Trouble Shooting Airbrush

[Kassill]

Ok so I figured this was far enough off topic to start a new thread. 

I am having trouble with my airbrush recently. I initially thought it was the paint (citadel air) but now thinking it's more or less the airbrush. 


I stripped it down completely today and hit heavy with cleaner and tools and got it squeaky clean again. 


Started to do some test sprays and kept getting "splatter". I thinned the paints, and tried a number of different PSI settings and got the same result (all the way from 15-40)



After this I noticed something odd, the paint was catching on the top of the cone




Any ideas?

Edited September 12, 2017 by Kassill

[Sylvius]

Some things I'd be looking for immediately if I experienced this would be...

 

1. Damaged Nozzle/Nozzle Cap

2. Damaged Needle

 

I know it sounds daft but have you looked over all the parts for damage, even the slightest nick on an airbrush can be the difference between beautiful spray and splatter?

[Ovidius Incertus]

Additional things to check along with Sylvius' suggestion:

 

Is your nozzle clogged with paint still?  Did you soak just the nozzle and then run a needle through it?  If you look down the nozzle (from inside to outside), can you see light?

 

Alternately, do you have water in your compressor line?  Does your compressor have a moisture trap?  If so, have you emptied it?

[Kassill]

Nothing appears to be damaged but I don't have any kind of magnification. Everything is squeaky clean and fits snuggly. 

Yes it has a moisture trap and it is empty


EDIT::      

reassembling after last nights cleaning....and I broke the tip off inside the airbrush....

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Y4d7jJ]

Edited September 12, 2017 by Kassill

[Todosi]

It looks like the tip of your needle is bent.  That may be causing the problem.

[Ovidius Incertus]

Hate it when the tip breaks off like that.

 

If you hadn't cranked it down before it sheared off, it might not be that hard to get the broken part out of the threads.

 

I'd try a fine pair of tweezers inside the broken threads, expand them with your fingers and try to twist it out.  Maybe also try the old "raw potato to unscrew the lightbulb" trick.  I've always been able to get them out with tweezers.

 

If the brush is an Iwata, their customer service people are decent on the phone to talk you through it, in my experience.

[Firedrake Cordova]

It sucks that the tip had snapped off.  If it's an Iwata, I believe they make a tool for extracting the remnants of the tip from the airbrush (something like this).

 

I don't know if it's helpful for future reference, but there's a few troubleshooting guides around - EverythingAirbrush, Badger, and CraigCentral all have decent ones.

[Kassill]

Thanks guys. I actually got it out with an xacto blade (probably not the safest method but it worked)


And thanks, I'll take a look at those soon