This is what I do to ensure that the gun is operational at all times:
Before a spraying session:
· Prepare a bucket of water for cleaning and a jar of water for brushes (the hairy ones).
· Check needle on airbrush to ensure that it is completely clean.
· Functional check of gun and compressor to see that air / paint flow is ok
During a spraying session (when changing colours):
· First fill the cup with water, and use a brush to clean the cup.
· Submerge the tip of the airbrush and cup in the bucket of water and spray for a short while, to blow the remaining paint from the cup/nozzle.
· Put some drops of washer (the freeze resistant version from your car) into the cup and spray until cup is empty. NB! Make sure that you spray into a cleaning station as the alcohol in the washer is not something you want to inhale.
After a spraying session:
· Repeat the steps from the colour changing above.
· Remove needle and dry it.
· Check the cup and gun for remaining paint and dry that.
· I end the session by spraying some drops of Vallejo airbrush cleaner through the gun and then drying the needle again.
Safety considerations:
· Inhaling stuff like paint, washer and airbrush cleaner is unlikely to be good for your health, so I suggest that you use some kind of respirator with a filter.
· Further to that I’ve started to use a homemade cleaning station to catch some of the spray before it spreads to the entire house. You could buy one from the airbrush vendor, but any semitransparent container with a lid will do – Mine is a cotton stick container with a hole (made with a hobby knife) in the lid.
/Nicolai aka Atoom
UPDATED 01032011
I bought a ultrasonic cleaner, that works wonders on the tiny dirt inside the airbrush - Must have if you can afford it.
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