Issues with new brush

K

Krow

Guest
Hello!

I'm a newbie on a budget. So I started out with one of those $50 Master airbrush packages from Amazon. I was painting using the cheap $0.99 craft acrylic paints you get from Michaels and thinning them with water. It worked pretty well with the Master airbrush I was using.

After about a year, my brush broke. I decided to upgrade and I purchased the Talon Paasche gravity-fed dual action brush (using same Master compressor). However now I'm finding that the craft acrylic paints don't work with this brush anymore. When I thin it down to the same consistency (milk-like) that I used before, it doesn't spray at all. Bubbles blow back into the feeder cup indicating the paint is too thick. When I water down the craft paints A LOT, it sprays just fine through the brush, but now the paint is too watery now and it drips everywhere and looks horrible.

I'm hazarding a guess that the issue are the cheap hobby craft paints. However, I'm wondering why they aren't working for the Talon Paasche airbrush when they worked just fine for my cheap Master airbrush. Also I'm concerned about the cost of switching over to airbrush paints. This past year I've amassed an enormous collection of craft hobby paint colors, and it'll be hard to replace every single once of them with more expensive airbrush paints. I'm trying to find a better solution.

I'd appreciate any help I can get. Thank you so much!!!!
 
Being airbrush can have different needle and nozzle set up , I can only assume that the masters set you bought had a .5 set up while the Talon comes with a .38 loaded in it which is much smaller unless you bought the full set up that comes with all 3 needle nozzle size . .25,.38 and the largest is .66.
the smaller the nozzle the more reduction is needed .
Also keep in mind that paint is not all made the same so the pigment in the craft paint may not be able to be reduced enough to go through the nozzle .
I would suggest finding the local hobby lobby and print the 40% off coupon and but some Wicked , It is designed to paint on almost anything.
 
The cheapest craft paints cause problems with smaller nozzles. IME i've found that the slightly more expensive $1.50 mutisurface craft paint is working pretty well out of my .2's. Its still not wicked by any means but it works pretty well.

Bubbles in the cup and only spraying with extremely thin paint is usually an indicator of different problem. Like the nozzle threads not being sealed or the air cap being too far out.
Chapstick those nozzle threads.
 
@Mr.Micron Thank you! The Talon airbrush I purchased only came in one size, so I'm assuming it's the .38. Apologies for the basic question, but I just want to confirm - to get a .66 size, I will need to purchase 3 things: the nozzle tip, aircap, and needle in the .66 size? I'll definitely check out the Wicked paints if craft paints still give me problems, thank you for the recommendation!

@Robbyrockett2 I didn't know about that trick! Just rub any ole chapstick on the nozzle threads and screw it back on to help the sealing? Thank you for the tips!
 
@Mr.Micron Thank you! The Talon airbrush I purchased only came in one size, so I'm assuming it's the .38. Apologies for the basic question, but I just want to confirm - to get a .66 size, I will need to purchase 3 things: the nozzle tip, aircap, and needle in the .66 size? I'll definitely check out the Wicked paints if craft paints still give me problems, thank you for the recommendation!

@Robbyrockett2 I didn't know about that trick! Just rub any ole chapstick on the nozzle threads and screw it back on to help the sealing? Thank you for the tips!
Yep just whatever chapstick, Picked that up from @DaveG . Also when looking at the talon on Dons airbrush tips he mentions having to do it to his talon to stop the bubbles.
 
The co
Oh wow. Good to know!
the construction of the Talon makes it pretty unlikely that it is a nozzle air leak issue, that chapstick would cure. As long as your nozzle is snug in the base of the head - that part should be fine. With the brush assembled, and ready to spray, you need to look really close at the nozzle and air cap relationship. There should be a nice, even space all around the nozzle, within the air cap. As well, your nozzle should stick out past the face of the air cap a little bit. If the nozzle looks like it is either flush, or recessed a little within the air cap, there is your problem. Try tightening the air cap down a little more... One of the issues with the Talon is that they can be a little hit and miss with parts compatibility, so you may need to try either a new air cap, nozzle, or both. The other thing to check is - the air cap and nozzle both have lines cut in them that indicate size. There is an air cap and nozzle that both have one line cut in them, two lines cut in them, and three lines cut in the circumference of each part. If your nozzle has 2 lines, your air cap also needs to have 2 lines. Miss matching these parts could cause bubbles in the cup...

On reducing craft paint... sometimes you get to a point with water that the paint is actually breaking down. You can get an airbrushing medium made by, maybe Liquitex. designed to thin heavy bodied paints down to airbrush consistency - mix this with both your craft paint, and water, and you will wind up with a more stable thinned medium.
 
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See, your first problem is you've put "upgrade" and "Paasche" in the same sentence. :p

I'm pretty sure (but might be wrong) that you can order a complete needle/nozzle set for your Talon, and it really shouldn't be too expensive. If you're on a tight budget, it wouldn't hurt to figure out a way to keep using the craft paint. Paasche's can be finicky sometimes, you just have to fiddle around and figure out what the brush likes.
 
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