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mscott3916

What to clean Iwata airbrush?

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Hi,

I am buying an Iwata eclipse cs and I guess I will use the createx paints to start. I read somewhere that you shouldn't clean the gun with thinner when using water based paints. So what exactly should I use? One of the createx cleaners or Iwata cleaners or acetone. Some input would be appreciated because I am just diving into this.

Thanks,

Mike

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Here's a link to a "must have" set of brushes for cleaning your airbrush.

Over time stuff builds up inside any airbrush and eventually, you'll start cursing the thing unless you clean it thoroughly.

The set in the link below has about all the brushes you need to properly clean your Iwata, or most other brushes for that matter.

Best $7 you ever spent for this crazy hobby.

Mini Brush Set - TP Tools & Equipment

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I have that set of brushes but the smallest brush is still too large to fit into the barrel of an Iwata HP. Don't know about an Eclipse. They do a great job on most brushes. Mike, you don't have to avoid solvents with many airbrushes nowadays because they are built with Teflon packing that is not affected by solvent. Check the specs on an Eclipse to see if it isn't one (I'd bet it is). I shoot acetone through my HP with no problem. But less volatile cleaners work about as well. I have specially formulated non solvent airbrush cleaner that works OK. However, 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol with a squirt of dish soap works just as well for less money. What you clean it with is less important than disassembling it and cleaning it thoroughly EVERY TIME before you put it up.

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Nah, all I got with my HP+ was the wrench to remove the tiny nozzle (.2mm). Shooting cleaner through the brush and running water through the trigger slot seems to get the job done. I'm not fond of taking off the tiny but very expensive nozzle. If it ever rolls off the bench, I'll have a heart attack. But so far, so good.

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I use tap water in a tupper ware container next to where I paint, and then run Createx airbrush cleaner through last thing, to remove the water and coat the innards of the brush.

I use a small, throw away artist's brush to clean the nozzle by holding the bristles in my hand and twisting the brush around in the tip. Not scientific, but it seems to work.

About every week or so I take it apart and wash the parts with acetone, but I've never removed the nozzle. Chicken.

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Bob, I understand what you're saying and your fear of losing the nozzle. However, for what its worth, the brush kit I posted does have brushes for every orifice of the Iwata, including the channel in which the needle passes.

If you wish to periodically thoroughly clean the brush, (and periodically is a relative term depending on how much you paint), removing the nozzle allows access to the entire interior of the airbrush. The kit for $7 provides a brush for cleaning from both ends of the brush when it is disassembled.

There is also a tiny channel beneath the needle channel that can occasionally get paint in it from "back flushing" the airbrush by putting your finger over the nozzle cap and blowing air back into the paint chamber. The kit has a very tiny brush that facilitates occasional cleaning of that channel also.

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I like the windex/water mix at 50/50 for all cleaning. I take my brush apart about every two months to clean with a brush. But I do go thru a lot of windex to make sure I'm not getting any build up. Make sure you back wash the tip by holding your finger over the nozzle and shooting a little air. That will blow out any left over paint. This works for me.

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:oooh: Hey, I got gypped! fatfingers gets brushes and Dean gets lube. All I got was this lousy airbrush! Fatfingers, are we talking about the same brush? The HP series with .2mm tip? Even the smallest brush in my set (it looks just like your ref set) won't come close to fitting in my HP's barrel with the nozzle removed. And this is the first I've heard about a "tiny channel under the needle". I'm getting paranoid

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I like the windex/water mix at 50/50 for all cleaning. I take my brush apart about every two months to clean with a brush. But I do go thru a lot of windex to make sure I'm not getting any build up. Make sure you back wash the tip by holding your finger over the nozzle and shooting a little air. That will blow out any left over paint. This works for me.

Same here, except I don't dilute my windex--I tried it, and went back to full strength--I always backflush between colors.

Bob, sorry about your luck...it is a cruel world! Actually mine is an Eclipse, so that may make a difference...

Dean

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