Air Brush Cleaning Pot

[RayburnGuy]

If it works for you and your satisfied then that's what matters. I have a Paasche VL as well and those nozzles have a much bigger bore than average so cleaning them this way is possible. I can assure you a pipe cleaner isn't going to fit through a .3mm, or smaller, nozzle no matter how much fuzz you pull off of it. And for myself I'll never put anything with cotton fibers on it in my airbrush. Mix cotton fibers with a little paint and when it dries it's almost like rebar in concrete. Now put that into a small bore nozzle and the next thing you put into your airbrush will be a new nozzle.

 

I'm not "flipping out" or trying to criticize your cleaning regimen. It's just not what I would do. 

 

Ben

[DaveG]

To clean my airbrush after a session I just run a few cups of warm water through which is an Iwata Hi-Line, now and again I soak the whole brush in warm water for an hour, works for me.

[Skeeter]

I use the cleaning pot to get out any excess paint that is left from shooting a single color. Lacquer paint dries really fast. Then I spray some lacquer thinner through to make sure that the needle and the nozzle won't stick when I shoot a second coat of either primer or base coat. Lacquer thinner will dissolve and clean lacquer paint fast. Even if the paint has dried the thinner will cut it and clean it off quickly and completely. If I change colors then I completely tear down the gun and clean it completely.

 

Skeeter

[mark poulson]

Skeeter,

I just did an online search for the difference between acetone and lacquer thinner.  Turns out lacquer thinner is a combination of different solvents, including acetone, but, depending on the manuf., can also contain different amounts of some really nasty stuff.  So be careful.

Turns out acetone isn't as bad for you as some of the other solvents in lacquer thinner.

Years ago, another carpenter and I were putting up prefinished 4X8-1/4" sheets of paneling in a big conference room over one weekend.  We were using solvent based contact cement, and rolled it onto half a dozen fitted sheets and the drywall they were destined for, so we could make some time with the job.

We didn't realized that the building was sealed, and they shut down the ventilation system on the weekends because very few people were there.  

So we were in a sealed room, breathing the fumes from half a gallon of contact cement we had just rolled out.

Short story long we wound up staggering to the elevators, and pushing past the security guards in the lobby to reach fresh air outside.  We had to sit on the steps outside for half an hour to sober up.  After that, we only did one sheet at a time, and left the doors to the hall and the other offices open.

All that is to say be careful.

[Skeeter]

Thanks Mark... I will be careful. You are right..... lacquer thinner is a regular fruit basket of stuff. I use to use acetone but it is really hot (evaporates quickly). Lacquer thinner isn't much slower. I guess you could add a little more retarder if you wanted to slow down the paint drying process. Hmmmm. However, the place where I shoot is well ventilated and I use a filtered mask. I have been shooting this stuff for about 8 years. I would think that if there was any brain damage it would have showed up by now. So far so good....... Now where did I leave my darn car keys?

 

Skeeter

[mark poulson]

Thanks Mark... I will be careful. You are right..... lacquer thinner is a regular fruit basket of stuff. I use to use acetone but it is really hot (evaporates quickly). Lacquer thinner isn't much slower. I guess you could add a little more retarder if you wanted to slow down the paint drying process. Hmmmm. However, the place where I shoot is well ventilated and I use a filtered mask. I have been shooting this stuff for about 8 years. I would think that if there was any brain damage it would have showed up by now. So far so good....... Now where did I leave my darn car keys?

 

Skeeter

 

Probably next to your drink glass.  

[fishnart]

yes, all of this helps

[RayburnGuy]

Not sure about lacquer thinner, but acetone is pretty good when mixed with an equal part of orange juice.

[Skeeter]

The three most common thinners that can be used for painting are acetone, lacquer thinner and methyl ethyl keytone (MEK). Acetone is the hottest and last is MEK. They basically evaporate at different rates. Its all bad. But just think how much gasoline you have sniffed all of your life. Just don't huff the stuff and you will be fine.

 

Painting is changing for me right now. One brand of paint that I have used forever is no longer being made. I will be making the switch to another company for some of the colors. My guardian angel on this site has already helped me with color selections to replace what I had previously. I also use a lot of high end show car paint. I even have the same pigment for some colors that Ferarri uses on their cars.

 

Additionally, I am finally running out of the clear lacquer that I have been using for the past 8 yrs. (I mix a lot of my own colors).  The company won't sell me more because I am not a business. Coley use to help me get it. So I went on the hunt. What I found was the same stuff that they coat Louisville Slugger baseball bats with. (I was born and raised in Louisville. Still have some low friends in high places). The stuff is bullet proof. Spray one coat and the lure will be sealed. No more need for polyurethane or primer either. Then just paint.  I promise you there is no water based paint as tough as this stuff.  Bad to the bone brother..... bad to the bone.  (Queue George)!! 

 

PS.... Party at Bens' 

 

Skeeter

[chas48]

I just got one at Habor Freight for $8