removing dried acrylic paint

[lesthegringo]

Me being the idiot I am, I forgot to clean one of my airbrushes after spraying some Tamiya acrylic paint. Now it is as stubborn as hell, does anyone know of an airbrush friendly way to get it out?

Thanks

[marvin20]

Me being the idiot I am, I forgot to clean one of my airbrushes after spraying some Tamiya acrylic paint. Now it is as stubborn as hell, does anyone know of an airbrush friendly way to get it out?

Thanks

I've used the 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean my airbrushes and even to strip paint off of models, and haven't had any issues with it hurting my airbrushes. Others may have other suggestions as well as to how to clean it up and what medium to use to do so.

HTH

QT

[amin]

take out the needle, trigger,tip,and drop them in a bath of either turpentine or lacker thiner,even through we are talking acrylic this is the most powerfull solution.then dry and pass the needle back to front from the front and push if it wont go through,it will scrape out whats left and come out the other end,clean needle again.mount and flush with the usual acrylic cleaners like window cleaner,dry, remove needle and put away.

[galileo1]

Windex all the way! It removes even dried Tamiya paint. Do a couple of spray sessions with it and it should be cleaned. Do a back-flush too to make sure everything is out. Rinse with distiller water or an airbrush cleaner afterward.

Rob

[Triarius]

While lacquer thinner will undoubtedly remove the paint, it will also attack the seals in the airbrush if they are allowed to soak in it.

For a less noxious solution, try either straight Simple Green, or a solution of 1 part Windex (or equivalent ammonia cleaner), 1 part Simple Green, and 2 parts water. Disassemble and soak the parts. This solution will not harm the rubber or other synthetic seals for short term immersions (24 to 48 hours). Then attack any stubborn areas with lacquer thinner.

An ultrasonic cleaner can work wonders. Just don't put the seals in it.

Be aware that Simple Green will attack aluminum. If your airbrush contains aluminum components (unlikely for a good airbrush) don't let those parts soak for more than about 8 hours.

I don't think it's a good idea to use an airbrush needle as a cleaning tool, unless you have an old, damaged one. They tend to be fragile. What I use is a small conical brush used to clean between the teeth. You can find them in the tooth care section of the drugstore or supermarket. Micro-brushes also work very well.

Tamiya acrylics are incredibly durable when fully cured, but the above processes have never failed me.