Hi all,
I have a gravity driven airbrush. The air comes out of the gun fine and dandy, but noticed bubbles inside the can with no paint.
I cleaned everything with aciton, and thinner to no avail. I even took the needle out. The paint still wont come out (I later on replaced the paint with water, and still no use).
Please help
HI!
It sounds like the tip is blocked so no air or fluid will come out the tip. You need to disassemble the front of the airbrush and clean the spray tip or what the needle inserts into at the tip and clean away the obstruction, probobly a clog of dried paint, re assemble and you should be good to go.
Under normal circumstances, the air and paint paths in an airbrush are isolated from each other. Bubbling in the paint cup usually means that the fluid nozzle is either cracked or isn’t seated properly, allowing air into the paint path.
It would help to know what brand and model airbrush you’re using, as some have screw-in nozzles and others have press-in (friction fit) nozzles.
Could you tell us which airbrush you have? It may help.
Don
I washed the tips, and the needle with nail remover solution. The air comes out fine, but there’s no spray at all.
Its a screw in nozzle
Hi Don,
Thank you for your reply. I dont know what is the name of the brand. But it is metal, with a cup on top. There are two parts for the front nozzle, and another part that comes out from behind revealing the back end container of the needle. So I would say it is a generic type.
More of a master G-22 airbrush.
One more thing. I even removed the needle, thinking that the needle might be the problem. The problem persisted.
If it has no brand name on it, it must be a generic Chinese airbrush, probably similar to the Master G-22. Your bubbles could be caused by a split nozzle, or a leak where the nozzle screws in. But, I suspect it may suffer from the same condition you can read about at the bottom of my G-22 review page. If there is a rubber O-ring on the nozzle, it deteriorates over time and compresses. This sets the nozzle further back and it no longer protrudes a little past the head. Then, instead of getting a vacuum to draw paint out, you get pressure that blows air back into the cup. If this is the case, you can try the fix mentioned on my page. If this isn’t the case, try a little Chapstick on the nozzle threads. The needle can’t cause bubbles in the cup.
Please let us know how it goes.
Don
Hi Don,
Thank u for your quick reply.
I think the problem.is with the nozzle cap.
I removed it and noticed that the water does come out although more of a spit but nevertheless it does come out. When i put the nozzle cap back I started getting the bubbles again.
I checked your blog that u suggested and removed the O ring off of the nozzle to no avail.
Try removing the large o-ring between the head and the body of the airbrush. You can leave the tiny one on the nozzle. Also, put some Chapstick on the nozzle threads. I’m assuming your airbrush looks like a G-22.
Don
I tried that yesterday. No use. The problem still persists.
Tolerances on some of the Chinese airbrushes are pretty loose. It could be that what worked for me, won’t for you. Maybe a new O-ring on the nozzle would fix it. I’m not sure where you would get one; maybe an auto parts store?
Can you look into the big end of the nozzle and see that it is really clean inside? Have you examined it with a magnifier for a tiny crack in the tip?
Complaints that these airbrushes work for a while and then die are fairly common on the forums I watch. You might want to consider investing in a name brand.
Don
Hi Don,
Yes. I got it. There’s a crack on the tip of the nozzle. Do you think that might be the cause?
That will sure do it. A Master nozzle might fit, but I wouldn’t guarantee it. And, you would need the right size. Do you know what size you have?
Split nozzles can happen if you push a little too hard when installing the needle. It’s easy to do.
Don