This article describes how I disassemble, clean, and re-assemble my airbrush. I am by no means an expert. However, when I first bought my airbrush I found virtually no information, especially no step-by-step guide, on how to do those tasks. After spending a good bit of money, it was quite intimidating taking my airbrush apart. I will show you via photos how I do it. I use the Badger Anthem Model 155 double-action airbrush. There might be some slight differences with the airbrush you have.
Disassembly
The first photo shows the airbrush fully assembled after an airbrushing session. I do my disassembly on a paper towel which protects the airbrush parts and makes it easy to see the parts (keeps them from rolling off the workbench too).
The first part to remove from the airbrush to disassemble it is to unscrew the "counter balanced handle" (the loose part on the right-hand side of the photo). If you have never disassembled the airbrush before, it might be in there a bit tight.
Next, you can unscrew the head. This is where the air and the paint are mixed before coming out of its nozzle.
I then loosen up and remove the thumb screw ("needle chuck").
This, then, allows you to remove the needle from the airbrush. Be careful with the thumb screw, because it falls off the needle and can roll away.
On the other end of the airbrush, the tip falls or pops right off (may be stuck if there is some dried-up paint in it).
The trigger is shown removed from the airbrush here. Normally, for cleaning the airbrush, it doesn't need to be removed. However, I wanted to show the fact that it has a rectangular slot in it through which the needle slides when you re-assemble the airbrush.
Cleaning
My approach to cleaning the airbrush involves three steps. After I am done with a color, I hook up the metal paint cup that comes with the airbrush, filled with the appropriate thinner. I use 70 or 90% isopropyl alcohol for water-based acrylic paints (e.g. Polly Scale), and paint- or lacquer-thinner for solvent-based paints (e.g. Floquil). I spray the entire container's content through the airbrush using various settings of the brush. I then take the metal paint cup off and spray the airbrush until nothing but air comes through the airbrush.
My second step is to completely disassemble the airbrush when I am done with my painting session and thoroughly clean the unit as I will describe below.
The third step happens when I getting started with my next painting session. My experience has been that sometimes residual paint drips onto the needle and the needle seems "stuck" when I move the trigger. I remove the needle and thoroughly clean it again. After that, I will put a little thinner in the metal paint cup again and run that through the airbrush again before I start my painting session. This loosens everything up and makes sure everything is clean before I start to paint. Any residual thinner left in the airbrush will just mix with the paint. No harm done.
The main thing to clean after an airbrushing session is the needle. I dip a cotton swab in the appropriate thinner for the paint I just used (see above), and rub it up and down the needle. The extremely sharp point of the needle will accumulate a lot paint, too, so pay special attention to that. If some residual paint remained on the needle and it will no longer respond to the thinner, I have used a hobby knife and very lightly dragged it across the paint, with the blade pointing away from the direction of the drag. This usually loosens up some of the paint, enough for the thinner to get under the remaining paint and be removed with rubbing.
A typical cotton swab will also fit into the paint inflow hole. This accumulates a lot of paint.
Not shown in a photo is cleaning the tip. Typically just blowing the thinner through the airbrush cleans that. But if paint has accumulated in that, since it is kind small and hard to clean, I usually just drop it in a small container filled with thinner. The exterior of the airbrush can be cleaned with the appropriate thinner as well.
The first time I used the airbrush, it didn't seem to produce much flow. When I was cleaning it with paint thinner, I noticed that all of a sudden it started flowing the paint thinner through the brush really well. I didn't think much of it until the second session. I then noticed that the brush worked significantly better than the first session. My conclusion is that there must have been some manufacturing debris in the brush that I worked out when I cleaned the brush after the first session. The lesson learned is to clean the brush first before the first session.
Assembly
Assembling the airbrush is pretty much the reverse of the disassembly process. I start by inserting the trigger. Make sure to insert it in front of the "back lever", or else the needle cannot be controlled.
Next, I insert the tip.
I then place the thumb screw on to the needle.
Insert the needle carefully back into the airbrush body. Be careful with the tip and don't force it in. It could be getting stuck in the trigger. Remember the rectangular slot in the trigger shown above. The needle has to go through that. Try repositioning the trigger, making sure the slot is positioned such that the needle can go through it.
I push the needle all the way through until it fully pokes through the tip. Next, the thumb screw can be positioned and tightened onto the airbrush body, locking the needle to the airbrush.
I then screw the head on to the other end.
This is a good time to test the trigger to make sure the needle fully extends in and out of the head, and to make sure the trigger snaps back automatically when you let go of it. If it is too tight, loosen the thumb screw and try again.
Finally when you are happy with the needle's movement, you can screw on the counter balance. It is not that difficult to disassemble the airbrush, but if you have never done it, it can be intimidating. It is one of those things that are easy once you know how to do them, but getting through that first time is hard.
