Hi all,
Thank you so much for your advice! It's obvious when you mention it, the range of rubber and synthetic components in a hydraulic system make it similar to airbrush engineering in that sense.
Okay, brake fluid it is! I've done a fair bit lately and been concerned that my AB performance is degrading somewhat, though I do a standard dismantle/clean after each session. I had some pulsed-spray a few days ago but the recent thread on that subject pointed me at a loose head assembly, which was a far easier fix than replacing the air valve gasket, which the troubleshooting section in the VL kit suggested.
I have quite a dusty environment, it's hard to keep flecks and spots out of the paint, and with our temperature and humidity varying so much (we're in a drought down here) it's near-impossible to find a mixing ratio that allows paint to flow on smoothly, which is very frustrating...
Thanks for the advice, now I know how to clean this sucker (blower?!) within an inch of its life!
TB379