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Easy question: how do you clean your aerograph? Do you use the same solvent you use for painting, or a cheaper one for cleaning? Also, I'll be able to use a sonic bath really soon in order to improve my cleaning

My method for quick cleaning is four steps (also used for quick color changes)

1. Use a spraybottle with water to spray into the cup and tip i out in a waste container just to get down to a minimum of excess (I skip this step if I use a microcup)

2. Spray more water into the cup and spray it through the airbrush to get most of the paint out.
3. Spray some windex (or similar, ammonia free) into the cup and run it through.
4. If it still doesn't come of I use Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner. Just touch the trigger so there is solvent through the paint channel and nozzle. After a minute or two I just run it through. The wait helps to disolve the paint.

Using this method I pretty much never have to take the brush apart.

When it comes to sonic baths. Make sure you remove all the rubber seals since solvents might damage them with prolonged exposure.

 granander wrote:
My method for quick cleaning is four steps (also used for quick color changes)

1. Use a spraybottle with water to spray into the cup and tip i out in a waste container just to get down to a minimum of excess (I skip this step if I use a microcup)

2. Spray more water into the cup and spray it through the airbrush to get most of the paint out.
3. Spray some windex (or similar, ammonia free) into the cup and run it through.
4. If it still doesn't come of I use Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner. Just touch the trigger so there is solvent through the paint channel and nozzle. After a minute or two I just run it through. The wait helps to disolve the paint.

Using this method I pretty much never have to take the brush apart.

When it comes to sonic baths. Make sure you remove all the rubber seals since solvents might damage them with prolonged exposure.

So do you usually unmount the airbrush when you finish your painting session?
What do you mean by prolonged exposure? I was just thinking about putting all the small parts into a small glass with airbrush cleaner (Vallejo perhaps) and then letting the sonicate for 5-10 minute. Should I be worried about damaging rubber seals?

Damaging the seals? With your plan, not terribly so. Vallejo cleaner is rather mild (some say too mild to be useful, but it works well enough for me on acrylic paint), so I wouldn't expect it to ruin seals after such short soaks. Other paints may use more caustic solvents (alcohol isn't too bad, but cellulose thinner is nasty stuff), which are usually what degrade seals and o-rings by leeching out plasticizers and oils, making rubber and some plastics dry and brittle. Some people use heated sonic baths with hour-long cycles, which would obviously raise the risk with any cleaner, but especially with cleaners containing ammonia (which can strip chrome plating) and other harsh solvents.

Also consider your particular equipment - some airbrushes use cheap rubber o-rings and PET needle packing/seals. Others avoid internal o-rings (relying on a precise mechanical fit to create a seal at those junctions) and use Teflon seals, making the brush internals impervious to almost any solvent you could reasonably use.

 oadie wrote:
Damaging the seals? With your plan, not terribly so. Vallejo cleaner is rather mild (some say too mild to be useful, but it works well enough for me on acrylic paint), so I wouldn't expect it to ruin seals after such short soaks. Other paints may use more caustic solvents (alcohol isn't too bad, but cellulose thinner is nasty stuff), which are usually what degrade seals and o-rings by leeching out plasticizers and oils, making rubber and some plastics dry and brittle. Some people use heated sonic baths with hour-long cycles, which would obviously raise the risk with any cleaner, but especially with cleaners containing ammonia (which can strip chrome plating) and other harsh solvents.

Also consider your particular equipment - some airbrushes use cheap rubber o-rings and PET needle packing/seals. Others avoid internal o-rings (relying on a precise mechanical fit to create a seal at those junctions) and use Teflon seals, making the brush internals impervious to almost any solvent you could reasonably use.

Thank you for the answer! Actually, I'm quite sure most of the seals are made of PET, so I will be a little bit carefull and use a mild cleaner! Any other suggestion? Cheaper solvent? How long do I sonicate? Put the whole aerograph or completely unmount it before putting in the bath?