Airbrush Question...

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CbarM

CbarM

HO all the way!
I have a cheapo Badger clone dual action airbrush and I am wondering if it needs adjustment? there seems to be no control of paint flow, just air pressure. It is the same spray pattern (about 1" wide from about 10" away) with the lever all the way forward or backwards and same amount of paint sprays out. The only control I have is pushing down will give me more pressure. Is there some kind of adjustment that I need to make on the back end? Here is an old bachmann car that I am test painting black and it seems to be working OK so far with 3 coats of gloss black thinned 50/50. What do you guys think??
 
Does the needle move when you pull back on the trigger? If not then it could be that the needle chuck at the rear is not tight or the needle and/or tip is damaged or jammed.
Here is a good site about airbrushes that should help.
http://airbrushtips.110mb.com/
 
The needle might not be close enough to the tip or slipping in the needle chuck. I had the same problem once. I took my airbrush completely apart and cleaned every part really good. It worked ok when I put it back together. What I figured out was that I previously had assembled it incorrectly.
 


I agree with the other posters. Check and make sure the needle moves when you pull back on the trigger. Is that the good old Harbor freight $15.00 special? It looks like one. That airbrish is very good at frustrating beginners. If it's all you can afford, than that's how it goes, but I would suggest you get yourself a decent one when your budget permits. The quality is very spotty on those airbrushes. The machining varies from barely acceptable to garbage (IMHO). Good luck with it.
 
Well the needle does move back and forth with the trigger...and yes, this is a ebay $20 special....looks like I got ripped off an EXTRA $5....haha
I guess you have to spend some good money to even get instructions in the box...haha
 
OK, try loosening the needle chuck and pushing the needle all the way forward and make sure it is seated against the nozzle. If it isn't seated properly you'll get paint when the trigger is all the way forward. Test with water.
 
Did it ever work properly?

The most important skill to learn in airbrushing is how to properly clean your airbrush.

If the airbrush ever worked properly, and it does not now, the airbrush is dirty.

You will need to break it down to it's individual components and clean each one. If you paint with enamels, use lacquer thinner to clean it. If you paint with acrylics, use straight ammonia to clean.

The most important is the needle, and the tip that it fits into, called the nozzle tip. If that nozzle tip is dirty with dried paint inside, you will have zero control over the airbrush. You may need to soak the nozzle tip over night. I have to clean mine with a toothpick that's been sanded down to a fine point (same as the needle). I soak the toothpick in solvent to aid the process.

The nozzle tips are very small. I lost mine in the carpet once. That cost me $45. I now have hardwood floors in my model studio. :-)

Go here and read the sections on "The Color Change Rinse", and the other "The End of Session Rinse" and the "Deep Cleaning".
http://www.airbrushguru.com/cleaning-your-airbrush.html

--Jon
 
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As for being dirty, it shouldnt be...whenever I am done spraying with it (even if its only for an hour) I always run about a 1/3 oz of thinner thru it to clean everything right out. Im not sure that it has ever worked properly, and that is kinda why I was figuring it could be an adjustent.
 
Blowing thinner through works a couple times. After several uses I'm willing to bet that there is a small amount of dried paint ether on the needle or in the tip. It only takes a little bit of dried paint to make an airbrush malfunction.
 


Your airbrush is dirty.

CbarM said:
As for being dirty, it shouldnt be...whenever I am done spraying with it (even if its only for an hour) I always run about a 1/3 oz of thinner thru it to clean everything right out. Im not sure that it has ever worked properly, and that is kinda why I was figuring it could be an adjustent.
Click to expand...

If this is all you do, IT'S DIRTY and needs to be broken down completely and each part carefully cleaned. Most important is the nozzle tip.

Running a third of an ounce of cleaner is good between color changes. Once done with a session, you MUST remove the needle, clean it, thoroughly clean the cup with Q Tips and thinner, and then run more thinner through it all again.

Once done, I "backwash" my airbrushes by completely by covering the nozzle with a wadded up paper towel, and blowing air back into the cup, up through the thinner. While doing this, I will back the needle in and out 8 to 10 times. Keep in mind this is only once I am finished painting.

