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Thank you very much Target I learned a lot reading that. Greatly appreciated.

Target wrote:
You can ruin them by pushing the needle/a cleaning implement in too far/hard and enlarging the opening, but that just means it'll spray paint/liquid even when you haven't pulled the needle back.

Actually if you enlarge the opening you can just push the needle slightly further and it'll seal.

The problem with flaring the nozzle is that it changes the airflow around the nozzle, air should shoot down the sides of the nozzle which create a little low pressure area in front of the nozzle, drawing the paint out in to the air stream and atomising it. If you flare the nozzle, you create a speed bump for the air flow which can effect paint atomisation. So if you have a flared nozzle you'll probably end up with a grainier or spottier finish and it'll be harder to do smooth blends.

If you push way too hard you can actually crack it which obviously is going to massively mess up the air and paint flow. You can also get dents or dings in the nozzle.

It depends on the airbrush, some nozzles are actually quite delicate because the brass in that area is very thin, others are tough because they might have intentionally made the brass a bit thicker or used a higher quality metal.

Here's an article on giving your airbrush a proper clean...

http://www.airbrushguru.com/deep-clean-gravity-feed-airbrush-with-screw-in-nozzle.html

This article shows a siphon feed brush being cleaned, it's much the same principle, but I link it because the previous article uses a small screw in nozzle like my 1st airbrush while this one uses a larger press fit nozzle which is more similar to my current airbrush.

http://www.iwata-medea.com/resources/how-to-articles/airbrush-maintenance/how-to-thoroughly-clean-an-eclipse-bcs/

I did not read through the entire thread closely but if your needle/nozzle size is small like .20mm, it may be the source of your trouble.

I have used both a .35 and .2 nozzle and the .2 was by far the hardest to maintain constant reliability.

It may be an added expense, but you may want to consider purchasing a large size of needle/nozzle if your airbrush is able to swap sizes.

I have also had great success cleaning my airbrush by using an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. They are about $40 or less and also works well to strip paint and of course clean your wife's jewelry. https://www.amazon.com/Generic-CD-2800-Ultrasonic-Jewelry-Eyeglass/dp/B001DKDAVW/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1479102401&sr=8-1&keywords=ultrasonic+cleaner

I have tried changing the tiny tip. You call that the nozzle correct? Well I am still having the same problem. Take the tiny tip out water comes out, put a new tip in with no needle in and still now water comes out.

I even got an air brush pipe cleaner and able to insert it, and got some junk out, but still not working. Sadly the brisltes didn't last long and need to get a new one now. I take it I used a brush that was a bit bigger than I should have used? Now I need to see how to use these air brush brushes properly.

I am dumb founded. I just want to make sure I don't do this to my new air brush where I paid a bit for this time and not buy a cheap one.

Davor wrote:
I even got an air brush pipe cleaner and able to insert it, and got some junk out, but still not working. Sadly the brisltes didn't last long and need to get a new one now. I take it I used a brush that was a bit bigger than I should have used? Now I need to see how to use these air brush brushes properly.

Got some gunk out of which part of the airbrush? If the paint is dried in you might have to soak it for a while before trying to get it out with a pipe cleaner or using something rigid (like a toothpick) to try and scrape out the gunk.

I use some airbrush pipe cleaners, they cost a few bucks for a set of 5 of varying sizes, they've lasted me for ages. You should run a pipe cleaner moistened with airbrush cleaner through the passage between the paint cup and nozzle after each use. If you haven't been doing that previously, you might have a really thick build up maybe 1-2mm thick that's stopping the paint getting through.

In case it's already been said, what you are experiencing is actually totally normal in an air brush.

No matter what you do, eventually some small pigments of paint are going to dry and eventually clog during operation, I have found the best way to take care of this is when it happens, simply pull back on the needle and let it flick forward, pull it all the way back once more and fire a quick burst with the needle all the way back, it will start to resume normal operation.