This was my original post on the Whatever section under the "The "Big F*** You" thread". I thought I'd address the response by Prometheum5 in a new thread instead of cluttering that one. Anybody else who might be able to chime in please do. I thought so too. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I clean all my tools and equipment faithfully right after working with it. I'm a stickler for cleanliness and it puzzles me what I may have missed. The brush is an Iwata HP-BCS (a bottom feed airbrush) I got a couple of years ago to pick up the brush duties from my old Badger Crescendo my brother gave me a few years before that. It was working like a dream at first as expected but recently it's gotten less reliable and erratic. The spray stream would be intermittent, skipping randomly in all trigger positions. I use the metal cup from my other brush to hold paint and I notice paint bubbling during the times it skips. I thought also that some thinner with a bit of paint got into the trigger mechanism so I took that completely apart , removed all the rubber seals and thoroughly cleaned and flushed it out. I was thinking of soaking the front end of the brush in thinner but am hesitant to make things even worse. I know you're not supposed to get anything inside the trigger areas cause that's not designed to be exposed to harsh solvents. I also have several pipe cleaner type brushes specially made for cleaning airbrushes that I've used to clean my brushes. I've used a gunsmith's light tool and magnifying glass and I tell ya that brush is clean. The spray is the same even if you shoot water through it. btw, I have my compressor set between 20-12 psi depending on what I'm trying to do. it's fairly dry in my basement so I don't have any problem with excess moisture mixing with my compressor which has a big moisture trap anyway. I'm stumped and like I said I have a new appreciation for my old Badger, she still gits it done! LOL My wife is making fun of me cause I use to say "Badgers!? I don't need no stinkin Badgers! She's right to do so and shame on me,lol. She's been listening to me cursing like a sailor and pulling my hair for a week at this brush. Bless her well meaning heart, she went and bought a Paasche Talon I was eyeing around x-mass. I'm stubborn and won't give up on this. Hell or high water I'll make this thing work.
What's Iwata customer service like? Maybe they can help you? I hope so... I'm thinking of buying an Iwata myself.
Is the brass tip (the part that the needle goes through at the very front of the brush) clear? Usually when I've got spray issues its because of paint buildup in that part. just watch out because its delicate. Some really thin wire might be used to clean/scrape the inside of it.) phil
Clean like new. I use a toothpick to avoid scraping. Magnifying glass and gunsmith light confirms it visually. @ Andy = You did it! I'll send a Mexican Bruha on ya!
I'm also betting its this super small brass piece. If its not on tight enough it will allow the slightest amount of air in and create some back pressure and force air into the cup. On my old Iwata during a cleaning I accidentally bent the needle and in turn it ruined this brass piece. I was able to straighten the needle out so I could remove it and then unscrew this brass piece. I bought a replacement part but it never worked quite like it did out the box. I would have to unscrew the crown cap just a tad for it to fit. So I decided to try a little sanding to make it the same length as the one it come with and that made matters worse. Now its useless. I'm the same way as you Rob and every now and then I feel I can get it to work and play with it. Now your making me want to reorder a nice piece to see if I can get it working again. So, if you have cleaning everything you may have somehow slightly damaged this peice. It may not even be noticeable. You can try a replacement part but I'm willing to bet it wont be the same. Good luck buddy. With me I just gave in a bought a new a new brush. And take the best possible care I can without going overboard. I try to not take it apart but clean it as much as possible assembled.I figure the less I fiddle with the less a chance to fuck it up.
While I don't have an Iwata, the symptoms as described (especially that it still sputters when spraying water) suggests that it probably is a mechanical issue. The tip piece sounds like a good place to check first. On my Badger single-action, there's enough play that you can accidentally over-tighten the needle and deform the paint nozzle slightly. Airbrushes are pretty precision instruments (especially Iwata), so the least bit of anything being 'off kilter' can produce some frustrating results.
Yeah, I've been having a hell of a time with my Badger dual action recently. Granted, I'm using mostly acrylic based paints, so that shit gunks up fast. It's getting to be that I have to unscrew the cap and nozzle and clean the needle with a paper towel between pretty much every figure I paint just to get proper flow (and this gets reallllly annoying after like 3 figures). My paint mix ratio is the same as it's ever been, so I'm assuming it's time for at least a new nozzle. Sucks that Badger parts aren't as common locally as Iwata or Paasche I'm also getting random moisture spurts as I paint, which is weird since I have a moisture trap on my compressor that doesn't seem to have any moisture in it.
Hmmm, so far the comments consistently points to the cone tip. I wonder if a scratch within the cone is causing the problem. With all the mileage and abuse I've put on my Badger and all the type of paints I've put through it. The Iwata seems like a Vietnam era M-16 rifle(sleek and space age but prone to jams) and the Badger an AK-47 (crude and ugly but reliable even if you drop it in the mud). I'll fiddle with the hp-bcs but I don't think it will ever be my "go to" brush. It might be my fault but I don't think I want any more brushes that fragile so no more Iwatas for me.
I had some clogging before. I just poured some acetone into a shallow container like the cap of an empty bottle of vcolor and let the tip sit in the acetone. Made sure the tip was standing and just let it stay there til the acetone evaporated. No more clog.
My Iwata was all clogged up due to all the urethane clear coating. about to throw it away and Alex suggested calling Iwata customer service. The dude was really cool. told me to send it to him and he would take a look at it. He cleaned it up looking better than new and waived the $25 service fee. so stoked....
I might try that. Before that, I'll give the tip a good soak in a bit of v-thinner in a metal thimble and see what happens. Like I said I'm a bit stubborn.
My Paasche was sputtering and I couldn't get it clean enough. After two days on my own I spent an hour and half with the airbrush expert replacing every single part separately we found out it was the airhose. The teflon tape had pushed down and wasn't seating the airline. Saved my ass just in time.
no acetone? i figure you might want to use acetone since it is easier to get a hold of. vcolor thinner has become rather tough to come by.
I got a stash of 4 400cc cans. I'm pretty frugal with the v-thinner but I'm willing to use a dropper's worth if it means fixing this possesed brush. THE POWER OF V-THINNER COMPELS YOU, THE POWER OF V-THINNER COMPELS YOU!
when you clean your airbrush do you lube the needle and the trigger when you put it back together? might be part of the problem too. I use iwata's super lube after i'm done cleaning my airbrush and putting it back together.