Go back through the links I provided in my previous post about cleaning it and understand each one. Until you do this, you'll never get anywhere airbrushing. I don't care if you are running a POS from Harbor Freight or an Iwata Custom CM-C Plus. It's not going to work properly.

Sorry to sound nasty about it, but many never learn how to clean properly and give up because of it. I would hate to see you end up there. A dirty airbrush can be very frustrating.

--Jon
 
Might be slightly off topic,but I have one of those Harbor Freight deluxe airbrushes and IDK if im doing something wrong or if I need to spend more money,but I cant finish a task with it,whether its a small model airplane or some weathering on my RR or rolling stock,the tip clogs all the damn time,I thin with water and some alcohol.The type of paints that ive used are Polly scale and ceramicote,valspar,rustolium....
should I be using some kind of special thinner instead???
or just spend more money???
thanks
Chad
 
quadmx72 said:
Might be slightly off topic,but I have one of those Harbor Freight deluxe airbrushes and IDK if im doing something wrong or if I need to spend more money,but I cant finish a task with it,whether its a small model airplane or some weathering on my RR or rolling stock,the tip clogs all the damn time,I thin with water and some alcohol.The type of paints that ive used are Polly scale and ceramicote,valspar,rustolium....
should I be using some kind of special thinner instead???
or just spend more money???
thanks
Chad
Click to expand...

It sounds like the paint is starting to dry in the gun, you may have to change your reducer to a slower type (takes longer to dry), also increase the amount of paint and possibly lower your air pressure some should help.

There is nothing wrong with using alcohol, make sure it 99% and not the ordinary type on the shelf - ask the pharmacist for the 99% stuff and add a little more water to slow down the evaporation rate.
 
Sounds more like you're using too much air pressure. Try turning the pressure down to around 20 lbs. If it still drys on the tip, turn to 15.

A little more "thinner" may also help. If the paint mixture isn't as thin as milk, then its too thick to spray well.

I have two of those HF brushes, dropped one and cracked the tip, and I use the unbroken one all the time for what I call general spraying. Cars, buildings, an occasional loco, and I find it sprays just as well for me as my more expensive brushes. But then again I also have many years experience painting with airbrushes too.
 
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I didnt think of air pressure at all simply because the little compressor im using doesnt have a regulator,it doesnt even have an on/off switch,i just plug and unplug it.
ALSO i for got to ask that I notice alot of projects the paint seems to bead up on the plastic,is this because the surface is un -primed? ive washed the surfaces in soapy water.
thanks for all your help everybody!
Chad
 
could be pressure, but I have a $250 Bellofram regulator and a 6" test guage that allows me to (ridiculously) adjust pressure by totally unnecessary 1/4 pound increments! I have the same issue. In my opinion, acrylic paints suck.

Try some enamel based paints, you'll have better luck.

There will be some acrylic-junkies that will respond and tell you how great acrylics are, and they have no trouble. But acrylics do clog airbrushes during use and they do NOT adhere like enamels.

Be sure to completely break down your airbrush to it's most simple components and clean each thoroughly with ammonia before moving to an enamel paint. Clean the needle and the orifice (tip) that the needle goes into.

This is also a handy tool to have to help with most of the cleaning, witht he exception of the needle and tip:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-airbrush-cleaning-brushes-68155.html

I am going to stop at HF this weekend and pick up one of these airbrushes and try it out. They get great reviews.

--Jon
 
Paint beading up means you're applying too much too fast. Don't try and lay down the whole coat in one pass. Do several light passes and build up the thickness slowly. Use some decent paint. The paint is the cheapest part of this whole process. I do use enamels and lacquers primarily but also use acrylics. Acrylics dry very fast, hence the tip dry issue, but there are retarders for various systems that will slow down the drying time. Also, Polyscale has a very coarse pigment grind. The solids particles are larger and will clog airbrushes easier. I have not had issues with Badger Modelflex, Tamiya, or Vallejo Model Air. I also shoot lots of Scalecoat, Floquil and Testors. Practice and experiment. You'll get it.
 
Try some flow enhancer. It's to slow the drying time of acrylic paints. I add a few drops of it to my thinned acrylics and it helps stop the tip drying. It's sold at hobby lobby in the artist paint section in a Pint sized bottle.
 


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