TheReclusiarch Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Hello everyone! So I got the GW spraygun to help me do the base colours on my Space Marines. Using it with Base paint worked well, but when I started using layer paint, things went south pretty quickly. Either I thinned it out too much, or too little. In the end the spraygun pretty much stopped working, just the occasional spurt. I made sure the propellant was ok, and checked and cleaned the tips of all the parts to make sure the flow was going throw uninterrupted. Adjusted the flow on both the propellant and on the spraygun. Still, nothing. Can't even spray water now. The base paint went on without a hitch and it looked great, but anything else was just out of the question, and now pretty much nothing works. :/ So, am I doing something seriously wrong here or is the spraygun just not worth it? Do you guys have any alternatives? /David Edit: Did a quick google on this and wow, it seems that the GW spraygun is not very popular at all! Need to buy something else I think... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/292771-gws-spraygun-woes-tips-and-alternatives-needed/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Apostle_XVII Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 To be honest mate, I think it's just not very good. Heard a member of staff in my local GW saying how he tried to use it to paint some of the stuff they display in store and even he said it was awful, and he works for them. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/292771-gws-spraygun-woes-tips-and-alternatives-needed/#findComment-3724921 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucien Eilam Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 It's not great, but it does the job for crude basecoating about as well as anything else. If it won't even spray water you've just clogged it with dry paint. Get a bottle of airbrush cleaner, disassemble it, and give the parts a good long soak. The next step up is a proper airbrush, and they're even more prone to clogging if you're not careful with them. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/292771-gws-spraygun-woes-tips-and-alternatives-needed/#findComment-3725431 Share on other sites More sharing options...
averykess Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 As Lucien says, soak it in airbrush cleaner. You also need to be careful which thinner you use depending on brand of thinner and paint. Badger Thinner turns Vallejo paint to goo. Distilled water and Windex work pretty well, just clean the brush after use. I found this over at Armorama on the use of Windex in airbrushes. SdAufKla (Mike Roof) said Posted: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 - 02:54 AM GMT It's actually not the plastic, teflon, or rubber seals that could be affected by the ammonia but any brass that the airbrush parts are machined out of. (Maybe the Grex has parts that are not made from a corrosion resistant type of brass.)However, if the parts are nickle plated, steel, or aluminum, the ammonia will not harm them at all, and even if the parts are bare brass, the small amount of ammonia contained in glass cleaner has to be allowed to soak for a long time to have any adverse effect.Most brass alloys are formulated to reduce or eliminate this problem, and one might assume that most quality airbrush parts made of brass are made from such corroision-resistant brass alloys. This is especially true since most proprietary airbrush cleaning solutions (particulary those made and sold by airbrush and paint manufacturers to remove acrylic residues) contain varying amounts of ammonia.The worst effect you might notice from using Windex to clean an airbrush would be a slight darkening of any exposed brass (if there's any exposed brass to start with). Any "season cracking" (the term used for brass corrosion when exposed to ammonia) would only appear if the ammonia was allowed to just sit in the brush for a long period.On the other hand, some plastic, teflon, or rubber seals might be affected by reducers like alcohol, lacquer thinner, or acetone. But again, airbrush manufacturers (at least for quality equipment) would anticipate the use of these reducers (especially in the automotive painting and customizing industry) and spec internal seals that are resistant to these materials, as well.I've been airbrushing for more than 40 years and have never experienced any problem from squirting a bit or Windex through any airbrush that I've ever owned (or for that matter airbrushing white spirits, lacquer thinner, acetone, xylene - Floquel airbrush thinner - or alcohol).Most damage I've seen on my friends' airbrushes or on my own has been caused by improper assembly and using wire "tools" to clean or un-clog a dirty brush. I've never seen any airbrush that was inopperable because of some chemical damage cased by a liquid cleaner or paint reducer type.Some airbrush designs have internal seals (also called o-rings, bushings, packing, or grommets) that do wear out from needle travel and pulling a dirty needle through them to clean the needle. (The Badger internal mix airbrushes are bad for this). But this damage is caused by the operator / user usually removing a dirty needle (covered with dried paint residue) by pulling it through the internal seal and abrading the tight fit between the seal and the needle. With a needle that's stuck or hard to remove to clean, best to put some cleaner (lacquer thinner or acetone by this time) in the brush and allow it to soak and soften the dried paint.But this kind of damage is not the fault of the reducers or cleaners used. (Although I've known more than one guy to blame it on something else other than himself!)Letting an airbrush get dirty and clogged is a show stopper every time, and breaking it while trying to clean it is almost always the reason for a brush that's trashed. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/292771-gws-spraygun-woes-tips-and-alternatives-needed/#findComment-3728062 Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscuzzy Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 The spraygun is essentially a reskinned Badger 350. You can find the breakdown here. http://www.model-making.eu/zdjecia/9/2/5/989_s350.jpg It works... though it is a very basic airbrush. Likely the cone shaped area has paint stuck in it, so you will need to clear it out. The airbrush is fine for large surface spraying but can't do fine details. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/292771-gws-spraygun-woes-tips-and-alternatives-needed/#findComment-3730322 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReclusiarch Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 Thanks for the replies! I'll look up some more cleaning stuff for the spraygun. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/292771-gws-spraygun-woes-tips-and-alternatives-needed/#findComment-3732519 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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