Airbrush soak?

[Kit Basher]

I think it's time for a major AB cleaning. I would like to get it thoroughly clean everywhere, including the body. I was thinking about soaking it in Super Clean, but I don't want to damage the AB. I'm concerned it might affect the brass or chrome. Has anyone done this, or what do you use for a soak? Obviously, I would take it apart and remove any seals or O-rings. Thanks!

[shoopdog]

Doesn't Super Clean eat metals?

[Kit Basher]

2 minutes ago, shoopdog said:

Doesn't Super Clean eat metals?

I don't know, that's why I'm asking!   I'm also considering Auto Air Restorer. Will that work on lacquers and enamels?

[aurfalien]

10 minutes ago, shoopdog said:

Doesn't Super Clean eat metals?

I've used SuperClean on a stainless steel paint cup and it tarnished pretty badly.  I only had it soaking for 30 minutes.

So I'd suggest not using SuperClean.

Edited January 17, 2019 by aurfalien

[shoopdog]

7 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

I don't know, that's why I'm asking!   I'm also considering Auto Air Restorer. Will that work on lacquers and enamels?

I don't own an air brush so I am no help to you there, however I do know that I soaked a body in Super Clean once in an aluminum pan and the bottom of the pan was dissolved the next day, talk about a mess!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Stay away from Super Clean for metal.

If I were you, I wouldn't mess with soaking it.

Get some lacquer thinner, pipe cleaners, Q-tips and some of those small brushes that you use to clean between your teeth.

Disassemble the airbrush and clean away.

Lacquer thinner will dissolve any type of paint that you put through the airbrush pretty easily, and with some small brushes and Q-tips, you should be able to get to every surface in the brush.

 

Steve

[aurfalien]

13 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Stay away from Super Clean for metal.

If I were you, I wouldn't mess with soaking it.

Get some lacquer thinner, pipe cleaners, Q-tips and some of those small brushes that you use to clean between your teeth.

Disassemble the airbrush and clean away.

Lacquer thinner will dissolve any type of paint that you put through the airbrush pretty easily, and with some small brushes and Q-tips, you should be able to get to every surface in the brush.

 

Steve

This is exactly what I used to do.

Once cleaned well, do more periodic cleanings.

[Kit Basher]

OK, Thanks guys, Super Clean is out. I'm glad I asked.

 

8 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Stay away from Super Clean for metal.

If I were you, I wouldn't mess with soaking it.

Get some lacquer thinner, pipe cleaners, Q-tips and some of those small brushes that you use to clean between your teeth.

Disassemble the airbrush and clean away.

Lacquer thinner will dissolve any type of paint that you put through the airbrush pretty easily, and with some small brushes and Q-tips, you should be able to get to every surface in the brush.

 

Steve

How about soaking in lacquer thinner?  I've thoroughly cleaned the tip and the needle, my impression is that there is paint inside the body of the brush. It's pretty much inaccessible to cleaning tools. I am hoping that soaking and flushing will get it clean. If it matters, it's a Badger 200.

[TarheelRick]

I use pipe cleaners soaked in lacquer thinner to clean inside the body of my airbrush.  Sometimes I will slide the pipe cleaner inside and let it soak for a few minutes just to make sure all the paint residue is loose.

[Dave G.]

7 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

OK, Thanks guys, Super Clean is out. I'm glad I asked.

 

How about soaking in lacquer thinner?  I've thoroughly cleaned the tip and the needle, my impression is that there is paint inside the body of the brush. It's pretty much inaccessible to cleaning tools. I am hoping that soaking and flushing will get it clean. If it matters, it's a Badger 200.

Is it a 200 or 200nh ? I've had a regular 200 for more than 40 years and never have soaked the body. I pull the needle and polish it up with ooo steel wool and lacquer thinner and pull the nozzle and cap apart and soak those in the capped jar over night in lacquer thinner. Especially for lacquer and enamels. Acrylic might need further addressing but probably not inside the body.

Edited January 17, 2019 by Dave G.

[Kit Basher]

8 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Is it a 200 or 200nh ? I've had a regular 200 for more than 40 years and never have soaked the body. I pull the needle and polish it up with ooo steel wool and lacquer thinner and pull the nozzle and cap apart and soak those in the capped jar over night in lacquer thinner. Especially for lacquer and enamels. Acrylic might need further addressing but probably not inside the body.

It's a 200. It's almost as old as yours. I'll try your remedy. Thanks!

