How To Clean Your Airbrush

Cleaning your airbrushes can really lengthen there lifespan.  More importantly, the best work is achieved when your airbrush is clean and well maintained. Cleaning your airbrushes is part of the job. It should be done whenever you change colors and at the end of a session.

When painting with water colors or other fine, soluble paints it is not always necessary to take apart your airbrush after every session for a cleaning. A good cleaning of the outside is adequate. However, when painting with acrylics or other paints that use thinners other than water, cleaning your airbrush involves taking the airbrush apart and thoroughly cleaning it after each session.

When done with a paint color and ready to move onto the next, cleaning your airbrushes will ensure that no paint that was used previously can affect the new color. It may seem time consuming and nit picky, but green is not an ideal effect when you wanted to spray yellow but did not bother to clean out the blue paint.

Airbrush paint dries fairly quickly and can leave particles in the way. The air and paint outlets are very small and even the tinniest bit of dried paint can block the flow causing poor accuracy or worse, it can damage the mechanism and break the airbrush. Cleaning your airbrush will help to prevent this from happening. Empty the paint cup by soaking the airbrush in water and pressing the lever until the paint is removed from the cup. Then spray onto a piece of paper or rag until the air runs clean. Next, fill the paint cup with water or the appropriate thinner and spray out again until you no longer see any signs of paint.

When cleaning your airbrush after a session, follow these basic rules and it will become like second nature. Keep in mind that there are many different types and brands of airbrushes. For the best results when cleaning your airbrush, check the manual for your particular airbrush. The paint nozzle is the most fragile piece of the airbrush. It is located under the head assembly, which first must be removed. Check the airbrush manual as to how your parts attach together. Some head assemblies can be removed by hand, others you may need to use a wrench. Follow these steps for cleaning your airbrush:

1. Remove the nozzle gently. If you damage the nozzle, it will have to be replaced.
   
2. Use water or the appropriate solvent for the paint used to flush out the paint nozzle. Carefully scrape out any paint residue. Make sure the nozzle is as clean as the day you bought it.
   
3. Remove the needle from the airbrush. Check your manual for how your airbrush needle is attached. With some models, the needle can be removed once the head and nozzle have been removed. For other airbrushes, the needle is removed from the back after loosening the locknut. Then clean the needle with a damp cotton cloth with water or appropriate solvent. Be careful not to bend the needle when cleaning.
   
4. Clean out any paint from inside the needle guard.
   
5. Flush the path the paint follows using a squirt bottle with a thin tube. Use warm water or airbrush cleaner.
   
6. Dry the airbrush entirely with a clean cotton cloth. You may want to leave the pieces left apart to ensure they are dry. If they are not dry and put back together, the nozzle and needle could bond making it difficult to detach. To prevent the nozzle and needle from bonding, the airbrush needle may need to be lubricated before reassembled. Depending on the type of airbrush petroleum jelly, light grease, or a product made for the airbrush may be used. Then follow the manual’s instructions on how to reassemble the airbrush.

Cleaning your airbrush does take some time and attention, but this will ensure the life of your airbrush. For the best results, maintenance is the key.





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Fraser, Craig. Craige Fraser's Automotive Cheap Tricks and Specail E/X. Lakewood, NJ: Airbrush Action, Inc., 1999.

Siegel, Peter. The Complete Airbrush Book. 1989.

Shanteau, Pamela. The Ultimate Airbrush Book. New York, NY: Wastson-Guptill Publications, 2002.