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Homebrew Airbrush Cleaner Question


Maxwellphillips

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Been looking around forums and videos at how people make their own airbrush cleaner, and I've seen a lot of people use Windex/Windolene for its ammonia content. Just wondering how feasible it would be to use something like Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF, or adblue etc), as that is basically just ammonia and water? It makes sense in my head at least... 

 

I guess it might also be useful for removing Klear/Future/Floor Polish/whatever it's called at this moment. 

 

I'm not planning on using it myself, as I don't own a diesel car, but would be interested if anyone else has tried it and had success? 

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Interesting, I hope someone has follow-up intel, as I need to find as am many home brew ideas as possible. I live in the Philippines, and most of my equipment must be ordered online, with shipping and duties, it makes most things cost prohibitive. Maybe we could start a pinned, with everything from brush cleaners, thinners (brand/type specific) as it is difficult to find all the tricks in one thread/topic stream.

 

Oh mountain top masters, please make it so!

 

Could be done like this :

Home brews for all your modelling needs

 

Homemade airbrush cleaners as a sub-menu

 

Home made thinners by paint company/type etc.

 

I let the higher ups sort out the details and break downs, as I am very new here and still have yet to sort out how things work, but I am getting there!

 

Anthony

 

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Your probably aware that  ammonia can damage the coating on your airbrush, though because you are only cleaning it and not soaking it for a long period it probably will not effect it.

 

Anyway for cleaning acrylic paint from my airburshes I use the following mixture:

 

25% Butyl Glycol

5% IPA

70% Deionized water

 

I usually add a few drop of Glycerin to it as well. This mixture will strip fully cured acrylic paint.

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On 14/04/2019 at 13:24, Tbolt said:

Your probably aware that  ammonia can damage the coating on your airbrush, though because you are only cleaning it and not soaking it for a long period it probably will not effect it.

 

Anyway for cleaning acrylic paint from my airburshes I use the following mixture:

 

25% Butyl Glycol

5% IPA

70% Deionized water

 

I usually add a few drop of Glycerin to it as well. This mixture will strip fully cured acrylic paint.

I use a really rough mix of isopropanol and deionised water, but I struggle to get dried paint off, normally leaves a little ring around where the surface of the paint was, even if I clean it as soon as I finish painting. Although a little bit of neat ipa tends to sort it out. What's butyl glycol for? 

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On 4/9/2019 at 11:45 AM, Maxwellphillips said:

guess it might also be useful for removing Klear/Future/Floor Polish/whatever it's called

I doubt it I've been using windex with ammonia for a year now. It didn't touch the future i used, so i stopped spraying my future. Lest i ruin my $225.00 Iwata.

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17 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

I doubt it I've been using windex with ammonia for a year now. It didn't touch the future i used, so i stopped spraying my future. Lest i ruin my $225.00 Iwata.

Ahh, good to know! I was planning on spraying pledge with mine, and had heard that windex etc will clean it up. Guess you didn't find a way of cleaning it, since you stopped? 

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17 minutes ago, Maxwellphillips said:

Guess you didn't find a way of cleaning it, since you stopped? 

Sadly no. I found no matter what i used the pledge/future gummed up the works. I would clean the A/B, then with my next session of painting i would get serious bubbling issues. I finally figured that out & stopped spraying the pledge/future. I used the windex with ammonia to thin the pledge as well. Once done i would run the windex 100% straight to clean up immediately after i was done. Then switch to a 50/50 mix of windex and water. Then straight water. The A/B always seemed clean until i tried to paint, then nothing but bubbles in the jar. In the end i opted to just give up. I will someday get myself a cheap Chinese knockoff A/B. Plans are to use that for future/pledge and clear coats only. Maybe you might have better luck but i couldn't get it to work. 

 

Dennis

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39 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Maybe you might have better luck but i couldn't get it to work.  

