Airbrush cleaning problems (H&S Evo and Infinity)

[Natter]

Hi All, Ridge Runner statred a topic on cleaning his airbrush in September, but I didn't want to hijack that thread. I am seeking some advice. When I have finished spraying a colour my cleaning routine is pretty much like this:

 

Spray the remining paint in the airbrush out in to a cleaning station.

Pull the needle back and wipe out as much paint as possible with the correct thinner/cleaner and cotton buds.

Push needle back in to place and spray thinner/cleaner through the airbrush until it is clear.

Remove the needle and clean it, then repeat the spraying of thinner/cleaner into the cleaning station.

Cover the end of the nozzle and 'back flush' with fresh thinner cleaner.

Repeat the spraying of thinner/cleaner in to the cleaning station until it sprays clear.

 

Having done this I noticed that a couple of flecks sprayed from the airbrush while using the next colour, not great when trying to do a smooth, shiny topcoat. This is a problem I have encountered before, so this time I stripped the airbrush down and gently ran a cocktail stick into the nozzle with a bit of thinner/cleaner. I am nervous of using the H&S metal reamer in case it wears the interior of the nozzle as it is only brass. The result of wiping the cocktail stick after this is the smears of paint on the kitchen roll.

 

With that done I did something I have not done before and used a pipette to force some more thinner/cleaner through the nozzle both ways, and all those bits came out! Look at the size of one of those flakes! Am I doing something wrong, or do I just have to face up to a full teardown clean after every colour or paint session?

 

 

 

Help!

[Filler]

I can’t really help, but I’m having my own problems that have some similarity to yours and I can’t seem to solve them. What I have found with my H&S is that it nearly always needs a full strip down and thorough clean with brushes and strong cleaning agents. To be honest, I am wondering if Iwata would be a better bet. I seem to read a lot of posts about problems with H&S brushes.

[Filler]

I should have asked, what paint are you using? Lacquers seem to be better than acrylics in terms of how fine the pigments are. Having said that, I’m still having problems despite using Mr Hobby lacquer paints. And I’ve flawlessly sprayed their acrylic paints from this brush in the past. Airbrushing is some sort of dark art if you ask me.

[ckw]

40 minutes ago, Filler said:

Airbrushing is some sort of dark art if you ask me.

The problem is the number of variables involved. It is a matter of trial and error with the materials you prefer. It is unlikely that someone else's 'formula' for success will be the perfect solution for you. However once past your personal learning curve, things become easier - and more importantly, repeatable

 

To the original question. I use an H&S Ultra and Infinity, with enamel paints as well as Tamiya and Mr Hobby acrylics. Like most I had issues with cleaning, but now have a system which seems to work well and is not too tedious.

 

1 - spray out any remaining paint

2 - spray out a half cup or so of cellulose thinner

3 - with a pipette of cellulose thinner, pump thinner in and out of airbrush with needle closed then open. Repeat until extracted thinner looks clear

4 - back flush with clean thinner

5 - remove needle from rear and wipe clean

6 - reinsert needle and spray a final cup of thinner

 

This takes less time to do than write!

 

Occasionally the brush will still need a proper deep clean. Following disassembly, I run through the various orifices with tightly twisted strips of paper towel soaked in thinner. Maybe once a month on average

 

BTW I buy my cellulose thinner in 5 litre tins off Amazon (which I store outside in the shed), decanting into 250 ml bottles as required for use in my modelling room. This is quite economical.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Natter]

2 minutes ago, ckw said:

1 - spray out any remaining paint

2 - spray out a half cup or so of cellulose thinner

3 - with a pipette of cellulose thinner, pump thinner in and out of airbrush with needle closed then open. Repeat until extracted thinner looks clear

4 - back flush with clean thinner

5 - remove needle from rear and wipe clean

6 - reinsert needle and spray a final cup of thinner

Yep, just about the same as my process. Thank you for taking the time to write a very comprehensive reply.

