Airbrushing emergency! - Enough's enough - a new brush

[Radleigh]

I'll reply a bit later on, bit busy at the moment but the coldness shouldn't effect paint spraying, but it would effect the drying. Unless of course your spraying in - temps.

[bzn20]

I haven't any problems spraying acrylics in cold or hot temps .Like radleigh said, the drying times are prolonged in cold conditions. The opposite when its hot.

[Hotel Papa]

Try to spray water or ink to eliminate any problem with the airbrush. If that sprays fine there probably is no problem with a seal or other air leak. You can then concentrate on paint/thinner/pressure.

[Filler]

Perhaps this information might be a key to resolving this; when I spray water or neat thinners everything at least looks to be ok and when I spray paint onto kitchen paper/towel it also looks pretty good. It is when I hold styrene in front of the brush that I can see that all is not well. I wonder if there is some kind of 'bounce' effect that is exaggerating the problem.

I'll try a bit more spraying this evening, focusing on mix ratios.

Just one more question though; are the PTFE bearing prone to wear by the needle being inserted/extracted? Badger offer a lifetime warranty on them which suggests to me that they should be pretty hardy if not abused.

[Radleigh]

Few reasons I've been thinking of,

1: Condensaton in the airbrush - I'm ruling this out though as I can't imagine the house would have condensation? My Conservatory does but I keep all tools like my AB in the house.

2: Aircap not fitted properly, causing the air to be disrupted as the paint leaves making it spatter.

3: Paint mix still to thick, trying thinning it more - adjusting air pressure to suit. (Get some scrap as mentioned and go through the air pressures, spraying lines at 15psi, 18psi, 20psi etc.

4: Bent Needle, but ruling this out as you mention the fine one hasn't been used? Yet problem still occurs.

5: Wrong pressure/ Needle setting or even a loose needle, make sure both nuts are finger tight on the end.

6: To close to the subject, I think you've mentioned in this thread though that your distance is OK.

7: Seal busted...?

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head.... will check back later.

[Filler]

Thanks for taking time to think about my problem Radleigh.

I've just taken a very unusual step and read the Badger 175 manual and one bit in particular has struck me. In the 'Maintenance and Cleaning of Your Brush' section there is the following passage.

5)
New tip (4) can then be placed into position in airbrush shell (5), tighten head (3) and screw on spray regulator (2)–place needle (16) to forward position and tighten needle chuck (15). Do Not Overtighten. It is normal to have a small space between the head and the body. Replace the quick disconnect handle (10).

The part in bold (as it is in the manual) has worried me. I have never used pliers or anything but, I fancy I may have gone pretty finger tight when screwing the spray regulator and head to the body (or shell). It doesn't really say what happens if you do over-tighten theses parts and neither does it state if the effects are irreversible by simply not over-tightening in future. Looking at the parts diagram, I figure that it could result in pressure and maybe even damage to the tip.

[Filler]

I'm pretty fed up of this endless pressure mix cleaning battle with my Badger 175 and have decided that the best solution is to buy a new airbrush. I was never very happy with a suction cup brush anyway.

So I'm mulling over either an H&S Infinity CRplus or an Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH.

They both seem pretty popular amongst modellers and having read reviews they both seem to be pretty good - although I'd say that the H&S has more 'problem' threads than the Iwata. The needle size seems to be pretty critical in this respect though. It seems that Iwata's 0.3 is a good jack of all trades.

Just before I take the plunge I thought I'd post up here in case anyone felt there was something I ought to consider before splashing out the think end of 200 quid.

My usage is 1/48 jets - from as large as Aardvarks to as small as a Jet Provost. So some reasonable coverage work but plenty of pre- and post-shading and and other detail work.

One question would be; is one or the other easier to dismantle and clean?

And one other thing... in an ideal world you'd have a play with the brush before buying but I assume that most of us have just taken the plunge as airbrush showrooms are pretty few and far between.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Filler

[Radleigh]

Not sure where you are in the country, but Paul from little-cars normally has airbrushes that you can be shown/use at shows, Cosford show is very soon which he will be at, might be worth holding out until then? (If you're going?)

