Is this airbrush done for?

[Evil Eye]

I took my venerable Iwata Eclipse out of storage, and discovered what I had assumed to be a patch of rust on the inside of the cup (after I realized it wasn't stubborn paint as nothing would clean it off). Unfortunately, the rust remover I bought to solve this problem did absolutely nothing, and after discussing with a friend online I think it might not be rust at all, but rather the plating coming off of the inside of the cup, exposing bare brass/nickel underneath...Curiously it still seems to work just fine, but naturally I am slightly concerned. Is this inconsequential and cosmetic, or is it the death knell for the poor old workhorse? Is it reversible, or would fixing it cost more than just replacing it?

Edited July 8, 2021 by Evil Eye

[andes]

My Badger Patriot has looked like that for years, still works like a champ (well, aside from a needle seal that is a bit dodgy, but that's unrelated )

[Arkhanist]

It does definitely look like chrome plating wear. Losing the chrome at the bottom of the paint cup is pretty common for an airbrush - between mechanical abrasion effects of cleaning and solvents (particularly ammonia) it's a high wear area. Chrome plating is mostly to protect your skin from any nickel allergy, and also to keep it looking pretty longer instead of browning from sweat. Losing the chrome should have no effect on the performance of the brush, it's only a cosmetic impact - it's not like you hold the brush there! I lost mine on my patriot aircap ages ago (left it in the sonic cleaner too long!) and it's caused no issues.

 

If you think about it, the nozzle is never chrome plated - and that's a part with tight tolerances, vital to the function of the brush and exposed to paint and solvent all the time.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Arkhanist

[Dagoth Ur]

Don't worry about it. I've had airbrushes for up to a decade that have looked like this for years and years and they still work just fine. Cleanup might become a bit more of  chore just because the underlying metal is a bit more "toothsome" than proper chrome but that's about it.

[Firedrake Cordova]

As everyone else has said, it's the chrome plating coming off revealing the brass underneath, and entirely a cosmetic issue (often caused by using ammonia in the airbrush).

 

(FYI, neither chrome nor brass rust )

Edited July 9, 2021 by Firedrake Cordova

[Evil Eye]

Well that answers that! Thanks everyone. The old girl will soldier on!

[Angel of Death]

dont worry. that should work just fine. could maybe even be scraped off?

the horror of loss of something expensive is sometimes stronger than the actual potential risk.

like the other guy said, its gonna be usable for a long time anyway. :) :)