Though an airbrush cleaning pot is a cheap addition to any airbrush cleaning station, are they actually needed to clean an airbrush?
Well, this question heavily depends on how much you care about your health. As well as, the items within the space you airbrush in.
You see, the point behind using an airbrush cleaning pot (Otherwise known as a cleaning jar) for cleaning an airbrush is for containing any atomized material as you flush out your airbrush.
I don’t know if you have noticed, but holding an airbrush wide open creates a dense cloud of atomized material. Doesn’t matter if the spray is directed onto a surface or not. Atomized material will stay within the air-stream as it bounces off the surface, creating what is known as Over-spray.
This cloud of atomized material (Over-spray) gets worse the more you open up the airbrush. And given when you flush out an airbrush you have it wide open, its at this time when your gonna get the greatest amount of over-spray lurking in the air…
Its this heavy amount of over-spray that puts you, and any items in or around your work space at risk.
Don’t get me wrong, flushing an airbrush directly onto a surface reduces the amount of over-spray that makes it into the air, but doesn’t eliminate it.
There is only one way to nearly eliminate the over-spray of your cleaning solution as you flush the airbrush, and that’s by utilizing an airbrush cleaning pot.
The cleaning pot is designed to take the disposed material flushed through the airbrush and settle it inside the cleaning pot, so you and your things don’t get exposed to it.
It’s brilliant really!
So, Do you need an airbrush cleaning pot to clean an airbrush?
Not Exactly, But it’s highly recommended. Otherwise you’ll be exposing yourself to a lot of atomized cleaner and other material you flush through the airbrush… Which will heavily impact your health over time. Especially when working with solvent based mediums.
Back in the day, when I began utilizing the airbrush I personally thought using a cleaning pot to clean my airbrush was overrated. But I quickly found just how badly over-spray fills the air when its not contained.
Granted I was using water-based mediums. Solvent base mediums were definitely way to risky, but I thought I could get away with no cleaning pot using water-based.
Nope…
I thought I could reduce the over-spray by spraying it into a bucket (With no lid) but… I got blasted in the face. The air-stream flowing from the airbrush, into the bucket acted like a boomerang and sent a majority of the atomized material back into my face…
Granted, over time I did come up with a few ways to better contain the over-spray as I flushed out the airbrush, but nothing worked as well as the day I picked up a cleaning pot…
I guess you could say I was a little stubborn with the idea of buying a pot just to spray cleaner into… But I finally did, and to be honest it was well worth it.
Here is a link to the cleaning pot I personally use over on Amazon. Its low cost, and comes with a few extra airbrush cleaning gadgets that are actually quite handy for cleaning the nozzle and hard to reach places. But do note, It’s possible it won’t work for siphon feed airbrushes. The holder is removable, but that may not provide enough space for a siphon feed airbrush bottle?
Conclusion
Though an airbrush cleaning pot may not seam worth the money, given your just going to use it to spray cleaner into… It does provide a substantial amount of value. Especially if you care about your health.
An airbrush cleaning pot provides a great over-spray containment location for flushing any material through your airbrush.
And for that reason,
An airbrush cleaning pot is highly recommended when cleaning an airbrush. Otherwise you run the risk of exposing yourself to an excess of atomized material you flush through the airbrush.
And as you likely know. To get an airbrush clean requires multiple wide open sprays with airbrush cleaner to flush out any paint or other medium within the airbrush.
Side Note,
If its the cost of the cleaning pot holding you back from getting one, you can always make your own airbrush cleaning pot.
Anyway, I hope you were able to find some value here! If you have any further questions regarding the airbrush do be sure to take a look around the website. Airbrush Insider is dedicated to helping all in the airbrush community!
This is Colt signing off!
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How to use an airbrush cleaning pot