[StevenGuthmiller]

You could probably soak it in thinner if you remove the seals prior, but the Badger 200 is extremely easy to disassemble and clean without needing to soak it.

The old Badger 200 that I have is my "go to" brush and it has been very easy to clean.

If you unscrew the tip and pull out the needle, the trigger will fall out.

Then the body can be unscrewed from the blue tail section if needed.

I don't even take the tip out of the 2 piece tip section when I clean it.

You can clean the tip and the surrounding air passages without disassembling it.

There is nothing inside of the body that is inaccessible to cleaning tools if you have some small brushes of some sort.

You're only objective is to be certain that the air and paint passages are all clear.

And of course be certain that your tip and needle are undamaged and in good condition.

 

Steve

 

 

 

[Kit Basher]

2 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

You could probably soak it in thinner if you remove the seals prior, but the Badger 200 is extremely easy to disassemble and clean without needing to soak it.

The old Badger 200 that I have is my "go to" brush and it has been very easy to clean.

If you unscrew the tip and pull out the needle, the trigger will fall out.

Then the body can be unscrewed from the blue tail section if needed.

I don't even take the tip out of the 2 piece tip section when I clean it.

You can clean the tip and the surrounding air passages without disassembling it.

There is nothing inside of the body that is inaccessible to cleaning tools if you have some small brushes of some sort.

You're only objective is to be certain that the air and paint passages are all clear.

And of course be certain that your tip and needle are undamaged and in good condition.

 

I soaked the body in LT and got a fair amount of scuz out of it. My usual after painting routine is to use a paint brush and thinner to clean inside where the bottle attaches to the body, then shoot thinner thru the brush. Apparently that is not always sufficient.

I polished the needle as David suggested, and worked on the tip some more. While I was at it, I replaced the teflon seal.

It's working much better now, so many thanks to everyone!

Edited January 17, 2019 by Kit Basher

[StevenGuthmiller]

13 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

I soaked the body in LT and got a fair amount of scuz out of it. My usual after painting routine is to use a paint brush and thinner to clean inside where the bottle attaches to the body, then shoot thinner thru the brush. Apparently that is not always sufficient.

I polished the needle as David suggested, and worked on the tip some more. While I was at it, I replaced the teflon seal.

It's working much better now, so many thanks to everyone!

Be certain to check and clean all of the little air passages around the tip as well as the one from the body into the tip.

Plugged air passages will greatly diminish the performance of the brush.

 

 

Steve

[Kit Basher]

1 minute ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Be certain to check and clean all of the little air passages around the tip as well as the one from the body into the tip.

Plugged air passages will greatly diminish the performance of the brush.

 

 

Steve

I ran a piece of fishing line thru all those air passages, and they all seem clear. Thanks again for all your help!

[Tommy124]

Nothing against soaking the AB in regular AB cleaner IMHO, but if you clean it up thoroughly after each painting session (which should be done anyways), that shouldn't even be necessary. I always make sure to do so and keep the AB disassembled until the next session. That way I have a better way of checking if all parts are really clean and fitting together smoothly while assembling the AB directly before the next painting session. 

One great piece of advice I have been given once is to use dental floss like Oral B "SuperFloss" for cleaning the inside of the AB. Soak it in AB cleaner and pull it through the AB a few times, there's no better way to clean it. Tying the SuperFloss to a screwdriver or something similar will make it much easier to handle. Check the images in this tutorial to get an idea:

http://modellboard.net/index.php/topic,41455.msg616355.html#msg616355

Edited January 18, 2019 by Tommy124

[Kit Basher]

Thanks, Thomas. I think I was dealing with 30 years of accumulated crud. I like the dental floss idea, although I was reading somewhere about someone cleaning their AB with waxed floss. They said that was a bad idea!

[Dave G.]

18 hours ago, Kit Basher said:

It's a 200. It's almost as old as yours. I'll try your remedy. Thanks!

Hah, gotta love the 200 !  Something I discovered recently with mine while back flushing with detergent water, there is an air leak between the nozzle cap and the outer air cap. And it doesn't matter how tight I tighten it. I also tie flies and have dubbing wax which is in part bees wax. I waxed the threads with that and no more leak. And I feel the paint lays down smoother since doing that, though that also could be my wild imagination.

I've used the wax before against an old teflon washer that was leaking and it stopped the pulsing that had developed. Worked great till I got a new washer.

