HELP -- Iwata Eclipse won't stop spraying

[VALKETEER]

I have an Iwata Eclipse HP - BCS. I took out the needle per the on line cleaning lessons. The needle went back in okay and I lightly inserted it till it stopped then I tightened the needle chuck back. But when I press down on the trigger for “air only” there is still a small spray from my bottle of airbrush cleaner. If I hold the trigger down for “air only” and hold the airbrush on my drawing pad for a moment there is a fine spray of cleaner. This still happens after I take off the bottle of cleaner and just pull back on the trigger to spray out all traces of the airbrush cleaner till just dry air sprays out. Then when I reattach the bottle of airbrush cleaner it will still have a fine spray coming out again. I put it back together but I'm worried when I try and use it again soon paint will spray out when I just press down for air.

What have I done wrong or is there something that needs adjusted?

[AirTodd]

When you inserted the needle you did not push it all the way in.That what it sound like.Whenyou don't have the needle all the way in the gun turns into a single action.Meaning you are pushing down on the trigger and its spraying cleaner.so push forward on the the needle again.Make sure the nut is tight also wahen you are done.Good luck.

[VALKETEER]

I put the needle in till is stopped. I did not want to use much pressure but it did slide in just fine then came to a stop. I even took off the nozzle and checked, then reinserted the needle to check its position. Put it all back together and same thing happened and very fine spray came out when I pressed the trigger. I wonder if pulling back just a little on the trigger after I put back in the needle then tighten the chuck would help as there would be a slight forward pressure from the trigger spring on the needle then. What do you think or did I not adjust something? I’m clueless over here.

If your needle is setted in the tip/nozzel correctly it should not happen
You have dried paint inside the noozle/tip or on the tip of the needle
or bent tip on the needle keeping it from setting correctly
those are generally the problems hope that helps

[VALKETEER]

Thanks Don, that's the kind of tips I was looking for. This is the fist time I use my air brush. In fact the first time I ever used an airbrush. I will take the nozzle off and check the tip of the needle. It did have paint on the needle after I got done practicing last night. So I put a few drops of AB cleaner on a paper towel and carefully pinched the tip while pulling it down in the opposite direction of the needle tip. But I did not look inside the nozzle. I will tonight. Got to get a bright flash light as my eyes don't see as well as they used too when I was twenty.

Thanks Don and AirTodd

[AgilePaws]

I occasionally have that happen also. What I normally do is take the needle out and spray some cleaner through without the needle in. That way if there is a tiny bit of dried paint, it will be able to blow it out. Sometimes if it's particularly stubborn, I spray a little bit of rubbing alcohol through it and it takes it right out. Good luck and let us know how it worked

[mayhem]

try to back flow it....hold a piece of paper towel on the end to stop the air and and use water in your cup or bottle and turn your air and paint on .it will force the water back threw the gun ...it has worked for me on a couple occasions....

good luck !!!

[VALKETEER]

I was using Golden's black paint for a few hours Sunday night. I put on a bottle of AB cleaner and sprayed till my AB was clean before taking a break. I pulled the needle out again today. It’s straight and clean with a nice straight and sharp tip. I took apart the head and I shined a flash light down inside the nozzle. It's looked clean inside looking down into it from the back and if I blow in it you can hear a little whistle from the air coming out. But still after soaking the nozzle in AB cleaner all night I have the same problem. I even turned up the pressure to 90 psi to blow out my airbrush with the AB cleaner but it did not work as it still sprayed a fine spray when I pressed down on the trigger for air only. So I'm soaking the nozzle again today in odorless paint thinner and I will try it again tonight.

What I don't understand it why this happened after the very first use...I have read a lot of good things about Iwata. The one thing I wonder if I may have caused this by using tap water to thin my Golden's black paint. I don't know for sure but surly it could not have cased a problem this bad after just an ounce or two of the cut paint. If anyone has any more suggestions I do appreciate them all, no matter how simple.

[dan549]

don is right, even if you don't see any paint when you look iside the brush ,it only take a skim coat to cause the needle not to set right.try turning the needle when you put it in, then tighting the chuck nut.good luck,hang in there! dan

[VALKETEER]

I think I have an idea. I had tightened the needle spring guide all the way after my newbie inquisitiveness found it was not all the way screwed in. After looking for the parts exploded view on the Iwata web site I see it keeps the spring tension on the needle. When I tighten the needle spring guide all the way then pushed in the needle and tightened the chuck there was not spring tension then on the needle. When I get home tonight I will seat the needle tighten the chuck then adjust the needle spring guide for just the right tension. Boy I hope I guessed this right. I will let everyone know if it works.

