No air flow with nozzle cap on?

[Venerable edge]

My gravity feed airbrush does not allow any air to flow out the nozzle when the nozzle cap is screwed all the way on. If I loosen it a bit air starts to flow.

Any idea what might be causing this and what I can do to fix it? (other than just leaving the cap loose)

Thank you.

 

[Mr.Micron]

Love the first post being help me and not Hello I am so and so and here is a little about me.

Next you ask for help but forget some basic knowledge, that we have no clue about ......
Like what make and model of airbrush are you using?
Did you soak the entire thing in solvent cleaner or Restorer if it is water based?

But if you had use the search button you would have found this : http://www.airbrushforum.org/general-airbrush-tutorials/2570-airbrush-trouble-shooting-guide.html
It is a great guide.
It could be the needle bearing is too loose or the o-rings are swollen due to what you have cleaned it with.
But being my crystal ball is in my other personality I guess you are just going to have to give us more information.

Sorry if I sound harsh but with out all the information of what make ,model of airbrush you have,
What you did to the airbrush prior to this happening , Type of paint system you are using ie... Waterbase like spectra-tex, wicked ,createx or urethane paints.
What are you using for cleaning your airbrush and how are you cleaning it.

 

[Venerable edge]

I'm sorry. I didn't intend to be rude.

It is a Master Airbrush made by TCP global.

I'm using acrylic paints, mostly Vallejo air colors, sometimes regular Vallejo. I've been thinning it with Createx "Wicked Reducer".

To clean the brush I'm using Medea airbrush cleaner.

I don't use it that often.

I'm using it for painting plastic and resin tank models. Mostly base coating and camouflage.

Thank you.

 

[ad fez]

can not really understand why a right nozzle cap would stop air flow? unless it was a badger brush with self centering nozzle (with closed top style cap) and the cap was so tight it was squashing nozzle, could you take a close up photo of the head of your brush with and without the nozzle cap on?

 

[Mr.Micron]

Being you do not use it to often , and may have not gotten it 100% clean on the last cleaning , I would start with a tear down of the brush and inspect the O-rings,
By the looks of the parts list for master airbrushes it is all rubber o-rings in them, Heat and cold can effect rubber making them hard and crack, Dirt in the air valve can also play a part in air not coming out the nozzle.
But I have had this happen once before , It ended up being the air tube(when you take off the nozzle you will see a small hole where the air flow through the brush) was clogged with dirt that must have been picked up while sitting . I took a thin piece of copper wire and passed through the tube until I had good air flow from it.
Also check the cap its self , it may have something in it the is blocking the air flow.

Hope this helps.

Sorry for being harsh but , It makes it a lot easier to help when you are given as much information as possible.

 

[Venerable edge]

Being you do not use it to often , and may have not gotten it 100% clean on the last cleaning , I would start with a tear down of the brush and inspect the O-rings,
By the looks of the parts list for master airbrushes it is all rubber o-rings in them, Heat and cold can effect rubber making them hard and crack, Dirt in the air valve can also play a part in air not coming out the nozzle.
But I have had this happen once before , It ended up being the air tube(when you take off the nozzle you will see a small hole where the air flow through the brush) was clogged with dirt that must have been picked up while sitting . I took a thin piece of copper wire and passed through the tube until I had good air flow from it.
Also check the cap its self , it may have something in it the is blocking the air flow.

Hope this helps.

Sorry for being harsh but , It makes it a lot easier to help when you are given as much information as possible.

If the air tube was blocked, wouldn't that mean that no air would come out at all, regardless of whether the nozzle cap was on or not?

I did push the needle through the cap (actually it protrudes through the cap anyway and is protected by the needle cap) so it doesn't appear to be a blockage I the cap itself.

Thhank you for your suggestions.

 

[ad fez]

so when the cap is screwed on tight, do you get bubbles back in your paint cup?

 

[Mr.Micron]

If the air tube was blocked, wouldn't that mean that no air would come out at all, regardless of whether the nozzle cap was on or not?

I did push the needle through the cap (actually it protrudes through the cap anyway and is protected by the needle cap) so it doesn't appear to be a blockage I the cap itself.

Thhank you for your suggestions.

Mine would allow air through with the air cap loose, but no air when on tight.
with out the cap on it would give air but it not feel as the air flow was that of what the pressure was set at.
If that makes sense.
so after cleaning the air tube and the air cap it work like it was suppose to.

 

[RebelAir]

Wow thats a weird one LOL, and don't think its covered in that article Mr Micron, might have to be one to add..I've personally never come across this issue, I'm only guessing but it does sound like the little hole that lets air into the head assembly is partially blocked or is not lining up with another hole that it needs to line up with in the head assembly itself..Again only speculating as I don't have one handy atm I can look at..Saying that you loosen it and it lets air through seems to indicate there may be a hole in each part that needs lined up to allow airflow into the nozzle head....Through time the seal has squished a bit and it may be letting you tighten it up past the point it shld and these holes no longer line up until you back it up a bit..Again m8, soz if that doesn't help as I'm kinda only guessing here, it is a weird issue and not something I've come across in other brushes.. Will pull out my Master brush I have laying around somewhere and check out the air circuit..Hope ya get it sorted..

