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Iwata BCS problerms with getting it to spray


Alan R

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Hi All,

I have an Iwata Eclipse BCS syphon feed airbrush and have been encountering problems recently.

It has worked flawlessly for two years since I bought it, but now it seems unable to pull the paint from the bottle!

Some history.

The problem started to manifest itself about six months ago in that the spray would progressively get less and less over a session.

This in itself was not a problem, a quick clean and normal service would resume.

However, over the last three weeks the flow would only be partially restored even after a thorough clean. Eventually it stopped working completely.

 

I used a more aggressive solvent to clean it and, after some mucking about it started working, albeit in a spluttery, intermittent fashion.

Some research on the web suggested that the nozzle was damaged and thus causing the problem.

I bought a new nozzle (The right size for the needle I am using (0.5mm).

However, whereas before I could at least get a sputtery spray with the old nozzle, I get NO flow of paint with the new one.

Replacing the new nozzle with the old one resulted in the paint flowing, albeit sputtery as before.

I cleaned the new nozzle in case that there was some debris in the nozzle, but when I tried it again, no paint flow.

 

So, to get to the point,. my question is: Why is this happening?

 

I suspect, but cannot be sure that now the problem is the needle itself. It may have got damaged itself. I cannot see any damage, but I have no magnifying glass to see it in detail.

 

Any help would be welcome.

 

Thanks for reading this far.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

 

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Hi Alan

 

I've just spent several hours today struggling with a similar problem with this very same brush.   I've had mine for over 20 years and had no problems until fairly recently.   Today I could only get intermittent spray but mostly just air.    I stripped it and gave it the most thorough cleaning ever and did get some debris out.   I had recently bought a cleaning kit that came with 5 long thin brushes of different diameters that let me get to places I never had before.   Just minutes ago I reassembled it and hooked it up with a jar of solvent but still no luck.  In fact, there is a steady stream of bubbles emanating from the pickup tube in the jar!!    I'm at my wits end and hoping someone can help.   

 

Hope I haven't hijacked your thread but I think we're dealing with the same problem.   Can you tell me if you see bubbles in the jar?

 

Frank

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On 8/1/2020 at 7:23 AM, Alan R said:

Hi All,

I have an Iwata Eclipse BCS syphon feed airbrush and have been encountering problems recently.

It has worked flawlessly for two years since I bought it, but now it seems unable to pull the paint from the bottle!

Some history.

The problem started to manifest itself about six months ago in that the spray would progressively get less and less over a session.

This in itself was not a problem, a quick clean and normal service would resume.

However, over the last three weeks the flow would only be partially restored even after a thorough clean. Eventually it stopped working completely.

 

I used a more aggressive solvent to clean it and, after some mucking about it started working, albeit in a spluttery, intermittent fashion.

Some research on the web suggested that the nozzle was damaged and thus causing the problem.

I bought a new nozzle (The right size for the needle I am using (0.5mm).

However, whereas before I could at least get a sputtery spray with the old nozzle, I get NO flow of paint with the new one.

Replacing the new nozzle with the old one resulted in the paint flowing, albeit sputtery as before.

I cleaned the new nozzle in case that there was some debris in the nozzle, but when I tried it again, no paint flow.

 

So, to get to the point,. my question is: Why is this happening?

 

I suspect, but cannot be sure that now the problem is the needle itself. It may have got damaged itself. I cannot see any damage, but I have no magnifying glass to see it in detail.

 

Any help would be welcome.

 

Thanks for reading this far.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

 

Alan

 

I've finally fixed mine after tearing it right down.   The main problem, and I think this is yours, was that there was an air leak between the nozzle (4) and the body (6).    This came about because my head cap (3) was not tight enough due to something in the threads.   I always have just tightened it to finger tightness but after using a small wrench and applying some extra pressure it gradually stopped "pulsing" and the bubbles disappeared.   I think too my O-ring maybe need replacing.

 

http://50217001252_ffb8a98309_o.jpg

 

I hope this solves your issues.   I sure learned a lot about how these things work today so it wasn't a waste of time.

 

Frank

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You’ve probably checked this, but just in case... Is the teeny tiny hole in the lid of the siphon paint jar clear? I had a similar problem when the one in mine had filled with cured clear coat. It’s also close enough to the jar seal that in time that can squish and block it... Just run a small drill bit through it...

best,

M.

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9 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

You’ve probably checked this, but just in case... Is the teeny tiny hole in the lid of the siphon paint jar clear? I had a similar problem when the one in mine had filled with cured clear coat. It’s also close enough to the jar seal that in time that can squish and block it... Just run a small drill bit through it...

best,

M.

Yes Matthew, I checked that.    In fact I knew it was open when the clear fluid in the jar shot out of it and went a foot high!!

 

I also cleared the 3 tiny holes in the head cap (3 in the diagram above).   I'd never noticed they were there before and 2 were plugged.

 

Thanks for the suggestion though.   

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Hi All,

Thanks for your comments and hints.

I finally got the brush to spray but in a sputtery sort of way.

The nozzle tip was quite badly damaged, caused by clumsy handling on my part.

I have bought a new nozzle and needle, but haven't had the time (or inclination, 33C temperatures and working from home) to check it out.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

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An update.

I replaced the nozzle and needle but to no great effect.

Finally, I replaced the bottle wit h anew one I recently bought. That cured the problem.

I have no idea why a bottle could be causing the problem, but anyway, it now works...

 

Cheers,

Alan.

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