Problems on the chrome coat Hp-cplus

[Jedi Weasel]

Hi people, I would like some feedback from you regarding something that is happening to the chrome coat from my Iwata HP-Cplus.
The Hp-Cplus was bought on july 2012 and I use glass cleaner without ammonia or isopropyl alcohol to clean the all my airbrushes. I only use wicked colours, never used urethane base paints. The fact is that the chrome on the bottom of the cup, and in the inside of the main body is loosing the chrome coat. I have a Micron SB bought 2 months later, use exactly the same paints and cleaners, and it is in mint condition, never lose any chrome coat, and I use it more often then the HP-Cplus. Does it ever happened to any of you, this type of case on this Iwata model, on such short period of time? Does warranty covers this type of problem?

 

[Mr.Micron]

It happens to all Iwata's , Both my Eclipse CS and my Micron have done this. Now I have ran tons of home brew through my CS , But the only reducer ran through the Micron has been W100 and W500.
But I think it is just the nature of the paint and the amount of wiping you do when cleaning it.
But no it is not a defect and no the warranty does not cover it.

 

[Jedi Weasel]

I know that with time all airbrushes start to get signs of wear on the chrome coat, but it started to happen to this one after 6 months of use.. My Infinity only started to have the same signs 2 years after I bought it with the same amount of painting work, so I thought that was a little strange to happen so soon. Thanks for the feedback Mr Micron!

 

[AndreZA]

After 8 months my Eclipse started and after another 4 months it was at this state as in the photo. Never used any harsh chemicals and mostly Medea cleaners. Performance was still 100% but cleaning it became a bit of a hassle as the paint would stick more to the brass. Luckily when I inquired about it the Iwata guys from Japan was visiting and they said it should not happen and gave me a brand new one. I won't say you will get a new one, maybe I was just lucky.

 

[MeeshellMP]

My master G22 did the same thing after about 6 months. Still shoots just fine.

 

[Jedi Weasel]

After 8 months my Eclipse started and after another 4 months it was at this state as in the photo. Never used any harsh chemicals and mostly Medea cleaners. Performance was still 100% but cleaning it became a bit of a hassle as the paint would stick more to the brass. Luckily when I inquired about it the Iwata guys from Japan was visiting and they said it should not happen and gave me a brand new one. I won't say you will get a new one, maybe I was just lucky.

I'll not make an inquiry to Iwata, now that I know that more than one people had the same problems on such short time. If it was something unusual I'd do it, and waited to see what was the reply. And that's right, the cleaning is more difficult, even more in the inside of the airbrush main body. And you were very lucky indeed .. a new brand Eclipse.

My master G22 did the same thing after about 6 months. Still shoots just fine.

Yes, the performance is just great, no problem with that.. the only issue as I told above is the cleaning process that turns out to be more dificult.

 

[Squishy]

My hp-cs is the same, but it doesn't affect the performance at all, it does make it harder to clean though. So now I just wipe the inside of the cup over with a light coat of AB lube, and voila, the paint doesn't stick at all. Clean in seconds.

 

[Tuffnutz]

My little Neo did the same but although not an Iwata I took it upon myself and used Solvo autosol metal polish which is a very fine abrasive
and it flows much better and cleans alot easier too. Just a thought though. Can't wait til Sat coming cause my new spankin Eclipse
is coming and I won't catch a wink of sleep.I could crush a grape !

 

[Jedi Weasel]

My hp-cs is the same, but it doesn't affect the performance at all, it does make it harder to clean though. So now I just wipe the inside of the cup over with a light coat of AB lube, and voila, the paint doesn't stick at all. Clean in seconds.

Does not the lube itself create little pieces that might clog the airbrush? It can be easier to clean, but I prefer losing my time on cleaning than lose performance. But this trick goes to my airbrush encyclopedia.

My little Neo did the same but although not an Iwata I took it upon myself and used Solvo autosol metal polish which is a very fine abrasive
and it flows much better and cleans alot easier too. Just a thought though. Can't wait til Sat coming cause my new spankin Eclipse
is coming and I won't catch a wink of sleep.I could crush a grape !

You use normal automotive polish with the finer grit? did you polished the interior of the main airbrush body? Or just the bottom of the cup?

 

[Squishy]

Does not the lube itself create little pieces that might clog the airbrush? It can be easier to clean, but I prefer losing my time on cleaning than lose performance. But this trick goes to my airbrush encyclopedia.
Hey Jedi, I can only speak from my own experience and, only when using this particular brush, but I have never had any issues with performance because of doing this. My performance issues tend to centre around the idiot on the handle end of the brush Lol!

 

[HCP-draggin]

this is normal for any airbrush that has a chrome coating. the usual culprit is ammonia in cleaning products, but other cleaning chemicals can cause it as well. It won't hurt performance at all, and is purely cosmetic. You definitely can polish the inside of the bowl if you'd like. It won't hurt anything, and should make clean up a bit faster, but I'd think the time spent polishing and re-polishing it would more than make up for time saved cleaning. Then again, I spend inordinate amount of time tuning and polishing the needles of each of my airbrushes (probably to the point most would question my sanity) so I can't really point fingers there. .

Infinitys, and I think all Harder & Steenbecks, have a nickle coating, not chrome. It's actually more sensitive to the effects of cleaning products. I accidentally left mine in my ultrasonic cleaner in a Fantastik solution overnight, and it's now a dark, dull grey (which actually looks kind of cool).

Most brands use chrome plating, but, because of the size and little nooks and crannies of an airbrush, the chrome coating isn't very thick. Especially in the paint cup. The inside of the airbrush usually doesn't get chromed, so is bare brass anyway. So, having the inside of the cup being brass isn't going to make any difference.

 

[Tuffnutz]

Sorry for not replying sooner but only just now found it to read.Duh! I just polish the inside of the cup , it's very fine abrasive but enough to remove the machining on the inside of the cup
which helps the paint to slip skiddiley passed it. Ex RAF see ,so the aerodynamics are coming into the skiddy factor. Hhehehehehe.