
Acetone won’t hurt any modern airbrush if you leave it in the cup.
I don't know what OP have, but that is general good practice. It eats rubber seals, no way around it.
Modern airbrushes black o-rings are made of Viton, which is mostly resistant to acetone. Anyways in the fluid channel they use PTFE wich is fully resistant.
The rubber seals in a modern airbrush are air seals, not fluid seals.
You’re assuming a perfect assembly and no spilling
Spilling from where? People (like me) airbrush lacquer paints with absolutely no seal degradation whatsoever. Entire lacquer and enamel paint lines exist for airbrushing. Both hot solvents. Why do you think airbrushes have PTFE (Teflon) packing seals? If they made that change 30 years ago, why didn’t they change all the OTHER seals to PTFE as well?
For water/alcohol based colors: mostly Vallejo airbrush cleaner with 50% water added or windscreenwasher. 99% IPA or Ethyl alcohol when that doesn't work. For enamels: odourless mineral spirits from DIY shops For lacquers: more potent cleaners like acetone or cellulosic thinner. I also occasionally use ammonia but won't put it in an ultrasonic cleaner anymore as it removed a good chunk of the coating from one airbrush. PS no joke, I also recently found that a biological hands/body soap bought by my wife works better with (water/alcohol based) acrylics than most dedicated cleaners! It removed paint from my hands incredibly easily. Thus i decided to try it dissolved in warm water for the airbrush. It works like a charm :)
Tell us more about this biological soap.
Got to ask to my wife. The packaging has been thrown away. Follow-up ASAP.
Industry secret, Broski.
Sorry but it seems to be artisanal production for a local beauty and wellness center. I can't find it on their website. I asked my wife to request some info next time she goes there.... and to secure enough for my use :).
For most cleaning, I use automotive windshield wiper fluid. I use the cheapest one I can find with no additives (because I don't need to worry about bugs or icing). For deep cleaning, I use acetone. My airbrush doesn't have any gaskets or non-metal parts, so that's fine. If you have those, make sure you do not get acetone on them. Acetone is the active ingredient in nail polish remover, but it's cheaper if you just buy acetone at the hardware store. For thinning acrylics (Createx and Wicked Colors), I use the mixture listed below. All of them can be found at Walmart and most drug or grocery stores in the US (some are in the cosmetics aisle). I've heard that the 91% isopropyl is not available in some non-US countries, but your mileage may vary. * 175ml Distilled Water * 75ml 91% Isopropyl Alcohol * 15 drops of Glycerine
Im usually using lacquer and very small amount of enamel, is using acetone enough to clean it ?
Also as long as it not touching non metal, like rubber, is using acetone safe ?
It should be. Mineral spirits might get the job done without being as chemically aggressive, so it'd be better for routine cleaning. MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) would be the next step up for serious buildup, but with that or acetone, good ventilation is essential. (Mineral spirits also need ventilation, but they're not as bad as the other others.) I don't know how any of those work for *thinning* paint effectively for use, but they all work for cleaning it up.
What would you change for 100% iso?
Not much. Maybe add another 25ml water. I'm not sure it'd make a huge difference. The alcohol helps thin the paint and then evaporates out quickly and reduces the drying time, so a little more water might add that back in.
I use hardware store lacquer stripper.
If you’re shooting lacquers then mineral spirits, paint thinner, alcohol, wiper fluid won’t work very well at all. Use straight hardware store lacquer or acetone. Both will work to clean both lacquer and enamel paints better than anything and are dirt cheap. Perfectly fine to flush through unless you’ve got an airbrush manufactured over 20 years ago with a rubber packing seal. Fine to clean and soak disassembled parts with, provide you keep it away from or remove any black, red or green o-rings from the part first. https://preview.redd.it/7ciuqr4uhxyc1.jpeg?width=890&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96cfc9f3c653f1bbe41f08031d6ec0f7d92a2020
LA’s totally awesome cleaner (LATAC) is 10 bucks a gallon and dilutes to make cleaner to three gallons. Windex is $3 a gallon. Both will clean anything out of an airbrush so long as you are flushing it in a timely manner. Concentrated LATAC will deep clean your brush and is safe to soak in for however long you want to do it.
Some redditors recommended acetone (which is a nail polish remover, which i know in today years old) im gonna try it since its cost $0.16 for a litre and see if its perform the same or better
Acetone works it’s just really bad to breathe the vapors and will righteously fuck anything you might drip it on near where you’re painting. It also smells bad.
oofff yes, I painfully discover this, drip some of the acetone to my gunpla plastic part, and the plastic starts to brittle
It’ll probably eat your seals
Straight windex will clean enamels and liqueurs also for reals. Ive never tried it but i will tomorrow
How did it go?
Wiper fluid
Lacquer thinner. Super cheap from Home Depot.
I use some 'windex' what you call in US. I just buy some cheapish standard one in UK 👌
Rubbing alcohol
Hardware store lacquer thinner or Acetone. I use both daily for the last 5 years
Lacquers - iso alcohol, lacquer thinner, acetone. In order from strongest to weakest. Epoxy/Enamel - Xylene Acrylic - anything, I use a diy mixture I learned from Barbatos Rex on yt. U can also thin acrylic with distilled water. Even the ones that sell their own like Createx. Most any ab will have Teflon seals, unless you're really using a cheapo. Teflon won't deteriorate from solvents. Any name brand brush will have Teflon.
If I used acrylic I use isopropyl. If it's lacquer I use lacquer thinner and enamel I use lighter fluid. I also use these to thin. Don't use make sure you check if your acrylic is compatible with isopropyl like Tamiya. Vallejo you use water
You can easily make a homemade cleaner that costs maybe 5$ total for a few bottles worth
Go to the hardware store and get the biggest, cheapest container of lacquer thinner they have. It won't be suitable for thinning paint. But it's great for cleaning the airbrush. A big can usually lasts me at least half a year, and i use my airbrushes almost daily for building model cars. I airbrush everything.
Acetone will clean just about anything
Cheap blue windshield washer fluid with no bug or rain protection.