This subject came up after a friend read my last post.

How do I clean up after using Vallejo Air paint in my airbrush?

I put 2 or 3 fluid cups full of Lysol Clean and Fresh through the airbrush, pull the needle and wipe it and the interior of the fluid cup out with a lacquer thinner soaked Q-tip, reinsert the needle, put 2 fluid cups worth of lacquer thinner through it and I am done.  This method works for me.

If I am airbrushing lacquer based paint, e.g., Hataka Orange Line or Tamiya Lacquer, I use only “hardware store” lacquer thinner.  I will fill the fluid cup with lacquer thinner and put a Q-tip in the cup.  Then I use the Q-tip to loosen all the paint on the inside of the cup, which always dissolves in the thinner.  I spray that out, followed my two more cups filled with thinner.  I pull the needles and wipe it off, then spray a final cup full of thinner through the airbrush and I am done.

For Tamiya Acrylics, I follow the above procedure except I use nothing but 91% rubbing alcohol as a solvent.

These methods work for me, they involve no extremely powerful solvents and no abrasives of any kind.  Your mileage may vary. 

And…thank you for dropping by.