Hey, I’ve had an airbrush for awhile now but havent ever been able to get the resaults i’m looking for. I have an Paasche VL0408 (thats what it says on the side of it). Tonight I’ve tried to start with mostely paint and slowely put more thinner in it (I use tamiya acrylics). I also put the output pressure of the compressor at 0 and worked my way up to see if I could find a happy medium every time I added thinner. the compressor is a 2 gal that you can find at walmart in the automotive section (I wasent about to spend the money on one built for airbrushing unless I really need to).
My problem is I cant get rid of what my book says is splatter. I have just replaced the tip for the airbrush as I cracked the last one, and the needle isnt damaged. My book doesnt mention anything else that could be causing it.
Can anyone help? I’d really like to find out what its like to use an airbrush when its working at its full potential.
I don’t have a Paasche, but imagine it will come with a push or screw on tip guard / protector? My brush will simply not perform with this fitted, as paint builds up on it & causes spatter.
Also, if you have use a ratio which has not been thinned to your brushes preference, it could be causing paint build up at the tip of the needle, so possibly wise to give it a rinse through with water & wipe the tip with spirits / thinner before moving onto another mix.
Possibly nothing to do with your problem, just a couple of suggestions.
Does the spatter start immediately or gradually & does the amount of spatter increase the longer you spray for?
I had the same problem. Aside from the Paasche VLs having to use slightly higher PSI rates (I usually use 20-25psi) I couldn’t do very fine lines like I was prepping to do.
If you’re problem is anything like mine…look at the tip where the needle comes out…when you press the button back (Like you’re going make a heavy spray), is the needle centered in the hole? Mine was to one side making it “spirt”. It’s probably a bent needle…not at the tip, but bent in general.
1: What are you thinning your paint with?
2: How thin is your paint?
3: Does the spatering occur right at the start and then stop each time you press the trigger or does it continue while you’re spraying?
It has been to about a 5 part thinner to 1 part paint but i took thinner out after everything settled to try to start over thinking I messed something up.
Its continuous, starts when i start spraying, goes while spraying.
At 5 parts Tamiya thinner to one part paint, I’d expect you to be getting beading and poor adhesion. I wouldn’t push Tamiya thinner past about 2 parts thinner to 1 part paint. I do like my paint thin, but at those rates, I prefer using denatured (ethyl) alcohol, which is “wetter” than Tamiya thinner.
If you’re getting continuous spattering, without seeing it, and assuming your needle is clean and you’re using an appropriate air pressure (say about 22 PSI) I would be thinking you may have a build up of paint inside the bore of the nozzle. Remove the nozzle and give it a soak in lacquer thinner and then try it again.
No, do not soak the body of your airbrush in lacquer thinner, as it will destroy the rubber o-rings and seals in the air valve.
It should be sufficient to start with the nozzle.
PS: If you have replaced the nozzle, is it matched to the needle? If I recall correctly, some VL sets come with fine, medium and coarse needle/nozzle sets. If the needle and nozzle are not matched, it might cause some problems due to the bore of the nozzle and the taper of the needle not being matched.
I helped someone with a Paasche VL years ago that was having problems and he was trying to paint with the protective cap on the end. Is that something you have checked?
Just asking as the protective cap has a hole in it and some people think you can paint with that cover on.
Protective cap isnt on. Do I have to match the needle with the tip? I have 4 needles and 3 tips. I think i’ve identified which needles are what. There was a diogram in a manual with 4 needles and it was showing them with different number of rings at the end to mark which one is which. I’m not sure if i matched one correctly becuase two of them look the same almost but one has a ring and the other doesnt. but both of the needles have a ring.
If this is my problem how do I match them? theres 3 tips but 4 needles?
I don’t know about your splatter problem. Your air pressure may be a little high. I usually use around 15 PSI whth my VL airbrushes.
As for the size the nozzle you will have to identify by looking at the small opening, the smallest is a #1 the Medium is a #3 and the largest is a #5. The air regulator is the part the nozzle fits into, they are labeled 1,3 and 5. The needles have a ring(s) on the blunt end the #1 has 1 ring the #3 had 2 rings and #5 has 3 rings.
Paasche must have change the identity markings. They seem to follow the #1, #3, and #5 rings for the proper ID. Match the rings with the regulator numbers. The tips go from the smallest to the largest.
If you have the regulator and tip paired up, don’t break them up.
My VLs are old and Paasche changed the way they ID the needles. I don’t know why they didn’t number their parts 1,2 and 3. The new Talon airbrush is set up that way.
I read today that you should always get rid of paint when you’re done airbrushing, why is this? could this be my problem? I save my paint to use another time.
Yes, that could be a factor. Paint, when thinned, has been altered from it’s pristine state, and has started the chemical reaction that allows paint to cure. Like blood cells that clump together to form a scab as it coagulates on a wound, the particles in paint are forming bonds together.
One should always be careful to not thin too much paint, and never put thinned paint back into the original container.
If you thinned the paint and pour it back in the bottle, the thinner may cause the paint in the bottle to thicken. It depends on the paint and the thinner.