AIRBRUSH TECHNIQUE - LEARN TO AIRBRUSH - View Single Post

fontgeek · 01-31-2008

The Windex should be avoided other than the initial cleaning of the new brush. Manufacturers used to reccomend it for getting any remnants of packing grease out of the brush, but long term exposure of brass (the body of your airbrush) and chrome to ammonia has the potential for damaging your brush. Ammonia oxidizes brass and can do damage to chrome. If you are cleaning your brush thoroughly when you are done painting, you could probably get away with just plain water, but Createx's solvent should take care of any remnant or stubborn material. Always try to use as gentle a cleaner or solvent as possible, the less additives or things not meant for airbrushing, the lower the possibliity that you will damage your brush or contaminate your paint. Some detergents leave residue, and dry out rubber packing or seals. Many people have had problems using things like Fantastic or 409 in their brushes, often times they don't realize that the damage they are seeing is from the use of those products, but several people have found that the chrome went away from the interior of the paint reservoir when they used them for cleaning or for reducing their paints.

Get yourself into a regular routine for cleaning and maintaining your brush, if you don't already do that. The vast majority of problems people have with their brushes is from not doing a good job cleaning them.

Build a nice kit that has the brushes, solvents and cleaning tools you need to do a thorough cleaning. A kit helps you to have all the tools you need in one place, and those same tools help you to remember all the steps you need to take in cleaning.

For me, I always start from the inside, and once the interior of the brush is clean, then I go after the exterior. That lets me know that when I look at a brush that if the outside is clean, then the inside is too. Doing it the other way around doesn't let you know if a brush is clean without taking it apart first, and you will probably find that you have more paint on the inside than you do on the outside, so if you clean the outside first, then get paint on your hands or tools, that you will get paint on the outside of the brush, and have to clean it all over again.

Just thoughts from the cheap seats.

01-31-2008	#4 (permalink)
fontgeek magazine subscriber Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 441	Re: PSI seems to be off The Windex should be avoided other than the initial cleaning of the new brush. Manufacturers used to reccomend it for getting any remnants of packing grease out of the brush, but long term exposure of brass (the body of your airbrush) and chrome to ammonia has the potential for damaging your brush. Ammonia oxidizes brass and can do damage to chrome. If you are cleaning your brush thoroughly when you are done painting, you could probably get away with just plain water, but Createx's solvent should take care of any remnant or stubborn material. Always try to use as gentle a cleaner or solvent as possible, the less additives or things not meant for airbrushing, the lower the possibliity that you will damage your brush or contaminate your paint. Some detergents leave residue, and dry out rubber packing or seals. Many people have had problems using things like Fantastic or 409 in their brushes, often times they don't realize that the damage they are seeing is from the use of those products, but several people have found that the chrome went away from the interior of the paint reservoir when they used them for cleaning or for reducing their paints. Get yourself into a regular routine for cleaning and maintaining your brush, if you don't already do that. The vast majority of problems people have with their brushes is from not doing a good job cleaning them. Build a nice kit that has the brushes, solvents and cleaning tools you need to do a thorough cleaning. A kit helps you to have all the tools you need in one place, and those same tools help you to remember all the steps you need to take in cleaning. For me, I always start from the inside, and once the interior of the brush is clean, then I go after the exterior. That lets me know that when I look at a brush that if the outside is clean, then the inside is too. Doing it the other way around doesn't let you know if a brush is clean without taking it apart first, and you will probably find that you have more paint on the inside than you do on the outside, so if you clean the outside first, then get paint on your hands or tools, that you will get paint on the outside of the brush, and have to clean it all over again. Just thoughts from the cheap seats.