Unclog Your Airbrush Quickly and Easily 

What an absolutely wonderful video - I swear I never realised you could remove the little nozzle at the front and pass the needle right through. This has restored my enthusiasm for airbrushing as I now feel confident I can unblock it every time. I can't thank you enough!

Naomi, thank you so much for this video. I've watched many (much longer and often much less to-the-point) airbrush videos, and not a one of them have shown the "reverse needle" trick. That's a lot more thorough than the "wipe off end of needle, clean bowl and front of tube with airbrush cleaner" tips I usually see. I appreciate this.

Voice is so soothing and smooth.

This is the best solution, no wire brushes, no need to buy anything. Everyone should know about this. Thank you for the video!

i’m a nail tech n i left paint in it over night & thought i had to buy a new one 😭 thank u so much u saved my ass LOL

One small suggestion, pull the needle out from the front of the airbrush to avoid pulling any paint/gunk into the body/trigger area...it helps keep things cleaner. So just loosen the needle locking nut, remove the nozzle, and pull the needle out from the front.

Reversing the needle is a great tip. Thanks! You can see the japanese precision in that Iwata.

I think you saved me from a nervous breakdown today, thankyou! x

Thank you! Disassembling the airbrush and cleaning it fixed my problem!

Thanks for this video. It's so much easier to learn something when the person teaching is speaking clearly and using good video examples. Looking forward to learning more from you as I am just beginning to use an airbrush.

This video has helped me so much - I took my air brush apart to give it a good clean and in putting it back together kept missing getting the foot against the trigger. This is the only video I found that actually shows it nestling up against the trigger when re-assembling (that I've found). Huge help and now it's flowing again! Thanks!

Going back to basics is always worth while. there are hundreds of You tubes on how to clean an air brush - but I picked up two valuable comments here. Pushing the needle through backwards, and clean the brush before each fill. Many thanks

Thank you Naomi!! I've been chasing a clog in the air release gap in my airbrush for months and your video finally resolved it. I thought I had tried everything, but something in your method worked. Thank you again!!

This vid is amazing and I wish I could upvote it dozens of times. You've helped me unclog my airbrush at least once every 3 months!

This has been a saviour... I am new to the Airbrush world, so going through all the learning curve/growing pains. I have an el-cheapo gravity feed dual action that seems to love to gum up. I know part of it is the thinning, but this is too consistent to be just my rookie mistakes. I upgraded to a Paasche Talon with the fan pattern nozzle today, something I am more used to from painting full sized cars and bike tins. I am no stranger to using paints, or paint guns, and every one has it's behaviours. This has given me so much great info, once again because of wonderful communication... another one to listen to a few times.

So while trying to scramble and finish subassembly parts on a 40k model I got a clog, could not get it out for weeks and that needle trick saved me. Been a fan ever since I started learning and still would give a 10/10 for you and your channel!

Almost like watching Ian over at Forgotten Weapons taking apart some obscure antique but innovative firearm

I was just about going to give up on Airbrushing as I spent more time trying to make it work than actual painting! Watched lots of other videos but your video actually fixed my clogging problem.. Awesome work thank you😀

I never knew that trick of pushing the needle through backwards. I was totally stumped on why mine wasn't working, but.. OH BOY. It was like my airbrush had smoker's lung. Thanks so much!

Thank you! I have a specialty fishing lure company and the reverse needle unclogging technique will save me many hours of frustration in the future!

It is very very sweet of you to post this wonderful and helpful video, I had almost given up on my air bush until I saw your video, that really worked and the way you have explained step by step was so wonderful, you definitely is a good teacher! Thank you again and I wish you all the best on your future posts. God bless you!!!🙏

When putting the trigger back in to the airbrush you got to watch for a knotch that it has under the head of the trigger. that goes to the rear in 8:03 I saw that you put it to the front. The other thing when you put the needle in you put it in with the lock nut on that helps guide and protect the needle when going in. Lastly I would not recommend ultrasonic cleaner Ive seen how they have broken the body of a airbrush. It has passed 3 years from this video, hopefully you already learned this. if not there's a tip for you and others that see the video. Great video learned a couple of new stuff. Thanks for making the video.

Thank you for your wisdom! My hobby is hotwheels refurbishing them and model cars! 59 years old but kid at heart! Again thanks for your video!

Great video! A friend just gave me a old Master Airbrush. It was left with pain the the bowl for years. It was totally clogged. I know nothing about airbrushes but your video was perfect and showed me how to fix the problem. Thank you.

Thank you so much, tried everything but running my needle through backwards a few times finally unclogged my brush. Thank you!

That airbrush it's very similar to the car painter pistols and the cleaning process it's almost identical; you've to spray some thinner before begin to paint too. This explanation will be very useful for people that bought 2nd hand airbrushes, cheap ones with "dubious" instructions or instructions that are not on their native language, english in your case. Well explained, clear and simple.