[Kit Basher]

5 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Hah, gotta love the 200 !  Something I discovered recently with mine while back flushing with detergent water, there is an air leak between the nozzle cap and the outer air cap. And it doesn't matter how tight I tighten it. I also tie flies and have dubbing wax which is in part bees wax. I waxed the threads with that and no more leak. And I feel the paint lays down smoother since doing that, though that also could be my wild imagination.

I've used the wax before against an old teflon washer that was leaking and it stopped the pulsing that had developed. Worked great till I got a new washer.

It seems like I've seen somewhere where Badger recommended sealing some part with wax or maybe nail polish. That may have been before there was the teflon washer. The 200 is a great brush, simple and does a nice job.

[Dave G.]

1 minute ago, Kit Basher said:

It seems like I've seen somewhere where Badger recommended sealing some part with wax or maybe nail polish. That may have been before there was the teflon washer. The 200 is a great brush, simple and does a nice job.

The guys who buy the knock offs throw the seal out and use bees wax because they are cheap seals in their case and lacquer thinner breaks them down. I think the real 200 always had the seal but I think the later iterations have the teflon. I know my original seal compacted and leaked.

I also upgraded my medium and heavy nozzle and needles to the pedal style ( i may have mentioned that already). My stuff is old and well used , I just figured I'd refresh it a bit. The fine was my least used back in the day, I do use it a bit more now but it looks like new, the others were kind of beat  though they still work and I kept them as spares. The new air cap being the pedal style  I can get in there to clean a bit easier. Everything was available through Amazon.

[Kit Basher]

1 minute ago, Dave G. said:

The guys who buy the knock offs throw the seal out and use bees wax because they are cheap seals in their case and lacquer thinner breaks them down. I think the real 200 always had the seal but I think the later iterations have the teflon. I know my original seal compacted and leaked.

I also upgraded my medium and heavy nozzle and needles to the pedal style ( i may have mentioned that already). My stuff is old and well used , I just figured I'd refresh it a bit. The fine was my least used back in the day, I do use it a bit more now but it looks like new, the others were kind of beat  though they still work and I kept them as spares. The new air cap being the pedal style  I can get in there to clean a bit easier. Everything was available through Amazon.

What is "pedal style"?  Also, I have never used the heavy needle/tip, but have been considering trying it for Auto Air acrylics. I have a heavy needle/tip for a 150, will that work in a 200?

 

[Dave G.]

9 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

What is "pedal style"?  Also, I have never used the heavy needle/tip, but have been considering trying it for Auto Air acrylics. I have a heavy needle/tip for a 150, will that work in a 200?

 

This 150 has the pedal style, it's the updated tip and yes I believe the heavy needle and tip will fit your 200, it would take you from a .5 assembly to a .75, it flows paint unbelievable much like a Paasche H but with way more control: 

Edited January 18, 2019 by Dave G.

[Kit Basher]

13 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

This 150 has the pedal style, it's the updated tip and yes I believe the heavy needle and tip will fit your 200, it would take you from a .5 assembly to a .75, it flows paint unbelievable much like a Paasche H but with way more control: 

So the pedal style has the notches in the tip, instead of a cylinder with holes in it? I have that on my 150. The 150 shot Auto Air nicely, but is kinda hard to control. It has the adjuster to set a fixed amount of paint, but then you can't just blow air. With Auto Air, it's nice to be able to shoot paint then blow air to dry it. I'm trying to figure out some kind of "backstop" for it.

[Dave G.]

12 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

So the pedal style has the notches in the tip, instead of a cylinder with holes in it? I have that on my 150. The 150 shot Auto Air nicely, but is kinda hard to control. It has the adjuster to set a fixed amount of paint, but then you can't just blow air. With Auto Air, it's nice to be able to shoot paint then blow air to dry it. I'm trying to figure out some kind of "backstop" for it.

Try a hair dryer, works pisser and heat sets the paint at the same time. That's how I quick cure my Stynylrez primer and can over coat it in about half an hour. I got the heat setting idea from a guy who uses Createx on fishing lures.

On another note i would think you would want to be thinning Createx with some 4012 or similar thinner, no ?

Edited January 18, 2019 by Dave G.

[Kit Basher]

5 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Try a hair dryer, works pisser and heat sets the paint at the same time. That's how I quick cure my Stynylrez primer and can over coat it in about half an hour.

For whatever reason, the instructions for Auto Air say do not use heat, just moving air. That's why double action is so nice. You don't have to put the brush down. Spray a light coat of paint, blow air for 30 seconds, repeat. This stuff has a very steep learning curve, and I'm just getting started, but if I ever get the hang of it I think it will be amazing.