airbrush splatter

Steve - It sounds like tip dry, little globules of paint setting up at fwd end of nozzle/needle tip. Try a Q-tip, small capful of lacquer thinner to dunk it in to wet it, then insert swab end into the front of the airbrush, being GENTLE. Twirl the Q-tip around a bit, that will remove the dried paint glob. I do it it every 4 or 5 passes.

Hope it does the trick for you.

Patrick

I own this airbrush. Never had a problem with it, and dry tip is the first thing I'd think of too, unless a fitting is loose somewhere.

If it is dry tip, FWIW I do the same as Patrick with the wetting q-tip.

I find the .2mm tip useless for our purposes (and same for anthing much under .35mm on any of my airbrushes). If you are trying to spray acrylic through the .2mm, that's an exercise in futility IMO.

Curious what paint you are using?

thank's guy's

greg I have used tamiya , MM , valejo , I seem to have more trouble with the .4mm , as it's doing it from the get go , but i will try the cotton swab , see what happen's

steve

Never had this problem either, have you changed the air cap seal to see if that's a problem?

To start after four months seems odd, what's changed? could weather be a factor? 

Mick.

Here's a couple dumb ideas.

First, are you positive you haven't gotten the nozzles mixed up when changing over from .2 to .4? It is so easy to do.

Second, when you strip down the brush, do you make sure the inside of the nozzle is clean? An interdental brush works great on these.

And lastly, have you looked at both the tip of the needle(s) and nozzle(s) under extreme magnification? Both nozzle tips are fragile and need to be perfect.

You've probably done all this stuff, but I'd have no way of knowing.

thank's greg , will try swapping the nozzles around , can't hurt .I really don't have extreme magnification , it feels alright , and I do clean inside the nozzle's .

thank's again for the thought's though greg , I'll see what happen's

steve

The needles and nozzles are marked, the nozzle for the .4 has a band, the .2 does not. The air caps are not interchangable.

http://www.harder-airbrush.eu/files/downloads/manuals/marks_nozzle_sets.pdf

Hi!

Sorry to hear of you problem. I had the same problem with the H&S. Every time I went to spray, it would splatter first and then spray ok. When I would put air through, same thing. Every time!  I eventually stopped trying and sold it. I went to Badger and none of it happend anymore. Thats why there are different manufacturers I guess. Tried Harder and Steenbeck a couple times and never got past the spitting so don't feel bad. For those they work for, they are great. You shouldn't have to baby an airbrush along evey painting session. Find one that works for you. Badger worked for me.

Snibs

The needles and nozzles are marked, the nozzle for the .4 has a band, the .2 does not. The air caps are not interchangable.

http://www.harder-airbrush.eu/files/downloads/manuals/marks_nozzle_sets.pdf

 

I'd never noticed the ID bands on the .4mm set, that's a good bit of advice, thank you.

thanks snibs , that made life a bit easier .

greg ,

I tried , everything you said , this time I soaked the nozzles in X20A thinner and really cleaned the brushes , I also very gently ran the needle point's over 2000 grit paper , and I also added a few drops of tamiya acrylic paint retarder , for the dry tip , I have my airbrush again , thank's for the help , it seem's I wasn't very good at cleaning,

steve

Glad to hear it Steve.

Cheers from Mick.

steve5

thanks snibs , that made life a bit easier .

greg ,

I tried , everything you said , this time I soaked the nozzles in X20A thinner and really cleaned the brushes , I also very gently ran the needle point's over 2000 grit paper , and I also added a few drops of tamiya acrylic paint retarder , for the dry tip , I have my airbrush again , thank's for the help , it seem's I wasn't very good at cleaning,

steve

 

Good, Steve, glad you got your AB sorted. The cleaning part is very important, any paint build up will only serve to cause function problems.

At session ends I use lacquer thinner, to remove all paint bits from the AB. If neccessary I soak the forward bits for a few minutes, just to soften the remaining paint before using cleaning implements, (Q-tips, etc.)

I don't know if the X-20A is a good cleaner, never tried it for that, but lacquer thinner is more effective and surely a lot less expensive. (:>)

Careful using the retarder, if you add too much it can lead to excessive drying times and even runs in the paint.

Snibs sure is a valuable help source, isn't he? Lot's of knowledge he passes along, good guy.

