Airbrush cleaning help !

[PeterW]

So finally I'm up and running with the home made spray booth, and have deposited my first coat of primer for the Honda RA272.

Primer is Tamiya Light Grey Fine surface primer, rattle can, decanted and de-gassed.

Having looked on this forum it would seem that there is no need to use thinners for this sort of primer? So I did not.

Went on the model pretty well, dried quickly and I gave it 2/3 coats and it looks pretty good to my novice eyes.

The only problem is it seems to have dried like 'granite', onto the inside of the cup and inner workings of the airbrush

I used Ultimate cleaner left to soak but it really couldn't shift it.

Any ideas?

(Hope everyone's keeping well and safe )

Cheers

Peter

[Kevthemodeller]

Rattle can paint is not acrylic, Ultimate cleaner won't do anything, you need something like Mr Tool, cellulose thinner or any other lacquer cleaner.

[PeterW]

Rattle can paint is not acrylic, Ultimate cleaner won't do anything, you need something like Mr Tool, cellulose thinner or any other lacquer cleaner.

Thanks Kev,

Trip to B&Q then......

Peter

[Twokidsnosleep]

Yep, good answer Kev
With TS sprays, definitely Lacquer thinners are required. My favourite is Mr Hobby Levelling thinner ”MLT”
If you spray soon after decant you won’t need to dilute often. But if it is a couple weeks/months, then a little MLT helps things flow.
I have not decanted Tamiya primer before though

[TheNordus]

If you use Tamiya paints at all I'd recommend Tamiya airbrush cleaner. It removes anything and everything from your airbrush.

[PeterW]

If you use Tamiya paints at all I'd recommend Tamiya airbrush cleaner. It removes anything and everything from your airbrush.

Thanks guys, appreciated. I need a bigger range of thinners / cleaners obvs.

Cheers

Peter

[CygnusX1]

If you use Tamiya paints at all I'd recommend Tamiya airbrush cleaner. It removes anything and everything from your airbrush.

Thanks guys, appreciated. I need a bigger range of thinners / cleaners obvs.

Cheers

Peter

You only really need cellulose type thinners for tool cleaning. Haven't come across a paint yet that it won't shift - even the dried on stuff that builds up in your airbrush over time. It'll get rid of it in a flash.
Need to be careful with it though; it'll melt plastic and rubber and you should absolutely wear gloves.

You probably shouldn't use it to thin your modelling paint though, and should stick with either Tamiya own/Ultimate or something like Mr. Hobby Levelling Thinner all work excellently for Tamiya paints.

[PeterW]

If you use Tamiya paints at all I'd recommend Tamiya airbrush cleaner. It removes anything and everything from your airbrush.

Thanks guys, appreciated. I need a bigger range of thinners / cleaners obvs.

Cheers

Peter

You only really need cellulose type thinners for tool cleaning. Haven't come across a paint yet that it won't shift - even the dried on stuff that builds up in your airbrush over time. It'll get rid of it in a flash.
Need to be careful with it though; it'll melt plastic and rubber and you should absolutely wear gloves.

You probably shouldn't use it to thin your modelling paint though, and should stick with either Tamiya own/Ultimate or something like Mr. Hobby Levelling Thinner all work excellently for Tamiya paints.

Thanks Cygnus, sounds like good advice. I've got Mr Tool on order, might take a while though

Peter

[JamieC]

No need for expensive thinners for cleaning or having to wait, Wilko's are still open, at least the one near me is and if you have one near you their Cellulose thinners (about £3 for 125ml) work great as a cleaner.

As with the previous posts the "proper" thinners are better for thinning paint, my fav being MLT but the Wilko stuff is great for cleaning.

Remember it absolutely stinks being a volatile solvent!

[onemac]

You can buy cheap cellulose thinners online - I bought 5l for less than £14 with free postage. Link to Pauls list of products here

This stuff is fine for cleaning airbrushes but make sure you neutralise it by cleaning with Ultimate Airbrush cleaner afterwards.

Al

[PeterW]

You can buy cheap cellulose thinners online - I bought 5l for less than £14 with free postage. Link to Pauls list of products here

This stuff is fine for cleaning airbrushes but make sure you neutralise it by cleaning with Ultimate Airbrush cleaner afterwards.

Al

Thanks Jamie and onemac. Appreciated. Mr Tool certainly did the trick. Good to know there are cheaper options available.

Cheers

Peter

[Peter1512]

I would recommend Ultimate Primers they spray straight from the bottle and are very forgiving usually drying to a perfectly smooth surface
Available in several colours I use grey and black
They clean very easily with Ultimate Airbrush Cleaner