Airbrush Cleaner

What products I use to clean my airbrush

[@statoilbensin2190]

When I found out that cheap thinner containing Xylene and Acetone was just as effective and safe for the airbrush as the Mr tool cleaner and Tamiya airbrush cleaner I decided to not buy them anymore as I will save money. But the Vallejo one is good to have, it dont smell bad and it is effective against latex based paints such as Vallejo and Italeri. The Mr tool cleaner and Tamiya airbrush cleaner witch contains ( acetone n butyl acetate, will make youre airbrush gum up if it is used to clean Vallejo or Italeri paints.

[@bigeddie1231]

Very cool video thanks for sharing

[@wepeworks]

Exactly what I was looking for! thanks

[@DansModelBench]

Great to hear!

[@kimandersendk]

Great video Dan

[@HobbyLinkInternational]

Very informative video

[@King_of_Painters]

What do i use for using this airbrush cleaner? It cleans pretty well, excelent, with one or two drops You can clean entire airbrush, but is really potent!!. Smell like hell... What should i use for protecting My nose ? . Thanks!

[@DansModelBench]

G'day Gilberto. You are certainly right about the smell. For me I do a few things to help. The first is I have a spray booth with a decent fan to exhaust the fumes, I also have an exhaust fan in the room I use and finally I wear a respirator designed to work with paint fumes. I also tend to leave my spraying until after I've done other work on the bench, so the painting and cleaning up is the last thing I do for a while on my models. Anyway, if none of that is possible for you right now, my best advice is to clean your airbrush outdoors when using the strong cleaners and going forward look to use acrylic paints for your models, like Vallejo, AK 3rd Gen, Lifecolor etc, that are safer, don't have the smell and can use milder cleaners like Vallejo Airbrush cleaner for cleaning your airbrush. Regards, Dan

[@vicparratt7523]

Hi Dan just purchased a new airbrush so I found this video very useful. Thank you and I wish you a happy new year. Vic

[@DansModelBench]

Hi Vic, glad it was useful to you. If I can ask, what airbrush did you settle on? Dan

[@vicparratt7523]

I purchased a cheap Chinese brush to start with. I didn't want to spend too much to start with if I master this one I will purchase a Harder & Stienback. I'm just getting back into modelling after a 25 year hiatus.

[@DansModelBench]

Fair call. I started back into the hobby the same way. Getting the hang of air pressure was the biggest learning curve for me, followed by how different brands of paint and even paints in the same range work differently in the same airbrush. If I can give one tip, it would be to use disposable medicine cups or similar and mix your paint BEFORE you put it into the airbrush. You will get the hang of thinning paint correctly much quicker if you do it that way. Oh and don't buy every brand of paint like I did and make your job harder! Have fun with it and look forward to hearing how you go. :)

[@vicparratt7523]

Dan's Van Diemens Land Model Bench. Thanks for the good advice Dan I'll be spending the next few weeks getting my tools together and of course practicing with the air brush. I have used one in the past but it's my first time with a double action gravity feed.

[@borgarborb1821]

i know this is a bit late but i have a question. i am going to primarily use tamiya acrylic paints for airbrushing, is using tamiya airbrush cleaner/mr tool cleaner okay for the cleaner? or should i use vallejo's airbrush cleaner? vallejo's product in my country are quite expensive so i'm having second thoughts

[@DansModelBench]

G'day Borgar Borb, Tamiya airbrush cleaner or Mr Tool cleaner are both perfectly fine for cleaning your airbrush, although a little harsh on your airbrush seals. I would use the Tamiya airbrush cleaner between the two of them as its a little milder, but still perfectly capable of cleaning out the paint. Another trick you can use to reduce the amount of either that you need to clean your airbrush when using acrylic based paints and keep your cost down is to first clean out your airbrush with hot tap water. It will remove a lot of the paint that way and you will then only need a little of the actual cleaner to finish the job. Hope that helps. Dan

[@funguseater40]

Great comparison video. My choice is UMP cleaner deals well with Vallejo and the new range from AK real color plus Tamiya paints. Their Ultimate thinners are great too, will thin all paint except enamel. Is cleaning your airbrush with cellulose a no no ?

[@DansModelBench]

I don't mind the UMP airbrush cleaner or thinner, but unfortunately in Australia, they are both quite expensive, which is one of the reasons I don't use their airbrush cleaner more with my setup for example. I've also noticed some subtle differences between using UMP thinner and the manufacturers brand in some paint ranges, so at some point I just decided to use the brand thinners for each paint. Probably overkill really, but thats how it is.

[@jimbolaiya]

Thanks for the informative video. Have you used the Iwata Medea airbrush cleaner? How does it compare ? Is there such thing as a cleaner that lubricates too ? Thanks

[@WorksOnMyComputer]

G'day mate. Sorry I can't tell you anything about the Iwata Media cleaner as I haven't used it. I don't think any cleaner actually lubricates the brush really, but some are more kind on the seals then others. When I've finished with my airbrush for the day, I leave a few drops of a mild acrylic airbrush cleaner in the bottom of the cup, which seems to reduce the number of times I have to strip down my airbrush. Just the same, there will come in a time every fews weeks/couple of months, where i will take the airbrush apart for a good clean and its then that I lubricate the parts and the needle. Dan

[@DansModelBench]

No I haven't used it sorry.

