Why should you deep clean your gravity feed airbrush?
This particular guide applies to these airbrush models.
Iwata
HP-A | HP-A+ | HP-AH | HP-AR |
HP-B | HP-B+ | HP-BH | HP-BR |
HP-C | HP-C+ | HP-CH | HP-CR |
K-CH |
If you manufacture or import airbrushes and think your brand and model should be included in this list, please contact me.
A good, thorough, deep cleaning might only last five minutes if you know what you’re doing. But this is your first time through. There’s new terminology, it might be your first time taking the airbrush apart, for whatever reasons, set aside the time. It will probably take far less to finish but that’s okay because…
The first time through this guide you might get a little confused. It’s okay. Figure out what’s going on and keep on moving, because you’ll also need to…
By, “Be Thorough” I mean be an obessive compulsive clean freak. People who are a touch OC do airbrush maintenance very well. 😉
I tell people to clean their airbrushes a second and even a third time because I understand the difference between what most people think a clean airbrush is and what a clean airbrush really is.
It took me three hours and 4 “do-overs” to get my first airbrush clean. Kirk and Gary wanted me to know what a clean airbrush really is.
Get up. Walk away. Go do something else. Bad Things happen to airbrushes when you’re frustrated. Trust me, I still get frustrated. As soon as I realize it I go take a break.
Come back with a fresh mind and attitude. Don’t worry, you’ll get it, but if not…
Airbrush importers and manufacturers want you to succeed. Most of them have technical support lines to help you work through whatever problem you’re facing.
They hurt going in and if they hit bone they hurt even more coming back out–don’t ask me how I know that…
That means…
If the needle drops to the floor DON’T CATCH IT WITH YOUR HANDS OR LEGS! You can learn the lesson from my warning or by finding out for yourself…
Be gentle. After cleaning, the second most common airbrush problem is nozzle damage. The most likely time to damage that nozzle–is now.
Bottles, cups, the outside, and the paint passage are all you need to worry about without a specific reason. Cleaning out other areas, like the trigger housing or the air valve can result in a few unexpected problems.
NOTE: Clean everything very thoroughly! I know you’re getting tired of me saying it. But I harp on it because it really IS that important!