[Mike]

I can't add much to the proceedings, other than to say that I have used a metal reamer on all my airbrushes over the years, and never had an issue.  I've only had one split nozzle on my old H&S Infinities, and I think that was from setting the needle in too tightly, coupled with old age of the part.

 

To save some of your hard-earned cash, you can pick up a reamer off eBay for a few quid, and it's just as good as the H&S one, with a larger body and knurled outer for easy grip All you have to do is be gentle with it, and not push too much.

[Natter]

1 hour ago, Filler said:

I should have asked, what paint are you using?

I am using a mix of lacquers, enamels, acrylics and metallic. I use both Mr Metal Color acrylic and Alclad metallics. This seems to be a new problem, but maybe I have only just noticed it.

 

Don't give up on you H&S. Keep playing until you find the right mix of thinner/paint and pressure.

[malpaso]

I use (mostly Tamiya) acrylics and generally strip down at the end of a session* but just blow thinners through between colours.  Before I had bought some Tamiya X-20a I used windscreen fluid for thinning paint and cleaning, which was fine if less tolerant of overthinning for paint but more than adequate for cleaning through.  For full clean down I soak brush parts in meths.

 

I usually use a tepe brush and earbud for clean down, and an orange tepe toothpick which is just the right size for getting the crap out of an H&S 0.4 nozzle, which is the one I use most.  Too big for 0.2 so I use a very soft thin fuse wire to clear that.

 

I don’t blowback any more as I found it just blows paint further back up the needle channel to the gland by the trigger.

 

I have a bottle of UMP Acrylic Airbrush Cleaner but find it generally gums things up worse and still needs the usual screen wash and meths afterwards anyway.  Similarly I can’t get on with UMP Universal Acrylic Thinner, no point now as X-20a supplies seem okay at present.

 

I push the needle out the front for cleaning as for me it worked better than pulling all the paint back into the gland area.  Some suggest this may be riskier with the newer H&S “ribbed” needles (ribbed for the airbrush’s pleasure?).

 

With the above measures I am a happy Evo and Ultra user, for me I prefer the larger style of nozzle arrangement which I find more robust than the teeny item needing a mini spanner in other makes.  But I expect this is dependent on which airbrush one persists with enough to get comfy with.  The biggest part I found in getting reasonable at airbrushing was thin, thin, thin and practice, practice, practice.

 

Even so it was a while before some competency was achieved, I thought the first airbrushed model was great but it was six to twelve  months and several models before I was reasonably comfortable and proficient.  I also know my limitations and tried and gave up fancy techniques like pre-shading or marbling, instead I adjust the finish after the main colours are done.  There’s no right way, though quite a few ways to go wrong!

 

I also recommend looking at the spare parts diagram for your airbrush on the H&S website.  This is instructive as the diagram is NOT the same as the one in the supplied instructions!
 

* the other evening I finished spraying late and couldn’t be bothered to clean up so just left the Evo with a little meths sitting in the cup.  Didn’t get back to clean properly for three days , but no problem tidying it u and sprayed fine after.  I can’t actually recommend such a negligent regime though!

[Natter]

7 minutes ago, malpaso said:

for me I prefer the larger style of nozzle arrangement which I find more robust than the teeny item needing a mini spanner in other makes

 

Yep, me too. Thank you for the great reply.

[Bertie McBoatface]

I have a Harder and Steenbeck infinity which I bought because of the easy cleaning made possible by the tool-less strip down routine which takes only seconds. My procedure is as follows.

 

1. Pour remaining paint into the bin. Wipe cup with kitchen roll. One square does everything in this process.
2. Squirt cleaner/thinner/IPA into the cup and use an old paintbrush to clean the sides and bottom, like a toilet brush!
3. Pour this into the bin too.
4. More cleaner into the cup and spray it through, again swirling with the paintbrush. I clean the outside of the airbrush at this time with kitchen roll sprayed with cleaner.
5. If I'm busy with the recently sprayed items or I'm going to be using the brush again soon, I will leave it standing like that with the cleaner inside. This stops any remaining paint drying and continues to dissolve the bits. If using it again I then just blast it out through the extractor and start painting.

