How to stop making a mess; remove the nozzle and pull the needle through the front of the airbrush. This prevents the needle dragging any paint backwards up through the airbrush (so you don't have to pour water or cleaner from the back end). Then all you have to do is clean the cup, replace the needle and nozzle, blow some cleaner through it and and you're good to go. Elapsed time, < 1 minute. Also, hot water works better than cold/room temp. Hope this is helpful to someone.
ok. i've had an airbrush for less than 12 hours. I have learned more from the 3 or so Airbrush Assylum vids Ive watched than ANY other YT airbrush wannabes!
For the people who use solvent based paints: DON'T follow this the videos advice. There are advice and help provided by the manufaacturer... Why not just follow that. When you give advice to thousands of people or paying customers, do you not have a responsibility to teach best practices? Like for instance: 1. Don't pour water behind the needle chuck (The oring inside the body between the trigger and the nozzle. This prevents paint from travelling back through the airbrush, hence not needing to clean it) If you did this with lacquer thinner you would ruin every rubber o ring in the back, air valve and others if present in just few cleaning cycles. 2. Don't mix used paints especially not if you are a beginner. Vallejo paints have a tendency to dry like gummy in the cup. Then you pour that dried paint into the fresh paint and next time when you shake it up the dried bits break up and you have a great clogging fluid, and will need to buy new paint. 3. Don't pull dirty needle through the back of airbrush.............. Best practices: 1. Pour water into empty dirty cup. Stir with brush or flush with pipette to remove from surfaces. 2. Spray water or cleaning fluid through the airbrush until it seems to run clear. 3. Switch paint and continue if you want to avoid disassembling the airbrush (If you have Iwata or clone there is an argument for not unscrewing and screwing which causes wear and tear on threads) 4. When finished repeat above steps and pull the needle out the front, wipe it down and maybe clean the nozzle with interdental brush (don't use the metal nozzle cleaner, the are often made of soft metals and just tiny invisible nick can affect spray pattern) 5. If you have a small amount of paint build up behind the needle chuck you can wipe it off with a damp cotton swab. Also read the advice the manufacturer gives, please... Or if you have another airbrush and use solvent based paints. Fill the cheap airbrush with solvent and spray down the dirty expensive airbrush. Pay attention to the hole where the needle pops out into the cup. Don't spray rubber seals with solventsthey will no longer fit . I see so many people happily and convincingly teaching their home grown methods, having no clue how that would work out on a larger scale with many brands and materials. People chucking the whole shebang, air valve and all, directly onto the bottom of an ultrasonic cleaner
Just a note: On the HP-CS there is a packing o-ring behind the brass sleeve inside the air valve, this o-ring can get damaged from oils/lubricants/chemicals/reducer/airbrush cleaner/etc over time. If and when it get damaged (typically it gets slightly swollen) it constricts too tightly around the bottom of the trigger assembly and causes slow trigger movement or a failure for the trigger to rise back up. I found this out after cleaning the valve piston like you do in this video, and cleaning the air valve cavity and everything else and still having a slow/sticking trigger. I discovered the sleeve by accident when attempting to clean the cavity using a qtip that fit into the sleeve snugly, when pulling the qtip out, the sleeve slid out as well, granting access to the hidden packing oring. I found that Iwata sells these o-rings for around 8 dollars, but I also found that I could go to my local dart store and purchase tiny orings (they are meant to prevent the flight shaft from loosening) for ~25 cent each, and these fit perfectly, and solved my issue regarding a slow/sticking trigger. I doubt they are solvent resistant, but thus far I've yet to need to replace it. Just giving a heads up for those who find this method does not fix their trigger issues (as was the case for me). In the exploded view of the owners manual on page 15, the sleeve is #8 and called the "air valve guide body" and the oring is #7 and called the "air valve o-ring: www.iwata-airbrush.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/ECL101-IM.pdf
@@AirbrushAsylum thanks for sharing, I just found my an O ring at the bottom of my paint well, New at airbrushing and new owner of IWATA Eclipse. The location and info helped me fix the problem. But sounds like an expensive problem to fix. Have no clue about any dart place where I live.
Great instructions!😀 The instructor speaks in a clear, coherent voice with concise explanations; and the video shows sharp close-ups and straightforward demonstrations.
I just want to swing by and say that you have completely saved my airbrushes. I can't even express how powerful this video alone has been to me... I am no longer destroying my airbrushes and this cleaning method has been hands down the best I've tried. Thank you so much!
I’ve had bleed over just using water , so after I clean out the air brush with water first I always go back over the Needle & the airbrush with airbrush cleaner then run water back through it & if I need it really clean I,ll take the whole airbrush apart , clean it as much as I can with brushes then throw all the small parts in my ultrasonic basket & throw them as well as the gun into a hot ultrasonic bath using Magic Green soft soap for 2 cycles , it’s very clean after like right off the show room floor clean .
