Baffling Problem with Iwata Eclipse HP-CS

Are you cleaning and back flushing the brush after you finish painting for the day ?
The needle seal usually doesn't cause issues unless it is too tight or too loose . To tight holds the needle in place and the tension on the return spring isn't strong enough to push it back through ,Too loose you will see paint in the trigger area which means it is dried paint binding up the works.
So I am noticing that the needle is very tight going through the seal - however no matter how much I loosen the needle packing screw, it still feels very tight. Is there anything that I can do besides applying lube?
 
Mine does this too if I pull the needle Chuck back and forwards. Essentially I learned just not to do that. I haven’t found that I gain anything by pulling the needle over just pulling the trigger all the way back for flushing.
I did more damage through novice cleaning in the first 6 months than I have done in the time since lol. It’s just something that happens sometimes.
I thought I was doing the right thing by tearing down the brush at the end of every session and spending 40 - 50 mins cleaning. I was wrong. Nowadays I empty the cup, wipe with some towel, pull the needle, wipe it with towel, flush with cleaner, fill the cup and use a soft paintbrush to scrub any stubborn paint, insert the needle, flush and keep flushing until it sprays clean into a paper towel... And I’m done. I’ll only go further if I have any problems.
Everybody eventually figures out what works for them. There’s a good video from Iwata on cleaning a brush. I’ll see if I can find it and post it here.


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Interesting. Here is my cleaning process right now, do you have any thoughts about it?

Flush out all the paint out of the cup with water, then backflush until clean (use paper towel as well to get rid of paint). I then fill the cup with airbrush cleaner that I spray through. I then take the brush apart (nozzle cap, etc - and pull the needle through the front) and clean the cup, nozzle, and needle. Put them all together, test spraying with water, and I am done. Is that sufficient?
 
You will find that you do not need to remove the nozzle, or pull the needle through the front - I do as you started out, dump the paint out of the bowl, add water and swish with a soft brush. I usually just dump this fill, then refill with water and spray through. Back-flush occasionally, as it will help clean the nozzle. Once the spray-through starts to look clean on paper towel, pull the needle from the back, and wipe it clean, re-install and spray some more. Pull the needle and wipe - if it is clean, you are done. If it still has color on it, reinstall and spray. Repeat till the needle wipes clean. End of day, I usually do not put the needle all the way back in, just get it through the needle packing - when ready to use the next time, I seat the needle all the way in. Once or twice a year I may break a bush all the way down, and give it a soak. Thy usually let you know when it is time.
 
So I am noticing that the needle is very tight going through the seal - however no matter how much I loosen the needle packing screw, it still feels very tight. Is there anything that I can do besides applying lube?
It’s possible the packing seal has swollen or been compromised when you tear it all the way down. Grab a replacement and see if it helps
 
Interesting. Here is my cleaning process right now, do you have any thoughts about it?

Flush out all the paint out of the cup with water, then backflush until clean (use paper towel as well to get rid of paint). I then fill the cup with airbrush cleaner that I spray through. I then take the brush apart (nozzle cap, etc - and pull the needle through the front) and clean the cup, nozzle, and needle. Put them all together, test spraying with water, and I am done. Is that sufficient?
I hear you. All I would say is that there’s really no need to remove the nozzle each time and pull the needle forward. There’s not a lot wrong with that on an Eclipse either, so you do you lol.
The needle packing adjusts a lot with only tiny turns. If it’s staying tight that may be an issue. It should be PTFE so it shouldn’t have swollen, but it could be that it’s not correctly fitted.


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