Needle Lube

Since this is brought up once in a while on the forum and many people can’t seem to find these products I thought this bit of advice from a friend of mine would be helpful. Some of us were discussing on another forum whether needle lubes are good to use or not and some of these top painters say it will affect the paint, I disagree as well as this friend of mine and others who know the airbrush business real well. Here is what my friend told me:

I thought that was pretty cool. [8D]
So hit the drugstore and get your lube for cheaper. [:D]

Mike

Aha, well, I have some of that here. Claire uses it to soak her opal in. I’ll have to give this stuff a shot and see how it compares. Good info Mike!

sweet, i gotta get some. i wonder how long it took the folks at badger to think of this, and to come up with the name ragdab

Well, since having our first child we have heaps of the stuff.
Never knew kids could be so useful[:O][;)]

Thanks for the tip Mike [tup]. I’ll have to get me some & give it a go.

Regards, Rick

Mike, I have some Super lube which works great but prior to getting that I did try some straight Glycerine but I found that it beaded up on the needle like it didn’t want to spread over the metal evenly. I know only the tiniest amount is required but the proper Super Lube definately seems to work better, they must put something else in it to stop this beading action happening and get even coverage over the metal. Anyway it’s cheap enough to try Glycerine so give it a go and see what you think.[:)]

Cheers…Snowy

Mike: For those of us who support 2nd Amendment rights, and for those who do not, Remington puts out a nice little product called “Rem Oil”. The product is of course intended for firearms lubrication but since it has Teflon lubricant in the product, it is ideal for airbrush needles. The product can be found in most sporting goods stores as well as Wal Mart etc.

Just thought I would throw that in[:D]

Mike M

Snowy,

I have heard that also and I don’t know if there is a trick to it or what.

Mike,

I am familiar with Rem Oil as I used to handload quite a bit.
I am sure it works fine but I might be affraid of the Teflon possibly contaminating the paint.

Mike

would this be an effective lube for enamels also??

i hate to be a simpleton, but olive oil will take care of all of your lube needs.

Gharlane,

Yes it helps for all types of paints except one…gouache

Hatewall,

Olive Oil? I have yet to hear anyone recommend that for paints.
I highly doubt it works as well as the lubes we have been talking about.

Mike

I finally found Medea lube in the UK last month, and tried it on my Omni.

All I can say is what a difference, much smoother trigger action, and clogging appears to have reduced.

Having said that it did cost me £6, or $12, but at least it will last a while.

Karl

Karl, mine wasn’t as expensive as yours, but as far as lasting. I’ve had the bottle 3 months and through 4 models and I can’t tell I’ve even used any!!! And I agree, it does do a lot for the pull… and since I use acrylics a lot it really helps with that too.

Wesson oil
(Vegetable oil)

Bezics Try this link:

www.airbrushes.com

It’s under accessories.

Finding stuff in the UK can be a real pain, especially at a sensible price.

Sometimes it works out cheaper to just order from the US.

Karl

Bezics What AB are you using?

There are several other sources of spares in the UK, many of them cheaper than Airbrushes.com

Let me know.

Karl

Here is what Coast Airbrush in Anaheim,CA said when I asked them.

Mike

I must be missing something! Still learning the art of the airbrush and taking advice from local friends but “Needle Lube” is a new one on me. Am I supposed to be using whatever UK equivalent there is to protect and prolong the life of my airbrush and make cleaning easier?

Mooseman

Mooseman I bought mine as I felt that the trigger action on my Omni was a little stiff, and this was inhibiting smooth spraying of details and mottle, where control is everything. The lube has sorted that out a treat, and as per Mike’s post has considerably reduced the incidence of paint sticking to the needle and causing tip dry.

Like yourself , and probably a lot of other members of this forum, I’m still learning about my A/B and my own capabilities, or in my case the lack thereof!

Karl

mikeV - we were talking about regdab needle lube in another thread ages ago and elbatagev oil came up as an effective needle lube.

regdab = badger
elbatagev = vegatable

[;)]