How-to Rinse a Gravity Feed Airbrush After a Spray Session
Home
> Cleaning
your airbrush > end of session rinse:
gravity feed
A 'spray session' ends when you leave for awhile, like lunch or day's end.
Cleaning is the most important regular maintenance you can do to keep your airbrush running smoothly for decades to come.
This method, also known as an end of session rinse, is exactly the same as a color change rinse except you also remove the needle and wipe it down.
If you're good about using these two cleaning methods regularly you shouldn't have to do a thorough cleaning very often if ever.
Instructions
- Empty the color cup's
excess paint.
- Add cleaning
solution into the color cup
- Wipe
out the cup with paper towels or cotton swabs.
- Pour
more cleaning solution into the color cup
- Spray cleaner through the airbrush until it sprays clear.
- Note:
Spray into a filter of some kind. This keeps
excessive overspray out
of the air and your lungs. Towels, a paper towels, filtering
systems,
etc. all work.
- Dump
out whatever's left.
- Unscrew
the handle.
- Loosen the needle
chucking nut.
- Pull the needle
out.
Wipe down the needle- Warning:
Needles are sharp...they hurt going in and, especially if they hit
bone, they hurt even more coming back out...
Don't ask me how I know that...
- Carefully
replace the needle
- Twist the
needle counter-clockwise a half turn
- Tighten
the needle chucking nut
- Screw
the handle onto the airbrush body.
- Spray
until dry
- Hang the airbrush up to dry
The Guru's Tips
- Use the 'appropriate' cleaning
solution for your
paint. It's usually the reducer or paint's base chemical.
- The
best cleaning solution removes your particular paint and doesn't use
ammonia. Ammonia is bad for the airbrush itself.
- Your speed will improve, don't worry if the time you spend here seems long. Your speed will improve the more familiar and habitual these methods become.
- If you are having problems this is your second fix.
- A
Color
Change Rinse comes first.
- Followed by a Deep Cleaning
if these first two methods haven't solved the problem. Just
make sure you choose the right set of instructions.
Do you have a screw in nozzle? 
or... Do you have a self centering nozzle?
