How to clean an Airbrush

Thank you soooo much! Your teaching is wonderful! I appreciate it!

They sell those pointed cotton buds ( pointed Q tips/ cotton swabs ) at Hobby Lobby craft store ( in the United States ) in the Hobbies department.

That's some very useful knowledge thank you for sharing it with us. And like others I too am a beginner at 60 years old LOL but you have taught me so much since I subscribed to your Channel and I am deeply in your debt my friend. I'm glad I found you. Your friend George Reed from Ohio in the USA.

How to stop making a mess; remove the nozzle and pull the needle through the front of the airbrush. This prevents the needle dragging any paint backwards up through the airbrush (so you don't have to pour water or cleaner from the back end). Then all you have to do is clean the cup, replace the needle and nozzle, blow some cleaner through it and and you're good to go. Elapsed time, < 1 minute. Also, hot water works better than cold/room temp. Hope this is helpful to someone.

You'll be able to clean better if you air backflow the water or cleaner back to the the cup

Thanks a lot for this great video! Do you ever use an ultrasonic cleaning machine to clean your airbrush's parts? Best

Great video, thanks a lot! Could you please make a video in which you explain how to clean the creos ps 771? I know thst you enjoy that brush and i have noticed that there are not that many video that talk about the cleaning process of tjat particular airbrush.. What I'd like to understand in general is which parts I should disassembly/clean regularly (at the end of each painting session) and which ones just once in a while.. 🙏🙏🙏 Thanks again for your grest content

Hi, what type of water did u used on this tutorial? Can I use Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning the airbrush?

I like your channel because you give great advise about airbrushing AND because I love to hear you speak.

I have that same cleaning pot but I prefer to clean out the airbrush gun cup by spraying water in it and dumping it out into a large plastic container. When the water runs clear I will add more water then spray it out. It takes too long to spray into the cleaning pot. Sometimes I even clean the airbrush cup out in my bathroom sink. I only use acrylics so I don't think it's a big deal.
The real hassle for me is trying to place the trigger back into the little hole. It's such a pain.

Gracias por el video. Quisiera saber qué sucede si escupe gotas al inicio del chorro de pintura. Podrías aconsejarme?, Gracias.

What airbrush do you use?

Thanks! I had that cleaning pot, but didn't know how to use it.

Based on your great advice, I purchased the Iwata Eclipse Hp and instantly I understood why one would spend the money on this airbrush. It works at a higher level than the $30 ones. The needle is of a higher quality metal. Also, the Eclipse is perfectly weighted so it is very comfortable in your hand. Finally, it is a lot easier to clean in my opinion. Thanks, Now, let's airbrush!

I'm a newbie to airbrushing. I inherited an Iwata system from my brother and am excited to learn to use it. This series is AWESOME! Thanks for the great insight and lessons!!

New to air brushing! Wonderful vidéos. Thank you.

Airbrush manufacturers really should include a link to this video when they sell their product.

I just want to thank you for your wonderful videos. I've been doing leather work for many years and have never used an airbrush for it. I'm moving from California to Texas, I know TMI, but I plan to start a business there and using an airbrush for the majority of dying and finishing. All kinds of questions have come into my mind and your videos have answered most of them. It would take me approximately an hour between dying and finishing with something like acrylic resolene. I would need to clean in between. There are paints, oil dyes, alcohol dyes, water dyes. The paints have me more concerned but nonetheless, when I start again, it will be a learning process which I believe your videos will be my main go to. Thank you.

can you fit the other airbrush in the cleaning pot as well? because of the little screw right under the paint bucket

Thank you so much for your videos! I have figured out my issue and now my machine is working thanks to you! Thank you!!!!❤

Backflushing with a wash bottle is pretty messy, even with a tray. I picked up a 10-pack of ink syringes to fill fountain pen ink cartridges, and i discovered the needle on those syringes is the same diameter as the needle on my Badger Renegade Krome, so i now use that to backflush, with very little spilling. The needle doesn't comfortably fit into the back of my Master airbrush, so it's not a universal solution. I have a PS-270 on order, and hoping it will work with that. I'm also planning to look into finding a rubber bulb that will attach to the syringe, so i might be able to add a little more pressure behind the backflush.