 

At the end of the painting session I:

 

1. Strip down into a little ramekin filled with cleaner. This takes ten seconds max
2. Using a disposable plastic pipette I pump cleaner through the body through both entrances. I use a little bottle-brush to finish off inserting it up the front and going up into the reservoir and also into the needle seals.
3. The tip guard I clean with a cotton bud wetted with cleaner
4. The nozzle holder gets the other end of the cotton bud and then a run through the orifice with an interdental brush
5. The nozzle gets the little bottle brush up the big end and then I pump cleaner through it with a pipette over the narrow end.
6. IF in doubt about the nozzle I will insert the needle and use it to feel for any sludge. When it's clean in there you feel the needle tap into place with a metallic click.
7. Wipe the needle with kitchen roll wetted with cleaner
8. Reassemble brush and spray a tiny bit of water through it to make sure it's all functional.
9. With kitchen roll, use the cleaner still in the ramekin to clean some part of the spray bay. I might as well use it as bin it. 

 

That took me at least ten times longer to write about than to do. 😄 The most diligent clean up at the end of a two hour primer spraying session takes no more than ten minutes without rushing.

 

Also, use more thinner with your paints and you will almost never have a cleaning problem. I now use at least two parts thinner to one part paint. It's taken me ages to learn to go this thin but the fact is that airbrushes were designed to spray fluids like ink - as thin as water. When we make them spit creamy paint, they get indigestion.

 

Final thought, do this every single time and you get really efficient at it and the airbrush never gives you problems.

 

Happy Spraying! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Filler]

1 hour ago, Bertie Psmith said:

Also, use more thinner with your paints and you will almost never have a cleaning problem. I now use at least two parts thinner to one part paint. It's taken me ages to learn to go this thin but the fact is that airbrushes were designed to spray fluids like ink - as thin as water.

That’s is very good advice I think. I guess it just takes a bit of time to learn to get the pressure and distance right to avoid paint pooling or running. The watery ink users presumably use more absorbent surfaces than shiny plastic.

 

I do tend to thin by eye and I tend to aim for 50/50 and I assume that any delay at all in spraying will see that ratio change in favour of the paint as the thinner evaporates.

 

2 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

When we make them spit creamy paint, they get indigestion.

That made me chuckle.

[Bertie McBoatface]

Incidentally, I use the 0.4 nozzle only for primer. General work is allocated to the 0.2 and fine work to the 0.15. 
 

@Filler, I either use primer or spray a layer of Tamiya matt paint with their lacquer thinner instead. That stops my thin paints and inks from sliding around. If you are spraying paint thickly in order to make it stick to plastic, I don’t think any brand of airbrush will help. 🤷‍♂️

[Filler]

That’s true about primer. Although I’m using the Mr Surfacer 1500 primers through the airbrush and my understanding is that they are basically lacquer paints, so I guess I should be thinning them heavily too.

[Bertie McBoatface]

10 minutes ago, Filler said:

That’s true about primer. Although I’m using the Mr Surfacer 1500 primers through the airbrush and my understanding is that they are basically lacquer paints, so I guess I should be thinning them heavily too.

 

I tried thinning Stynylrez with a variety of mixtures and it didn't work. In fact, it usually got thicker! I decided that I'd leave primers alone and turn up the pressure, as recommended by the makers. 

 

I have some Mt Surfacer 1500 in rattle cans. They came today actually, but I haven't tried them yet. I'm scared of putting the stuff through the airbrush. I tend to stick to non-smelly fluids in there. 

[Tijuana Taxi]

  6 hours ago, malpaso said:

for me I prefer the larger style of nozzle arrangement which I find more robust than the teeny item needing a mini spanner in other makes

 

Yep, me too. Thank you for the great reply

 

Have a look at the Iwata Eclipse, no tiny needle cap and no spanner required either.

