Badger problem

Have you disassembled the AB for a thorough cleaning? There is not reason for a Badger airbrush not to work for decades. I have a Badger 150 that is at least 20 yrs.

If you can't find anything wrong, I suggest shipping it to Badger for a tuneup. They will advise a cost (if any) before doing any work.

Would help if we had a model number and whether it's a top, bottom or side feed...

If nothing else, you could try pulling off any teflon or rubber parts (i.e. O-rings) and giving it a good soak in some lacquer thinner.

How have you cleaned it?

 

E

I just used it to spary a coat of future.  Unfortunatley, my stupidity, I did not clean for about 1 month.  So, I took it apart and washed with water, soapy water.  I made sure all parts were cear and water ran through them.  I can see the holes and they are clear in the nozzel and the needle.  I think it is clean, it is simply not drawing up paint.  It is a bottom feeder, from a  bottle attached to the underside.  I just don't know the number.  It is black and I do know a single action.  I am curious, a stupid question, how do these things work?  I assume the air from the can is under pressure and passes through the black line to the airbrush.  I then assume a vacuum is created and paint is drawn through the bottle into the airbrush and regulated by the size of the opening that is adjustable.  If that is so, everything appears clear?  I almost think there is a leak somewhere in pressure although the air is only coming out the nozzle.  I am perplexed.

Well i can not help you much but i do know if the paint is from the bottom it is a siphon. The hose from the reservoir will go up into the airbrush where air passes over it. The air passing over it creats a low pressure zone in the hose causing paint to be drawn up into the brush. My thoughts are is you are not getting that low pressure zone to draw the paint up. Make sure the hose is in the correct place and air is flowing over it well. Turn your pressure up on your compresser or air tank if you use them to a high but safe level to see if that draws any paint.

If the Future was there for a month, you might need something stronger than soapy water. Ammonia dissolves future pretty good...but be careful if you soak it. Ammonia might discolor the airbrush.

Sounds like it needs a good scrubing. I would take it apart as much as possible and clean it with lacquer thinner. Be careful not to get the lacquer thinner on any o-rings, as it will attack them.

Look at the airbrushes on This Page and see if you see it.  Since you said it was a black siphon feed I suspect it's the model 350.  Disassemble it COMPLETELY and clean everything in it.  Use the little "Inter Dental" brushes you can get at the drug store for cleaning between teeth.  I'm not sure I'd use laquer thinner on the handle assembly (it's nylon and I don't know what laquer thinner will do to nylon) but let all the steel parts soak in laquer thinner for an hour or so, brush them out, and then let them soak some more.

Also, you mentioned you were using canned air.  Those cans don't last long at all and it is possible that you just don't have enough pressure to create a vacuum to pull the paint up.  Try sitting it in a pan of warm (NOT HOT!) water and see if that helps.

One of those should fix the problem.  Most airbrush problems can be traced to improper cleaning.

I did see some large air tanks for about 35$ online somewhere. Take it to some "free air" gas station and fill it up and your good to go for a while. That will be my solution as I can not afford a compresser at this point.

GunnerMan1 wrote:

I did see some large air tanks for about 35$ online somewhere. Take it to some "free air" gas station and fill it up and your good to go for a while. That will be my solution as I can not afford a compresser at this point.

???

E

SOLVED!  What an idiot, no AIR!!!!!!.  Picked up a new can tonite, wallah, old badger is as good as new! Incredible, thanks.  I am an idiot. I am an idiot, I am an idiot............

nsclcctl wrote:

SOLVED!  What an idiot, no AIR!!!!!!.  Picked up a new can tonite, wallah, old badger is as good as new! Incredible, thanks.  I am an idiot. I am an idiot, I am an idiot............

It happens to everybody! My Badger was only about two weeks old when I had a problem. I cleaned it, and put it back together. When I went to use it the next day, I got no air? The needle moved, but I wasn't getting air??? I finally went through all the steps to figure out where the problem was at, once I did, I started getting ready to package it and ship it back so they could fix it. I decided to try it one more time before I boxxed it up and it worked? Turns out a little bit of paint had gotten down in air part somehow and dried. I'm not talking a lot, just a tiny bit, but it messed it up... Thank God for paint thinner