Iwata Revolution SAR Big Fail!

[Marc Farmer]

For my birthday this year I received and Iwata Revolution SAR airbrush with a .5mm nozzle and needle. I was thrilled! That is until I tried to use my favorite primer- Stinylrez from Badger. Now Badger suggest shooting the primer neat, at 30 psi whith a .5mm nozzle. I fired up the compressor sprayed for about 3 seconds, stopped to apply a little air to aid some drying, and then sprayed again....and no paint.

The airbrush was totally clogged...in fact the needle was sort of glued to the nozzle, and when I tried to remove the needle, the whole back end of the airbrush came off from the needle instead of the needle coming away from the nozzle.

So a thorough cleaning was done and another attempt was made with more of an opening for paint flow with the exact same results.

I resorted to my cheap Chinese .3 mm knockoff, with no issues what so ever.

So why does a cheap .3mm NOT clog, and an expensive .5 mm clog???

Scratching my head on this one....

 

[Mr.Micron]

Was the Iwata you got new or a used one.
I have heard of issues with the Revolution line being it is kind of the lower end of the Iwata line up .
I would have suggested an Eclipse BCS . As far as clogging and badgers suggestion of 30 PSI and a .5 setup That is more toward the gravity feed vs the siphon feed one up the pressure to about 50 PSI . Most siphon feeds need higher pressure for thicker paint and primers are usually thicker.Which means you are getting a lot of tip dry. You might also try reducing the primer a bit.

 

[Marc Farmer]

Was the Iwata you got new or a used one.
I have heard of issues with the Revolution line being it is kind of the lower end of the Iwata line up .
I would have suggested an Eclipse BCS . As far as clogging and badgers suggestion of 30 PSI and a .5 setup That is more toward the gravity feed vs the siphon feed one up the pressure to about 50 PSI . Most siphon feeds need higher pressure for thicker paint and primers are usually thicker.Which means you are getting a lot of tip dry. You might also try reducing the primer a bit.

Thanks Herb... I didn't think about increased pressure for siphon feed. I know I can reduce the primer, but is that because of the need for more PSI. Funny I got tip dry with a .5mm, but did not with a .3mm

 

[SkooterTrash]

With my Revolution, I've got to keep my primer somewhat thin, and then shoot it through at about 38-40 psi, or else Im taking it apart and cleaning the nozzle. I just did this this morning I came home from work...got a great first layer of the autoborne down, started doodling while waiting to dry, a few min later I spray check at the distance I like and get to it...one and a half passes and then a clog.

If you give me a min I'll show what I rigged up to get the primer out.

 

[Mr.Micron]

Thanks Herb... I didn't think about increased pressure for siphon feed. I know I can reduce the primer, but is that because of the need for more PSI. Funny I got tip dry with a .5mm, but did not with a .3mm

Think of it like this 30 PSI through a 1/2 inch garden hose vs 30 PSI through a 4" fire hose . The smaller the opening the high pressure comes out at less pressure going in.

 

[SkooterTrash]

So this is what works for me. No its not ideal, but i used what I had on hand at the time.

The wire is stranded 18g, split and twisted. the smaller can fit in the nozzle from the front, the other from the rear.

The nozzle tip on the little plastic will fit into the rear of the Revo nozzle, and you can flush it out with water.

Put back together and go to work.

This is all done very very gently.

 

[Marc Farmer]

Think of it like this 30 PSI through a 1/2 inch garden hose vs 30 PSI through a 4" fire hose . The smaller the opening the high pressure comes out at less pressure going in.

Ahh...Know I see...thanks for that

So this is what works for me. No its not ideal, but i used what I had on hand at the time.

The wire is stranded 18g, split and twisted. the smaller can fit in the nozzle from the front, the other from the rear.

The nozzle tip on the little plastic will fit into the rear of the Revo nozzle, and you can flush it out with water.

Put back together and go to work.

This is all done very very gently.

Thanks Skooter, I appreciate the info!

