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Howdy guys,
I scooped up a cheap ultrasonic cleaner for my airbrushes today, but I'm wondering...what type of solution should I use?

I've read that exposure to some chemicals can ruin some internal parts of the airbrush as well as dry out the rubber o-rings, so I don't want to experiment here. Something I can pick up locally at a wal-mart, grocery or hardware store would be my preference, but if I have to order it, then that's what I have to do.

Thanks!

I take the o-rings off and use windex (ammonia free) 50:50. It does "OK", which means it is probably too gentle.

I am going to test it out with simple green and warm water next

Purple power works wonders, at least I think that is what it is called, you get it at WalMart. As far as the o-ring thing goes, I really think this is one of those things people say, but really don't know what they are talking about. I have been airbrushing longer than some people that post on here have been alive. You know how many o-rings I have replaced? Zero. Get a good lube, like Iwata Super Lube, keep the needle coated regularly and dont let the airbrush run in the cleaner for more than a few hours, other than that you are good to go!

A.

I use straight Windex in my ultrasonic cleaner and it does just fine for all of my airbrushes and I make sure not to leave them in for extended periods of time

 Redfinger wrote:
Purple power works wonders, at least I think that is what it is called, you get it at WalMart. As far as the o-ring thing goes, I really think this is one of those things people say, but really don't know what they are talking about. I have been airbrushing longer than some people that post on here have been alive. You know how many o-rings I have replaced? Zero. Get a good lube, like Iwata Super Lube, keep the needle coated regularly and dont let the airbrush run in the cleaner for more than a few hours, other than that you are good to go!

A.

Just because you have been doing it for a long time doesn't mean you've been doing it right.

Besides, not all airbrushes have a plethora of o-rings or gaskets. For instance, my Badger Krome only has one; it is either a paper or compressed fiber gasket and it is in the air valve assembly. I remove the entire assembly before cleaning it so I don't worry about it.

It also depends on what the o-ring or gasket is made out. For any kind of paper gasket, I would avoid getting it completely wet to prolong the life of the gasket. If it is compressed fiber, getting wet is probably okay. If the gasket or o-ring is made out of PTFE, I wouldn't worry too much about; PTFE is resistant to just about every industrial chemical.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I use straight Windex in my ultrasonic cleaner and it does just fine for all of my airbrushes and I make sure not to leave them in for extended periods of time

 Redfinger wrote:
Purple power works wonders, at least I think that is what it is called, you get it at WalMart. As far as the o-ring thing goes, I really think this is one of those things people say, but really don't know what they are talking about. I have been airbrushing longer than some people that post on here have been alive. You know how many o-rings I have replaced? Zero. Get a good lube, like Iwata Super Lube, keep the needle coated regularly and dont let the airbrush run in the cleaner for more than a few hours, other than that you are good to go!

A.

Just because you have been doing it for a long time doesn't mean you've been doing it right.

Besides, not all airbrushes have a plethora of o-rings or gaskets. For instance, my Badger Krome only has one; it is either a paper or compressed fiber gasket and it is in the air valve assembly. I remove the entire assembly before cleaning it so I don't worry about it.

It also depends on what the o-ring or gasket is made out. For any kind of paper gasket, I would avoid getting it completely wet to prolong the life of the gasket. If it is compressed fiber, getting wet is probably okay. If the gasket or o-ring is made out of PTFE, I wouldn't worry too much about; PTFE is resistant to just about every industrial chemical.

Doesn't mean I am doing something wrong either. My point is when people start regurgitating information they have heard, with out having had any prior experience themselves, it only serves to cloud the issue, not clarify it. Stick to what you know....

 Redfinger wrote:
Doesn't mean I am doing something wrong either. My point is when people start regurgitating information they have heard, with out having had any prior experience themselves, it only serves to cloud the issue, not clarify it. Stick to what you know....

My point wasn't that you're doing it incorrectly, it was using the reason "I've been doing it longer than you" does not give your advice any more heft; it just makes you sound condescending and pompous.

The bottom line is that it doesn't hurt to remove o-rings and gaskets if you give your airbrush a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner. I would recommend doing it anyway just so the entire airbrush can be fully cleaned, lubed, and reassembled as part of a thorough cleaning. Like I said, PTFE is safe in ammonia and other industrial chemicals but not every o-ring or gasket out there is made from that material so it's better to err on the side of caution.

 wikkedj wrote:
Howdy guys,
I scooped up a cheap ultrasonic cleaner for my airbrushes today, but I'm wondering...what type of solution should I use?

I've read that exposure to some chemicals can ruin some internal parts of the airbrush as well as dry out the rubber o-rings, so I don't want to experiment here. Something I can pick up locally at a wal-mart, grocery or hardware store would be my preference, but if I have to order it, then that's what I have to do.

