Airbrush cleaning

[Young Salt]

I'm still new to painting with the airbrush, and i'm finding it takes me forever to clean the gun in between colour changes and once i'm finished.
what i do is remove the colour cup, and wipe inside as good as i can.
Then i take a q-tip to the insides of both the cup and the gun, being careful not do hit the needle.
After that i put the cup back on and try to flush out the rest of the paint with the cleaning solution. I also put my fingers over the cup and the front of the brush and shoot some air & cleaner at the same time. (instructions said to do it) this is where it takes me a lot of time and solution.

What am i doing wrong how do you guys do it?

[Christian]

you got a double action?

the way i change colors is.... with a single action brush

as soon as im done with the color i take the cup off the bursh and put it under the sink and send a jet of warm water into it. this takes basically all of the paint out. im using createx so it comes out easy. the water rushing into the cup usually is enough to clear out the little tube on the cup the paint goes up. just keep doing that until the cup is clean.

ok... then i disconnect my airbrush from the airhose and take it to the sink. i have a single action brush so i just unscrew the paint nozzle to its most open position and run it under the water till it comes out clean. sort of hard to explain but eh.

for a total cleaning (once the brush starts getting clogged n' stuff) i just dismantle the brush and put the pieces that come into contact with paint in createx cleaning solution. clear clogged holes with a tooth pic etc.

double action brushes i think are much more of a pain. IMO

try to do your paiting in batches too to keep color changes to a min. itll save paint too in the long run.

im guessin you have a double action because of the needle reference so atleast you can see how i clean my cup. i think using the sink is key to doing it fast, just use a piece of screen over the drain, and try to keep the valve dry. (put your finger over it)

i got to go put some red in some popper mouths now.

[Young Salt]

yes, i have a paashe dual action airbrush, but i'm using createx paint so i will try flushing the cup in the sink.
I've been trying to start with the lightest colours first, then going to the darker shades, so if the is any residue it won't be too noticeable...the biggest pains are going from a pearl or iridescent colour to a opaque or transparent....the glitter is tough to flush.

[PNG]

409

[Young Salt]

gotta try that one too...do you just spray it through like you would the paint?

[PNG]

Yes.

I use aQtip to remove most of the paint in the tube where the cup (or fast blast cap) goes in before rinsing out otherwise residual paint will come out forever. Also a quick wipe of the needle pulled out from the front.

Badger
Iwata
Both double action siphon

[MAC]

Have a clean bucket of water nearby. After painting stick airbrush into bucket and let water clean it for you, takes about 30 seconds. I then remove airbrush and let clear water pass through gun.

[capesams]

like newlly said,,5 gal bucket of water. I dunk the whole gun, never take it apart till the very end, then when I'm all done sprayin ,I take the gun apart an leave the parts in a glass full of windex....that's when I was using laytex paints.....oil is a whole different story.

[Adam R]

With acrylics, between coats, I use an eye dropper and warm water. Remove the color cup, hold the paint valve full open and squirt about 3 dropper fulls of water through the gun. Usually works good.