There was a topic a while back and someone asked about whether the paint would cause any problems back into the airbrush body if you pulled the needle out the back of the airbrush and I thought it would be good to address this.
It is best to pull the needle out the front of the airbrush because if it is removed incorrectly or dried paint on the needle is drawn back through the airbrush, it will wear at the needle bearing which can distort it and make it lose it’s sealing ability. Another great thing about Badger’s customer service is that every Badger airbrush has a free lifetime needle bearing replacement, so all you have to pay for is shipping it to them.
I hope this helps those who were wondering about which way to remove the needle. [:D]
Thanks Mike, I for one have been removing the needle incorrectly without realising the problems it may cause and I promise to change my ways from now on. Thanks again for the heads up.
Depends on the airbrush. Those that have the needle fastened to an adjuster screw at the rear can’t but maybe some others can. My Badger 200 can’t be done that way because the needle and adjuster screw are a single unit. My Omni can since it has a “Chuck” on the needle.
I always take the needle of my Omni out through the front, and put it in from the front, not so much to keep the paint out of the back of the brush but to protect the needle point. No reason to try and slide it through everything point first and ding up the needle when I can go in from the front and avoid doing that.
Can’t you remove the needle screws from the back of that 200, pull off the handle and head of the airbrush and then remove it through the front?
I am not familiar with the 200 model. Is that the 200NH?
If you are careful and have removed most of the paint with thinner before removing it through the back then it is not really something to be concerned about.
Certain airbrushes such as the Badger Anthem have to be removed from the back as the needle has a ball on the back end which prevents removing it any other way than out the back.
I don’t think so Mike, at least not easily. The needle fits into the screw fitting that screws into the rear of the handle. I tried once to get the needle out of the screw fitting (for some obscure reason) and couldn’t figure out how. I think it’s just pressed in, but if so it’s pretty tight.
The 200NH is similar to mine, but mine is about 10 years old to. The picture on Badger’s page looks like the 200NH has the needle chucked or threaded into the rear fitting, but mine isn’t like that. My needle ends flush with the back of the screw fitting.
Mike - I’m another one who has always taken the needle out from the back (on my Iwata HP-CS). I always looked into the cup as the needle came through to see how much gunk was on it, and would douse it with lacquer thinner and a q-tip until I thought it safe to pull all the way out. I tried to make sure that any paint left was on the tapered part of the needle, but I still cringed everytime I completely removed it. My Iwata never came with any of those sort of tips, or really, no instructions at all!
Thanks for your tip, as I think I’ll spend less time overall with the process, and the nozzle will get a good cleaning everytime, too! [:)]