Failing that, drop him a pm, top bloke with great advise. (He will obviously know more on what's out, best airbrushes to buy etc)

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/user/750-little-cars/ think that's worked...

[Hotel Papa]

Can't talk for the Iwata, but IIRC they recommend to pull aout the needle towards the rear. That's what I like about the Infinity: You can take the nozzle out with no fuss at all (everything up front is just finger tight) and pull out the needle towards the front. -> No paint can be pulled back where only air should ever go. For cleaning I even pull a strand of wool through from back to front. (With the aid of a makeshift needle made of twisted wire.)

You may be right about the nozzle size. I find myself switching between 0.2 mm for detail work and 0.4 for coverage.

I'd reconsider if it has to be an infinity. It is a very nice brush, but the Evolution is also available in chrome today, and if I had to buy again I'd probably not even bother with the needle stop (paint flow adjuster). What's essential in a needle stop is the function that H&S has, the quick release and re-set. (I don't know who else has the same.) We all know that there often are situations where a quick flush of the nozzle is required. There the quick release really shines.

I find that I use the trottle function (reducing airflow directly at the brush) a lot.for detailing. The feature built into the H&S is known as FPC (fine pressure control), but there are also valves available that go at the end of your airhose. Iwata have the throttle screw under the head in the models that have the feature.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Hotel Papa

[Filler]

I think that waiting till Cosford is probably a good idea. It's difficult as the current problem is holding me up in a rare period of enthusiasm for modelling but chucking that money at the first brush I see without trying it or any others is risky. I do like the idea of the extra flow control and there are a few good sounding features on these high end brushes.

I've always removed the needle from my Badger from the front and inserted it from the front as I figured it reduced the chances of getting paint where it shouldn't be and because it seems risky feeding the pointy end through the brush as it seems easy to miss the hole and blunt the end. But today I read something about the grooves on the end of the needle (used to denote the needle size) can damage the ptfe bearing by dragging it through and thus it should be pulled out from the back and inserted that way too. I also worried that I have cleaned it too often and that might have resulted in damage to that part through regularly removing and inserting the needle. But then again, I've not exactly done a lot of airbrushing in the time I've owned it.

[little-cars]

They are both good brushes, there are pros and cons to both.

The H&S is by far the easiest to strip down and maintain. The Iwata has the tiny nozzle that can be a paint to remove and replace (and they are about £33 to replace if you damage it.)

With the Iwata Hi-line you have to commit to the cup size when you buy, the CH has the 9ml which can obscure the end of the brush when you are painting details, the BH with the 0.2mm nozzle is great for small areas, but you are stuck with the small paint cup, so have to refill it a lot for area work.

The H&S has different paint cup sizes for different jobs, 0.5, 2,5,15 or 50ml cups can be attached. And there are 4 different nozzle sizes 0.4mm is the normal area nozzle, 0.2mm is the normal smaller area nozzle. There is also a 0.6mm nozzle set for very large area work and the 0.15mm for very fine details..

We have bothe the infinity and Evolution on demo on demo at shows, you may find that the Evolution range will deliver what you want. The Evolution Silverline 2in1 is the most popular at £135, it has two different needles and nozzles and a manual preset handle. I take some Iwata brushes to shows & can take a Hi-line on request. You can add the mac valve functionality to the brush and even retro fit the Infinity aircap to the Evolution.

If you drop me a PM we can go though what functions would be of use and point you towards the brush that is right for you.

Paul

[Filler]

Thanks Paul. I'm just about to leave work (where I've obviously been very busy today...) so I'll drop you a PM this evening.

[Nigel Heath]

I have a H & S Infinity and find it an excellent tool. it is quite easy to clean and maintain. I have also used a Badger 150 brush which was OK but quite agricultural by comparison. I think getting a top quality airbrush is key to overcoming the problems you are having.

Nigel