I have to admit, I am kind of surprised by this. When I first joined these forums, I kept reading about sprayed future this, dipped future that. For the first month, I wondered what the hell people were taking about, was it something they planed to do the next day? Seriously, I was very confused. Finally, I put two and two together and learned what future is. That said, pretty much everyone uses it. If future had this a/b effect, I would think that it would be thrown to the trash compactor and never heard of again. I also have read, many times in fact, how people brush it on with little problems, so that may be an alternative. Only one person I have ever talked to about future/pledge in detail, said that he never uses it for anything anymore. He said that it has a tendency to yellow over time. Since he does a lot of commission work, it is important for his models to remain yellow free, and that might be the motivation as well, but I cant say with certainty. I am troubled by that prospect though, it would suck to work so hard, hours, days, weeks, only to have your pride and joy, turn into a big yellow popsicle after a few years.

 

It's likely that you have already tried this, but I will write it anyway just in case. Have you asked some of the supermasters on here what they use to clean their a/b, or have you considered a post regarding your particular a/b combo, see if others using that same brush have the same experience, and if not, how they overcame any issues regarding bubbles in the pot?

 

It just seems to me that your experience goes counter to that of nearly everyone else on here, and all the other forums I have joined in the last year. Out of curiosity, what have you chosen to use in place of future? I am still on the fence about it anyway, because of the masters warnings. As for canopies, nothing beats a bit of micromesh, plastic polish and then a nice buffing using some flannel cloth apparently. Dipping is a shortcut with less pleasing results, again, according to the master. I have ZERO experience, since I am returning to modeling after a thirty year break, so I am basically starting over again, everything has changed.

 

Anthony

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29 minutes ago, Stalker6Recon said:

I also have read, many times in fact, how people brush it on

Hello Anthony... yes i just went back to brushing it. Ive always dipped my clear pieces. Please don't misunderstand my posts. Im not saying give up on the future/pledge, Im just passing on my knowledge of future and airbrushing. I just wont airbrush it anymore. I've never had a model yellow personally. Then again none of my personal kits gets placed in direct sunlight for any length of time. Occasionally maybe sometime to photograph them but thats it. The two museum models i built years ago predated my use of future/pledge. I just stopped building on commission when i got left hanging with completed models and no pay $. I would and will still build commissions. However i have very stringent rules for that now.

    I did do a post here in this section.

Most members thoughts about the issue was a cracked nozzle head on my A/B. However i have since ruled that out. I haven't had any issues since i stopped spraying the future. Again forgive me if my posts came across as negative. Future works great for me i just wont airbrush it again in my $ pricy Iwata. 

 

Dennis

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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This may be marginally off topic and, more likely, lack of experience in myself, but...

Being UK, I've taken a chance on Lakelands QuickShine. Does the business as a gloss sealer, although can look a bit "satiny" - is that just my airbrushing skills. However, what I may have just uncovered is, because I needed to give my Silverline airbrush a good clean and swished the needle nozzle, carrier and the outer needle protector ring in IPA for a short time (15 secs), I seem to have ended up with a guey residue around the ring, especially in the six cutouts, which has been an absolute pig to get rid of. The last thing that was brushed was QuickShine, so I'm becoming suspicious that the QuickShine is reacting with the IPA to produce the gunk.

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12 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Again forgive

Nothing to forgive, I just wondered what happened. I know how that can happen, the old saying "what's good for the goose" doesn't always mean it's good for the gander. You have your reasons, and I respect that. Also, apparently brushing it on is just as good, a lot less wasted and easier to see I suppose.

 

I haven't built a model in more than three decades, so this is my "experience" for now, reading as much as I can with as many views as possible too. I have four cheap a/b's that came with my compressor, which I will use for future/klear, then my "expensive" paasche I bought (but never have used) almost a decade ago. Even that has good reviews, and bad reviews. Every person has a different experience.

11 hours ago, MR2Don said:

reacting with the IPA to produce the gunk. 

That's interesting. Do you have any spare rings, maybe even rings you are willing to use as test subjects? I live in the Philippines, so I have to find the alternative product, which I have the name via the IPMS Philippines branch, but have yet to find it in the stores.

