discussion Airbrush problem

[BBdave]

I have inherited an Iwata compressor and two airbrushes from my wife who used to use them for nail art one airbrush works fine as long as I thin the paint correctly,I have used it for spraying large areas on rc boats.

The other is a fine brush according to the good lady for spraying pencil thin lines but I can't for the life of me get it to work all I get is bubbles in the cup I have stripped it and soaked the lot in acetone for a few days but still the bubbles. She has told me it's always been problematic.

Any ideas to my problem? Can these brushes be sent off for servicing or repair if I can get them working reliably I'd be tempted to turn to acrylics and spraying models.

Thanks for any help

Dave

 

[tanktrack]

bubbles in the cup sounds like a blockage, if I have not thinned my paint properly I hold my finger over the nozzle and press the trigger to get the air to back feed and release the blockage , so there must be something going on at the needle end

 

[BBdave]

Thanks I guess it could still be but it has had a damn good strip and clean every orrifice has had brushes and needles through to clear them even the tiny end nozzle that the spanner is used for that I'm sure will be lost soon. As I remember the air flows but when I pull the needle back for paint that's when the bubbles occur.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Dave if you're sure the nozzle is entirely clear, check where the nozzle sits in the nozzle cap. If it is slightly recessed, air may be getting back into the cup.

The pictures below illustrate what I mean

View attachment 87742


here the nozzle is recessed within the cap

View attachment 87743


Here it protrudes very slightly.

If it looks like the first picture, the o ring might need replacing. Have a try with unscrewing the nozzle cap in increments of 1/4 turn & see if the bubbles remain.

Cheers

Patrick

View attachment 200765

View attachment 200766

 

[BBdave]

Ahh Patrick, now this o ring you speak of where should that be exactly? Should there be one on the back of the little tiny nozzle?.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Ah ha! Now that depends Dave! Some airbrushes have an o-ring on the nozzle, but some don't! Typical eh?!

To the best of my knowledge, Iwata airbrushes don't have one on the nozzle.

But the one I meant is on/in the nozzle cap - the bit that screws onto the airbrush at the front & covers the nozzle.

View attachment 87744


I know the picture is poor, but hopefully you can make out the dark ring at the end of the threads. Thats the O ring.

View attachment 200767

 

[BBdave]

Ooo i don't have that on either airbrush could this be the cause of the problem?

The other brush tends to let paint through as soon as you press for air not to much of a problem as i use it for big areas but would be nice to get it sorted.

Dave

 

[stona]

What make and model of airbrush are we talking about here? I've got several Iwatas and can certainly check to see where the various seals should be.

Cheers

Steve

 

[rickoshea52]

Have a look at their YouTube channel or email their customer service dept. I had problems with mine and some advice via email got me going again. They are in San Fransisco so be prepared for a time delay - it is also the Labor Day weekend in the USA so you won't get a reply until next week.

This is what I wrote to another member a while back;

"My problem was similar to yours though not after dropping it. I had cleaned my Iwata Eclipse thoroughly, or so I thought and had air to the brush but not from the nozzle. Kirk Lybecker at Iwata had me remove the nozzle cap and lo' there was dried paint that I had missed. Nail polish remover cleaned it out and the brush worked fine after that.

If this doesn't help try contacting him directly - kirkl@iwata-medea.com or info@iwata-medea.com.

Search Youtube for his tutorials using keywords "airbrush cleaning lybecker" and useful maintenance tips."

The end result for this member was a damaged airbrush but their customer service is excellent.

 

[Guest]

Dave the best thing you can do is to visit the web site of the airbrush you are using.

They if a good manufacturer will have an exploded view of your airbrush. There you can compare (sounds like an insurance advert).

For me I would replace all the seals. In fact every year it is a good idea as they cost such a small amount and yet will ensure a minimum of problems.

Laurie

 

[BBdave]

The brush is an iwata hp-b when i remove the needle i can see straight through so i guess no blockage.

View attachment 87769


Dave

View attachment 200792

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Hmmm, I said I had no issues with mine for 2 years, now it's blowing bubbles in the cup! I've read the forums and given it a good clean and soaked the parts in cellulose thinners and still it does the same, it even sounds like its putt putt putting now as well ! I use the Iwata Neo CN

Adrian

 

[Guest]

As I keep saying, blockages aren't the only things that cause problems! *sigh*

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

As I keep saying, blockages aren't the only things that cause problems! *sigh*

Never actually said mine was blocked did I?

I posted hoping that someone could advise me what to try next rather than flippantly sigh!

 

[Guest]

Sorry Adrian, but why clean it? If air is getting into the cup, clearly there's no issue with paint blocking the nozzle.

I think the misconception is that when someone puts their finger over the crown cap to create a backflow when cleaning, it appears to mean air in the cup means a blockage.

Not so! As I said previously, air getting back through the nozzle is usually caused by an incorrectly seated nozzle or nozzle cap. If the nozzle tip is recessed in the cap, a mini vortex is created, forcing air into the nozzle & thence to the cup. The backflow of air will also disrupt the spray pattern.

When this happened to me, I adjusted the nozzle cap & found that removing the O ring made it work perfectly.

 

[BBdave]

The only exploded diagram I can find is of the "hp-b plus" which does look slightly different on the rear end so I'm not sure the seals will be the same. I suppose this one is an older model it may be easier to send it for a service.

Dave

 

[stona]

As I keep saying, blockages aren't the only things that cause problems! *sigh*

No indeed.

There may be a seal gone somewhere, but that's not a brush I'm familiar with. As far as blockages go they may be in either a paint way or airway (or both). There are a lot of things that can cause air to blow back into the paint cup which is why it's a tricky problem to diagnose remotely.

My old (and I mean old) Iwata Revolution developed a problem where it passed air okay but when I introduced the paint (or any other liquid) it spluttered and spurted. I have no idea what caused this, I thought it might be a problem with the nozzle not centring in the nozzle cap (something else not mentioned yet) but it wasn't. I'm still none the wiser as it seemed to fix itself after I took it apart, cleaned it and put it back together

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

I would first Adrian dismantle the whole thing to follow Steve's ideas. I would especially look at the nozzle and sight through to make sure it is perfectly clean. Also just have a look at the tip of the needle. I have found that just a speck or two of dried paint on the sides of the very end can cause a blockage thro. the nozzle. Sometimes this is almost impossible to see without magnification. I use my finger nails to drift up (down can be painfull) the needle to remove any of this paint dross.

Failing this come back and somebody will suggest other possible problems.

laurie

 

[BBdave]

Bingo! I bought a new hose today and had a session with the airbrushes I experimented a little and swapped the nozzles and problem solved!

The other brush spits paint as soon as I press the air I know the nozzle is damaged will this cause this problem? I can get a new one and needle ordered if it is.

Dave

 

[stona]

The other brush spits paint as soon as I press the air I know the nozzle is damaged will this cause this problem? I can get a new one and needle ordered if it is.

Dave

Yes.

Cheers

Steve