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Hi, I recently bought a IWATA Revolution HP-CR 0.5mm Airbrush. I've recently ran into some problems with it today. It was working fine yesterday, no problems at all. But I think a slither of gw paint that has been hardened got into it! the crap that is around the sides of the paint pot "sigh" and I think it's in my airbrush now but I have no clue on how to get the nozzle off, and don't wanna break the thing because it will cost me, 50 bucks LOL. Iwata is crazy for replacements, Deficiently not recommended by the way >______> and I lost the little spanner thing, that comes with it. My dad has a load of spanners what size, would I need.


Any help would be awesome! and some clean up tips aswell. No more gw paints! only using my model air from now on ^^. Only thing I really dislike about the airbrush is the matainance is insane on the bloody things. Takes about 10 mins to fully clean it :( can get annoying.




regards,





James

Best advice for a first timer is to YouTube airbrush maintenance - smee has a good guide I think, but there are plenty of tutorials on how to strip and clean a problematic airbrush..

kronicpsycho wrote:
Only thing I really dislike about the airbrush is the matainance is insane on the bloody things.

Get used to it, or throw your expensive airbrush away now then!

Cleaning your airbrush is very important. Probably the most important thing you could do to it!

You should never have even used the airbrush without knowing how to break it down into parts, clean and put back together.
I urge you to learn this now before doing anything else with your airbrush.

What I do when cleaning my airbrush is as follows;

Remove the needle and wipe it with some acetone (or your chosen airbrush cleaner - alcohol can work well)
set he needle to one side somewhere safe, and dismantle the nozzle assembly, (my particular brush does not require any tooling for this, Harder & Steenbeck Evolution, you just unscrew the nozzle cap with fingers, the nozzle just sits inside this piece for me and just falls out, some other airbrushes have a teeny weeny thread where the nozzle attaches, be very careful if yours has this as its quite easy to over tighten and break it.
I use an old ruined size 2 brush and some acetone to clean up the insides of the airbrush, paint cup, nozzle and other bits and pieces.
Once everything is squeaky clean (seriously perfctly clean with zero paint residue left over) get your airbrush lube out, apply a drop or two to a bit of rag and run the needle through it between gently pinched fingers,
and apply a drop to the trigger mechanism.
For rebuilding, fit the nozzle set up first, then the trigger, and lastly slide the needle in from the rear.

Isopropanol is your friend. With a brush this stuff eats acrylic paint. Plus you can spray it through as well. I had a small scare with some dried gloss varnish but it's just taught me to be thorough and patient with cleaning. I live in Adelaide and the shop I bought my airbrush from offers service and maintenance for reasonable prices. I imagine the rest of the capital cities offer the same though that depends if you're near one!

Iwata are one of the top airbrush makers, their brushes are no more complex to clean and use than any other brand and better made than most.

You haven't run into any problems, you just haven't been maintaining the airbrush properly and paint is dried inside.

First thing to do it buy a replacement "little spanner" and don't lose it this time. Then buy an airbrush cleaning kit and airbrush cleaning fluid and clean the brush properly in future.

Watch youtube videos on how to care for the airbrush or you will be buying replacement parts.

Cleaning and maintenance are the two most important things when using an airbrush.

Remember to wear a mask when spraying isopropanol through your brush, as this stuff can be really harmful when breathed in.

Try the following to get the dried paint out:




Just follow the steps I show at 01:45.

Cheers!

 Skippy wrote:
Iwata are one of the top airbrush makers, their brushes are no more complex to clean and use than any other brand and better made than most.

Not true, Harder & Steenbeck do indeed make their airbrushes differently. Its in the nozzle assembly system, that little teeny weeny thread where the nozzle screws onto the body of the brush is not needed. Its fiddly, annoying and easy to break. H&S did away with it. I've never seen another brush with this feature, put it down to German engineering being pretty much some of the best!
Also note worthy is H&S's trigger mechanism being much better, having a rounded piece to rock back and forth on much more smoothly than any other I have seen.

The actual workings of the brush remain the same, but its little genius things like this that make it much easier and simpler to strip down clean and rebuild without mishaps.
I realise i sound like a fan boy but my H&S is my 4th airbrush, having tried badger and some cheap brands prior, I'l never go back to any other brand that do not use this H&S nozzle assembly system.

go look at the spanners you have, try them until you find one that fits well.

As others said, cleaning your brush is necessary (with airbrush or traditional...if you want them to last). I run alcohol through mine after every single paint use every time. If it was a particularly thick or nasty paint, I take out the needle and clean it quickly as well.

If you do this, you reduce the need for full take apart cleanings dramatically.

You are all so amazing! with all the help! ♥ That video, was very helpful and once my new spanner comes in the post, I'll take it apart. But dunno, the nozzle doesn't look anything like the others I have seen on Youtube :/ don't wanna break it since it will cost 50 dollars to replace D:

HairySticks wrote:

Also note worthy is H&S's trigger mechanism being much better, having a rounded piece to rock back and forth on much more smoothly than any other I have seen.

