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2024/05/22 04:30:16
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
I've been using some of Citadel's metallic Air paints through the airbrush recently, but I'm having trouble with clogging and patchy spraying. The airbrush itself is a piece of crap, but it reliably clogs after a few seconds of Citadel air paints through it. Doesn't matter what brand or type of thinner or flow improver I use, I either have to thin it down to the point that it's water or it just clogs the brush. The brush clogs on other paints (mostly some other Citadel ones, though I've found Tamiya thinner mitigates this somewhat), but I've only been able to get the Citadel Air paints to work the very first time I tried them, and replicating the thinner and ratios used doesn't work anymore. Has anyone else had this issue or any tips on how to solve it?
I'm doing a commission for a friend who asked for this specific paint, so no, I can't switch to another brand. The paints I've tried are Grey Knights Steel Air and Valdor Gold Air. My first mistake is probably trying to use Citadel through the airbrush, but I've gotten other GW non-airbrush metallic paints to work with it. I will try thinning the standard Base paint and use that instead of the Air, maybe that will work better.
2024/05/23 00:03:40
Subject: Re:Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
Interesting. I never ran into that specific issue that you are having, but let me offer some thoughts.
"The airbrush itself is a piece of crap"
What about the compressor? Is there a way to increase the psi?
If you have exhausted all thinner options, try a mixture thinner of: 1 part water - 1 part windex (or other window cleaner) - 1 part paint.
And see if that will aid your woes.
If nothing helps, and you are not in a position to replace the airbrush tool, and have to use that paint, then I am afraid you might be forced to apply many watery layers to build up the color. In that situation, I would use (other) silver type of paint that does not clog the airbrush as quickly to laydown the "body" basecoat, and then to make your friend happy, do couples of dustings of that exact silver that he wants over the (other) silver. Hope his makes sense.
Good luck, and let us know if you found a good solution for this problem.
2024/05/23 11:07:00
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
Curious, what is your airbrush needle diameter? Anything too small and Citadels are going to be a pain... The small diameter needles are meant to be used with inks, not acrylic paint
Also, be sure to vigorously shake your paints before pouring them into the cup!
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2024/05/23 11:12:23
2024/05/24 01:32:18
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
My first question relates to the information that the brush sprayed the Citadel metal(s) the first time but not since. Are other paints now clogging too? If so, that sounds like the nozzle is blocked and hasn't been cleared properly.
I agree that you probably shouldn't be using a smaller needle size for this paint. Although if your brush is a cheapo, the needle probably has a decent diameter.
Specs:
PSI is 25-30, I can vary it. I usually spray at the higher end of that to mitigate intermittent stoppages (see below). Needle is 0.3 mm.
I shake before pouring always.
I think the airbrush itself needs a deeper clean. I'm having some trouble with other paints that worked before, and it tends to pause and sputter a lot when I'm spraying, even if it's just distilled water or cleaner. Normally, I clean by running some Tamiya thinner through the brush, then scrubbing with a paper towel and cotton swab. I vigorously clean the cup and nozzle area every time I spray, but I think there may be clogging inside of the small tube where the needle goes. I can still spray, but it's temperamental and intermittent.
I'll disassemble and deep clean the airbrush, then try again. Anyone have good tips for cleaning the inner tube?
Automatically Appended Next Post: After every session, I dump out excess paint and wipe the cup with a paper towel. I run some distilled water and Tamiya thinner through the brush to loosen up any gunk, then remove the needle. I wipe the needle down (it's usually clean by this point), then use a cotton swab to clean out the bottom of the cup. As needed, I dip a swab in Tamiya cleaner and wipe down the nozzle.
I'm not sure if I'm cleaning enough with this, but I'll try soaking it in cleaner or IPA and taking a small needle to plunge the inner tube. I'm not sure what else could be causing the clogging. The one dumb thing I did with the brush was put a little dish soap into it a while back, but I have cleaned it many times since then. Unless there's still a tiny bit of residue in the tube, I'm not sure what the problem is. I am confident that there is some obstruction after using it some more, though.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2024/05/26 07:19:35
2024/05/26 07:54:16
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
Thanks for clarifying.
When you said you cleaned it, I assumed that you took apart the whole airbrush and cleaned every piece with a brush and a toothpick.
That would be step #1
Cleaning tips are to take apart every piece and use a wooden toothpick.
