Cleaning your airbrush does not take a lot of time and even less effort, but it really is worth the time. You don’t have to take your airbrush apart every time you clean it and if you clean it well after every use, you shouldn’t have to. You can buy airbrush cleaning kits at any store you buy your airbrush equipment and if you’re really serious, like many people, you may want to acquire a type of vibrating cleaning bath that you see in a dentist office. It’s recommended that you read the users manual that comes with your airbrush, you know, that little booklet that comes with just about everything you buy but probably never read? It will tell you how to clean your airbrush.

For acrylic paints, alcohol, acrylic paint thinner, mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, Windex, or right after painting, plain water works well to clean your airbrush. After painting or when you need to change colors, you can blow a little cleaner through your gun to clean it out. Always, always blow clean water through your airbrush after using any type of cleaner. Pour a bit of cleaner into a cup and with a Q-tip or small paint brush remove any paint left on the tip of the gun. Be very careful when cleaning the tip of an airbrush, they can be very fragile and bend easily. Make sure all the paint is out and off your gun before putting it away. There’s nothing worse than left-over paint chunks getting sprayed on your next painting project, this can really ruin the mood.

When using water-based paints, a simple solution of soap and water blown through the airbrush after use and in between color changes will keep it happy and healthy for its lifetime. There are many suggestions on the Web for cleaning mixtures and solutions. After awhile, you will find the one that works best for you and what you paint. Any of the above suggestions can also be used to thin any paint that is too thick to flow freely through your airbrush.

You should take your airbrush apart once a month or so to give it a good and thorough cleaning. Again, refer to that user’s manual to see how your airbrush comes apart and goes back together. After putting your airbrush back together and you have a piece left over, take it apart and start again, you want all the pieces back in your airbrush. Soak all parts except the air valve in lacquer thinner for a couple hours. You don’t want to soak your air valve because there’s a little o-ring inside and these don’t stand up well to lacquer thinners. If you have some stuck-on paint that is being a pain, soak your parts overnight. Some good cleaning tools are Q-tips, pipe cleaners, tooth brushes, and toothpicks work well for cleaning, so after soaking your airbrush parts, start gently cleaning with any of these handy and inexpensive “tools.”  After cleaning but before you put everything back together, use a small amount of lubricant on the needle, trigger and all moving parts. After putting back together, check everything out to make sure it’s tight and working properly.

And there you have it. Preventive maintenance is always a good way of keeping your equipment working properly and ensuring it will last you long enough to get more than your money’s worth out of it. Good luck and happy airbrushing.