New Airbrushes question - Badger Patriot 105 and Patriot Extreme 105

Mrchntmarine

 

I did have a paper towell with some water and alcohol to wipe the tip.  But the bubbles would still come and go....

 

so, just now, i went back to the 105 and sprayed some Tamiya acrlyic with some thinner.  Probably a little thicker than the 2% milk thing and i put the psi to 22. 

 

 It shouldn't blow back making bubbles anyway, typically if your air is too low you will get spatter on the surface, too high you get center blow out on the surface at the given distance you spray from. Too thick you might get no flow at all . Bubbles is either restriction at the tip or air leaking by the tip seat, cracked tip etc. I mentioned before, take the tip out, wax the tapered seat and put it back together, see what happens then. Lip balm, bees ways, fly tying dubbing wax will all work. That's what I'd do next if it were mine. If it fixes it you got a choice, keep doing that or contact Badger.

 

Ok, you've proven that your 105 works correctly under the right conditions. Accept the fact that, at least with this bottle, you're going to need to thin your Stynylrez a little to make it work. Or maybe turn up the pressure even more. Or maybe even both.

My 105 was doing the same thing last week with Stynylrez. Maybe it was because this bottle was old. Maybe I didn't mix it enough. I don't know. It happens. So I went off target, pulled the needle all the way back, blew it out and kept spraying. BTW, you may find that you can pull the needle further back by grabbing the chuck nut through the cutaway in the handle and pulling back than just by pulling back the trigger. That's why it's there. And yes, when the compressor kicks in you may see a pressure drop. If you're already having problems that pressure drop can make it worse. Or, maybe you were right on the edge of having a problem and the pressure drop made it show up.

So, either thin your paint or turn up the air or both. It can happen with any paint or medium but realize that water based acrylics can be problematic. Good luck.

Wingman_kz

BTW, you may find that you can pull the needle further back by grabbing the chuck nut through the cutaway in the handle and pulling back than just by pulling back the trigger. That's why it's there.

Tks. Not sure I understand grabbing the chuck nut...  Do you mean to grab and pull it then spray?  Wouldn't that be like trying to pull the tube shaft out?

Yes. Or you can grab the ball on the end of the needle. There are cutaways there too. But if by chance the needle chuck isn't snug you could pull the needle out or back and possibly not realize it. Try pulling the trigger all the way back and then try pulling the nut on the needle chuck back and you should find that there's still some travel. You arent going to hurt anything, everything is threaded together and that's why it's made that way. So you can pull back to blow out a clog. Hopefully.  

You can push down for air then back all the way with the trigger and then, while holding that position, use your other hand to pull back on the knurled chuck nut or the ball on the back end of the needle. 

Or, you can pull the chuck nut or needle back and then press the trigger for air.

Either way, never let go and let it snap forward. Don't do that with the trigger either. 

The article titled "Badger Patriot 105 Review" will be informative.

hulkctn

The article titled "Badger Patriot 105 Review" will be informative.

 

Tks for the tip.  Unless i missed something in the article, like another link or something, it just seems to say that its a good brush and advertises the site and an airbrush holder. Not any detailed info much other than smooth trigger pull and nice paint cap, sorry to say. 

tks again wingman_kz..... Another follow up.... So I had a chance to spray again, this time tamiya acrylic thinned - not 50/50 - but maybe 1 thinner to 3 paint. psi at 20-22. no bubbles. so maybe its just what I have to do with this brush. as mentioned the Extreme will spray the paint straight w/ no bubbling. Anyhow I guess I have a new SOP when using the 105 - THIN the paint. FWIW I have yet to try any enamels with it so no comment there.

Mrchntmarine

tks again wingman_kz..... Another follow up.... So I had a chance to spray again, this time tamiya acrylic thinned - not 50/50 - but maybe 1 thinner to 3 paint. psi at 20-22. no bubbles. so maybe its just what I have to do with this brush. as mentioned the Extreme will spray the paint straight w/ no bubbling. Anyhow I guess I have a new SOP when using the 105 - THIN the paint. FWIW I have yet to try any enamels with it so no comment there.

 

I hate to keep harping on it but I'd still try a dab of Chapstick on the tip taper and shoot that Stynylrez straight again, see what happens. I just had a few bubble with my .3 tip in my DA which has a beat up seal on that tip, screw in tip, and that's what I did, worked fine. Course that was just a tip change and checking with straight alcohol that it sprayed ok. There shouldn't be bubbles imo. Just sayin.

Course it doesn't hurt Stynylrez any to thin it a little bit but you really shouldn't need it with a .5 on there. Anyway, I prime with my H mostly. I'll shut up now lol !!

Whewww, I'm just glad I didn't break this place. 

I don't know why that's happening. I don't thin Stynylrez either and I've shot it through a .3mm setup. I don't usually but I have. 

There's a brand of airbrush that I started to try years ago but didn't. Watching a lot of YouTube videos this spring I saw quite a few people using them and extolling their virtues. lol  I'm sure you know how that works. BUT, I saw that Spraygunner both sells and supports them so I took a look. Well, wonder of wonders they happened to have a "returned" example at a significant mark down so I bought it. Still under warranty. 

Looked like new when I got it. I screwed on a QD, dumped in some paint I had already thinned and, it wouldn't spray worth a darn. Hardly at all. And I use pretty thin lacquer normally. I started to just return it but, figured I may as well tear it apart. I found some dried up flakes of black paint, I was using yellow green, in the front of the brush and the nozzle. Cleaned it out, reassembled and it sprayed pretty well at first. Then it started spitting and sputtering. I was getting tip dry from a fairly thin lacquer. Wiped it off and tried again. Same thing. Tried again but watched the spray under a magnifying glass. I could see the paint form a ring around the needle just ahead of the nozzle. Dumped the paint, pulled the needle and under the magnifier I could see a faint ring around the needle. When the needle was forward the ring was well ahead of the nozzle so I don't know how it got there. Maybe just a manufacturing defect. I polished the needle using some fine grit sandpaper to start and progressed to polishing cloths. That cured it. Sprays like a champ now and I don't feel like those youtubers were lying to me. Lol   And yes, I've shot Stynylrez through it. 

The bottle of Stynylrez I had trouble with last week is about 4 years old but it hadn't been opened till this year. I've polished the needle in my 105. That's standard practice for me. I don't know why it started acting up but I did have tip dry, you could see it. Maybe it's shelf life expired, I don't know. 

I polish my airbush needles too, smooth is a good thing.

Stynylrez if it's sat around likes a good stirring with a stick even if you don't see it through the bottle. Then shake it up good.

Yes sir, polishing does help. I understand if someone hesitates to try it but once you've done it a time or two there's nothing to it.

I don't know about that bottle of Stynylrez. Yeh it sat for years but this wasn't the first time I used it. Maybe I just didn't mix it enough that day. Next time I'll be more thorough.