So I have just assembled my airbrush again after a clean, and with water it works perfectly fine. But as soon as I put paint in it. It stops working right. And I don’t get it cause I mixed my paint up separately and it’s not thick at all but nothing comes out getting so stressed right now
#please help airbrush confusion..
trim sundial
left gust
If you block the needle end do you get back pressure into the cup and bubbles? Might be a bit of dry paint clogging it under the cup of not
left gust
Try that, but carefully so it doesn't splirt out of the cup everywhere
left gust
If the back pressure doesn't change anything, try using a clean, old brush to mix around the bottom of the cup where it connects to the barrell, could be an air bubble
trim sundial
Ok I’ll try that now
left gust
Yeah needles probably fine, it's more likely the chamber where it flows from the cup to the barrell is clogged
Also does the needle retract properly when you pull back and press down, assuming that's dual action?
left gust
So if it didn't bubble back in then something is causing it to not open up to let the paint flow out, id empty out the cup and have a look
trim sundial
It did bubble
left gust
Aggressively or just a little bit?
I've had it before where thicker paint or primer will dry on the needle or inner nib, then come.off and clog it
left gust
Nah looks good to me,.I'd bet there's dry paint further in down by the nib, where the needle comes out
I'm not sure if the cap is removable on yours, 2 secs and I'll get a photo of mine to show you
Paint can easily get dried up in the middle bit, can look and clean it with a needle-tool
trim sundial
Should I give up on the new paint and take apart again to see if there’s something I missed
Thing is it wasn’t clogged when I tried water through it but instantly didn’t work when loading the paint
left gust
Personally I would.end of the day it's 2 tunes I tersecting with air, if something isn't coming out then part of it isn't moving right or it's clogged
trim sundial
Nothing had time to even dry
trim sundial
Not really with like wire brushes and stuff I have airbrush cleaner though
trim sundial
Yea I don’t have one of thoes
left gust
I'm far from an expert, only had a brush for like, 3 months but what you're describing happened to me with clogs
grim eagle
I think @left gust is on the right track here, and there's still some dry paint in the airbrush somewhere. I have a kit that came with that spike, bottle-brush style thingies, and coiled wire uh... also thingies
I'm always surprised when I pull a bunch of dry paint out, especially from behind the hole where the paint goes down into the airbrush
I've had airbrushes for about 2, maybe 3 years
trim sundial
Let me just go clean all the pieces and I’ll come back here and show you the pieces see if there’s anything I missed then will show you how it is fine with water maybe I’m using the trigger wrong
grim eagle
I don't see why paint vs water would make a difference outside of viscosity. I have that issue a lot when spraying primer because Vallejo primer tends to dry into my airbrush very fast. Water and airbrush cleaner go right through. Vallejo primer doesn't spray at all.
left gust
If you empty it, clean it and it still sprays water butn ot paint, try putting a few drops of thinner in the cup before the paint
left gust
Can you see light through the needle shroud? the tip that you undid with the spanner
left gust
Cool, try spraying with thinner or somethign in the cup again and see
And back flow it too
left gust
bingo
trim sundial
left gust
yup thats where they usually form
primer and thicker paint can do that i find. adding some thinner beforethe paint and flow improver to the paint itself helps
You need to find somethign sharp and pointy to clean that out
trim sundial
Is there a difference between airbrush medium and flow improver?
left gust
Errrrr maybe
Thinner tends to do just that, the flow improver helps to stop the paint drying as fast
left gust
The Vincey V. advice I take is Tinner goes with primer and a drop before the main paint
Flow improver for thinning the paint itself
trim sundial
Nice I’ll remeber that lol
left gust
The legend himself here, this is the good video for it
trim sundial
I’ll have to get some flow improver
left gust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuSFCiLvs1w - this one ithink actually
I use the Vallejo stuff which I feel works well, notsure if the medium you have is similar to either of them
warped plover
Check dilution ratios for flow improver use. It might come concentrated and need diluted. If you use too much, the paint can fail to dry properly and won't stand up to any handling or brush painting over
Also using a sharpened toothpick is more gentle on the internals than the metal spikes, so you don't accidentally gouge anything.
left gust
I like that advice, ill try toothpicks myself
trim sundial
Weird now when I put it back together the needle doesn’t go in as far
left gust
Is it still protruding out the front? It might be being gripped by the nut atthe rear
warped plover
Finger tighten it. But you might have paint in the channel between the cup and the nozzle.
