Nozzle and needle issue with my HP-C

Yes, I noticed the same thing on my Tamiya Superfine and a minor case on the heavily used HP-CH, for which I even tried a brand new nozzle and needle.  (though not the HP-BH, CM-C+, or the other eclipse ones. heck even the 155 anthemn's needle stays well centered.)  I called up Iwata about 3 weeks ago to see if I could get an answer.  The tech guy, Adam, said that it shouldn't really affect the amount of paint coming out or it's performance as long as the nozzle itself stays centered in the nozzle cap, which both of mine do, so air can go all around it to draw the paint out.  And his honest opinion was that I didn't need to send the airbrush in and pay for the service.  I personally think the distribution of the paint to be atomized by the air would be screwed up by this, otherwise why they'd bother modify the needle taper for...  Hopefully we can get another "Pro" opinion on this, as that will decide the fate of my Tamiya airbrush for whether or not it should go on ebay.

Just out of curiosity, have you tried rotating the needle or nozzle during assembly (I know, not an easy feat) to see if the contact point changes postion or even disappears?

Ryan, you mentioned that you replaced the nozzle & needle, but have you tried replacing the nozzle cap and/or the needle packing screw? Reason I ask is they seem to have a direct bearing/association with the parts in question.

Regarding the off center of the nozzle through the nozzle cap (touching) effecting the quality of the paint job - yes and no.
Under high pressure it probably won't be noticable.
Under lower pressure it "might" be.
Run some test patterns under a low air pressure setting to see if there is any ill atomization or spray pattern effects.
I had a larger spray gun for autobody work that had a similar problem and it never effected the paintjob.

Just my worth.

I replaced the nozzle and needle with new ones I had and the problem remains. Now to add to the confusion, as I manipulate the trigger I can cause movement of the needle tip perpendicular to needle travel. If I pull back on the trigger without pressing down or if I try to move the trigger sideways to needle travel I can cause the needle tip to move around in the nozzle.   Greg

I remember this issue being raised quite a while ago I think with a Badger airbrush and the consensus was that it wasn't a big deal.  If you're happy with the way the HP-C is painting, I wouldn't worry about it.

I guess the real question is this normal or abnormal?

I just checked my 3 AB's and don't notice the movement you described. Except for on the CS when I push "too" hard on the trigger.

"Is this normal or abnormal?"
I would imagine some flex will occur on some AB's. All depends on the manufacturing process (tolerances in the tooling get larger over time) and wear & tear that your AB has seen. I'd just spray some test patterns to verify things are ok or not.

My

gjek wrote:

After cleaning the other day I examined my HP-C with a magnafing glass and discovered that when I pull back on the trigger the needle presses against the side of the nozzle as it moves back and stays against the nozzle for the full travel of the trigger. I also have an  HP-CR and its needle stays centered in the nozzle all the way through the triggers travel. I have removed the HP-C needle and rolled it across a mirror and it is straight and true. The nozzle also appears to be in good shape. Has anyone else noticed this before?   Greg

This is normal and has no bearing on the paint quality.
Even the Microns do that. Don't worry about it.

Oh wow, MikeV, haven't seen you around here for a while.  Where've you been?

archangel571 wrote:

Oh wow, MikeV, haven't seen you around here for a while.  Where've you been?

Hey Archangel!
I have been working long hours and not doing any modeling. :-(

Hi everyone

I'm new to this forum as you can see from the ammount of posts I've added. I run into this place when I discovered the same problem as Greg has. My Iwata HP-CP is brand new, but the needle has a lot of space inside the body and tends to touch the nozzle when it is backed by pushing the trigger. At first I was really scared that it's broken and I will have to buy a new needle or repair the airbrush (and because I live in Poland it's really hard to get new parts, not even mentioning repairing it) but reading what you guys wrote got me a bit less worried. The airbrush works well and I haven't noticed anything wrong with the way the paint comes out, so I guess it's not a bad thing.

Anyway thanks for the info and for calming me down:)

Cheers,
dsc.

Mike's right, thats why the Iwata instructions, as do many other manufacturers' suggest rotating the needle before seating it in the nozzle during re-assembly of the airbrush.  Doing this insures "even wear" to the inside of the tiny nozzle.  So you see, this occurance is normal, and they even gave us a tip to avoid performance problems right out of the box!