Thanks!

I use 50/50 Simply Green. 2 cycles. Let it air dry overnight. I try not to soak the O-rings but, it won't hurt them in 50/50 solution.





Automatically Appended Next Post:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Redfinger wrote:
Doesn't mean I am doing something wrong either. My point is when people start regurgitating information they have heard, with out having had any prior experience themselves, it only serves to cloud the issue, not clarify it. Stick to what you know....

My point wasn't that you're doing it incorrectly, it was using the reason "I've been doing it longer than you" does not give your advice any more heft; it just makes you sound condescending and pompous.

The bottom line is that it doesn't hurt to remove o-rings and gaskets if you give your airbrush a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner. I would recommend doing it anyway just so the entire airbrush can be fully cleaned, lubed, and reassembled as part of a thorough cleaning. Like I said, PTFE is safe in ammonia and other industrial chemicals but not every o-ring or gasket out there is made from that material so it's better to err on the side of caution.

IT being done correctly is debatable. And always has been. Some people would say using Windex is debatable as well since it can ruin the finish of chrome and O-rings. However, it needs to be soaked in it for long periods of time to do any major damage. Also this is not the case with every airbrush. Some are built differently than others.

 Sammoth wrote:
IT being done correctly is debatable. And always has been. Some people would say using Windex is debatable as well since it can ruin the finish of chrome and O-rings. However, it needs to be soaked in it for long periods of time to do any major damage. Also this is not the case with every airbrush. Some are built differently than others.

Some people can say that Windex will ruin an airbrush, and they would be wrong.

Windex will not damage the internals of an airbrush (unless exposed for an extended period of time, like weeks on end, and even then it will only damage chrome plating and not the brass internals that almost all modern airbrushes have) nor will it damage PTFE o-rings, which are the most commonly used a packing in the needle assembly, because the are solvent proof. The o-rings or gaskets found in the air valve assembly are generally solvent resistant (not solvent proof), but there is no reason to clean the air valve assembly because paint should never get in it (if there is paint all the way in the air valve assembly, you've got bigger problems to worry about with the brush than a $1 o-ring). Most of my brushes don't have an o-ring in the body so I don't worry about it, and the one that does I remove before ultrasonic cleaning not because I'm worried that 10 minutes in Windex will ruin it (it won't) but because I like to completely tear it down for a thorough cleaning.

My position here isn't that Redfinger is wrong about how to clean an airbrush, because he isn't. As usual, what he said is sound advice. For the record, I totally get it; the half-truths and inaccuracies that can get bounced around this echo chamber can get annoying. My argument is to drop the smug "I've been doing this longer than you" attitude and help explain to people new to airbrushes what works and why.

Some people can say that Windex will ruin an airbrush, and they would be wrong.

unless exposed for an extended period of time, like weeks on end, and even then it will only damage chrome plating and not the brass internals that almost all modern airbrushes have

OK...the chrome plating on an airbrush isn't just for looks - it provides a smooth and blemish free surface for the air to flow around. When that chrome plating is removed, the machined brass creates a turbulent area for the air to flow and turbulence is a bad thing for airbrushing as it can lead to splatter and other issues. Brass is horribly susceptible to corrosion by ammonia (and a lot of other things...including rather fast oxidization just due to air).

Nickel (primary component in electroplated chrome) is dissolved by ammonia at room temperature at roughly 3.5 microns per day. Concentrations of ammonia are largely irrelevant (there will be enough free ammonia molecules to bind with the nickel) but temperatures are a factor. Higher temperatures mean a faster process. Average plating thickness is between 20 and 50 microns. This means that the chrome will be stripped after 137 to 342 hours of contact with ammonia. If you use it as a thinner or just use it as a cleaner - it will still strip the chrome. Doing it for a shorter period of time merely means that less of that total time period is used up at each go.

Once the nickel is removed, the brass is exposed. Depending on the brass alloy - it will suffer from intergranular corrosion at a rate of 3.5 to 21 microns per day when exposed to ammonia. Intergranular corrosion is basically rotting from the inside out. You may not notice anything for quite awhile and then a bit seems to show up overnight. The bigger issue though tends to be stress fractures. Once the corrosion begins, it weakens the bond in the metal alloy and the brass can split along casting lines. This is often seen with cracked nozzles (and for those brushes which use brass needles - cracked needles) and threads that sheer off.

You can have galvanic corrosion between the needle (steel) and the airbrush (brass) as well. Brushes which are left unhandled for long periods of time often appear to have seized up. When finally disassembled, the tips of the needles are often pitted where they were in contact with the brass. Stainless steel needles are less impacted by this - but the metals are still broadly separated on the galvanic scale, so storage in hot humid locations (an unconditioned garage in summer for example) will still react with each other.