[VALKETEER]

Well I was way off on my idea. It did not work. The spring guide is to adjust the trigger tension. The one page manual that came with my AB did not explain anything about that it was just my guess. It has to be like Don said the problem is in the nozzle or needle, I never doubted that, but the needle and nozzle look very clean with no burrs or bends. My Iwata warranty states it does not cover the nozzle or needle; they are not covered at all. I have heard many good things about the Iwata Eclipse BCS but my first experience with it is turning into a headache. I was very careful to just pinch the needle with just two fingers when removing it and putting it back in. I did not force it in and had no trouble the first time I took it out. It just slid in and easily and stopped when it was seated against the nozzle head.

If anyone has an idea of what went wrong or if I may not have done something right I would appreciate feed back. For the time being I have ordered a new nozzle and needle from Dixie-Art. Gee I got to say I'm feeling frustrated and wondering if my first choice if AB was a good one for a beginner. Other then a factory defect or something simple but invisible to a clueless newbie I don't know what went wrong.

[redneck]

may I offer a suggestion ,mark your needle with piece of tape or something and compare its to the new needle before you install the needle

sandstone ray

[Cornshuck]

There is only one situation that will allow paint (fluid) to continue to flow---------The needle is not seated in the nozzle------if it is properly seated, fluid CAN NOT flow! I have the same air brush and it has worked flawlessly from the"git go". I did not see where you had mentioned what kind of paint you were using at the beginning of your use of the a/b---this can REALLY affect how easily the nozzle and needle can be cleaned. It is very easy to examine the needle with a magnifying glass, not so with the nozzle!!

Go to Iwata's internet site and read the article by Adam on his first experience with cleaning an Iwata--------enlightening. This is true with ANY airbrush------I think a better word for cleaning an airbrush would be "sterilization"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[VALKETEER]

I was using Golden's black paint & AB cleaner. I even turned up the pressure to 90 psi to blow out my airbrush with the AB cleaner but it did not work as it still sprays a fine spray when I pressed down on the trigger for air only. I even tried soaking the nozzle over night in odorless paint thinner. I tried twisting the needle after I seated it in the nozzle. That stopped the fine spray and I had dry air until I pulled back on the trigger and then released it again for air only then got a fine spray again for air only pushing down and not pulling back. Nothing worked; it still sprays a fine mist when I just press down for air only. It worked good the first two hours but after I cleaned it I has this problem. What could I have done wrong?

I will read that article as I'm grasping for any idea that will help. Do you have a link?

[brushbyair]

Valkateer, from all I have heard, it appears that the nozzle tip is worn out, it doesn't take much ! I have the same brush and it works flawlessly, I did have the nozzle tip go bad though and with the same results you describe. You must take real caution when reinserting the needle, not to push it in to hard, that will cause the nozzle tip to expand, thus allowing paint flow around the needle and through the tip. These are very precise tolerances, and awfully thin material. The new tip should fix your problem. Good Luck !!!

[Scott Lister]

Try spraying some carbuertor cleaner on the needle and the nozzle. This will remove any dried paint even a thin film left inside the nozzle.

Scott

[VALKETEER]

"brushbyair" That makes the most since to me and I would rather think it's something I did so I can learn from it. I must have applied too mush pressure the first time I put in the needle but I really used a light touch using only two fingers and I doubt I applied more pressure than an few ounces. When I get the new nozzle and needle I am going to put it in like I was seating the needle tip against my eye ball. But if it’s this easily broken I don't see how it holds up to the air pressure. Gee Wiz, are all airbrushes this fragile or just Iwata?

I’ll try carburetor cleaner on the needle and the nozzle tonight; I got nothing to lose at this point.

[brushbyair]

Well I can tell ya I own two brushes, the BCS and a Paasche VL, the nozzle tip on the BCS wore out twice as fast as the VL, but that may have been just coincidence. I have heard that the nozzle tips on the Iwata's are more fragile than other brands, but don't give up it is a wonderful brush. Chances are that it may have been defective right from the factory, it is so hard to see any defects, a slight rough spot on the end is all it takes to hold the needle open.

[gtech]

It reminds me that sometimes I would like to have a second fluid nozzle and needle just for those times where I'm not sure if a problem is caused by dried paint inside the airbrush, or by a bad part.

These things happen, so it's better to be ready for it.

In case of real bad problems, put the new parts in and check if it's better. If not, put the old parts in and keep searching for dried paint in there.

Gilles

[redneck]

I've got a question that may or may not had anything to do with this post, but if clear or transparent paint was spray through the airbrush how hard would it be to see the paint after the paint had dry in the nozzle

sandstone ray