Now what am I doing wrong?!

[Stevekir]

A bit pointless as its now fixed, but i was going with nozzle, i tried cleaning mine with a reamer and couldnt understand why no paint was coming through, needle pushed through all ok - until i took it along to SMW 2015 and the good guys at Airbrush heaven spotted - a) needle was bent and b) i had opened up the nozzle so when pulling the needle back it was still blocking the tip!!. Fantastic things when they work but nightmares when they dont. I liken it to playing golf, you can hit a perfect ball, set back up again and whump, sideways into a bush - but you have done nothing different !!!!, stupid game i gave up !

As I have mentioned else where, I now try to avoid airbrushing when I can by using spray cans, for example primer (Halfords) and, when needed, Tamiya Synthetic Lacquer (TS range). Nothing to do after applying the paint and no fiddling with bits. And no blockages nor uneven spray.

 

[Steve Brodie]

It does seem to take longer to clean at the end of a session than the actual enjoyment of spraying the model.

 

[stona]

It does seem to take longer to clean at the end of a session than the actual enjoyment of spraying the model.

I just timed running half a paint cup of white spirits through the brush and withdrawing the needle, followed by a wipe of the paint cup, then half a paint cup of cellulose thinners with a back flush and putting the needle back in, finally another half cup of white spirits. It's all I ever do between colours, and it takes about two minutes.


It's all I ever do to clean my brushes except for an occasional disassembly and deep clean. I do this if the brush stops working properly or about every six months, whichever comes first.


Obviously this only works for enamel type paints.


Cheers


Steve

 

[BarryW]

Graham.


From another angle... what is your source of air?


Perhaps the problem is pulsing from a compressor or a weak flow from an air can. Your description of how the water flows through might suggest an air problem.

 

[Steve Brodie]

I just timed running half a paint cup of white spirits through the brush and withdrawing the needle, followed by a wipe of the paint cup, then half a paint cup of cellulose thinners with a back flush and putting the needle back in, finally another half cup of white spirits. It's all I ever do between colours, and it takes about two minutes.
It's all I ever do to clean my brushes except for an occasional disassembly and deep clean. I do this if the brush stops working properly or about every six months, whichever comes first.


Obviously this only works for enamel type paints.


Cheers


Steve

How far do you pull out the needle. take it not past the air valve, just past the paint inlet ?

 

[stona]

How far do you pull out the needle. take it not past the air valve, just past the paint inlet ?

I take it all the way out, but you don't have to. I give it a little smear of WD 40 before replacing it. You do have to be careful doing this from the back of the brush as it would not be difficult to bend the needle tip. With my Iwata brushes the needle goes back in very easily with a little care and you soon get the hang of it.


Cheers


Steve

 

[Fenlander]

Graham.
From another angle... what is your source of air?


Perhaps the problem is pulsing from a compressor or a weak flow from an air can. Your description of how the water flows through might suggest an air problem.

Sorry Barry, it was Dave who had the problem which has now been rectified, damaged nozzle, as per post #13

 

[Stevekir]

I take it all the way out, but you don't have to. I give it a little smear of WD 40 before replacing it. You do have to be careful doing this from the back of the brush as it would not be difficult to bend the needle tip. With my Iwata brushes the needle goes back in very easily with a little care and you soon get the hang of it.
Cheers


Steve

I also pull and push back from the back of the AB. Harder and Steenbeck (who made my AB) advised me to do that "because the end of the needle [non- pointed end] has stamped on it a code giving the size of the needle, and putting that through the seal in the middle of the AB might damage that seal" (or similar words). Under a magnifying glass the stamping process seems to be a mechanical stamp (like in an industrial steel forge) which seems to displace metal up, and if so, that raised metal could scratch the seal.


The argument that I have heard for pulling and pushing back from the front is that paint cannot be dragged through the seal and therefore into the rear part of the AB.

 

[BarryW]

Sorry Barry, it was Dave who had the problem which has now been rectified, damaged nozzle, as per post #13

That teaches me to post on my phone..... sorry about confusion.

 

[Fenlander]

That teaches me to post on my phone..... sorry about confusion.

No worries Barry lol

 

[stona]

I also pull and push back from the back of the AB. Harder and Steenbeck (who made my AB) advised me to do that "because the end of the needle [non- pointed end] has stamped on it a code giving the size of the needle, and putting that through the seal in the middle of the AB might damage that seal" (or similar words). Under a magnifying glass the stamping process seems to be a mechanical stamp (like in an industrial steel forge) which seems to displace metal up, and if so, that raised metal could scratch the seal.
The argument that I have heard for pulling and pushing back from the front is that paint cannot be dragged through the seal and therefore into the rear part of the AB.

That makes perfect sense for the H+S brush, you definitely don't want to damage that seal (at the back of the paint cup). There's nothing stamped on the 'blunt' end of an Iwata needle, but pushing that through the seal, rather than the taper of the needle end, might still be a bit of a risk.


Before I pull the needle out through the back I give it a little back and forth and most of the paint in that area visibly comes off into the thinners. I don't think much gets pulled through to the rear of the brush, though to avoid this was the reason I've been given for pulling the needle through the front too.


It's not for me to tell anyone what to do with their airbrushes, but I've been using mine like this for many years and they work as well today as when I took them out of the box


Cheers


Steve