 

Anyway, thanks for everyone giving their input, definitely helps us rookies out!

 

Anthony

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9 minutes ago, Stalker6Recon said:

have four cheap a/b's that came with my compressor, which I will use for future/klear, then my "expensive" paasche I bought (but never have used) almost a decade ago. Even that has good reviews, and bad reviews.

My 1st A/B was a Paasche Double action back in 88 or early 89. No complaints about them. My compressor sucked back then but i still got it to work for me. Ive had 4 A/Brushes over the years. The Paasche, The Tamiya single action (RC) battery powered was actually very good. Then i moved onto a Badger Double action. I sold it about 10-11 years ago.

     I took a hiatus from modeling between 2004-2014. This was due to some competitive burnout. And i sold off a lot of models and equipment in the interim. I regret that now very much, as id love to have some of that stuff back. Got my Iwata two years ago now. I don't mind helping out new modelers or those coming back to the hobby. Feel free to ask if you ever need help ? If i don't know the answer i will try to point you in the best direction possible. I have a lot of free time also due to disability so if you need help researching send me the basic info and i will see what i can dig up. 

 

Dennis

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1 hour ago, Stalker6Recon said:

Nothing to forgive, I just wondered what happened. I know how that can happen, the old saying "what's good for the goose" doesn't always mean it's good for the gander. You have your reasons, and I respect that. Also, apparently brushing it on is just as good, a lot less wasted and easier to see I suppose.

 

I haven't built a model in more than three decades, so this is my "experience" for now, reading as much as I can with as many views as possible too. I have four cheap a/b's that came with my compressor, which I will use for future/klear, then my "expensive" paasche I bought (but never have used) almost a decade ago. Even that has good reviews, and bad reviews. Every person has a different experience.

That's interesting. Do you have any spare rings, maybe even rings you are willing to use as test subjects? I live in the Philippines, so I have to find the alternative product, which I have the name via the IPMS Philippines branch, but have yet to find it in the stores.

 

Anyway, thanks for everyone giving their input, definitely helps us rookies out!

 

Anthony

I was thinking that myself, some sort of "experiment" with the two to see what happens. I will "make it so" as they say.😉

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13 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

sold off a lot of models and equipment in the interim.

Yikes....that is why I keep everything. For instance, even though I stopped working on fiber optics in 2003, I kept my fiber kit for at least a decade, when my back became so bad that I knew my fiber days were behind me, I still would not let go of my kit. Then after my third move, I got tired of lugging all that stuff around, and realized that the days of polishing fiber ends by hand were probably over, I threw most of that stuff away.

 

When I think back on that day, I want to kick myself. I kept the pointless portable laser used in testing, but threw away literally thousands of fine micron level sand papers, 4x4 size, perfect for our hobby. The laser, what was the point of keeping that, other than saying "look, I have a LASER!"

 

I won't make that mistake again. Anyway, thanks for the offer, I will certainly have a t you up with questions when they arise. I am so brain dead at the moment, I actually don't have any, but that is sure to change.

 

Anthony

12 hours ago, MR2Don said:

some sort of "experiment" 

Let me know how that goes, very curious to see the results. I am terrified of destroying the o-rings on my good airbrush, not sure where to buy quality replacements, everything in the Philippines seems like it is made to last a day before problems start showing up. That would get really frustrating quickly, especially when it comes to painting the kits. I certainly don't want to strip paint off one, just because a failed ring ruined it right at the end. Hell, I would not even know how to strip paint, just turn out the lights, play loud music at it, then start throwing dollar bills everywhere?

 

Anthony

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  • 1 year later...
  • 3 months later...
On 14/04/2019 at 13:24, Tbolt said:

Your probably aware that  ammonia can damage the coating on your airbrush, though because you are only cleaning it and not soaking it for a long period it probably will not effect it.

