Major airbrush dramas!!

No expert here but it sounds to me as if your nozzle has a blockage, or the paint passage is blocked

somenewguy

and 2 -  I have since noticed that when the needle is in its resting position (poking out of the nozzle as far as possible) the ultra fine tip (part R-003) does not sit in its cradle properly at the front of the body. When the needle is pulled back with the trigger it pulls the tip back with it then the tip stops when it hits the cradle.

If the needle is preventing the nozzle from seating properly, loosen the needle chuck and withdraw the needle slightly. Tighten down the hold-down ring and then reseat the needle. (push it gently into the nozzle and retighten the needle chuck).

You say the lid blew off...hmm  I am just curious did you try spraying with the lid removed. If it sprays normal then check the small vent hole in the lid.

If your needle sticks out the end of the nozzle the correct amount (like it did when it was new) your nozzle is probably not pluged. If the tapered seat on the nozzle is not mating with the tapered seat in the front of the body then I would think the A/B would suck air from behind the nozzle and cause air bubbles in the cup.

I work in a woodshop and spray allot of lacquer. I have had the lid blow off on a gravity gun and it was usually a plugged vent hole in the cup lid

I have that brush and the lid is a plastic job that I don't see a vent hole in at all. But I have never had an issue with it.

You've got a blockage somewhere. The lid exploding was caused by the air trying to escape, and it couldn't escape the usual way. Since it did erupt through the cup, that means the air is either:

A: going through the nozzle backwards into the cup. This means there's a blockage past the nozzle in the cap or something.

or

B: going around the nozzle and into the cup. This means the nozzle is loose and not seated properly.

I'm not very familiar with the Badger series, but you said the nozzle is threaded. Perhaps paint has layered around the threads and is causing it not to screw all the way in.

Yeah, that's exactly what I know, too - the air is going back into the paint line and up your face, so to say... Normally when the nozzle isn't quite tight, the pressure that normally builds up inside the nozzle housing is enough to make the paint inside the cup bubble. Since you wrote it got really violent I guess something more is going on. The question would be did it blow up AFTER you retracted the needle or before? The answer to that question would tell us if the air backed up along the needle or somewhere "from the side". Hope it helps and good luck

Paweł

If the nozzle is moving while you trigger, it sounds like there is some damage somewhere preventing it from seating properly, giving you an air leak & causing your problem.

I would clean all the involved parts well & then give them a close look over. It sounds like the thread on R001, or the thread that it engages in may be damaged or dirty - there shouldn't be any resistance until R001 starts to pinch the nozzle, which it doesn't seem to be doing?

I've never had a paint cup lid blow off, what kind of pressure are you using? Blockage in one direction will result in flowage in another...think basic gastric body functions.   Water and air ALWAYS seek the path of least resistance.

Phil - tried that, still same shceisse happening.

ST johnson - i tried it both ways. the vent is clear. so it must be something else

Hercmech - yours should have a vent. must be a factory mistake. i suggest you do drill a hole in it anyway coz it's supposed to prevent a vacuum so the lid doesn't cave and and so any remaining content doesn't shoot up when the lid is removed

Unreality - it's confusing. given what happened the first time round, you'd think it's a blockage somewhere (and it may well be). but to put it into perspective, i experimented by putting some water into the cup, put my mouth upto the cup and blew and the water started shooting out of the tip. it needed a fair bit of pressure but it defies the notion that it is a blockage.

Pawel - it didn't seem to matter wether the trigger was retracted or not. the content still 'boiled'. there was however a difference in frequency between retraction and pulling back.

Milairjunkie - you may have hit the nail on the head. ROO1 has always been a bit difficult to thread on, then all of a sudden it became a lot more difficult with more resistance and feels uneven when screwing it on. can't quite see the thread in the front of the body that R001 goes onto but R001's thread appear to be ok.

Hawkeye - when it first happened I had it upto around 15 PSI. during experiments afterwards, anywhere between 10 and 35.

thanks for all the input guys, appreciate it!

will have to take it to craig at the LHS and see if he can find the flaw.

Well that sucks that oyu could not get it fixed...send it back to Badger, they have an awesome customer service dept. As far as the hole goes. I hve used mine for hours and hours and have never had a problem so I think I will leave it as is...don't want to tempt fate. And yes my other 3 have holes but not the Badger oh well.