Airbrush problem

[KODIAK BEAR]

Evening all,

Please bear with me as i am new to airbrushing, so here goes.

I was spraying last weekend and after use, i thought i cleaned my airbrush by flushing it out etc but it was not to be.

3 nights ago the needle would not return after pressing the trigger and i was told to strip it down and clean it.

So, i did, in order so i could re-assemble it easy as pie ! ! ! Oh dear, wrong !

Now the question, is it normal when putting the needle into the needle guide that the needle is hard to push in ?

Am i doing something wrong ?

Thank you for looking and i am sorry to bore you all to death but i need help please............

andy

[Doggy]

hey andy what kind of airbrush are you using ?
the best thing to do is to strip it and clean it well...
before putting the nozzle back you should put a little bit of vaseline on th needle and push him trough the airbrush...just a very small bit....you will see it goes a lot easyer...
the needle goes trough a very small seelingring and thats what makes it go hard trough the airbrush...

[KDSilverBrush]

welcome Kodiak, first, what type air brush ya have ?

[KODIAK BEAR]

Doggy,

Many thanks for your reply.

Firstly, big problem now for me is that i have stripped my airbrush down and found 2 'O' rings damaged.

1 'O' ring sits in the needle guide and the other is a small one that sits (i think) next to the air cap body.

I think it is where i was trying to push the needle back in and it has pierced them ! and it costs £2.00 each 'O' ring !!!!! ($4.00 to our American cousins )

Right Doggy, i use an AB-180 airbrush which is for fine line work.

Everything Airbrush

Vaseline, would that not rot your O rings as it is petroleum or am i wrong ?

Though i did not know you had to but it does make scence.

How about K.Y jelly ? Would that be any good do you think Doggy ?

thank you

andy

[KODIAK BEAR]

Hi KDsilverbrush,

sorry i posted my reply and i just seen your post.

I hope the link i put up works ?

andy

[KDSilverBrush]

If ya got O ring damage, is best to get em replaced, and I have never used anything for lube except super lube, its specifically for air brushes, and the stuff lasts forever, just takes a lil dab on the needle. I don't know if this will help ya any, but sometimes a little bees wax rubbed on the threads of the needle cap will seal it.

[KODIAK BEAR]

Super lube ?

Bee's wax eh, well i will give it a whirl and see what happens.

Thanks KDSilverBrush

By the way, how much is an airbrush O ring in the USA ?

andy

[KDSilverBrush]

Luckily I have never had to replace one, Kodiak. But I'm sure there are others that have and can chime in and tell ya what they run.

[lsabourin]

Kodiak, the nozzle (little cone shaped brass thing at the tip) might be clogged up with some debris and crap. You might have to take it apart and clean it out. I use a #1 guitar string to do that and some microbrushes available at your hobby centre. You can also sok it in airbrush cleaner for a while. Aztec brand works wonders

L

[fontgeek]

Kodiak, for the lubricant, try Aerolube, I know you can get that over there.

Avoid the petrolium jelly if at all possible, it is a recipe for disaster just waiting to happen.
The rotted or damaged o-rings sound like you either used a paint or solvent that was not compatible with your brush or it's materials, and/or you left paint in your brush that hardened around the needle and the o-rings, and then tore away at them when you finally pulled the needle out.

You will need to replace the o-rings, but you also need to get into a good cleaning routine with your brush. Once you are using the proper paint and solvents, following a simple but thorough routine should help you avoid these problems in the future. If your 180 doesn't have Teflon packing, then you shouldn't be using urethanes or the solvents that go with them.

There are several great posts on cleaning your brush, but I will give you a quick rundown if you wish.

First; dump out the excess or waisted paint.
Next, use a paper towel or rag and wipe out as much of the remaining paint as you can. That little bit you get with the towel will save you a lot of solvent and time in the future.
Next, rinse and dump solvent from the cup/paint reservoir until the solvent stays pretty clean in the reservoir/cup.

Next, fill the cup about half way with clean solvent, loosen the needle chucking nut and pull the needle back about a millimeter/quarter inch, then tighten the chucking nut back up. Now place a finger over the tip of the airbrush, and depress and pull back on the trigger, this is called backflushing, it forces air back through the nozzle and into the paint reservoir, do this until the fluid in the reservoir gets cloudy or dirty. Dump the contaminated fluid, and refill the cup and repeat the process until the fluid stays clean.

Next, With the cup/reservoir full of clean solvent, loosen the needle chucking nut again, now pump the needle in and out of the brush, with a motion of about a centimeter / inch and a quarter long, pumpt and twist the needle. Keep an eye on the solvent, it will probably cloud up from contamination. Once it gets cloudy, dump it out, fill it with clean solvent again, and repeat the process until the solvent stays clear. This is called pumping the needle.

Next, with the cup full of clean fluid/solvent, spray the solvent out into a jar or contained area, maybe even just a clean rag or towel. Spray solvent out until it sprays out cleanly, with no pigment or paint in it.
Next, you can remove the handle and loosen the needle chuck to remove the needle and wipe it down, and set it aside.

Use a clean Q-tip or cotton but, and wipe out the trough or channel at the bottom of the cup/reservoir, clean out the entire area, and make sure you give the inside of the cup itself a good cleaning. That cotton should come back as clean as it was when it was new. Keep on cleaning until it does.

Next, remove the needle cap, and give it a good cleaning, then check the nozzle cap to make sure it is clean inside and out.

Check the trigger well/area on your brush, there shouldn't be any paint in it at all. If there is, you either swing your arms around alot when you paint, and or you have a needle packing that is letting paint get back past. Clean the area out with cotton swabs/buds. If you have to rinse that area out, hold your brush upside down, and spray up into that area, that lets gravity help keep the solvent and paint from running down into the airvalve area.

Once your airbrush is nice and clean, you can reassemble it.
Try spraying just straight water through it. It should spray just fine, then, just wipe it clean and put it away.

This may seem like a long process, but it only takes a few minutes. A lot less time than it takes to earn the price of those replacement parts and to recover the time lost from an airbrush not working.

[yardartnut]

Heres my secret! Some may not agree, but I have done this for years...
If the brush has sat for a length of time and the needle does not what to come back freely.
Place some lacquer in the cup [point AB up and an angle to let the laq flow back] and ease the needle back..the laq. will disolve any debris and free up the needle....spray the laq thru the brush and free up all the debris...

[fontgeek]

Providing your airbrush has packing and seals that can take the laquer thinner, that is a great way to go as a cure. Make sure you clean out any debris or remnants of the old paint or finishes once you get the needle moving freely again.

I would still push for regular cleaning and maintainance of your brush, leaving your brush dirty creates more wear and tear on your brush, and it keeps your brush from performing the way it was designed to.

For those thinking of the petrolium jelly, it can react with paints, both oil and water based paints, and not in a good way.