[@gordongriffith9047]

I mr color paint what kind of cleaner do I need to use for those kind of paints

[@DansModelBench]

I've used Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner and Mr Hobby Tool Cleaner in the past for those. Which one I use depends on what I have available at the time, but my preference would be Tamiya. It is milder, but still strong enough to remove Mr Color from your airbrush. If you have no airbrush cleaners, Mr Colors own thinner could also be used to clean and flush the airbrush, but that will prove expensive over time. Lacquer thinner could also be used from the hardware store, but often that is very strong and can damage airbrush seals, so I tend to avoid that unless i have no other options. When I am done using a cleaner for lacquer paints such as Mr Color I always finish with a more mild cleaner like Vallejo Airbrush cleaner or VMS Airbrush cleaner to help flush out any residue of the heavier duty cleaners I just used. Hope that helps. Dan

[@nixland]

Once I use lacquer thinner and it melted the O ring on the nozzle or front part. Haven't you experienced that? Thanks.

[@DansModelBench]

Hi Nixland. No I haven't experienced that personally, although I only use the heavier duty cleaners like the Alclad or Tamiya airbrush cleaners strictly when I need to. Sometimes I will just use them for cleaning the body of the airbrush and just cleaning the needle after I've removed it from the brush. Most of the time I am able to use the much milder Vallejo airbrush cleaner, especially if I am working with acrylic paints. For lacquer paints I may have to use a heavier cleaner, but again, I only use as much and as often as I need to. For example I will use the Tamiya cleaner and only switch to Alclad which is stronger again, if I have a need to. Once the cleaning is done I spray a milder airbrush solution through the gun, like Vallejo or UMP. I also normally leave a few drops of the UMP airbrush cleaner in the bottom of the cup of my airbrushes after cleaning and before the next spraying session and I've found that has dramatically reduced the amount of times I've had to use the heavier duty cleaners and pull apart my airbrushes. I think the Iwata airbrushes I use also have O ring seals that are resistant to stronger paints like lacquer. Can I ask what brand of airbrush you are using?

[@nixland]

@@DansModelBench Thank you so very much for the reply. I use the cheap airbrush as I am still a beginner. I want to know how to clean up the penbrush, the do and don't things of penbrush before I buy the branded one.

[@gordongriffith9047]

I'm thinking about getting a airbrush I like to know what kind of cleaner do I need if I use mr. Paint

[@DansModelBench]

Mr Paint is a lacquer based paint, so you will need a stronger solvent to dissolve it in your airbrush. I use either Mr Tool Cleaner, Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner or Alclad airbrush cleaner, depending what I have on hand.

[@gordongriffith9047]

What kind cleaner do I need to use when I use mr. Paint metallic gx

[@DansModelBench]

Same cleaners as I posted to your other comment. Dan

[@ivandivan1881]

Hi ,i would like to ask you about one particular airbrush cleaner if it s ok with you ,:) here what bothers me ,i have mr tool cleaner 400 airbrush cleaner but am i supposed to dilute it with water or it is ok factory made as in the bottle and does not need dilution ?i see you have this cleaner here on the movie ,this one with the red letters .Thank you :)

[@DansModelBench]

Hi Ivan, You don't dilute Mr Tool Cleaner. I mainly use it with lacquer paints where a more mild airbrush cleaner won't work as its quite strong. Its also good for cleaning the internals of the airbrush if you ever need to disassemble it. These days I use Mr Tool Cleaner for lacquers and enamels and Vallejo Airbrush cleaner diluted 50/50 with distilled water for acrylics. I have also just started using Badger Airbrush paint cleaner with acrylics which is excellent. With both I do a final spray with Vallejo airbrush cleaner and leave a little bit of the Vallejo in the bottom of the airbrush when I am done. Thanks for watching the channel and g'day from Australia. :)

[@ivandivan1881]

@@DansModelBench Thank you :) i understood how it should be done ,i don,t dilute it ,seems it smells a bit but is effective ,that s what i need ,Thank you .Nice Weekend from me :)

[@ivandivan1881]

Very Happy of your advice ,it s working :),i tried it today and is perfect for cleaning airbrush :)my airbrush is single action one but works superb :)Thank you :)

[@matthillsscalemodels7067]

Interesting video mate are you in the south of Tas or up North

[@DansModelBench]

G'day Matt. I'm down south in Hobart. Are you in Tassie too? Dan

[@matthillsscalemodels7067]

Dan's Van Diemens Land Model Bench yes mate in Claremont

[@DansModelBench]

Very close to home. I am in Glenorchy. We will have to catch up for a chat! Dan

[@matthillsscalemodels7067]

Dan's Van Diemens Land Model Bench yep for sure 0476237313

[@DansModelBench]

Thanks Matt. I'll give you a bell on the weekend. Dan