Hi, I model trains and make aircraft kits so I'm as a complete newbie to airbrushing I found your tutorials totally brilliant and I'm loving it; totally beats using a brush. Having an engineering background, I always turn a nut anti-clockwise till I feel the slight click and that way I know I've lined up the start point of both male and female thread: this significantly reduces the chances of 'cross-threading' when you start to tighten. (There are of course some threads that work the other way round, so that they are self tightening). I will be watching all of your tutorials because I like the way you present them. Thanks again and keep up the brilliant vids.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and share what you are doing with the airbrush and really appreciate your kind words and glad you enjoy my videos all the best from down under 👍🏻🇦🇺
you want to see a much better video from some one whom knows what he is talking about check this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ulWFoG5Inmw.html&ab_channel=ScaleModelWorkshop and not all of what this elder say I share as true, but he know more and explains way better.
Oh man. I have been using the eclipse for a few years now and never realized you could clear blockages by pulling back on the nut! That's amazing!!!! And I know how to fix my sticky trigger now too! You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar :)
Thank you for this, I was having a lot of problems with what I thought was a clean airbrush. This is the only video I have seen which mentions flushing from the rear of the brush, I have tried it and it has completely changed my experience. Great video. Please keep up the great work :)
lol I never knew about back cleaning like that! wow, you learn something everyday :) I always take my airbrushes apart after every use, especially the front end and brush through the openings etc. But I had never done that back cleaning. I need to sort out a bottle to do that :) Thank you mate, awesome, regards Phil
me neither, I got rid of my old airbrush as it took forever to clean and get ready for the next colour. Turns out I had 2 problems, a poor compressor that came as a kit and not watching this video first.
I'm a newbie to airbrushing. I inherited an Iwata system from my brother and am excited to learn to use it. This series is AWESOME! Thanks for the great insight and lessons!!
@@peteranserin3708 Eh, I'd still watch YT vids, just more than this one. Others will give better/more tips to add on to. That's how I personally learned, first, before taking mine apart and I'm glad I did. The only problem I see with this video is removing the needle through the back, rather than the front and not disassembling it to clean.
Totally off subject I bought a master airbrush that for some reason won’t spray paint I pull back on lever and nothing when letting off the air it will spirt a little paint what would cause that?
Check that the needle locking nut is tight so that when you pull back on the trigger it retracts the needle and allows paint to flow through the air cap. Hope that helps 👍🏻
I have that same cleaning pot but I prefer to clean out the airbrush gun cup by spraying water in it and dumping it out into a large plastic container. When the water runs clear I will add more water then spray it out. It takes too long to spray into the cleaning pot. Sometimes I even clean the airbrush cup out in my bathroom sink. I only use acrylics so I don't think it's a big deal. The real hassle for me is trying to place the trigger back into the little hole. It's such a pain.
I congratulate you for being so easy and simple.. I have a "slight " problem, Somehow, I just can`t pain as you do, thin and gross.. what can be my mistake
So this cleaning process Has to be done after EVERY color used? It's My first time using an airbrush. Coming back to building models after 40yrs, and having used cans. So far I've obtained two airbrushes, an airbrush compressor with tank, and built a spray booth.
in a bind i use Klean-Strip GSG14 Naked Gun Spray Gun Paint Remover. just run some laquer thinner after to remove the oils. this stuff is a life saver and is like a full dissassembly .
My dual action neo for iwata became a single action spray midway during painting. I took the nozzle out cleaned and also cleaned the needle, still seeing continuous paint as soon as I press the trigger. Any suggestions?
there may be a small amount of dried paint inside the nozzle which is not allowing the needle to 'seat' properly therefore allowing paint to escape when the trigger is pressed.
WOW 😮😮😮 What the hell are you doing at 4:26!!!!!!! Flushing through the back of the air brush into the needle chucking guide with the needle removed is not only virtually pointless it's also going to flood and contaminate the air valve and mid section (trigger interspace) of the brush, as well as removing the lubrication that should be in that part of the airbrush. You will also get paint dribble back out of the needle seal / packing and set in the trigger interspace, this will also more than likely contaminate the air valve as you did not cover cleaning this area in any way which would need to be done following your process! also if people think this process is OK when using solvent based paints and cleaners / solvents as someone has in the comments down below they are just going to just wreck the air valve as the seal will swell and stop working. No where in any Iwata (or other brand) manual does it tell you to do what you are are doing, in fact it specifically tells you "NEVER soak your entire airbrush in any liquid"... basically what you are doing with this haphazard method! So to be honest if you are teaching this method then it is NOT amazing that your students get paint into the air valves! If your needle packing is good and adjusted properly then in normal use you will not get paint passing back down the needle, what you state at 18:13 is complete BULL. When cleaning the air valve you do not mention lubrication at all, especially of the main lever toggle (Trigger push pin). At 11:30 you also called the Needle Cap an "Air Cap"... it is not, the item it screws onto is the air cap or nozzle cap, this is very misleading for new people as they misunderstand the entire function of the parts. I thought this was a professional channel but wow you just changed my mind! This is completely the WRONG way to clean an airbrush! The fact you are an Iwata Airbrush dealer is even worse and amazes me! I suggest you get an Iwata specialist to teach you how to clean these properly and then perhaps you can re-do your video!!