 

[Ronald art]

I own a 0.5 revolution but the gravity feed type it gets abused with pearls and metallic paints without any problems but I run it at about 40 PSI

 

[Nessus]

I use Stinylrez primer as well. I've not had problems with clogging, but the stuff is seriously tenacious when it comes to cleaning. Flushing just doesn't cut it: gotta do a partial tear down and scrub out every time I spray the stuff.

If I were to guess, you might have something stuck to your needle or the inside of the nozzle, or a rough spot somewhere that's acting as a nucleation site. Take it apart and clean the needle and nozzle thoroughly. I recommend using a round wood toothpick whittled to a needle point and dipped/soaked in solvent to clean the nozzle, rather than the stranded wire ScooterTrash shows. With all due respect to Scooter, that looks like a bad idea: it'll scratch and abrade the nozzle.

After cleaning, polish the needle and lap the nozzle. Get a light polishing compound like Flitz, chuck the needle in a variable speed drill (the kind where you can control the speed by how far to pull the trigger), and a paper towel. Put some polishing compound on the towel, and pinch it round the needle end lightly, while turning the drill. Do that for a minute or two, then clean the needle. If you don't have a drill, you can do this by hand, it just takes a little longer.

Now take the nozzle off , insert a dab of polishing compound inside, and replace it on the brush. Then insert the needle 'till it's gently seated, but leave the chuck loose. Spin the needle back and forth in place by hand for a couple minutes. Flush the brush with mineral spirits or lacquer thinner* to clear out the polishing compound, then break down and re-clean manually to make sure you've got it all out.

You should now have a smoother needle and nozzle interior that will resist clogging and tip dry noticeably better than previously.

*Polishing compounds like Flitz have an oil binder, so you want a petroleum solvent. Lacquer thinner is better, as it'll evaporate more cleanly, and won't mess with water based paint media: if you use mineral spirits, you'll want to re-clean with alcohol before spraying anything water based.

 

[SkooterTrash]

I use Stinylrez primer as well. I've not had problems with clogging, but the stuff is seriously tenacious when it comes to cleaning. Flushing just doesn't cut it: gotta do a partial tear down and scrub out every time I spray the stuff.

If I were to guess, you might have something stuck to your needle or the inside of the nozzle, or a rough spot somewhere that's acting as a nucleation site. Take it apart and clean the needle and nozzle thoroughly. I recommend using a round wood toothpick whittled to a needle point and dipped/soaked in solvent to clean the nozzle, rather than the stranded wire ScooterTrash shows. With all due respect to Scooter, that looks like a bad idea: it'll scratch and abrade the nozzle.

After cleaning, polish the needle and lap the nozzle. Get a light polishing compound like Flitz, chuck the needle in a variable speed drill (the kind where you can control the speed by how far to pull the trigger), and a paper towel. Put some polishing compound on the towel, and pinch it round the needle end lightly, while turning the drill. Do that for a minute or two, then clean the needle. If you don't have a drill, you can do this by hand, it just takes a little longer.

Now take the nozzle off , insert a dab of polishing compound inside, and replace it on the brush. Then insert the needle 'till it's gently seated, but leave the chuck loose. Spin the needle back and forth in place by hand for a couple minutes. Flush the brush with mineral spirits or lacquer thinner* to clear out the polishing compound, then break down and re-clean manually to make sure you've got it all out.

You should now have a smoother needle and nozzle interior that will resist clogging and tip dry noticeably better than previously.

*Polishing compounds like Flitz have an oil binder, so you want a petroleum solvent. Lacquer thinner is better, as it'll evaporate more cleanly, and won't mess with water based paint media: if you use mineral spirits, you'll want to re-clean with alcohol before spraying anything water based.

Like I said, it's what I had on hand at the moment.

 

[Henry Ruiter]

The H&S airbrush cleaning brushes are good for clearing out the airbrush and meths seems to do nice job also or whatever thinner go's with the paint.

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