Patrick

Thank's for the compliment, I try.

Just as a side note, very much soak the nozzle in lacquer thinner BUT don't agitate it, the very small tapping on the side of the jar will stuff the tip of the nozzle very easily, yes I learnt that the hard way.

Mick.

thank's to all for the help , it was much appreciated .

patrick - thank's for the tip on lacquer thinners , forgot I even had any , as for the retarder , their's a bloke on u-tube , [andy's hobby centre ] did  a segment on how to thin , tamiya paint , and how to use the retarder , 3 drops a bottle , it's good stuff .

steve

Glad a thorough cleaning seems to have solved your problem, Steve.

As much as I dislike working with nasty solvents like laquer thinner, I'm with Patrick, and at the end of a airbrush use day I can not resist a full tear down and clean with laquer thinner.

You mentioned cleaning with alcohol (X-20A). Are you using any paints except Tamiya acylics in your airbrush, Steve?

Also, to echo Patrick yet again, on the odd occasion I use Tamiya, I do use X-20A but I'm not quite sure I'd trust it to clean my airbrush. I'd at least go with a dedicated acrylic airbrush cleaner for in between sprays, but more likely laquer thinner, at the end of the spraying day, as mentioned above.

greg

I'm off to brisbane next week , to my LHS [ 200 k's ] away . I shall pick some up there .cheer's mate

steve

Steve, if you're using Tamiya or Gunze (aqueous) acrylics, you need nothing more than plain old metho to clean up. Save your X-20A for thinning only. If you're buying X-20A thinner, try to get it in the 250ml jugs rather than the tiny paint jar size, it's much cheaper.

PS: Another good habit you might grow into is starting the airflow with your airbrush directed away from your model before pulling back on the trigger, to prevent any build-up splattering onto it.

thank's phil  , I do buy the bigger X20A , will try the directing away too

greg - I do like MM paint's , X20A seems to be alright with it ?

steve5

greg - I do like MM paint's , X20A seems to be alright with it ?

I doubt it, and that's why I asked, Steve.

Tamiya acrylics contain alcohol, hence the X20A is alcohol based. From what I've read, you can get away with thinning MM with X20A, but it will clog the nozzle and lead to dry tip.

With some acryls, (Vallejo is my hands-on example), mixing or cleaning with alcohol or X20A will gunk up your airbrush horribly.

I use MM airbrush thinner when I airbrush MM Acryls and have no problem. I clean with either a generic acylic airbrush thinner or Lacquer thinner. I'd use caution mixing thinners and different acrylic paint brands. Just my , Steve.

thank's greg :- I think you just told me why I don't like vallejo paint's , I have read somewhere that lacquer thinner's is good , actually I think it was baxter , he did some experiment's with it . I might have to go and check his build out again , I appreciate you taking the time to straighten me out mate , cheer's

steve

greg could I ask one more question , if in doubt for valejo , MM paint's etc , would plain old water do as a thinner .

steve5

greg could I ask one more question , if in doubt for valejo , MM paint's etc , would plain old water do as a thinner .

 

I'm not expert of the subject, but I'm always happy to share an opinion or two Steve.

From several years of reading, seems pretty well divided between folk who prefer to use proprietary thinners with their acrylics and folks who like to use water or search for a generic solution that seems to work for them.

I prefer to use the matching brand airbrush thinner when airbrushing. IMO, there are already too many variables when airbrushing and doing so at least doesn't add one more. Also, I don't know anything about the chemistry of the various acrylics I use, and I prefer not to mess with that chemistry, and assume in general if I use the proprietary airbrush thinners I am not.

That said, there are talented modelers in both camps.

cheer's greg , I appreciate your help , you have sorted a few problems out for me , I am off to brisbane this weekend for supplies , that's if the forecast storm misses us LOL .

steve

If I've helped with anything, then I'm a happy camper Steve. Thank you.

Have a nice trip to Brisbane and I always enjoy buying supplies, hope you do too.

snibs

a quick question ,- I think I have these nozzles right , .4mm on the right , is that correct

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Testors Acryls do not thin with alcohol, but their proprietary thinner. I made the mistake of thinking all acrylics were created equaland used alcohol as their solvent. Such is life.