Backflushing with a wash bottle is pretty messy, even with a tray. I picked up a 10-pack of ink syringes to fill fountain pen ink cartridges, and i discovered the needle on those syringes is the same diameter as the needle on my Badger Renegade Krome, so i now use that to backflush, with very little spilling. The needle doesn't comfortably fit into the back of my Master airbrush, so it's not a universal solution. I have a PS-270 on order, and hoping it will work with that. I'm also planning to look into finding a rubber bulb that will attach to the syringe, so i might be able to add a little more pressure behind the backflush.
Hi there, thanks for the tips. Can you buy a prong for every brand or a universal one to clean the action housing ? Question.. I bought a FENGDA, not Chinese, basic three needles and nozzles to start with. I've heard allready a few times, that it is a good idea if you buy a cheaper kit to "polish" the aria where the point of the needle and nozzle meets on the inside with very fine polish compound like schratch remover for car paint and rub it around , so they would fit and close better ? Do you think that's a good idea ? Thanks in advance. Greets from Belgium.
Thanks for your comment and glad you enjoyed the video, the tool for the plunger assembly is pretty much available as 1 to fit all (except for the eclipse) not too sure on all other brands but I mean iwata and any other brushes that share the same plunger assembly design . As for the needle, I have heard a lot about polishing as well, can’t give you a 100% accurate answer as I have never done it, I only use SharpenAir to re sharpen or fix my needles , but I urge any viewers from the community to provide useful feedback if they have succeeded with polishing needles on cheaper brushes. 👌🏻👍🏻
Based on your great advice, I purchased the Iwata Eclipse Hp and instantly I understood why one would spend the money on this airbrush. It works at a higher level than the $30 ones. The needle is of a higher quality metal. Also, the Eclipse is perfectly weighted so it is very comfortable in your hand. Finally, it is a lot easier to clean in my opinion. Thanks, Now, let's airbrush!
Thanks for sharing and SO happy that you are enjoying your eclipse, it will be a brush that you will have in your collection for years as it's such a versatile, quality airbrush .
This is where possible, I won’t draw the needle backwards, u less is mint clean. If I must fully flush the brush - I’ll take the needle forwards, and reduces the need for backend flushing. Kool video tho chap, it will help others.
thanks for the video. may i ask, i see your paint says water based. well, i starting with acrylics i'm wondering if i'm simply having bad acrylic problems or if my pains old? i've tried all sorts of thinning ratios but regardless, the inside of the brush's cup gets covered with paint like yours, but yours washes away by just a simple flush. my acrylic dries and hardens to a hard film very quickly. it's so hard to wash off. this drying out makes my needle dry out so so fast and makes cleaning awful.
Yep they are, especially the micron or any finer needles, I once accidentally pushed it into the side of my leg and it went in about an inch ….not pleasant 🤦
Wow, I've been airbrushing for years and didn't know about flushing through the back. When I got paint behind the cup I would just do a full tear-down. This is going to save me so much time!
You are NOT supposed to pull the needle out the back, that is not only bad for getting paint stuck inside that damages the gun, but pushing the needle back in the rear is severely bad for the needle tip. Just take it out the front and remove the tip inserts to clean them properly. Im a noob and I know this from watching many others.
Hi I having trouble with my airbrush I clean it when I stop using paint but yesterday when I wanted to paint the it didn't come out so I disassemble it and clean it but still it won't come out how do I know how it's clean to start again it's because I use Mr color paint for models
Thanks for the tips. One note: Needle must be removed to the front way after removing nozzle, in that way the remainig paint on the needle will not penetrate in the internal mechanism of the airbrush.
I'm startingh to use a Iwata revolution and .... i clean it every single time i used it. I disassemble everything , clean it and re assembilng it. I think thet is not a waste of time so, i did it every time.
Thanks for making videos like these, it's really helpful learning from someone whos got a lot of experience. Got my first airbrush to paint miniatures, but I'm really looking forward now to trying some canvas pieces after watching many of your videos.
