# Gummed up airbrush



## Buzz (Aug 26, 2011)

Hope this is the right place.

I've been using my airbrush to apply latex mask paint. However, I recently forgot to clean out my brush and now I have this clump of latex stuck up inside.

Any tips on how to get latex boogers out of my airbrush?


----------



## ez360 (Aug 6, 2011)

What kind of air brush is it? If its just latex some airbrush cleaner and if you have one near you these brushes http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-airbrush-cleaning-brushes-68155.html from harbor freight should do the trick. You could also buy some autoair airbrush restorer.


----------



## kevin242 (Sep 30, 2005)

I've cleaned mine out by disassembling it, soaking the metal parts in solvent overnight and using a combination of dental tools and pipe cleaners to carefully pick out the dried paint. I've never had to clean latex out, but I have had issues with quick drying acrylics.


----------



## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Try this,
Fill the reservoir/paint cup with lacquer thinner, and let it soak for a bit.
(NEVER submerge your airbrush in any liquid or solvent).
After your brush has soaked for a bit, hook it up to your compressor, (with the compressor on) and back-flush your brush. Do this by placing your finger tip over the needle cap and then push the trigger/button down and pull it all the way back. This forces air back through the fluid nozzle and into the reservoir, taking all the gunk (hopefully) with it. Dump out the contaminated lacquer thinner and repeat the process until the liquid/lacquer thinner stays clean. Use a toothpick and a clean Q-tip to remove any remnants of the latex from the reservoir. Avoid metal picks and pipe cleaners if at all possible, airbrushes are typically made of brass, and steel picks and such will scratch or go through the chrome coating in a hurry. Not good.
Once the reservoir is clean out (after you have back-flushed your airbrush, spray the lacquer thinner through the brush like it was paint.
Use an old toothbrush with the lacquer thinner to scrub out the needle cap and the tip of the nozzle cap, and get any gunk off the exterior of your brush too. A clean brush is a happy brush.
Follow this routine after each use of the latex. If you use water based paints, use water rather than the lacquer thinner for daily cleaning. If you use alcohol based makeup, use alcohol rather than the lacquer thinner for daily cleaning.
It's important that you do the steps in order. The trick is to not push more gunk down into the fluid nozzle/tip of the airbrush. By rinsing and back-flushing first, you eliminate 99% of the gunk from the airbrush.
You can find out more and get more help for your airbrush problems at AirbrushTechniaue.com


----------



## Buzz (Aug 26, 2011)

Thanks. I'm using latex mask paints from Monster Makers. The RD-407 casting latex is thinned with ammonia, not sure about these paints. 

The instructions I read had suggested to just back off the trigger to where you are just blowing air as a way to clear paint from the brush. And that's exactly how I got into this mess. 

Now I'm clearing with water. I have 2 jars that came with my brush. So now I keep one filled with water and blow that completely thru when I'm done with a color or taking a break.


----------



## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)

just to add a 2 cent. ;-)
use cleaning solvents and other type things in well ventilated area or outside away from anything that cause a flame or spark. and you might to work in a small she box to avoid lose of small parts

Good luck


----------



## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

The rule of thumb for airbrushing is "always start and end your stroke with air on", this keeps you from having a blob of paint just sitting in the nozzle cap or needle cap when you start to spray again. Make sure your makeup is thoroughly mixed, and strained (if you can) BEFORE it goes into your brush. The opening in the tip of the nozzle is super small, so it only takes a tiny, and I mean tiny, flake or blob of gunk to stop your brush from working.
Because you are using ammonia based products in your brush, you need to do a thorough rinse (with clean water) of the brush as soon as you can after spraying, or exposing your brush to ammonia. Ammonia will eat away the brass that your brush is made of. You can use rubbing alcohol to remove any water in your brush after your rinse, just fill the reservoir (bottle, jar, cup, etc.) with the alcohol and spray it through your brush.
Adding water into the mix (when you are trying to clean out the latex) may be a large part of your problem. Try using lacquer thinner to clean out the latex, then do a rinse with clean water when you are cleaning up for the day. Water tends to make the latex turn into gumballs, so using a solvent (lacquer thinner) that can actually break down the latex will let you get the gunk out, and keep on working.
Do your cleaning over a bowl (not wooden), or one of those disposable roasting pans, this keeps your mess to a contained area, and it also keeps you from having lost parts.


----------



## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Excellent advise FontGeek, one question, can latex and acrylics paints be cleaned the same way? In other words, can you use lacquer thinner on acrylics in the same way?


----------



## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Typically, no. Acrylics are usually water based, latex tends to be petroleum or ammonia based. Lacquer thinner may take out the acrylic paints, but it is cheaper and safer to use clean water (distilled water is best) to remove the bulk, if not all, of the acrylics. Then do a "chaser" using rubbing alcohol to remove any remaining water before going on to the alcohol or latex based materials. Alcohol is much cheaper than lacquer thinner, though If I could only choose between the alcohol and the lacquer thinner, the lacquer thinner would win every time.
While you can use the same airbrush for both kinds of material, you need to do a thorough cleaning between the two. For those of us that use airbrushes a lot for makeup, murals, etc., we tend to have multiple airbrushes out and hooked up at the same time. Keeping different colors or materials in each one. I try to avoid using any ammonia or ammonia based materials in my brushes and guns because it eats away at the brass bodies, nozzles, etc., of the airbrush, so If I have to use that kind of material I tend to use cheapo airbrushes for that, and even then clean them out as soon as I can.


----------



## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks FG.


----------