 

Anyway for cleaning acrylic paint from my airburshes I use the following mixture:

 

25% Butyl Glycol

5% IPA

70% Deionized water

 

I usually add a few drop of Glycerin to it as well. This mixture will strip fully cured acrylic paint.

Hi @Tbolt 

I realise this is an old thread but only just fund it when looking for info on 'Home Brew' airbrush cleaner recipes.

 

I have tried a couple of other recipes and find that they don't work very well with Vallejo Model Air, the residual paint goes all gloopy and sticks in globs in the AB bowl and needle chamber, from tests I guess this is due to the higher concentration of IPA in the recipes (25%+).

 

Where do you get the Butyl Glycol from please? Having difficulty finding a supplier for this thats not in 25 or 205 Ltr drums lol...

Edited by AlexBB
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6 hours ago, AlexBB said:

Hi @Tbolt 

I realise this is an old thread but only just fund it when looking for info on 'Home Brew' airbrush cleaner recipes.

 

I have tried a couple of other recipes and find that they don't work very well with Vallejo Model Air, the residual paint goes all gloopy and sticks in globs in the AB bowl and needle chamber, from tests I guess this is due to the higher concentration of IPA in the recipes (25%+).

 

Where do you get the Butyl Glycol from please? Having difficulty finding a supplier for this thats not in 25 or 205 Ltr drums lol...

Hi, I bought one litre from APC Pure. They have quite a long lead time though, 30 days at the moment https://apcpure.com/product/butyl_glycol_99

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Hi @Tbolt,

Many Thanks for the pointer on the supply of the Butyl Glycol... I placed an order for 1 litre last week from APC and expected it to be a while but it arrived this morning 🙂

 

So now to do some tests with a variant on your mixture with a little glycerine added. In order to do some qualitative tests I have got some 125 ml bottles and will be using those with accurately measured volumes of each of the chemicals.

 

Trial Mix 1 will be;

70% (87ml) Deionized water

25% (32ml) Butyl Glycol

5% (7ml) IPA

10 drops Glycerine EP

 

Trial Mix 2 will be;

50% (63ml) Deionized water

25% (32ml) Butyl Glycol

20% (25ml) Screen Wash Concentrate (Wilko)

5% (7ml) IPA

10 drops Glycerine EP

 

 May be a few days till I get around to doing the tests but will update here with my findings when I do.

 

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14 minutes ago, AlexBB said:

Hi @Tbolt,

Many Thanks for the pointer on the supply of the Butyl Glycol... I placed an order for 1 litre last week from APC and expected it to be a while but it arrived this morning 🙂

 

So now to do some tests with a variant on your mixture with a little glycerine added. In order to do some qualitative tests I have got some 125 ml bottles and will be using those with accurately measured volumes of each of the chemicals.

 

Trial Mix 1 will be;

70% (87ml) Deionized water

25% (32ml) Butyl Glycol

5% (7ml) IPA

10 drops Glycerine EP

 

Trial Mix 2 will be;

50% (63ml) Deionized water

25% (32ml) Butyl Glycol

20% (25ml) Screen Wash Concentrate (Wilko)

5% (7ml) IPA

10 drops Glycerine EP

 

 May be a few days till I get around to doing the tests but will update here with my findings when I do.

 

Glad you got it okay.

 

I was thinking of dropping down the Butyl Glycol to 20% as I think this might be good enough. Be interesting to see if the screen wash makes any difference, though you might want to drop the IPA from that mix if your screen wash contains IPA and ethanol.

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2 hours ago, Tbolt said:

you might want to drop the IPA from that mix if your screen wash contains IPA and ethanol.

@Tbolt  Yep... I will try and find out the ingredients of the Wilko Screen Wash or as that seems be hard to get may swop to another brand like Holts which has contents by Volume stated on the label and calculate out the IPA % by Vol in my mix...

 

Edit - Have just checked the Holts data sheet and does not state IPA as a component, just Ethanediol & Methanol... But does not give any other components listed.. maybe on the bottle so will have to check!! 

Edited by AlexBB
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