If you’ve read enough of my posts you’ll know that my #1 favorite sketching/inking tool is the fabulous Niji waterbrush pen (thank you Satoshi for introducing us over a year ago. Our feelings for one another grow deeper with each passing sketch). I currently have 3: My original which is my watercolor workhorse, #2 which is filled with Rapidograph Black India waterproof ink, and #3 which has yet to be put into use (#1 is getting worn out due to using it on some unkind paper so it may become my texture/fill in brush).
Since the ink tends to eventually build up (splaying the bristles like any brush and ruining the point), I decided one day to see if I could disassemble the thing and give it a good cleaning. I was a bit nervous because the 3 brushes I have were hard to come by (I know I could order them online but where’s the fun in hunting?) and I didn’t want to damage my much loved Nijis.
Happily the operation has been successful on both active brushpens and each time (especially with #2 ) I’ve noticed a clear improvement in performance, for example the worriesome ink flow increase diminished and I no longer had to worry about wrecking a nice line with a pool of black). Here is a photo showing how the brush comes apart and a few bits of advice.
- Remove Cap
- Unscrew reservoir from tip sleeve
- With your thumbnail, apply pressure at “A” to push brush tip out of sleeve
- Rinse assembly, use q-tip to clean inside of sleeve
- With fingernail remove the black buffer (at far left of photo)
- Gently pinch the brush tip and carefully slide it out of its housing
- Rinse with soapy water very, very gently (The synthetic bristles I believe are heat-bonded to the circular base “B”. Pretty durable which is great because no ferrule means deeper cleaning, but be cautious).
- Once clean, shape the brush tip to a point with your fingers. Slowly reinsert the tip into its housing. This is the trickiest part, if you rush this bristles will splay and get permanently tweaked. If a few bristles on the edge get damaged, you can neatly snip them off at the base, no worries.
- Reverse the process to reassemble.
Happy cleaning.
Labsquad 
October 22, 2009 at 1:27 pm |
All I can say is thank you so much. I love my Nijis, but some were becoming clogged and I need to see this. Thanks again.
October 22, 2009 at 6:42 pm |
You’re very welcome. I’ve benefited from the generosity of other bloggers so it’s gratifying that this post was helpful to you. I’m giving Pentel’s Aquabrushes a try too. So far I’m undecided which product I like better but I’m leaning toward Niji for several reasons: 1) Because they have a “stopper” mechanism at the opening of the reservoir, you can have several handles loaded and ready to use with a single tip, 2) I like the feel of the handle better (this could be just because I’m more used to the Niji brushes), 3) I’ve been able to find a range of brush sizes much easier for the Niji. I haven’t dissected the Aquabrushes yet but when I do I’ll be sure to post.
October 23, 2009 at 10:29 am |
Just to let you know I have referred to your post on my blog, cardartetc.blogspot.com. I did a couple of things a little different, but I could never have done it at all without your post as an encouragement. Thanks again!!
December 11, 2009 at 1:53 pm |
Amazing, I did not heard about this topic up to the present. Thankz!!
February 19, 2012 at 8:22 pm |
[…] with my small Niji waterbrush pen then scanned into Photoshop for coloring and […]
September 15, 2015 at 10:05 am |
Is it ok if your waterbrush is still stained after cleaning?
September 27, 2015 at 2:06 pm |
Hi Cynthia. Yeah, if The brush has been washed thoroughly the stain won’t matter.
July 3, 2016 at 6:38 pm |
[…] a previous post, I demonstrated how to disassemble and clean the water brush […]