Thanks Naomi, it’s always great to learn from someone who clearly knows what she’s talking about. If you don’t mind, could you perhaps explain what to look out for when buying an airbrush, and why you went for this specific model from Iwata? Maybe something for another short video? In general you have my vote for more videos about airbrush techniques. Thanks again!

I've just gotten into using an airbrush and this video has been really helpful. Thank you so much!

Great video Naomi, when I use the airbrush I add a little flow improver in with the paint which seems to stop it getting sticky in the bowl. When I've finished and cleaned out the bowl I run airbrush cleaner through it to flush it through. Whilst wearing a rubber glove place a finger over the nozzle and with a tiny amount of cleaner in the bowl I press the trigger very carefully to 'back flush' the cleaner will bubble up pulling out any paint residue. You will be pleasantly surprised how much there is. Keep up the good work😊

Thank you for the vid! i have a beginner's airbrush i picked up with compressor for about 100 dollars! thought i had cleaned it really good last time i used it! watched your vid decided to pull it out and check it out! EEEWWWW was it dirty on the inside! cleaned it again using the tips you showed in the vid!

Thanks this video helped perfectly. I submerged mine in water though while doing the blunt part through where the clog was and felt I got more out that way. Thanks again for this clear and precise video otherwise I would have smashed my airbrush into a thousand pieces

Airbrush envy ☺. It really is a thing of beauty, and worth keeping clean and shiny.

Thank you. You're the only one who took the airbrush apart and cleaned it with the needle turned around. You also explained the clog in the very front part of the sprayer. After 20 years of owning 3 different brands of airbrush (makeup) machines no one has ever explained what the stupid little wrench was for. I just unclogged my airbrush and I feel so thankful for video. Thank you again. 🙏

Very clear and concise. One observation though. When using the blunt end to clean any deposits you stress how important it is not to pill the needle out from the back as it may pull the deposits into the airbrush body. But when you take the the needle out the first time, you do what you advise against, you pull the needle out from the back. Always best to pull the needle out from the front, but must admit I often forget myself as it is easier and more natural to pull from the back.

Great video, I have a $180 copy of an Iwata Eclipse air brush that gets clogged frequently even after cleaning. Then I have a Central Pneumatic 95810 air brush that cost $36 and it seldom gets clogged after cleaning. That is a great tip to put the needle through backwards, It seemed to have worked on the Iwata style air brush.

I've been using airbrushes for years and never knew you could actually remove the golden nozzle itself from the inside, you are a LIFE SAVER

Thanks for the video. Coincidentally, i just finished cleaning my airbrush after a painting session. One tip i'd like to share here is when cleaning the nozzle, i tend to use a wooden toothpick with a lil bit of airbrush cleaner liquid, its a safer choice for me rather than going the nozzle reamer route as since the toothpick is made of wood instead of metal, there's less chance of it damaging the nozzle, and well its cheap and u can get loads of it :)

Thank you soooo much this has helped me so much with unclogging my airbrush. This is the only video that has helped me

Thanks. Never seen the reverse needle trick before. I've actually damaged my needle trying to get clogs out of a .15mm tip. Highly vexed about that. I should have refrained!!

Awesome video, not just for the airbrush cleaning tips but also the ASMR tingles🥰, thank you 😊

Your video literally saved my day today! Thank you so much for this tutorial!!!

Thank you so much, your video was so helpful and easy to follow. You’re amazing!

Yayy..... great upload yet again 😘 (ASMR is strong with this one lol)

Omg i didnt even knew the nozzle was a screw. This is so tiny omg haha thats gonna help for sure.thank you for your wonderful explanations and have a wonderful day !!

Thank you for this video!!!!! I was able to fix two of my airbrushes because of this one video!!!

Had to leave a comment in case it helps anyone else. I've had a cheap airbrush kit for 4 years, it's never been great but it works for what I use it for, but over time the blockages have gotten so bad that I've been deep cleaning the kit almost before every time I use it. My kit didn't come with a mini wrench but I never assumed I could remove the little nozzle end. Right before buying a replacement kit I had a go unscrewing the nozzle by hand and it came off easily. I've never removed this part since owning the airbrush and to be honest I don't the kit as thoroughly between sprays as I should. I pushed the blunt end of the needle through the nozzle hole and into the main body of the airbrush and 4 years worth of paint clog pushed out. Now the kit works better than it did when I first bought it

Thank you! Great information, clear instructions and I can get back to painting!

Thanks so much for the reverse needle trick. So helpful! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you SO much for doing this in VERY GOOD detail,I all ways had trouble with my airbrush ,Not anymore :)

Thank you for this video... I didn't know you could remove the nozzle and clean that part out... I was getting splatter effect priming which made my zenithal highlight look speckled on my last miniature.