 

[RebelAir]

Nah that's not it LOL, just had a look at mine and re-read ya post..Is it the actual nozzle cap your loosening or the head assembly? I may be mixing it up..Theres 3 little holes in the back of the head assemble and one in the airbrush body. Though there is a raised edge on the head assemble to create an area that allows air to fill and then pass through each of those little holes so it can't be what I mentioned previously with alignment (Was just a wild guess LOL). So I'm assuming its the nozzle cap and that's even weirder LOL..Hold the head assembly up to the light and firstly ensure all those 3 holes are clear, it really sounds like the nozzle may be going in to far and blocking these holes off as I'm sure the tolerances in there are pretty fine, it just doesn't make sense why no air comes out unless these are being blocked somehow by the nozzle cap itself..Maybe a build up of paint in there and theres no longer that small area to allow the airflow through, get a little needle out and scrape all the inside clean...Again guessing but it is a strange one for sure..

 

[Squishy]

That's an odd one. If all the air holes are clear, the only thing I can think of is as Rebel suggested above, that it's the nozzle going too far in, is it possible you have a missing or damaged O-ring that is letting the nozzle go in to tight and not letting the air flow? Just grasping at straws really, but can't think of anything else at the mo.

 

[GRSM]

Hi did you manage to sort it out? I have the same issue.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Hi did you manage to sort it out? I have the same issue.

I'm afraid he won't be answering you, he last posted on this forum more than a year ago, but introduce yourself in the Introduction section, then ask your question in this section, I'm sure someone will answer you.

 

[scion19801]

i realize this is a little old, but also having this issue...I have just recently purchased the Master airbrush g444 kit from tcp global.. If i put in the .5 setup and screw down the nozzle cap it cuts off air flow. If I put in the .3 setup it blows bubbles into paint resivor...This is caused by the nozzle caps in my particular kit all being for the .2 setup. This is a quality control issue. i called tcp and they are sending me both the .3 and .5 setups to replace the bad ones in my kit.
If you look closely at the nozzles caps for the g444 Im sure you will see that all the caps are wrong and need to be bored out for the .3 and .5 needles. Of course in order to do this you will need very small drill bits to accomplish the work. Im currently trying to open up the .5 and i just broke the .3 when changing over to it and the threads were left in the fluid cap which was fun to get out.. I did it with a small philips screw driver...got lucky..
I will post more on my fix once new parts arrive and i have time to verify..

 

[Mr.Micron]

i realize this is a little old, but also having this issue...I have just recently purchased the Master airbrush g444 kit from tcp global.. If i put in the .5 setup and screw down the nozzle cap it cuts off air flow. If I put in the .3 setup it blows bubbles into paint resivor...This is caused by the nozzle caps in my particular kit all being for the .2 setup. This is a quality control issue. i called tcp and they are sending me both the .3 and .5 setups to replace the bad ones in my kit.
If you look closely at the nozzles caps for the g444 Im sure you will see that all the caps are wrong and need to be bored out for the .3 and .5 needles. Of course in order to do this you will need very small drill bits to accomplish the work. Im currently trying to open up the .5 and i just broke the .3 when changing over to it and the threads were left in the fluid cap which was fun to get out.. I did it with a small philips screw driver...got lucky..
I will post more on my fix once new parts arrive and i have time to verify..

Are you changing the air cap for each nozzle size you are putting in , the master's come with 3 needles 3 nozzles and 3 air caps or at least they should .
The .5 nozzle with a .2 air cap will not give any air flow,

 

[scion19801]

Are you changing the air cap for each nozzle size you are putting in , the master's come with 3 needles 3 nozzles and 3 air caps or at least they should .
The .5 nozzle with a .2 air cap will not give any air flow,

Yes each set comes with needle, nozzle, and nozzle cap...all nozzle caps in my set are for .2 air cap...all have the exact same outlet hole diameter.the air cap as u call it is the nozzle cap as its call it my parts breakdown...a needle cap protects the very tip of the needle, and only one in kit.

 

[Mr.Micron]

Well if all the nozzle caps are for .2 then .2 is all that will work in that airbrush. You will have to contact TCPGlobal to see if they will make it right and send you the caps you need to use for the other 2 sizes.

 

[Airbrush Dreams]

Wrong nozzle cap or nozzle. Were you cleaning two brushes.


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[scion19801]

yeah tcp global is sending me out two new sets for .3 and .5

 

[Spritz]

Hello everyone, It's nice to finally find this group.

I hate for this to be my first post, but when you have a question about a question...well

I am wondering how the person with the wrong size nozzles got in contact with TCP, and how easy they were to work with. I have a 8yr old Master G45 airbrush with a 0.2mm needle and the nozzle is drilled way off center, which makes the spray pattern off center. All I can find for replacement parts is in a kit for 15 bucks, and it doesn't even show the correct air nozzle in the parts pic. I ordered the $9 needle and nozzle kit, but only the needle and fluid tip fit my brush, the other nozzle part fits one of the other 5 models the kit says it fits, I guess. I'd like to get this G45 fixed finally, and give it to my buddy, but don't want to give it to him screwed up. I think the next time I want to buy a low cost air brush, I'm going spend an extra 20 or 30 bucks and go with one of the Badger Legend series, then I know it will be built right, fit properly and parts available with ease.

Mike

P.S. I just noticed after posting, that the original poster has not been back in a year or so. So I guess I'll never know the answer to my question on contact and ease of working with TCP. Well at least I got my first post in...