Your awesome I needed to see this as a newbie.

Thank for this I am new to airbrushing this helps a lot

I congratulate you for being so easy and simple.. I have a "slight " problem, Somehow, I just can`t pain as you do, thin and gross.. what can be my mistake<<<'
Thanks so much.. YOYU are of GREAT HELP

Great videos. Helped me a lot since getting back into using an ab during lockdown.
I've just got a brush out and it's not spraying paint. There's air coming through the nozzle and it goes back into the pot if I cover the nozzle for a backwash but nothing when I try to paint. I've stripped it and cleaned it and put it back together but no paint. Any maintenance ideas would be great. Maybe a video on common issues?

Good stuff

So this cleaning process Has to be done after EVERY color used? It's My first time using an airbrush. Coming back to building models after 40yrs, and having used cans. So far I've obtained two airbrushes, an airbrush compressor with tank, and built a spray booth.

Thanks for throwing in the sticky trigger bit! Never would’ve thought about this. Mine didn’t work out of the box so now I know where to look

I’ve had bleed over just using water , so after I clean out the air brush with water first I always go back over the Needle & the airbrush with airbrush cleaner then run water back through it & if I need it really clean I,ll take the whole airbrush apart , clean it as much as I can with brushes then throw all the small parts in my ultrasonic basket & throw them as well as the gun into a hot ultrasonic bath using Magic Green soft soap for 2 cycles , it’s very clean after like right off the show room floor clean .

thanks for the video.
may i ask, i see your paint says water based. well, i starting with acrylics i'm wondering if i'm simply having bad acrylic problems or if my pains old? i've tried all sorts of thinning ratios but regardless, the inside of the brush's cup gets covered with paint like yours, but yours washes away by just a simple flush. my acrylic dries and hardens to a hard film very quickly. it's so hard to wash off. this drying out makes my needle dry out so so fast and makes cleaning awful.

So for me its not done by just flushing it with water. my whole tank is still full of dry color, and i have to brush it down all the time ; (

Extremely helpful thank you..

This is useless for solvent based painters.

Great to see you joining in...have fun!

Awesome - thanks!!!

Great video very informative. One thing ,wouldn't it be better to rinse the cup out first with water an pour it out.. instead of all that residue in the cup being blown through the gun. Just rinse cup out and give it a wipe.. then blow clean water through the gun... ??

So glad I found your videos. I was having nothing but trouble with my first steps into airbrushing. If I had seen these two years ago, I wouldn't have so much white hair today.

Thank you for the awesome video ❤

Can confirm the are sharp once I dropped it and it pricked my toe

Very helpful. Thanks.

That was a really helpful video -- I used the techniques you demonstrated and was surprised at how much crap came out of my Iwata

Good information. Thank you!

ok. i've had an airbrush for less than 12 hours. I have learned more from the 3 or so Airbrush Assylum vids Ive watched than ANY other YT airbrush wannabes!

say can I ask if you know if Iwata airbrush cleaner ever expires?? please let me know if you know thanks great videos by the way thanks

Thanks man!

Trying to use airbrush right now so watching all your tutorials to get me started as a beginner. Because oh boy aren’t I scared. ❤😂

If you tip out your paint wipe the cup and put thinner in backflush then use a paint brush to scrub a bit tip out then blast through thinner till it's clean then leave it with thinner in it you rarely have to pull it apart or even take the needle out your guns are always clean ready for the next colour pulling guns apart is how needles and fluid valves get damaged

I haven't been running water down the back of my airbrush like you demonstrated, if there is paint built up on the needle packing i can only assume, what would you recommend to clean it out? is thinner to harsh to soak the entire airbrush in once disassembled?

Pistol cleaning swabs are a great alternative to the ones you use. Can buy them in bulk of 500 - 1000 for rather cheap ($10 atm), just need to ensure you get the pointed tip ones though some have both.