this my first gravity airbrush, purchased new. i’ve noticed if tilted back paint will flow back into handle around the trigger is this normal.
also when i reassemble after cleaning, if i insert the needle into handle without the trigger and needle chuck assy. the needle is quite loose fitting. the reason i metion this, i also have a paasche vl when the needle is inserted you feel a slight resistance as the needle passes thru the teflon bushing. i’m wandering if teflon bushing is missing in my badger? can’t really tell visually looking into bore
Ken, the president of Badger was at last summer’s Squadron Eaglequest show and he talked how their service works and how they are able to rebuild brushes which have had a pretty hard life.
If you remove the head, nozzle, and needle, hold the Patriot so that light shines into the cup and look in the front opening with a magnifier, you should see a tiny white donut in the channel behind the cup. It does sound like yours is missing. Badger has a life time guarantee on this part.
I used their service once, my 155 airbrush came back early the following week, no charge.
A caution for you: Since paint did get back into the handle area, you might well, (or even likely,) have paint down into the air valve. That will not be good for the valve, be sure to mention that you want the valve checked for any damage from paint residue, they can replace as necessary.
Badger is a first rate company, they’ll take good care of your AB. Good luck with it.