Cleaning and Care – Airbrushinfo.net

Badger Regdab Needle Juice Airbrush Lubricant

Iwata Lube by ANEST IWATA

Paasche 2.4 fl.oz. (85.2ml) Airbrush Lube

In order to keep your airbrush operating correctly it needs to be kept clean and lubricated. Plus all parts, o-rings and seals should be in working condition so use a cleaning products that wont damage your airbrush.

Cleaning Solutions
Glass cleaners like Windex are not recommend for cleaning your airbrush because the ammonia corrodes away at the airbrush parts, but in a pinch they will work pretty good.

Recommended Cleaning Solutions:

Water-Based Paints : Airbrush Cleaner
Solvent-Based Paints : Thinner (Reducer)
Alcohol-Based Paints : 90% Isopropyl or Denatured Alcohol

Airbrush Cleaner
This is a soapy solution that works pretty well at cleaning your airbrush and at the same time will not cause any damage to the body or parts of the airbrush. Your safest bet when choosing an airbrush cleaner is to pick one that is designed to work with the paint you are using. Createx Airbrush Cleaner is going to work well with Createx Colors and so on.

	Createx Airbrush Cleaner 2oz			$2.54
	Createx Airbrush Cleaner 4oz			$4.02
	Createx Airbrush Cleaner 8oz			$6.18
	Createx Airbrush Cleaner 16oz			$8.10
	Createx Airbrush Cleaner 32oz			$14.19

Cleaning Brushes

These are a great way to remove dried clumps of paint from your airbrush. However some airbrush manufactures discourage using such cleaning brushes because they can do damage to the airbrush body. Use at your own discretion. The smaller brushes scrub out the interior of the airbrush body and nozzle while the larger brushes are for the paint cup and exterior of the airbrush. Only use the quality cleaning brushes because the cheap ones can leave bristles behind, causing more problems.


	Airbrush Nozzle Cleaning Set from Harder Steenbeck			$20.97
	Grex FA01 – Mini Cleaning Brush Set			$5.99
	Grex FA02 – Full Cleaning Brush Set			$14.99
	MACK 1290-S Set of 5 Specialized Cleaning Brushes			$8.95
	Paasche AC-7 Airbrush Cleaning Set			$15.60
	Harder Steenbeck Cleaning Brush			$2.72

Nozzle Cleaning Needles
These are specially shaped tools for scooping out paint hidden deep in the nozzle. Where needle and nozzle meet is where most of the clogging happens in the airbrush. The Harder Steenbeck one on the works best because it has a special scoop shape on it but the Paasche “Reemer” work pretty well too.

	Nozzle cleaning needle			$18.36
	Airbrush Nozzle Cleaning Set from Harder Steenbeck			$20.97
	Mack 1230 Set of 13 Tip Cleaners in Blue Metal Box			$4.99
	Paasche VL-54 Reemer			$6.16
	Grex FA03 – Nozzle Thread Extractor			$15.00

Airbrush Lubricants
A small amount of this on your needle and where the trigger stem hits the air vale will have your airbrush running smoothly. A new airbrush will come pre-lubed and therefore wont needs this treatment until it has gone through a lot of use. When you find the up and down or back and forth trigger action is a little sticky, it’s time to re-lube. Only use a tiny drop. Over oiling can cause major problems. A dab will do ya!

Soft Jaw Pliers
You’re better off using these than regular pliers when taking apart and screwing back together your airbrush. Regular pliers can strip away at your head cap eventually making it difficult to get a tight fitting. You can find Soft Jaw Pliers online or available as part of the Iwata Professional Maintenance Tools Kit.

Spray Out Pots
Spray pots are a receptacle used to spray into between color changes and cleanings. Of course you could just spray into a rag or make your own spray pot out of an Arizona Ice Tea can with some paper towels shoved inside, but that would yield over-spray hanging around for you to breathe and possibly dingy up your project. And so spray pots are really used more to keep your work area clean and free from over-spray.

	SPARMAX Airbrush Workspace Cleaning Pot			$18.95
	Iwata Universal Spray Out Pot			$23.95

Magnifier Loops
When your airbrush is malfunctioning one of the trouble-shooting steps is to inspect the nozzle for any clogs, cracks etc. The problem is, nozzles are small and it’s hard to see what’s going on down there especially in poor lighting. The Iwata-Medea LED Magnifier is a great way to go because the LED light plus the magnifier solves both your problems or you could just pick up a common jewelers loop.