I was wondering how to do this properly, I guess I lucked out, I have the same airbrush, how would one know what size needle is in your gun, is it written on the needle some where, thanks for what you do
No probs, glad you enjoyed the video it depends on your airbrush iwata airbrushes have one needle / nozzle setup which cannot be altered, other brands like paasche for example have notches or numbers to identify needle sizes usually found on the back of the needle , hope that helps 👍🏻
You have reignited my love for airbrushing. I get so excited when I pull out my gear with a new project in mind. I however usually pull back on the needle lever when installing the front cap so I don’t hit the needle. Also I clean the cup out in the sink first to get the bulk of the paint before using the porta potty. Love your show and thanks. Oh and if you need to lube any o-rings you have to use silicone oil. Maybe pass some water through after in case it gets in the paint path.
Hello dear artist!!! I have a problem with my iwata eclipse HP-CS 0.35mm, when i press down ONLY for air a small amount of paint comes out!!! The air cap and head assembly are well at their posisition, what can go wrong? My needle is not bend , only thing i can think of is about my nozzle but at a first glance seems to be ok and clean
You need to clean the nozzle better, and or replace it. I had the same issue, and noticed paint had crusted so bad that the nozzle was ruined, it was cracked and beyond repair. After you are done with your ab for the night you must do a thorough cleaning.
I just want to thank you for your wonderful videos. I've been doing leather work for many years and have never used an airbrush for it. I'm moving from California to Texas, I know TMI, but I plan to start a business there and using an airbrush for the majority of dying and finishing. All kinds of questions have come into my mind and your videos have answered most of them. It would take me approximately an hour between dying and finishing with something like acrylic resolene. I would need to clean in between. There are paints, oil dyes, alcohol dyes, water dyes. The paints have me more concerned but nonetheless, when I start again, it will be a learning process which I believe your videos will be my main go to. Thank you.
Great video, thanks a lot! Could you please make a video in which you explain how to clean the creos ps 771? I know thst you enjoy that brush and i have noticed that there are not that many video that talk about the cleaning process of tjat particular airbrush.. What I'd like to understand in general is which parts I should disassembly/clean regularly (at the end of each painting session) and which ones just once in a while.. 🙏🙏🙏 Thanks again for your grest content
Please HELP!!! i just bought a brand new iwata eclipse. After testing it out with a water based paint, i went to clean it just like you said in the video, but after re assembling it, paint/water doesn't come out. Only air. The paint/water stays in the cup. Ive tried EVERYTHING and nothing works. This is my second airbrush, the other one (iwata revolution) same exact issue. What am i doing wrong? I followed these exact steps.
That's some very useful knowledge thank you for sharing it with us. And like others I too am a beginner at 60 years old LOL but you have taught me so much since I subscribed to your Channel and I am deeply in your debt my friend. I'm glad I found you. Your friend George Reed from Ohio in the USA.
I'm new to airbrushing. I've been enjoying your postings .I'm interested in learning how to doing ghost flames on my car.What is the mixing ratio for automotive paint .ALSO in my first go attempt I seemed to get a lot of water droplets and there wasn't much pressure when I was spraying. Can you HELP me out Thanks
Great video very informative. One thing ,wouldn't it be better to rinse the cup out first with water an pour it out.. instead of all that residue in the cup being blown through the gun. Just rinse cup out and give it a wipe.. then blow clean water through the gun... ??
Great videos. Helped me a lot since getting back into using an ab during lockdown. I've just got a brush out and it's not spraying paint. There's air coming through the nozzle and it goes back into the pot if I cover the nozzle for a backwash but nothing when I try to paint. I've stripped it and cleaned it and put it back together but no paint. Any maintenance ideas would be great. Maybe a video on common issues?
I do it just to avoid the risk of damaging the business end of the needle. I also re-insert it backwards through the front. If I see any colour on the back end of the needle once it's all the way through, I know the job's not quite done yet.
So glad I've discovered your channel. And a fellow Aussie! Just one query....how come in none of the iwata literature do they ever mention flushing from the back? Can it cause rust? And do you ever need to remove the nozzle to clean? Thanks!
God blessa ya ! I stumbled upon your chanel and I have been watching your videos all b. weekend , you have got something to show without any inuendos .I like your simplicity , and down to earth honesty .\which I suppose is a result of australian education . Keep up the good work and I will knock that bell
So glad I found your videos. I was having nothing but trouble with my first steps into airbrushing. If I had seen these two years ago, I wouldn't have so much white hair today.
question? are airbrush cleaner products a waste of money ? You seem to just use plain water to clean up your airbrush there- I will be using acrylic paint for model kits