Worked like a charm. Thanks!

Thank you!!! My wife's airbrush was clogged and I wasn't sure how to clean hers. It's not an Iwata, mine's never clogged up

Thank you so much!!! This was super helpful!!!

Thanks for taking time to make this. I'm trying to track down a clog that seems perpetual. I can't seem to run my brush for more than a few mL before I need to take it apart. It's got to be the nozzle, and I think flow improver in future mixes. I know it's not the paint as I'm using vallejo model air and thinned it to the point of being nearly clear and it still clogs in less than a cap-full!

This one helped me alot. Thanks for a good video.

Also great preventative advise.

Phenomenal advice. Thank you so much!

Great video 👍 very enlightening 💯

Nice video 👍 Great tips and good info.

This vid was a life saver damn these clogs!!!

Beautifully explained and demonstrated as always :) thank you for your wonderful content

Great advice, thank you

You’re a life saver! Thank you so much omg

Thanks for this video it really helped me

Thank you! Helped a lot!

Super helpful! Thank you!

Thank you for your video, it helped me alot ;)

I like to use internental brushes to clean the airbrush internally. The same that are used by people that have dental braces. Its soft and fit the needlehole perfectly. For the nozzle I bought a airbrush cleaner kit, and it has a tool with a very sharp point. This point scrapes out any paint leftovers from the nozzle.

GREAT VIDEO!!!! Thank you !

Yup wasnt aware my paint was too thick. Solved the issue instantly

Very good video and I love your voice

Brilliant. Thank you! Sent a tip

Thank you , Naomi .

Nice, very helpful.

Thank you, you saved me today! 👍🏻 😅

Another solvent to consider if it is a tough clog is Lacquer Thinner. Use only in a well ventilated area or under a hood as Lacquer Thinner is highly volatile.

Thanks, super helpful!

I always remove the needle first so that I don't have to worry about damaging it when removing the nozzle cap. If I need to remove the nozzle cap just to check something, I pull back on the trigger to move the needle out of danger whilst removing the cap.

Perfect, thanks! 👍

Thank you! Good video :)

this helped a lot!

great vid, informative

There is one further stage, which you will only have to do if you were unfortunate or stupid (like I was). I flooded mine such that I got paint into the air valve below the trigger. This is where manufacturers differ in the designs . It's not the taking apart of the air valve, as the spring works with you to remove it, (and the official tool is expensive) I used tweezers, it's putting it back in when it's cleaned and lubricated.

Omgggg thank you!!! I have owned an iwata eclipse for a couple years and never realised the tiny nozzle at the tip came off to help cleaning the airbrush! Spent an hour yesterday trying to get to that front compartment ahaha. Thank you! There was a build up and by God it's gone now!

Excellent Video

Cheap nail polish remover, is pretty good at cleaning most types of paint from the airbrush, also if you are heavy-handed like me, be really careful tightening that nozzle up with the wrench (if you do snap it off, use the tip of a tooth pick to unscrew the broken base) 👍

additionally you can get a set of micro pipe cleaners made specifically cleaning airbrushes. alternatively you can use soft dental picks but they wont have as much reach.

Thanks for making a video with no annoying music and no attempts at humor and silly camera editing; that gets old real fast. I'm going to try a few of your tips.

She is so cute and knowledgeable so everybody wins lol. I also did not know you could push the whole needle through the brush once the nozzle is removed but this is my first airbrush.

Thank you so much, im a starter on modeling and I didn’t know how to do this, but I have a question, is there any alternative to airbrush cleaner? Is just that I don’t have one

Thank you!!!!👍

U can get very cheap airbrush cleaning kit off ebay which make things easier. The nozzle cleaner particularly (its a very sharp spike). U can also use those little dental flossing brushes.

Can u make a video of a nasedal airbrush being clogged with topcoat?

Hi there just a quick question. What air gun and compressor would you recommend?

Hi Naomi, question, I use Badger Minitaire airbrush ready paints, i have a problem of them drying too fast whilst in the pot, I use just a bit of water, and the drying retarder, do you have any experience with these paints? What might I be doing wrong?? The water perhaps? Should I use actual thinner?? Thanks for your content!

i really like your videos and i am really fond of your channel but if i may....you never,ever remove the needle from the back cos alla the remains will travel across the body of the airbrush and through the inner O ring and that will be a mess.I suggest to pull back the needle a bit remove the nozzle and then push the needle from back to front,after all we always clean the front part.

My favorite newfie.

Keep the valve out of the sonic cleaner.. good video 👍

Shouldn't soak the airbrush they say, I did wreck 2 Grex ones using an ultrasonic cleaner, now I only put the nozzle and caps in

Another point: an ultrasonic cleaner will NOT do any damage to the needle or spring! Probably won't clean them very well either, unless it's a real good quality one...