H&S confused me by making an airbrush (Infinity) that is easy to take apart

Then added a strange little metal rod needed to remove the rear section 

[cmatthewbacon]

Lots of good advice there, Dave. All I would add is I dip an old brush that fits into the nozzle in lacquer thinner, and twirl it inside the nozzle from the big open end, and then put the pointy end of the nozzle firmly into the hole at the end of the thin plastic tube on a can of Liquid Reamer, and squirt it backwards through the nozzle. The first softens the paint, the second blows it out…

HTH,

best,

M.

[Scargsy]

My H&S cleaning routine is a bit of a mix of the other guys (I mainly use lacquer paints).

I'll generally do a full strip down and clean at the end of a session.

 

I find cellulose thinners can be a bit aggressive on the rubber o-ring on the air cap, so usually do most of the cleanup with Mr Hobby self-leveling and just shoot a few drops of cellulose after I've cleaned/rebuilt just to check (1) that it's all reassembled and holds liquid and (2) spraying onto a clean piece of white paper towel that there's no colour residue left in it.

 

When removing the needle  - firstly loosen and pull back slightly, remove the air-cap and nozzle - then I like to push it forwards out of the airbrush, so as not to drag paint up through the back of the contraption where it shouldn't be.

[Rob G]

This may or may not be any use, as I'm an Iwata HP-C user, but... 

 

Between colours in any session, I tip out the unused paint, wipe out the cup with a paper towel, and give the cup/paint channels a flush out with with the correct thinner for the paint I used, or lacquer thinner (which works for everything), depending on how I feel. I'll use a cheap brush to move stubborn paint around if required. If I'm then going to spray a paint that's fussy about thinners, I'll give things a quick flush with the correct thinner for the new paint, then get on with the new colour. 

 

After a session, tip out paint, wipe cup and well out with paper towel, then fill the cup with thinners and use a cheap plastic eye dropper to pump the thinners around a bit, while spraying. Use the brush again if required. Once it's badly discoloured, tip it out and repeat as required (maybe twice) until it's clear, then back flush for a moment. Then spray a cupful of thinners through the brush and put it away. Done. 

 

Every so often, when it gets manky, I'll pull it down, give it a good soak in lacquer thinners, then put it through a couple of cycles in the ultrasonic cleaner. 

 

I've had the Iwata for 20 years and am still using the original needle and nozzle. I've bent the tip a few times, but it's straightened out nicely, and every so often (usually when I do the ultrasonic strip clean), I check the tip and give it a good polish. Works like new, but I should buy some new bits one day soon, just in case I ever need them. 

 

There's no black art, but I firmly believe that some designs are better/more user friendly than others, and that it IS possible to overclean an airbrush - they're delicate things, with fine threads, and the more you handle the inner bits, the more chance you have of messing it up. 

 

Free advice, worth exactly what you paid for it.

[krow113]

Two words;

Lacquer thinner.

Ultrasonic cleaner.

Ok

Four words.

 

[Werdna]

My cleaning routine is generally as above, except I don't spray out any remaining paint through the brush.  Instead, I simply dilute the remains in the cup, stir it up a bit and tip it out.  Then spray what's left of the remaining dilute in the cup out through the brush.  To me, it seems counter-productive to carry on spraying paint through the brush when a) you've finished painting and b) the intention is to clean the brush after..

[RidgeRunner]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:05 AM, Natter said:

Hi All, Ridge Runner statred a topic on cleaning his airbrush in September, but I didn't want to hijack that thread.

There is some excellent advice here and despite using a simple Badger 200 I will take much on board. My general post-spray clean mimics what has been suggested, with a bigger tear down at te end of every session. I am concerned about the use of cellulose cleaner, though. I am currently looking at Ultrasonic cleaners for a regular clean up. 🤞

 

Martin