Troubleshooting

[Oz bulldog]

Hey there,new to this site,i have been airbrushing for a while now,but i'm having troble at the moment with my iwata cmc,i have just recently found out that the airbrush is not solvent proof as i have been using automotive base coat paint through it,the problem i'm having is the paint comes out same time as air,the airbrush is totally clean,and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the needle tip,so i'm kind of putting it down to the solvents,do i need the cmc plus to continue using these paints,or could i replace the seals and use creatix etc?if someone can help me out would be much appreciated...

Cheers

 

[Squishy]

I think all Iwatas have Teflon seals that should be ok with solvents, although I wouldn't swear to that 100%. Quite often people have this problem because of a blocked or dirty nozzle. It may look clean, but try soaking it in some restorer, and/or whittling a toothpick to fit to give it a good but gentle, going over. If you do get any gunk out, don't believe it's clean and do it again, paint hides Lol. Or it could be that the nozzle is damaged, if you have a magnifying glass check to make sure it isn't cracked etc. Is there any way you could have flared the end out buy being a bit over enthusiastic when cleaning? Anyway most likely it's just a bit blocked, even if you can see through the nozzle, so I would try that first.

 

[Oz bulldog]

I think all Iwatas have Teflon seals that should be ok with solvents, although I wouldn't swear to that 100%. Quite often people have this problem because of a blocked or dirty nozzle. It may look clean, but try soaking it in some restorer, and/or whittling a toothpick to fit to give it a good but gentle, going over. If you do get any gunk out, don't believe it's clean and do it again, paint hides Lol. Or it could be that the nozzle is damaged, if you have a magnifying glass check to make sure it isn't cracked etc. Is there any way you could have flared the end out buy being a bit over enthusiastic when cleaning? Anyway most likely it's just a bit blocked, even if you can see through the nozzle, so I would try that first.

Hey squishy,thanx for your reply,and you could be right,i'll give it another was over and try the tooth pick idea,oh and i'm yet to get another magnifying glass so was unable to check the nozzle hasn't been damaged,even though its a new gun but you never know,thanx again

 

[AndreZA]

Apparently it's only the CM-SB that does not have a teflon seal. But if that seal is stuffed, there will be paint in the trigger chamber, not bubble in the cup. As squishy said, there is something in the nozzle or it is flaired. Sharpen a wooden toothpick and you can poke it through the nozzle.

 

[ad fez]

gently!..........

 

[jord001]

Very gently !!

 

[ko.]

It is recommended that you do not unscrew the nozzle from the fluid head as the units are tuned at the factory I clean mine completely assembled and as mentioned gently. Microns are very easy to clean. Just remove the entire head and soak in acetone, lacquer thinner,or just about anything that doesnt contain ammonia

 

[HCP-draggin]

If the problem is with the seal swelling because of the solvents, the trigger will have a lot of drag on it when pulling back, and the needle will lag behind the trigger when moving the needle forward. Basically, the same thing that happens if you over-tighten the bearing.

If it's shrinking because of the solvent, you'll get paint in the airbrush body. (some materials shrink with some solvents, some expand. I can never remember which do what with which).

From you're description, it sounds more like some dried paint in the nozzle, or possibly a cracked nozzle. I would take the whole head unit off and soak it for a while in either laq thinner, urethane reducer, acetone, or a spray gun cleaner. Then try using a toothpick to clean it out. There's no need to completely disassemble the head assembly, but it probably wouldn't hurt to at least take the air cap off and give it a good cleaning as well.

If you already took the nozzle out, it's not the end of the world. It should fit pretty much exactly where it was, and, even if it's fractions off, the airbrush is still going to work just fine.

Don't forget to inspect the nozzle for cracks, mushrooming, etc, too.

 

[WhiteKnight]

If you use the toothpick be extra careful, I broke the tip of a toothpick once cleaning out the tip of my Paasche Talon, and couldn't get it out for the life of me, out of desperation ended up heating the tip till it was almost red and the wood finally burned to ash and I was able to push the gunk out.

 

[Clive Stevens]

I use solvent paints all the time through my iwata's, you've got a blocked, or partially blocked nozzle buddy, as others have said!