I posted a topic in Airbrushes, and I thought I’d give the link here. Long story short, I have two airbrushes that are out of commission and I don’t know why. You can find out more here. I appreciate any light you guys are able to shed on the subject. Thanks so much.
Max: If you’ve already tried this, my apologies: how often do you clean the nozzle or tips in the airbrushes? Mine get plugged once ina while and a quick disassembly/cleaning fixes the problem.
The other thought would be a blockage in your airline or regulator somewhere that is not letting enough airflow through.
Just a few thoughts…
RadMax,
It seems that maybe you have an obstruction within the air supply hose or the inlet fitting on the airbrush itself. Since you have completely rebuilt the Paasche internals, that is the most likely explanation to come to mind. Try running your compressor without the a/b attached and see if you are getting proper pressure at the hose outlet. Then inspect the attachment point for the hose to insure that there is nothing partially blocking the inlet. Hope this helps!
Brian [C):-)]
Mucker and Brian, thanks for the quick replies. The airhose is not blocked. The Paasche brush shoots air out great. I’ve also tested it by hooking up my third string airbrush (Paasche H) to the same hose. It sprays nicely. Everything on my VL is clean. After I rebuilt it, I made sure everything was spotless. Then after I painted all that blue I cleaned it well. Even as I was painting the blue it had a difficult time picking the paint up. I’m pretty sure the paint was thinner properly… anyway.
I was testing the A/B after i cleaned something off just now and I noticed that when I put my hand really close to the nozzle, the suction kicks in and sprays whatever I have in my cup onto my hand. The magic distance seems to be about 1/8". What do you think about that?
As far as the badger goes, I might just send it back. I have no idea how it was cared for before I got it and I don’t really know much about badger’s stuff. They allow you to send it in and have em fix it right?
Max:
I’m no airbrush expert, but I still think you’ve got a clog in the nozzle/tip of the Paasche. I’ve had similar issues with my Iwata and Badger Sotar 20/20, and a good removal and cleaning of these areas has fixed the problem. The cause has a been a small glob of paint has adhered itself inside the tip restricting the airflow. If these help, here are some links to specific break-down of your airbrushes:
http://www.dixieart.com/VLParts.html
http://www.dixieart.com/Parts_for_Badger_Model_200SG_200G.html
What do you clean your airbrushes with? If you spray acrylics, I recommend runing Windex (or any other ammonia based window cleaner) through a few times at the end of each day’s session at roughly 20 psi.
RadMax
Seconds prior to painting I always spray straight thinner through to ensure desired pressure and pattern and amount of product to drawup–it also provides proof to me that the ab is working and not to spend my time there troubleshooting. If I then attach a jar and no paint comes through I will check to ensure the jar is venting properly and if that isn’t the prob try increasing air press. and if paint then comes thru decrease air back to orig setting and further thin the mix. If I’m using an open cup and verified the feed tube is clear and after increasing air to max can barely get paint to trickle thru I’ll go back and further rethin mix.
but when lowering air pressure adjust the amount of draw
Brian
Mucker,
I think I’m one of the unique modelers in the sense that I use both enamels/lacquers and acrylics. I’ll outline my cleaning process for you.
I spray my colors. Once I finish with that, I fill up (or clean out) my metal color cup. It’s small so I can shoot small amounts of paint or thinner. If I’m using enamels/lacquers, I always use lacquer thinner. If I’m using acrylics, I used to use alchohol but the past couple months I use Windex exclusively to clean. I take a Q-tip, dip it in the cup of cleaning material, and wipe off the needle/aircap. Then I clean out where the color cup attaches by putting the wet end of the q-tip in, then drying it off with the dry side. This seems to get the inside fairly clean. From there, I attach the color cup with cleaning material, and make a couple sprays at the psi I had been using. Then I crank it up pretty high and finish the job. Sometime I run two cupfulls through.
Is there something I could be doing different? I’ll clean EVERYTHING up then we’ll see how it goes.
Brian: That sounds very feasable, but my A/B isn’t even shooting thinner at 50psi!!!
Max I think taking everything apart for a good cleaning is a good step to take. If you find out what it is, you can chalk one up in the learning department, plus it will save you some hard earned cash that you can use to buy more blue paint, err…or models.
If all else fails, you can send it out for repairs
this might do it,there is usually a tiny hole on the paint bottle if this is clogged you won’t get the spray needed to paint properly,then the second problem i found was the siphon tube had some left over residue in it once i cleaned this tube out everything worked perfect,so try that if you’ve tried everything else if this doesn’t do it i can’t help good luck
Rad,
The aircap has five or six holes in it for the air to pass through. Soak this part in MEK or Laq thinner overnight. The airbrush body itself has three holes in it for air to pass through. Be sure these are clean. If you’ve already replaced the parts mentioned then you must know how to detail strip the brush. STrip the body completely and be sure to remove the air valve. Soak the body in the same as above. Hope it helps.
BTW, The first thing I used to do to my VL when I was done with a color was to put a cloth over the nozzle and pull the trigger to clear the paint from the body and color cup spout. You may also want to put a cloth over the color cup if you use a lot of pressure.
If it is dried paint in your airbrush a complete disasembly and a good days soaking in some dot 3 brake fluid will work majic. It does not matter what type of paint either brake fluid will dissovle it or make it soft enough to be wipped off. I clean mine about once a month and they work like new after cleaning them. Just be sure to wash everything off in soapy water. Silicone and paint do not like each other. Also do not clean them on your work bench. You would be surprised how much damage a little silicone can do. Hope this helps.
Soulcrusher
Rad,
Break down your air brushes again and check to make sure needles tips are not warped or bent. Also, I have found nail polish remover ( acetone ) will also disolve and clean acrylic paint ( as well as enamel and laquer paints ) from metal parts of airbrush and often works better. I use it to clean my airbrushes with good results.
Air Master
Not sure if this idea will help at all, but is the “cone” screwed tightly enough to the main assembly? Spray some windex on the outside of the “cone” or any other parts and fire your airbrush up. If you see bubbles indicating you’re leaking air, that might contribute to your problem.
Guys thanks for all of your advice. I went to the LHS today and me and Bill (the owner) checked both of my AB out. He made some suggestions for the Paasche. I did some tests and concluded my tip is messed up. So I had him order me a new one. Also, for the badger, it was just a matter of a silly little seal, whitch is on order. Once again, I appreciate your help!
Good to hear Rad! You should be back in business real soon. WTG! [tup]
Air Master