Help: Badger Sotar air valve seal

[artman51164]

So far returned 3 Sotars. Same issue, air leaks where valve attaches to body. See attached. How do you fix this ?

Thanks

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

I rub bees wax on the threads and screw it in, then gently heat it, gently, bees wax does not take much to melt and i usually leave the valves complete. If you worry about the valve internals take them out.

 

[Kingpin]

are you 100% sure thats where its coming from? it could be coming up from a poorly fitting connector and thats why its the same on all 3! as Richard says, try beeswax/chapstick on the threads

Does spraying soapy water on it show the air leaking from that part?

 

[Drastion]

The airbrush is painted when it is fully assembled. It is unlikely that three airbrushes in a row would be leaking air from the same spot that should already be sealed by the paint itself.

It could be leaking from a quick connect that is lacking a rubber type seal in it. Same thing with a Badger hose that is not able to fully thread in to press the hose connection into the bottom of the air valve.

 

[DaveG]

The brush is plated, not painted. I don't think they are plated assembled, but rather have plugs in those locations to prevent the plating from being applied to interior surfaces, or threads. I have several Badger brushes that leak from that seam. There is no seals there, just the dependence on mating surfaces to create a seal. I have had a little success warming the bottom portion of the air valve (off the brush, and emptied out) and applying a wipe of wax prior to reassembling. Does not always work... it is annoying, and distracting to feel a blast of air on your fingers wen you depress the trigger.

 

[artman51164]

are you 100% sure thats where its coming from? it could be coming up from a poorly fitting connector and thats why its the same on all 3! as Richard says, try beeswax/chapstick on the threads

Does spraying soapy water on it show the air leaking from that part?

Positive where it’s was coming from. I fixed it.

 

[artman51164]

The airbrush is painted when it is fully assembled. It is unlikely that three airbrushes in a row would be leaking air from the same spot that should already be sealed by the paint itself.

It could be leaking from a quick connect that is lacking a rubber type seal in it. Same thing with a Badger hose that is not able to fully thread in to press the hose connection into the bottom of the air valve.

I resolved it. Yes, all three were leaking from where the pic shows. Quick connect no issue.

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

Positive where it’s was coming from. I fixed it.

Well done,
what's your fix?

 

[artman51164]

The airbrush is painted when it is fully assembled. It is unlikely that three airbrushes in a row would be leaking air from the same spot that should already be sealed by the paint itself.

It could be leaking from a quick connect that is lacking a rubber type seal in it. Same thing with a Badger hose that is not able to fully thread in to press the hose connection into the bottom of the air valve.

I resolved it. Yes, all three were leaking from where the pic shows. Quick connect

I rub bees wax on the threads and screw it in, then gently heat it, gently, bees wax does not take much to melt and i usually leave the valves complete. If you worry about the valve internals take them out.

Thx. What I did was place bees wax at seam while have seam open just a tiny bit. Warmed it. Then tighten it. My Sotar now has zero leaks. No need to return. Hooray

 

[artman51164]

The brush is plated, not painted. I don't think they are plated assembled, but rather have plugs in those locations to prevent the plating from being applied to interior surfaces, or threads. I have several Badger brushes that leak from that seam. There is no seals there, just the dependence on mating surfaces to create a seal. I have had a little success warming the bottom portion of the air valve (off the brush, and emptied out) and applying a wipe of wax prior to reassembling. Does not always work... it is annoying, and distracting to feel a blast of air on your fingers wen you depress the trigger.

Q: the finish looks bad. like pealing. is there way to make it pretty again ?

 

[tatocorvette]

Q: the finish looks bad. like pealing. is there way to make it pretty again ?

Can you post a picture? I once worked an airbrush that looked like peeling and it turned out to be baked on stubborn paint residue. Plating should be immune to solvents, so you can try a cotton swab with lacquer thinner to see if it helps.

Thanks,
Ismael

 

[artman51164]

Can you post a picture? I once worked an airbrush that looked like peeling and it turned out to be baked on stubborn paint residue. Plating should be immune to solvents, so you can try a cotton swab with lacquer thinner to see if it helps.

Thanks,
Ismael

Here u go….

 

[tatocorvette]

Does it feels rough like pitted? I'd try some thinner or IPA or acetone in a cotton swab and test if it helps.

 

[artman51164]

Does it feels rough like pitted? I'd try some thinner or IPA or acetone in a cotton swab and test if it helps.

Yeah. Feels like it. Thinner and IPA didn’t work. Rust remover ? But that might make things worse.

 

[artman51164]

Can you post a picture? I once worked an airbrush that looked like peeling and it turned out to be baked on stubborn paint residue. Plating should be immune to solvents, so you can try a cotton swab with lacquer thinner to see if it helps.

Thanks,
Ismael

This is response from SprayGunner…

 

[DaveG]

To me, it looks like poor prep prior to plating, and a poorly applied plated layer. A mild metal polish may even out the appearance of the finish, but is also apt to remove those spots altogether if not careful.

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

Unfortunately looks like poor plating too me. There is a picture somewhere on the forum where a member polished all the black off of a sotar and it looked pretty good.

The quality control seems very loose with badger, i think it is how they keep their brushes cheaper, relying on people being able to get good enough performance for the price.

It still does not make you feel good when you get a new brush or part and it looks like the warehouse guard dog had been chewing on the one you got sent.

I have resigned myself to the fact that i run that risk if i buy badger, i do like their brushes performance but then i like brushes from sparmax and h&s too. Ultimately they will all deliver the performance I ask of them but the plating and machining was faultless on the other brands compared to the badger. Whether that business model will work out for badger or not only time will tell.

 

[Falcon.Studio]

Unfortunately looks like poor plating too me. There is a picture somewhere on the forum where a member polished all the black off of a sotar and it looked pretty good.

The quality control seems very loose with badger, i think it is how they keep their brushes cheaper, relying on people being able to get good enough performance for the price.

It still does not make you feel good when you get a new brush or part and it looks like the warehouse guard dog had been chewing on the one you got sent.

I have resigned myself to the fact that i run that risk if i buy badger, i do like their brushes performance but then i like brushes from sparmax and h&s too. Ultimately they will all deliver the performance I ask of them but the plating and machining was faultless on the other brands compared to the badger. Whether that business model will work out for badger or not only time will tell.

i polished the black off mine, mainly because i found it hard to clean paint off it and the black finish always seemed “sticky” after wiping with lacquer thinner.
way better now