Help with excessive dry tip

1. Try using a retarder. Tamiya's retarder is finally available in the US (I've been waiting for 4-5 years). But I've also used Winsor & Newton Galleria retarder with Tamiya paint.

2. You could also try Badger's Regdab. It's a lubricant you put on your needle that is supposed to help with tip dry. I've tried it, but I can't really say if it works or not.

3. Use the bigger of two needle/nozzle sizes. I have a Krome, but I can't remember what sizes of needle it has, but I use the bigger of the two and I don't have any tip dry problems.

I actually just got a bottle of tamiya's acrylic retarder for this exact reason. I've been adding a couple drops to every cup of paint to see if it would help. I started using using the larger needle (.33) awhile ago, so that I'd have better control when I used the smaller, but it didn't seem to help either. I don't have any regdab, but I'm willing to give it a try. This has been driving me crazy.

At .21 and .33mm needle/nozzle sizes and spraying acrylics, IMO you are in for a challenge. It does look like a beautiful fine detail airbrush, for sure.

Edit, but I missed that Hypertex isn't having any trouble with his, so maybe I'm all wet. It's just that I've not had a great deal of success with acrylics and small needle/nozzles.

I agree that Regdab is a good lube product, best I've found yet.

Don Wheeler has a review posted, just FYI.....

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/badger-krome

 

 

Don's review was one of the things that helped me choose this airbrush. Although, I wish I would've taken more heed when he stated that it probably wasn't the best for less experienced artists. I think you're onto something because I never had this issue with my cheap chinese knockoff. I could lay an awesome camo with that thing and it had a .5 needle. The only problem with it was a lack of replacement parts and a horrible feeling trigger.

Matt, FWIW, I have two airbrushes with smaller than .35 nozzle/needles either as the original set or add-ons I've purchased.

Those smaller needle/nozzle combos are happily tucked away in my a/b drawer until I find a need or even a use for them. I have a .5mm in my Iwata HP-CS which I tend to use for broader coverage and the .35 in my Harder & Steenbeck Evolution 2 in 1. My dry tip issues have diminished drastically since putting the small needle/nozzles away.

I hope Hypertex's ideas help. It's such a nice airbrush I'd surely like to see you solve your problem.

It's not just you, BTW. Every time I think I have this dry tip issue sorted, I'll have a session and it (dry tip) will pop up to annoy the heck out of me. And it's usually when I forgot to have that wetted down q-tip sitting there because I figured the spray session would be too short/fast to need it!

I've been considering investing in larger airbrush for the reasons you've  just stated. I have to keep the wetted qtip ever present when I spray or I won't get through a single panel line. I kinda regret not getting something like that from the start, but my trigger control can be twitchy and I thought a fine detail a/b would be the answer to my prayers. Especially since it had a needle limiter. I'll admit, it's a great a/b when things are going smoothly.

There's a couple things you can do. First, you can use lacquer thinner to reduce Tamiya bottled acrylics instead of X20. Generic thinner will work but I like Tamiya's own lacquer thinner or Mr Color. They're both pretty mild and have never damaged any plastic I've used them on. However, you may not want to use lacquer thinner. Completely understandable. If that's the case then try alcohol. I prefer denatured alcohol but iso alcohol will work as well. If you use say, 70% or 72% alcohol, it's almost like adding retarder or a leveling agent. Not exact but almost. 90% alcohol, not really. And denatured, no. But, you can thin your paint much more with 90% alcohol and even more with denatured. With denatured, almost to the point that you can fill a bottle with alcohol, add enough paint to color it, and spray it. And surprisingly still get very good coverage. With that said, I've found that even with 70 or 72% alcohol I could thin more than with X20. With higher percentage or denatured, a lot more. And close to that with lacquer thinner. I'm generally referring to flat paints, I understand that denatured and 90% don't work as well with their gloss paints but I haven't used them often. Lacquer thinner will work just fine though. Either way, tip dry will be all but non-existent. One other suggestion is to pour some thinner, alcohol or lacquer, into a separate jar or bottle and mix your retarder with it. If you choose to use it. That gives you more control of the mix. If you're in the US then I know denatured alcohol is pretty inexpensive. I think it's still between $6-7 a quart at Wal-Mart. Tamiya lacquer thinner or Mr Color would be higher. Give denatured a try. It doesn't smell and it will work. I've run a lot of it through a fine needle Sotar. Tony

I've had some similar issues with tamiya acrylic at 70/30 mix using my 0.38mm paasche and primer on my cheap 0.20mm. I've found adding a few drops of vallejo airbrush flow improver reduced the issue considerably. I laso have a bottle of golden retarder but i have not tried it yet. 

I have some denatured alcohol on hand, left over from the days when I still painted people's homes professionally. I always wanted to use lacquer thinner, but we have a baby and my wife freaks out over the smell. I used 91% iso once in a pinch and got a really grainy finish, but I do remember being able to thin it considerably. Is there a way to prevent this? I'd like to be able to give one of the options you've suggested a try tonight. Luckily, I have every one of these things readily available. I'm really hoping this is the answer I've been looking for because this issue has brought progress to a standstill. Thank you for the advice.

I just received a bottle of that the other day from megahobby. I'll have to give it a try. I never considered using it with my tamiya paints, as ridiculous as that might sound.

I don't know about the grainy finish, wish I could help. It's been a long time since I started using Tamiya and experimented with different ways of thinning and I'm afraid I don't remember. :-) I pretty much settled on denatured alcohol and have stuck with it. Lacquer thinner does work well too but is a little smelly.

I normally use low air pressure and stay close to the target. I'm sure I do things incorrectly to some folks way of thinking but it works for me. Experiment and practice. 

If things suddenly changed, check your needle. The slightest burr or bend at the tip will drive you crazy. If you drag it backwards across a fingernail you'll see pretty quick if there's a burr. You can place the end of the needle between two Exacto blades, hold the blades together lightly and turn the needle to straighten if needed and polish with very fine sandpaper. Again, it takes a little practice. 

 

I'll give the denatured alcohol a try and see how it works out. I'll most likely experiment with all of your suggestions until I get the result I'm looking for. I appreciate the help. I'm looking forward to getting this worked out.