another vallejo question

[MrNatural]

just a quick one here. About to order some vallejo stuff, and I was curious as to what is the best way to clean Vallejo paints out of an Airbrush? I noticed they have their own airbrush cleaner, but I would rather have a cheaper solution, I would think rubbing alcohol would work??? Windex???

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

I would recommend their own AB cleaner, really works the best. However if you must use something otherwise, buy a bottle of Windex.

I don't recommend alcohol as they aren't an alcohol based paint, and is more likely to make a bigger mess.

If all else fails....water will also work, but better to have some sort of cleaner in it. Can always cut the AB cleaner with water....have heard people doing that to make it last longer. Myself....I use the AB cleaner straight from the bottle....you really don't need to use much of it. Little bit in the color cup to clean out the paint on the sides, use an old brush or a q-tip to swish it around and get the paint. Dump it out, add a little more for clean up, again using a q-tip.

Break down the airbrush, few drops of cleaner on a brush to clean out the inside of the AB....do that a couple of times. Few drops on a paper towel to run the needle through to clean it. Re-assemble the airbrush, and add a couple drops of cleaner to the cup to keep the needle lubricated. And that is it....really don't use that much of the AB cleaner if you are careful in how you use it. Sure if you spray, and spray and spray the stuff through the cup and airbrush to clean it out...you will go through it fairly quickly.....but alot can be saved from being used if you just use an old brush or q-tip with the cleaner to clean the paint out.

 

[spud]

there AB cleaner Rocks, i tried life color ab cleaner on there own paint and boy oh boy was that a big no no, Vallejo ab cleaner cleans all the acrylics i have with no probs,

 

[MrNatural]

thanks guys i'll probably just go with Vallejo AB cleaner

 

[Jim Lewis]

If you're still looking for alternatives...

I shoot Vallejo through my Iwata NEO airbrush cut with water. For cleanup, I use Denatured Alcohol. In a pinch, I've also used ModelMaster Acryl Cleaner and Medea Airbrush Cleaner with equal results. Shooting through the Iwata NEO depends on a very thin paint mixture and keeping it really clean - and all these solvents work well with Vallejo Acrylics.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

If you're still looking for alternatives...

I shoot Vallejo through my Iwata NEO airbrush cut with water. For cleanup, I use Denatured Alcohol. In a pinch, I've also used ModelMaster Acryl Cleaner and Medea Airbrush Cleaner with equal results. Shooting through the Iwata NEO depends on a very thin paint mixture and keeping it really clean - and all these solvents work well with Vallejo Acrylics.

This is true, both the Model Master Acrylic Cleaner and the Iwata Medea AB Cleaner are very similar to the Vallejo AB Cleaner, if not the same product in a different bottle. I don't know what sizes the other 2 come in, the Vallejo stuff is 200ml, for not really that bad of a price.

 

[Grendels]

I would recommend their own AB cleaner, really works the best. However if you must use something otherwise, buy a bottle of Windex.

I don't recommend alcohol as they aren't an alcohol based paint, and is more likely to make a bigger mess.

I tried this and it made one heck of a mess. So don't use Alcohol.....

 

[Dusky]

Also note that Windex has alcohol in it and can cause problems.

 

[sunsanvil]

Actually, its ALL alcohol. I know some people have had issues with using alcohol and/or Windex, but for the most part you shouldn't.

[warning: science geek stuff ahead]

Key ingredients in Windex are isopropyl alcohol and a bit of ammonia (small amounts of other surfactants and solvents). Ammonia is a good window grime cleaner but its the booze that cuts our acrylic paint. Trouble is, there's not much of it, ~30% (depending on brand/formula/who you ask) so you are buying a lot of water and ending up with a relatively weak airbrush cleaning solution.

Better (or at least stronger for you money) is good old rubbing alcohol which is 70% isopropyl alcohol and water (or 99% if you get the hard stuff from behind the pharmacists counter). I use it for initial flushing of the gun, always finish with Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner though. NEVER had a problem.

Key ingredient in Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner is butyl glycol (got that strait from Vallejo), which is a type of alcohol (similar, but not identical, to what is in Tamiya acrylic paint and thinner). Works extremely well cutting Vallejo's paint formulas, even totally dry paint. I dont know the concentration but one whiff of it suggests its a pretty decent, plus I believe it also contains detergents (as they claim it "lubricates" which is something alcohols don't really do). Bottom line is it WORKS! Definitely buy yourself a big bottle (or two) MrNatrual. You wont regret it.

Vallejo recommends using a 50/50 mix of their cleaner and water for initial "flushing" of the airbrush (I think as a cost saving measure), always finishing with pure cleaner though (tried that but prefer using the rubbing alcohol for that initial flushing etc, always finishing with pure cleaner).

Vallejo also recommends a 50/50 mix of their cleaner and alcohol as a soak bath but I just use pure cleaner if I ever need to soak a paint tip or nozzle.

 

[Dusky]

To add to the chemistry, alcohols only have one hydroxyl group and diols, like butyl glycol and other glycols, have two hydroxyl groups. Similar, but not the same.

Denatured alcohol can be used to clean any acrylic out of an airbrush. Denatured is a mix of ethyl alcohol and other chemicals to make it toxic so idiots don't drink it. Methyl alcohol and acetone are two commonly added solvents.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

According to the Material Safety Data Sheet I have on file for the Vallejo AB Cleaner from Vallejo, it is made up of:

2-butoxyethanol, with a concentration of about 25%

In English, Butol Glycol, and is an organic solvent. It is a colorless liquid with a sweet, ether-like odour. (from Wiki)


Nothing else on the data sheet as to what else is in it, so either the rest is just water, or if there are detergents in it, they are insignificant enough to not be listed on the MSDS sheets.

 

[sunsanvil]

To add to the chemistry, alcohols only have one hydroxyl group and diols, like butyl glycol and other glycols, have two hydroxyl groups. Similar, but not the same.

Thanks for that distinction. I think I was mislead by BASF's brief where they describe butyl glycol characteristics as being "...typical of an alcohol..." which at face value suggested it is one (bad grammar on their part maybe, or are there different interpretations of what is and isnt?)

 

[Junkie]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...Sweet, ether-like odour.

 

[Dusky]

Thanks for that distinction. I think I was mislead by BASF's brief where they describe butyl glycol characteristics as being "...typical of an alcohol..." which at face value suggested it is one (bad grammar on their part maybe, or are there different interpretations of what is and isnt?)

That's the technical difference, but in many cases the extra hydroxyl group doesn't make the chemical that much different. One example is butyl glycol versus n-butanol. Both have a similar structure, similar properties, and similar uses. Butyl glycol does have characteristics typical of an alcohol despite not being one. Not to mention butyl glycol is formed from a chemical reaction of butanol.

 

[Dusky]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...Sweet, ether-like odour.

I probably shouldn't tell you that Tenax and a couple other cements use dichloromethane, which is similar to chloroform.