trim sundial
left gust
Makesure theres no bits of tissuepaper or cotton stuck in there, depending on wht you cleaned it with
left gust
Looks good, put the nozzle cap back on to make sure the needle is sticking out a bit. If it does, put some thinner in the cup (2 or 3 drops) then paint on top and give it a shot
left gust
🐔
left gust
Give it a shot - paint should be like milk
trim sundial
Is there a tip to like keep that part from getting clogged ?
left gust
Thinner beforet he paint
Helps lube it up a bit to stop it drying to much
Might also need to (possibly) adjustthe PSI on the compressor
trim sundial
I mix the paint in a separate container always never in the actual machine. But yeah I have it on 20 psi rn
left gust
If it clogged on primer you can try increasing tyhe PSI a bit, I tend to have it slightly higer for that, then lower for the thinner base layers withthe flow improver
I tend to mix in the cup, but it does depend
trim sundial
Yeah I’m trying to put a base of orruk flesh through it
left gust
If thats base then defo thin it a bit more
trim sundial
But tbh if you look at my before video I think the paint is the right consistency but I think I am not used to the trigger yet. Maybe I’m letting too much paint through without air?
trim sundial
That must be a factor cause the nozel was pretty gunged
It’s got a completely new nozel on there now.
Cause I had a bunch of Spares
Thanks a lot for the help though I wouldn’t have ever realised it was that piece. I’m gonna have a smoke quickly then try the paint though it, but hopefully I shouldn’t need more help….
left gust
Nah all good, others helped me when i joined, just glad to return the favor. I had the same issues withthe airbrush at the start too, clogs, leaks and all that jazz
I still get them now but nowhere as much
trim sundial
What do you think you changed ? From when you first started
left gust
Using thinner and flow improver right helped more than anything
Shorter bursts on the nozzle too, specially if undercoating, the longer you spray it might clog
Cleaning the nozzle too mid-use with aQ-tip in cleaner
I guess its akin to just cleaning a brush while youre still using it, same thing here
What size needle are you ising too? The first set I had was supplied with a 0.5 and 0.3mm needle
trim sundial
Yeah was just about to ask I think it’s got a 0.3 mm on it
Is it better to have a bigger or smaller nozzle for beginning ?
left gust
Thers not a huge difference really, 0.3mm is fine for pretty much everything we would do as mini painters (IMO)
My second brush is 0.2mm and you cant tell the difference
grim eagle
Is it working now?
trim sundial
Honestly I’m sitting here crapping myself worried to try it again but I’m going to give it a go in a bit and let you know
grim eagle
grim eagle
Seems fine to me, this is about what I go for:
https://i.imgur.com/ki8f50N.mp4
trim sundial
Yeah might be a bit thin but better that then too thick right
grim eagle
For spraying yeah but it'll have different properties in terms of coverage and whatnot
Doesn't matter I guess, you're just trying to get some paint out rn
trim sundial
You think I should make it slightly thicker?
grim eagle
Let's see if this works first
trim sundial
Ok yeah
So
Here you can see where it like stops and then restarts this is me doing the same pressure
left gust
Try upping the PSI on the compressor a tad
grim eagle
Agreed
trim sundial
It’s on 25 now I upped it
left gust
Also are you thinning with water or that medium you mentioned?
grim eagle
The only thing I can think of that would cause intermittent spray is dry tip, in which case flow improver or retarder would help
warped plover
How far back on the trigger are you pulling? Is this at just barely or full throttle?
trim sundial
Also are you thinning with water or that medium you mentioned?
Thinner
It’s like it keeps loosing air idk
It’s hard to describe but it keeps not working one minute and then spraying out really hard but I’m not changing how much I pull it back
grim eagle
Do you have any flow improver or retarder?
trim sundial
Unfortunately no
left gust
If you feel around the other seals and joints, can you feel any air coming out places other than the nozzle?
Im wondering if some paint has dried around a seal or something that's not letting it...well, seal, properly
trim sundial
Nah only the end
I think it’s working I think it’s just a case of fiddling with the consistency and psi now
Cause it’s coming out out thin and spidery
Cause on the box it’s good
But the model looks alittle rough
left gust
Atleast it's better 5ham before. If it's spidering then drop the PSI a little.bit or spray from further away
Deffo an improvement though
trim sundial
Yeah aha at least I can live with the slightly splotchy base coat
Least it’s actually putting paint on lol
left gust
The last thing I did were my salamanders, Caliban green and Warpstone glow took a few things coats each to get where I wanted them
So doing a couple isn't unrealistic
trim sundial
There’s a few thick bits but I think all in all decent. Thanks for sticking with me guys
grim eagle
I'm glad it worked out ok in the end. Get an airbrush cleaning kit and some vallejo flow improver and it'll help even more
