Badger Patriot 105 Problems

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Several weeks ago I purchased a Badger Patriot 105 based on several posts here and elsewhere. To be clear I am a newbie with the airbrush and was fully prepared to practice and have to learn a lot, but so far this has been an exercise in frustration.

I thought I’d start my practice with Testors Acryl paints as I liked the no fumes and easy cleanup. The brush will basically not spray any paint and sometimes won’t even spray just thinner. According to Testors you shouldn’t have to thin the paint much. I’ve tried it straight out of the bottle and with some Testors brand thinner. Is it possible I got a defective brush and how would I trouble shoot. I switched the tip (The brush came with two which I think are fine and medium but I’m not sure how to identify them). No better. I’m spraying at about 20lbs PSI.

Should I try a different paint, do I have a bad brush what am I missing here. You’d think it would spray a piece of cardboard and with practice I could experiment with thinning and pressure… Was I silly to start with a double action or should I try another brand of brush altogether. Seems like a long time before I’d spray anything I care about.

Thanks!

2

Airbrushes are actually fairly simple mechanisms. They either work, or they work poorly, but as long as the medium you’re spraying is thin enough, it should be transported from the cup to the surface. It might spit, splatter, spider, but it should do “something”. Otherwise it is clogged beyond simple repair, and new airbrushes aren’t going to come out of the factory like that. Since you’ve replaced the needle and tip, it likely isn’t clogged. I don’t own a Patriot, so I can’t tell you how to identify the different needles, but Don or Mike or Keilau should be along to help with that.

Can you feel air coming out of the tip? If not, then you have a problem with the air valve, and the brush should go back to Badger for replacement or repair.

If you can feel air, then look at the “business” end of the airbrush. Can you see the needle? It should be visible.

The needle protruding through the tip is actually stopping the paint flow. When you draw back the trigger, is the needle moving? If not, tighten the needle chuck (the knurled knob in the handle cut out). Once you have confirmed that the needle is moving with the trigger, you should get paint to come out. MM Acryl is supposed to be thin enough for painting out of the jar, but just use water until you are comfortable that the brush is working properly.

Put some water into the cup (about half full), and depress the trigger. You should get air, but no water. Pull back on the trigger while depressing it, to get the water to flow. You have to open the trigger quite a ways before seeing the water coming out. The Patriot can spray a pretty fine line, and that means hardly any paint (or water!) is coming through.

If you can’t see or feel any water, then return the brush for replacement or repair.

The question remains if you should have “jumped to a dual action” or not. IMHO, you should. The only difference between a single action and a dual action is the ability to change line width “on the fly”. Some people will argue that it requires more skill to use a dual action, and they are right, but if you can drive a car, you can “drive” an dual action.

3

like Bgrigg said about the needle - watch it as you pull the trigger back to ensure it is actually moving. It is possible that the needle chuck (the knurled screw you see through the cut-out in the rear body) is not holding the needle & needs tightened slightly. I seem to recollect someone had a post with this problem on a Badger recently.

I also don’t see any issue with jumping straight int dual as opposed to single action.

Page 4 of this document for the 105 has details of the needle chuck on it;

http://www.badgerairbrush.com/PDF/105%20Fine%20Patriot.pdf

4

I wonder whether he’s put the needle in correctly.

At the very least something should be coming out when spraying whether it’s pretty or ugly. Paint should be coming out.

Generally one gently pushes the needle in until it stops. Then one gives the needle a gentle clockwise twist into the nozzle.

5

Bgrigg gave excellent advice, and I can only add a couple of things. The spare tip is the same as the one in the airbrush. It’s just a spare. Acrylic paints dry very fast and can cause clogs. I suspect there is some dried paint in the tip (that’s the nozzle). Hold it up to a light and look through it with a magnifying glass. Clean it with Windex with ammonia or alcohol. Practice with ink or water with food color until you get a feel for the brush.

There is a troubleshooting page on my website. Maybe that will help. You might want to scan the whole site. Badger tries every brush before they ship it, so I doubt you got a bad one. I’m assuming you got the correct Testors thinner for your paint.

Let us know how it goes and we’ll try to help.

Don

6

sounds like trash in the 3 little holes, when you unscrew the tip there is 3 small holes on both the removed part and the head of the airbrush itself.

take a wire and stick it through them

7

The Badger Patriot is a pretty forgiving airbrush. However, since it is your first try, it is alway prudent to use colored water (ink, water color or food dye) to test out the AB and for initial practice.

The Testors Acrylic paints are indeed thin enough for airbrush out of the bottle in most cases. But I will not do it even with the relative large nozzled Patriot. Use a good thinner with the paint makes it easier to clean the AB after use. Testors Acrylic are more sensitive to gumming up than most other brand. When you get a new bottle home, there is no telling how long it has been sitting on the store shelf. It is important to inspect the paint, thin it a little before using it. It is not unusual to has lumps in the bottle bottom which can clog your airbrush incidently. Cleaning out a clogged airbrush is no fun even for the old timer.

Clean your airbrush thoroughly and start over. If you are new to the game and not feel comfortable doing it, ask for help at the storer where you bought it or return to Badger for service.

It will not hurt to try another paint. But it will probably not make a whole lot of difference if you inspect the paint and prepare it before putting it in the airbrush.

The 20 psi pressure is a good starting point if you get a good quality compressor. What are you using with the Patriot. Some cheap compressor may require you to turn the knob fully up to get bearly enough air for any AB. Good luck and don’t give up.

8

Thanks all!! I ordered a spare needle and a “medium” tip which arrived several days ago. I tried some acylic thinner and it sprayed just fine with the new needle and tip. I’m looking forward to getting back at it. I new this would be challanging but am sure the end results will be worth it.

Thanks again for the help!