Btw, IPA mixed with acrylic clog up guarantee. Whaterbased paint from Reaper and airbrush paint I got, curdls in IPA like milk in vodka. IPA is good to get paint loose but it doesn't break it down like acetone does.
Manually clean all pieces that you can unscrew and I think you should be good.
Hope this helps.
2024/05/26 15:05:26
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
Check for buildup of paint in the inside of the nozzle. Try to convince your friend on the merits of Vallejo Metal Colour, it's so much better than GW...
2024/05/27 00:37:22
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
Crispy78 wrote: Check for buildup of paint in the inside of the nozzle. Try to convince your friend on the merits of Vallejo Metal Colour, it's so much better than GW...
For sure. Exhaust Manifold is excellent, so much better than Iron Warriors.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Thank you for all your help so far.
I used a pipe cleaner dipped in Tamiya cleaner to clean the inner tube. There was gunk, but I got it out, and a white pipe cleaner went in and out with no staining. I also used a cotton swab dipped in cleaner on both sides of the nozzle cap and in the cup (again). The entire airbrush is sparkling clean...
but it still doesn't work. When I press down to release only air, the air comes out sputtering. If there is water or paint in the cup, just pressing down on the air causes it to bubble violently. Pulling back to release paint does nothing at all. Throughout all of this, the air still comes out the nozzle, but only air.
I don't know if I am still doing something wrong with cleaning it, but it should be working. It was doing this intermittent sputtering/bubbling thing at the end of my last session, but it eventually started working again. I'm not sure what the problem is; regardless, I dropped the nozzle when I was taking a final look at it and I'm not sure where it is in my carpet. I'm not sure if I can salvage this at this point.
If any of you have thoughts on what to do next, please let me know. Otherwise, I might try another cheapo airbrush, or maybe invest in a decent brush and compressor. I told my friend that the commission will have to pause or I will have to use a regular brush, so no worries there. I'd like to continue airbrushing - does anyone know of cheap(er) starting airbrushes that aren't no-name hunks of junk?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2024/05/27 00:45:23
2024/05/29 21:04:35
Subject: Citadel Air Paints through Airbrush - Clogging and Thinning Trouble
Sometimes you get what you pay for, and I think that mostly describes airbrushes. I have a Badger Patriot 105 that is still going strong after 12 years. I think you could find one for less than $100. Which would eventually put you well ahead of cycling through crappy brushes every X months.
Honestly, at $37 for brush and compressor I'm impressed that it worked at all.
Crispy78 wrote: Check for buildup of paint in the inside of the nozzle. Try to convince your friend on the merits of Vallejo Metal Colour, it's so much better than GW...
For sure. Exhaust Manifold is excellent, so much better than Iron Warriors.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Thank you for all your help so far.
I used a pipe cleaner dipped in Tamiya cleaner to clean the inner tube. There was gunk, but I got it out, and a white pipe cleaner went in and out with no staining. I also used a cotton swab dipped in cleaner on both sides of the nozzle cap and in the cup (again). The entire airbrush is sparkling clean...
but it still doesn't work. When I press down to release only air, the air comes out sputtering. If there is water or paint in the cup, just pressing down on the air causes it to bubble violently. Pulling back to release paint does nothing at all. Throughout all of this, the air still comes out the nozzle, but only air.
I don't know if I am still doing something wrong with cleaning it, but it should be working. It was doing this intermittent sputtering/bubbling thing at the end of my last session, but it eventually started working again. I'm not sure what the problem is; regardless, I dropped the nozzle when I was taking a final look at it and I'm not sure where it is in my carpet. I'm not sure if I can salvage this at this point.
If any of you have thoughts on what to do next, please let me know. Otherwise, I might try another cheapo airbrush, or maybe invest in a decent brush and compressor. I told my friend that the commission will have to pause or I will have to use a regular brush, so no worries there. I'd like to continue airbrushing - does anyone know of cheap(er) starting airbrushes that aren't no-name hunks of junk?
You can check out my Airbrush woes here
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/803945.page For me the air bubbles were caused by a tiiiiiiny air leak from 2 separate issues:
1 - First in the tiny crack in the nozzle tip due to overtightening that I did during cleaning, and had to order a nozzle replacement tips.
2 - Secondly in the tiny air leak between the parts, o rings where fine, but for some reason did not seal, I fixed it by wrapping plumbing tape on the threads to seal the pieces.
Hope this helps
Also, this is the best and detailed troubleshoot that helped me, especially tip #5.
