Needle end caps

Spike

Young Tutorling
Hi
When cleaning my airbrush to change colour or at the end of the day cleaning it to put it away I watched a youtube video where the guy just held the end of his airbrush to create blow back.

Now my airbrush has a casalated end cap which makes this impossible to seal the end, I would like to change it for a different type so this is possible, as at the moment I am removing the end cap which exposes the needle which I guess can get damaged very easily or is there another way I can acheive blow back with out removing the end cap or changing it.

If I did want to change the end cap are the thread sizes all the same on all airbrushes or are there different sizes. meaning I would need to buy one specifically for my airbrush?
 
There are lots of methods of back flushing with a crenelated or crown cap on a brush. I usually just wrap a rag or paper towel around the front and pinch it in place. There are quite a few rubber caps, a simple BIC pen cap can work, or even a section of tube that a needle came in.

That being said, there are a good many brushes that do have the same thread size and pitch on the needle cap, across many brands. I am using Japanese needle caps on German brushes, etc... The trick is selecting one that will work well with the spray pattern size your brush produces. Using one meant for a .18 brush on something that has a .5 needle can create issues. What brush are you looking to outfit? I may be able to give a few recommendations.

back-flush1.jpg
 
These are from a "Gocheer" style brush set, very common out of Asian countries, and branded with dozens of names around the world. The nozzles, needles and caps provided are listed as .2, .3, and .5. In this case they provided a needle cap for each size, and you should be able to see that each is different. .2 on the left, .5 on the right, with the .3 in the middle... Using the one for .2 with the .5 nozzle will have the spray hitting the inside of the cap, and creating splatters of paint rather than a fine pattern. One size does not fit all ;). Better to use a larger one, than using one that is too small.

The Gocheer does have a common needle cap thread size, so you are good in that dept. A needle cap from a Japanese .35, or larger brush should meet your needs. Something like an Iwata Revolution, or Eclipse...

The screw below the color cup is a MAC (Micro Air Control) valve, and is used to adjust air flow through the brush and over the nozzle. You can set your compressor at say, 30psi, and use the MAC valve to reduce pressure at the nozzle to work up close, or with finer lines. I have a bit of a write up on my FB page, if you do FB - https://www.facebook.com/davegs.airbrush.exploration/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1163550267083893

back-flush2.jpg
 
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