Does anyone have any experiance using this product?  I just started using it to seal temporary tattoo work and it clogged my airbrush up like WOAH!  It says to use it with a top feed airbrush gun (which I did) and I even ran 91% isopropyl alcohol through it immediately afterward to make sure all of the product was flushed out.  Then next day my needle was stuck and wouldnt even move.  I ended up having to take my gun completely apart to clean this stuff out of it.

I'll be working on a film that starts shooting in a few weeks where I will need to use this product on a majority of the cast so I won't have the time to take my gun apart and completely clean it between applications.  (GULP) Help?

Oh, and the gun I am using is an Iwata Eclipse CS.

I don't have this sealer, but I've got experience with a the sealers from a couple other brands.

Alcohol based products in general:

1) Use 99% Isopropyl. Better yet, get grain alcohol.
Do you spray, back bubble, dump. Repeat. Several times???
Since the product you're cleaning is clear, it is difficult to know when you've got it clean.

2) Do you wipe off the needle at the end of the day/cleaning? All that alcohol you used to clean the brush has to evaporate - which can re-consolidate any traces of product.

3) Sticking needle. If you've only been using alcohol based products and the needle sticks.... just fill the bowl half way with alcohol and let it set for a while. This usually softens up the dried product and is less damaging than pulling the needle out by force.

Also, what exactly are you sealing?

I also use Temptu product, and seem to recall 2 different types of sealer - silicon-based and water-borne... double check the product code.. an autoclave (like tattoo artists and dentists use is a great tool) just make sure all rubber/nylon/neoprene or plastic parts & o-rings are removed before placing them in the basket/tray for cleaning... I also use a steammaster (jewler's steam cleaner for cleaning rings and such without damage) - BE CAREFUL if you elect to acquire this tool - it can be dangerous high pressure hi temp steam.. cleans anything - even your skin f u don't watch it.. but it's so fast... these ensure total cleanliness for ultimate performance of your brush and help ensure safe practices and help prevent contamination... also make sure you use distilled water if you thin product with H2O - tap or bottled water sometimes contains minerals that react with un-homoginized flake/cake in the pigment when it separates from the binder - these are really solutions not mixes..so one has to really mix them well...

Temptu has a very comprehensive online assistance and live support system thru their website... look toward the bottom of the splash page header and seek out 'for professionals' - it's a porthole that takes you to their pro MU online system...

lastly - how much pressure are you using? sometimes too low will not atomize the paint properly causing it to build up in the end of the tip and then solidify from the air passing over it/drying it - or too much pressure which can cause the paint to loose it's lubrication and continuity as it is applied - again causing micro balls of product to dry prematurely and clog up the head/nozzle/tip and end of the needle...

most retail stores do NOT carry 99% ISOPORPYL Alcohol - make sure you got ISOPROPYL and NOT ETHYL alcohol.. you will instead catalyze the product and 'quik-harden' it if so.. Rite aid - for some reason is selling both types and the labels are clearly too confusing - NEVER Use Ethyl... only Isopropyl... and usually Iso is available readily in three grades 90/70/50 percent by volume.. which can also be added in very small amounts to both water-borne and water-based product - it works like anti-freeze in the winter for outdoor/football tailgate/liquor events for bodypainting heavy-bodied product...

Last piece of advice - strain your product... I know temptu's line is probably one of the most expensive on the market..but even their products settle and ionically start to re-coagulate or commingle...it's natural metals/minerals/synthetics/organics - really don't tell the whole story...

Peace & Good Luck

Kirk
33 years airbrushing.. still going

Paint the world!

Welcome to the forum, Kirk.....

First and foremost, we agree that it is imperative that artists understand our products and their interactions. I've seen many an artist use the wrong/incompatible cleaner for the product in the airbrush.

In my classes, I'll take a squirt of foundation, body paint, silicone, water and alcohol and thin them with "the wrong stuff". Alcohol with silicone, etc. The little experiment is quite enlightening to students.

Most makeup artists have one airbrush and don't use it enough to warrant the investment of an autoclave. If they happen to have an ultrasonic cleaner, great. Ultrasonic jewelry style cleaners doesn't involve the intensive equipment tear down and risks your method describes.

Good cleaning practices and product knowledge are the first line of defense.

Isopropyl alcohol is best for cleaning. The higher the %, the better. Anything below 90% has too much water in it to be useful. It is important for artists to look at their product ingredients - most alcohol body paints are made with SD alcohol (ethanol). So, Isopropyl is not my first or best choice for thinning although it will work. Additionally, airborne Isopropyl is not the best thing to inhale and our livers process it into acetone. Yummy.

I'm not a fan of straining products that were made for an airbrush. If it needs strained in order to work, I get a new product. Straining isn't a practical routine on a busy set. Most airbrush products require shaking. There won't be a lot of issues IF:
1) The appropriate airbrush tip size is used.
2) Product is good quality and made for use with an airbrush.
3) Product is not out of date and has not been contaminated by the wrong thinning agent.

The point of all this is that just like artists will debate between sponge vs. brush vs. fingers for giving the best hand applied foundation coverage, there are a myriad of ways to use and care for an airbrush. And, the favorite methods of one artist won't be another's cup of tea.

I don't use that product to often. But do you have to air brush it on? could you put it into a spray bottle and spray it on? just an idea.

I am using this sealer to prolong the life of temporary tattoos that I will be applying, which is what this product is supposed to do. 

I already tried contacting Temptu for help - no success.  I also only use Isopropyl alcohol, I never use ethyl. 

I have two seperate guns - one for Silicone based products and another for alcohol/water based products.  I was using the product in my alcohol based gun because theTemptu Dura paint is alcohol based and I assumed this product would be as well.  I never mix the two bases in the same gun because I am well aware of the results.

I thought about just putting it into a spray bottle, but worried a lot more product will dispense than what is needed.

This is also a new product ordered straight from Temptu Pro so I am pretty confident that it isn't old.

Anyone else want to take a stab at it?

If you are using Dura on properly prepped skin to make your tattoos, I honestly don't know how much of a difference the sealer will make.

After all, the sealer is nothing more than un-pigmented body paint....

I use sealers to sheer down the body paint - you can see the results in my current avatar.

Too much product build up on the skin changes the skin texture and can actually decrease the durability of the tattoo....

And, depending on the tattoo placement (sweaty back, neck, chest), you're going to be looking at touch ups regardless.