My Grex use the same trigger design as my H&S (little ball and socket type deal with a curved guide).

Nozzles vary a good bit from PITA threaded nozzles like on my HP-CR to simple ones held in place by the cap like on the H&S, Badger and even my HP-CS. Some of the non-threaded ones have an o-ring or gasket, while others rely on a metal to metal seal with good machining (a source of problems for the Chinese knock-offs which lack the same level of quality control). Grex uses the threaded nozzle, but at least their design is big enough to actually handle with fat fingers to avoid cross threading.

One nice thing with the H&S is that their nozzle assembly is larger - so it is harder to loose. Some of the nozzle's - like on my Krome are tiny, smaller than a grain of rice tiny. If you ever take it apart for a soak, you need to be careful so as not to loose that thing. The H&S one is a good 4 or 5 times longer and wider to boot - about the same size as the nozzle on my older Omni.

Back to the OP though - clean your brush after every use. I blow cleaner through till it comes out clear, doesn't take that much. You will also want to break it down from time to time. Depending on how often you use it, what paints you are using and what not - that might be once a week, once a month or once a year. When you break it down, I tend to give everything a good wipe down with cleaner and then use needle oil on reassembly to keep it from getting gummed up in the future. You may need to soak things for a bit if they are gummed up though, an ultrasonerator helps when they are soaking as it shakes the little bits of paint loose...though there are certain precautions to keep in mind with certain cleaners and ultra sonic devices.

As far as the cleaner goes - alcohol is generally safe to use, but skip the advice from people who say to use window cleaner and the like. If you ruin the plated finish on the innards of your brush, you might as well have bought one of the Chinese knock-offs. In general stick to either water, alcohol, turps or air brush cleaner as most of the other stuff carries with it a certain level of risk which isn't worth while.

One other thing to keep in mind if you choose to use a flammable cleaner. You are vaporizing it - vaporized flammable liquids are dangerous. A respirator will do nothing to prevent you from burning your house down. Ideally, if you stay on top of things and use regular hobby type paints - you can do most your cleaning with water. If you use oils or use alcohol for cleaning, use proper precautions to avoid the creation of a fuel-air bomb.

 Sean_OBrien wrote:

HairySticks wrote:

Also note worthy is H&S's trigger mechanism being much better, having a rounded piece to rock back and forth on much more smoothly than any other I have seen.

My Grex use the same trigger design as my H&S (little ball and socket type deal with a curved guide).

Nozzles vary a good bit from PITA threaded nozzles like on my HP-CR to simple ones held in place by the cap like on the H&S, Badger and even my HP-CS. Some of the non-threaded ones have an o-ring or gasket, while others rely on a metal to metal seal with good machining (a source of problems for the Chinese knock-offs which lack the same level of quality control). Grex uses the threaded nozzle, but at least their design is big enough to actually handle with fat fingers to avoid cross threading.

One nice thing with the H&S is that their nozzle assembly is larger - so it is harder to loose. Some of the nozzle's - like on my Krome are tiny, smaller than a grain of rice tiny. If you ever take it apart for a soak, you need to be careful so as not to loose that thing. The H&S one is a good 4 or 5 times longer and wider to boot - about the same size as the nozzle on my older Omni.

Back to the OP though - clean your brush after every use. I blow cleaner through till it comes out clear, doesn't take that much. You will also want to break it down from time to time. Depending on how often you use it, what paints you are using and what not - that might be once a week, once a month or once a year. When you break it down, I tend to give everything a good wipe down with cleaner and then use needle oil on reassembly to keep it from getting gummed up in the future. You may need to soak things for a bit if they are gummed up though, an ultrasonerator helps when they are soaking as it shakes the little bits of paint loose...though there are certain precautions to keep in mind with certain cleaners and ultra sonic devices.

As far as the cleaner goes - alcohol is generally safe to use, but skip the advice from people who say to use window cleaner and the like. If you ruin the plated finish on the innards of your brush, you might as well have bought one of the Chinese knock-offs. In general stick to either water, alcohol, turps or air brush cleaner as most of the other stuff carries with it a certain level of risk which isn't worth while.

One other thing to keep in mind if you choose to use a flammable cleaner. You are vaporizing it - vaporized flammable liquids are dangerous. A respirator will do nothing to prevent you from burning your house down. Ideally, if you stay on top of things and use regular hobby type paints - you can do most your cleaning with water. If you use oils or use alcohol for cleaning, use proper precautions to avoid the creation of a fuel-air bomb.

Weres a good place to buy the Vallejo Model Paint Thinner. Theres noun on maelstrom and its only a 32ml bottle for 6 bucks :/ I got my tamiya one 250ml for 15 xD