Air as well will cause the brass to oxidize, add to that air frequent mixes with moisture and other solvents - and quite often the swabs which are used to clean a brush that has had the chrome stripped off will come out green...and for that matter, the paint leaving the other side can as well.

All of those things add up to decreased efficiency of the brushes. A minor irregularity at the seat of the needle in the nozzle will cause paint to build faster and lead to more frequent dry tip issues.

Windex does not do too much to PTFE seals, and generally isn't a problem for O-rings. It used to be an issue with O-rings, however that is less an issue now as most use a synthetic rubber as opposed to a natural rubber. Most synthetic rubbers are resistant to the effects of ammonia (though not necessarily to other solvents).

Which all sort of goes back around to the beginning again...

Can you safely spray Windex through an airbrush? Sure - I've said before that it works pretty good for spraying out paints after you are done painting (or between colors if you are a 1 brush painter). However, soaking and using it as a thinner are different issues. That time frame I listed above is a factor. If you spray out your paints, you are dealing with the ammonia issue for less than 5 minutes at a time (quite likely less than a minute at a time). You can spray out to clean your brush thousands of times before you even eat through the thinnest of platings.

Soaking or using it routinely for thinning paints though is not a good thing. Over the years I have seen a lot of damaged airbrushes which follow in line with the symptoms which I describe above. Most have been owned by people who thin with Windex or use Windex to soak their brushes in for prolonged periods.

Other than anecdotal - been doing it for years - evidence, supporters of Windex generally point back to Meg's post on her blog where the Iwata rep says:

As for Windex it will not hurt your airbrush. The only time that it will do anything to the brush is if you seal the brush in a plastic bag with windex and leave it for about a week.* Usually people don’t do that.

or the email from Ken at Badger:

Ammonia is an excellent spray through cleaner because it has the ability to breakdown acrylic paints. I never suggest soaking your airbrush in ammonia because ammonia will deteriorate brass during prolonged exposure.

The bold is actually from Ken. The second part is often skipped, missed or not fully grasped. If you are thinning your paints with Windex - you are providing long term exposure to ammonia every time you put the paint into the brush. If you are using it as a thinner, then using it as a spray through cleaner and using it to soak...

*Which is sort of an odd statement to make. It sealed is irrelevant as the process between the ammonia and the nickel take place regardless of air. The same goes for the brass-ammonia reaction.

I do not believe in using Windex as thinner and I personally don't use it as a spray through cleaner either. I don't think anyone is adovacting tossing a brush in Windex and leaving there for days or weeks; that is just plain dumb.

Using it as a daily spray through cleaner with a brush will cause your brush internals more exposure to the ammonia than a monthly (or less) trip in an ultrasonic cleaner, which on my machine would be 8 minutes for the longest timed setting. If you run a brush through an 8 minute cleaning cycle once a month, you'll expose the brush to ammonia a little over an hour and a half a year. If it takes, on the short end, 137 hours to remove the average coating of chrome, it would take over 80 years of monthly cleanings to strip it down to the brass. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on living that much longer.

Thanks for all the info folks. I went with a 50/50 simple green and water, worked like a champ. My brush was not that bad by any stretch, but a little trigger stick that a couple regular cleanings didn't seem to help. I got an Iwata Eclipse donated to me from a coworker though that needed it, there was a little dried paint here and there that I couldn't get with the brushes alone, but the ultrasonic loosened up nicely.

Ok here is an idea OP how about just use something that doesn't damage your airbrush at all. I don't know why people are so insistent on using Windex when you don't need to. You don't need to use Windex and to cost of Windex is about the same as other products that won't damage your airbrush. As I said the big debate.

Just an aside, getting Windex with ammonia/xylene in Australia and I believe the UK is pretty difficult - it is all hippy stuff now that doesn't hurt the airbrush in the slightest.

kb_lock wrote:
Just an aside, getting Windex with ammonia/xylene in Australia and I believe the UK is pretty difficult - it is all hippy stuff now that doesn't hurt the airbrush in the slightest.

This is true (and even in the US, there are difrerent formulations for states like California for many products).

As a result though, and I've said it before, SC Johnson is not marketing Windex as an airbrush cleaner. The #1 ingredient that makes it useful as an airbrush cleaner is ammonia for its ability to dissolve dried acrylic paints. If there is no ammonia, it isnt any better of a cleaner than, well, you dont know since most the "hippy stuff" is untested and changes on a very regular basis (usually because by the time they fully test it, it ends up not being any safer than the old school ingredients).

Becauseof this, you dont know if the current batch of ingredients will do anything, nothing or perhaps even do more damage.