Argh!

C

Compleks

Guest
Just when I think I'm getting somewhere.

Airbrush is not working like it should. It's acting as though there is tip dry, despite being cleaned 3 times today!!
I've stripped it down, and soaked the nozzle and bits in water and nail polish remover. Given it a thorough clean, several times.
Paint still wont flow properly. It starts, stops, spits and generally painting like S*#T.

The needle seems fine. I treat the thing really well. The nozzle is clean, no obstructions or dry paint.

I'm using paint which I mixed up maybe a week ago, if that. It has worked fine for me in the past.
Has the pre mixed paint thickened and clogging? It's filtered through stocking and well mixed
Maybe it has dried in the bottle nozzle above the filter?

I honestly dont know. This has done my head in for the last 4 hours.
Completely frustrated.

Thanks for any help.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!
 
It sounds like reduction of paint to your psi. What psi are you spraying at? I would try reducing your paint a little more. If it spiders after you reduce your paint then you have to adjust your psi. It takes some adjusting but you have to find that happy medium.
 
Oh Compleks,

Sorry to hear about your issues.
What brush it is and what is the setup? Have you tried water in it? Try some inks or food colors to see if it works fine. These are very this and the pigments are ultra fine.
If you remove the nozzle for cleaning, it might be some leak in it, try some beeswax as may have tried before.

Good luck and please update us on the situation, it might help others later.

Merry Christmas to you too

B
 
Hey Compleks. You say you soaked in nail polish remover, did you remove any o-rings first? They mave have got damaged. Also it may be possible that the paint you mixed up has settled, and even if you shook it up, you may not have done it thoroughly enough each time, so you could have used thinner paint from the top, while the rest just got thicker, Try reducing it again. Also as bteize said, try just spraying water through it, and look at your spray pattern, if it is not coming out evenly then there may still be a blockage.
 
It sounds like it could be a vacume leak . If the airbrush is clean remove the needle then reinsert the needle slowly .
when the needle reaches somewhere in the middle of the airbrush you are looking to feel it hit a little bump .
That bump would be the needle bearing . It's the seal that separates the mechanics of the airbrush from the paint chamber . Starting and stoping meens it may be making a seal only part of the time when moving back and forth . Most models can be adjusted while others require replacement .
its like drinking out of a broken straw . There are other way to experience vacume leaks like others have said in the nozzle or head system . Using the right type of airbrush and PSI is very important as well . Thicker airbrush paints are made that way so they can cover and hold up .....like Createx for t shirt painting . If you dilute it it doesn't cover very good or stay
on the shirt when washed . It's like drinking a shake and a coke out of a straw .......the shake is thicker and needs more suction. Holding the air down at all times is also going to reduce clogging . You need to push the trigger forward before you let the air off so paint won't be left on the needle .
These are a few things I thought might help ! I am assuming you have a typical double action airbrush at this point .
feel free to contact me at coast airbrush if you are still having trouble . A quick phone call cam sometimes shed some light . I will have a new video on coastairbrushtv.com all about trouble shooting coming in about 2 months . There are some other videos that are free on there that cover some great tips as well !
 
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Thanks for all the advise.

I've been banned from painting on Christmas, so it will have to wait a few days :p
I'll check out everything that has been mentioned, cheers.


Happy Festivus!
 
Okay, so I may have slipped away for a cheeky paint.
It's hard to be subtle about it when your compressor shakes the entire house though...

Anyway, I put a little lube on the needle and fed it through the brush a few times. Used a 1:3 reduction, which was working fine for me the other day. 20-30psi.

Iwata Eclipse CS - Wicked Detail (black).

At times it was working fine. Then it would stop responding and becoming hard to control, then spitting a bit. GEnerally just nor performing like it should.
I've stripped it down again for a cleaning. I can see straight through the barrel with a magnifying glass, and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.

I'm cleaning the little nozzle part again, and everything else seems fine.
I didn't soak any of the o-rings in the polish remover. Only the metal nozzle bits and pieces.
Cleaned the needle. Brushed out the entire barrel

If it is a vacuum leak, is there anything I can do to fix it?

I don;t have any beeswax handy. Where would I apply it if I did?

David - thanks for the detailed response. I did what you suggested and I can feel the little bump you mentioned. Is this a good or bad sign?

Cheers.
 
You might want to try a different bottle of paint, or even plain water just to make sure that's not your problem.

Don
 
It's a good sign ! Make sure the head on your hpcs is snug .......do not over tighten .
Make sure your nozzle cap is clean . Sometimes air is restricted if paint has built up inside the nozzle cap .
20 psi will really be less if this is clogged . Try bumping up the pressure to 30 to 35 psi as well .
You never separated the two part nozzle right ?
 
Why won't you seperate the two part nozzle? How would you clean it if you don't?
 
Why won't you seperate the two part nozzle? How would you clean it if you don't?

Apparently it's easy to break the threads of the nozzle so it's designed to remain as one part, if you need spares you should order both parts together, I don't own one but I would imagine it has to be cleaned as a whole from behind, sorry if that sounds a bit rude, I still haven't recovered from the turkey overdose, lol
 
The nozzle does not need to be separated to be cleaned. Just put a drop of cleaner/thinners in it and clean it with a wooden toothpick. Don't shove it in too hard and split the tip.

Put a bit of wax or chapstick around the part that goes into the body. This helps with the seal and helps keeping the nozzle in place when removing the head.
 
Thanks Andre for the info, but I am a bit confused in one of the tutorials it shows to clean remove the part and put plumbing tape on it. Maybe I am missing something then. :)
 
Thanks Andre for the info, but I am a bit confused in one of the tutorials it shows to clean remove the part and put plumbing tape on it. Maybe I am missing something then. :)

That was a different airbrush where the part behind the nozzle can't be removed.
 
I didn't separate the 2 part nozzle.

I'm back at work, so I wont get a chance to play with it for a few days.
I'll report back when I get a chance.

Thanks again for all the input.
 
The base of the nozzle is brass so the compression fitting style nozzle base can seal to the body of the gun .
the two metals are soft brass . The nozzle it self is a much stronger metal platinum alloy . If you start taking the two apart
the nozzle base threads get loose and won't let the nozzle seal as good . I recommend cleaning it as one part .
Iwata sells it as one part . Bees wax heated up can become a fix for any vacume leak but it can sometimes be a little tricky ! I sometimes need to do it a few times before it makes a good seal .
 
If it has developed a vacuum leak will it be covered by any sort of warranty? The airbrush is only 2 weeks old...

I clean the nozzle as one piece, exactly as Andre explained.

Christmas is ruined!
(I'm just kidding, but it is quite annoying indeed)
 
We offer free service for life when you buy from coast . If it was a legit Iwata dealer they will or sure over any kind of defect . You said it was working fine do I don't see it as a defect . Maybe just paint build up in the nozzle cap ?
Crazy if the paint went bad ? Did you use there thinner ? I would be happy to test it out .
 
Cheers David, appreciate the offer but I'm all the way down under!

I have a lot of good advice already. I'll be back at it on Friday to see if I can fix the issue.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help me out. I will keep you posted, thanks :)
 
Quick update.
I sealed the thread between the body and the tip with a little lip balm. I'm not sure if this made much difference, but the airbrush was working a little better yesterday.

I think the issue was just the paint, reduction and psi.
I reduced some paint almost to water and my spray pattern and consistency was great. Unfortunately coverage and opacity is a problem then.
I think it's just a matter of finding the right balance between all these factors, which is much more frustrating than I imagined.

I guess it's all part of the learning curve.

Thanks for all the input.
 
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