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Airbrush hell


Steve_farrier

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Hi guys I need a little help with my airbrush. 

Mits just closing constantly! 

Its a sparmax 40 

im using Tamiya acrylics thinned out with either Tamiya thinner or water. 

 

I'm having to clean fully after every colour. Strip down and rebuild. 

Im cleaning with thinners, cotton buds and kitchen roll. I've flushed through after every coloir change and I just can't get this right 

 

I've recently had to change to signal use trigger rather than the pull/depress trigger as that was blocking even quicker. 

😔😔😔😔😔🔥🔥🔥 

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I've only started using the water today. Yet the problems been going on months. 

 

Move just sat and cleaned the whole thing out again. And left to soak in window cleaner (apparently the internet says it's good.... also advises screen wash fluid for cars....) 

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49 minutes ago, Steve_farrier said:

OK, so just to get all the information, the max4 has a 5ml gravity fed cup, I'm assuming it's the original 0.4mm nozzle and needle that you are using. You have only used  X20A thinners/water to thin the paint & X20A thinners to clean the brush with. 

 

By single use trigger I assume you mean there isn't an air valve, the air is on all the time and you pull the trigger back to deliver the paint, rather than depressing the trigger to start the air flowing, then pulling it back to allow the paint to flow.

 

You say it's closing constantly, I assume you mean clogging.  How is it clogging ? Spttering paint, building up on the air cap?

 

How are you preparing and thinning the paint ?

Have you checked the needle tip & nozzle for damage ?

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So many questions  

 

yes you are correct. Airflow constant then pull trigger to deliver paint. 

I do have the airvale as well however I gave up on that because that seemed to solve the clogging issue. 

 

By clogging I mean I'm getting very very slow paint feed. Even with trigger fully depressed. 

 

Air is compressed at constant 20psi. 

 

The AK paints look pre thinned and airbrush ready otherwise I'm thinning and mixing thoroughly in a pot before I pour in to the gravity cup. 

 

Only pure thinners seems to spray well. 

I have totally cleaned out the nozzel and did remove some residue but not tested it again since. 

 

I cam achieve paint flow if I blow in to the paint cup and spray ... though with my mouth around the air gun it's hard to get direction 😂😂😂😂

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OK, you didn't mention other paints.  AK/Vallejo/mig.ammo acrylic paints need thinning, but not x20A, they have their own thinners, or you can use water.  X20A thinners can/will thicken AK/Vallejo/mig.ammo paint and clog the brush.

 

If you are using both the clogging can build up over time and you can then get a small gell of paint that moves around in the nozzle and clogs it up. 

 

If you are using both paint types, it's best to flush the brush through throughly with water to get rid of the alcohol that is in the X20A thinners.

 

Paul

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  • 1 month later...

What happened did you solve your problem?

 

I've got a Sparmax 4, use it for priming, varnish and clearcoat works like a dream, if fact it's been far less trouble than my H&S Evolution!  It could be your seals are lose, dry or now need replacing is paint getting up the needle past the colour cup towards the trigger?

 

The brush has a dual air option on or controllable mine came with interchangeable air valve has yours, you should have also got a silver bullet?      

Edited by Kev The Modeller
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I also have a Sparmax 4 along with a Sparmax Arism Mini compressor, and have experienced the same problems as the OP. I use it as dual action and have a silver bullet fitted.

I have found that i needed to thin AK/Mig paints to get a better flow but am still struggling with Tamiya which leave a rough dusty finish, which i think is the paint drying on its way to the model. I thin with UMP thinner but have some x20-a on the way.

Funny thing is that UMP primer flows fine and apart from a bit of dry tip i get no probs.

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With Tamiya paints I would recommend using Mr Self levelling thinners, you will not look back, amazing stuff and better than X20, personally I wouldn’t use water as a thinning agent. Formulated thinners also break the surface tension of the paint allowing better spraying and a better finish.

 

The dusty finish might be that you are spraying to far away from the model or not thinning the paint enough, so have a look at the way you mix and spray the paints with thinners, most problems are down to that

 

Do not use X20A or Mr self levelling thinners on any other paint than Tamiya, MRP or Mr Colour. If you are using Mig, AK, Vallejo paints then I would suggest using their own thinner, these paints are latex based and react badly to X20A, Mr Self Levelling thinners as the alcohol content in the thinners will gel up the paint. 

 

So on that note if you are changing paint brands, Tamiya - Vallejo e.g. often whilst spraying then any contamination is going to cause you problems so a good clean is probably recommended before changing brands. I personally find that Tamiya paints are in the top 3 of paints for airbrushing, i’ve never had an issue getting these through an airbrush and getting a good finish.

 

Vallejo, AK are a bit more temperamental some times but I found that using the correct thinner and mixing correctly should solve any flow issues. Mig Ammo sprays beautifully from the bottle and I use no thinner on these paints, I use a Iwata TR1 airbrush with a .3 needle with no problems at all.

Vallejo Modelair paints do need further thinning despite what they say on the bottle and I do use the Vallejo Flow inhancer to reduce the paint drying on the tip.

 

With the prices of kits going up and up making the hobby more expensive than ever I really would invest in getting the correct thinners for your paint, after all it’s the finish that people take note of so why skimp on something that’s only a few quid ? 

 

I’m also not a big fan of the Sparmax Airbrushes, quality can be sometimes hit and miss from these brushes, I spent hours with Longshanks trying to get his Sparmax airbrush to work consistently, in the end we gave up and I think the brush is now in the bin.

 

I hope this helps 

 

Dan 

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I have Premier SP35 which is I understand is basically the ancestor of the Sparmax. It works well for me most of  the time, but is very fussy about paint thickness and intolerant of any paint buildup. Dad's 203 is right about the thinners, just because a paint is  water based does not mean it can be thinned with water alone. I tend to use own brand thinners with paints with the exception of Xtracyrlix where I found the thinner did not seem to stop paint drying in the brush and so no use a mix of flow improver and deionised water, which works well for me. Keeping an airbrush spotless is must I think. 

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I use Tamiya paints almost exclusively, and thin with X20A. I use a couple of different Iwatas and have had some trouble with clogging. The problem seemed to be that the paint was drying as it was leaving the nozzle thereby clogging it. I got over this by spraying at a lower pressure, 15psi. I also thin my paints 50/50. And if you are using water for thinning, don't use tap water because it has too many impurities in it. Only use distilled water.

 

John.

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Sorry for the late reply. 

 

Ive not started my spray up since posting this topic. Too busying loosing photoetch in the carpet! Lol 

 

there was an excellent article in one of the magazines recently regarding thinners, paints and cleaning agents. 

They did a cleaning test to work out what cleaners dissolve what paints etc. I'll post the article if I can find it :-) 

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  • 2 months later...

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