On Fri, December 23, 2005 6:54 am, James F. Brewer wrote:

Brian,

Adding to Mont's thoughts, when painting my steam era freightcars (and
structures, locos, etc.) I use acrylics and mostly Polly Scale.

I basically follow the same procedures mentioned by Mont except that I use
the cheapest Windshield washer fluid in place of Mont's solvent to run
through, back flush, and run through again.

I use Window cleaner (Walmart brand or Windex) - the ammonia is the key
solvent

BTW, I use 70% isopropol alcohol for thinning the Polly Scale.

I use water. I found that alcohol led to more drying in the airbrush and
more clogs. It does however allow heavier coats of paint and faster
drying on the model.

The key I have found with acrylics is to never let the inside of the brush
get dry with paint in it.
-Don't blow only air through a dirty airbrush
-Blow water immediately when finished a color.
-Drop the whole brush in a bucket of water while you change models
-Run window cleaner through after running the water through
-Backflush by holding a finger over the opening while pressing the trigger
-Rinse with more water
(each of these take 30 seconds or so)

I will also remove the needle and wipe it off when I am done to make sure
there is no paint on it... again about 30 seconds. Total clean up is 2-3
minutes.

Regards
Bruce

Bruce Smith
Auburn, AL