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I have been using a Paasche Talon with the medium size needle and head to base coat my figures. I have been having an issue with the tip clogging up after about 5 min of use. I am using Vallejo Game Color paint thinned with Windex. I am also using a tankless compressor. Could the clogging problem be caused by the hot air from the compressor?

Also, has anyone out there used compressed nitrogen as a propellant?

Sounds like you need to give your nozzle a good cleaning.

air from a compressor shouldn't be hot if anything the denser air particles should be cooler especialy as they expand through the gun.... ever notice how cold a spray can gets as you let the presure out?

I love science...



Ghidorah

Amen for science! Btw, nice sig.

Windex is your problem. Try using a 50/50 mix of water to rubbing alcohol (I've even bought 50% isopropyl - pre mixed). That should solve your issue.

I've been having the same exact problem too lately, think it might be the windex as well. How do you clean the nozzle tip or end up unclogging yours?

@ sickening: The nozzle is cleaned every time it get clogged. I completely tear the brush apart to clean it.

@ mullet_steve: I am using a rotary vaccum pump that I converted converted to a compressor and there is heat that is caused by the compression because the volume is decreased and the pressure is increased which causes the temperature to increase. The sudden volume expansion could cause some of the alcohol to flash boil off decreasing the amount of pigment that can be carried by solution. However, I doubt that is the case because there we are only talking about a 20psi pressure drop.

@ J'satai Khan: I tried using pure alcohol and I got the same results. I will give the water/alcohol a try this evening and see how it works.

@ Skelly: I pull the thing apart and use an old toothbrush with alcohol and water to clean it all out. It looks like new when it is done.

Has anyone used compressed air or compressed nitrogen? Or is everyone using compressors?

rcguy111 wrote:@ sickening: The nozzle is cleaned every time it get clogged. I completely tear the brush apart to clean it.

@ mullet_steve: I am using a rotary vaccum pump that I converted converted to a compressor and there is heat that is caused by the compression because the volume is decreased and the pressure is increased which causes the temperature to increase. The sudden volume expansion could cause some of the alcohol to flash boil off decreasing the amount of pigment that can be carried by solution. However, I doubt that is the case because there we are only talking about a 20psi pressure drop.

@ J'satai Khan: I tried using pure alcohol and I got the same results. I will give the water/alcohol a try this evening and see how it works.

@ Skelly: I pull the thing apart and use an old toothbrush with alcohol and water to clean it all out. It looks like new when it is done.

Has anyone used compressed air or compressed nitrogen? Or is everyone using compressors?

Using a da3000r paasche compressor with a tank on it... not sure what the problem is.

Maybe it's just the airbrush itself since we both have the same problem.

i've read some people who airbrush pretty much are checking their nozzle every stroke. may not be done so much on a mini as you're generally just coating the model rather than doing anything detailed but if you get splatter on an artistic project (such as a bike tank, or canvas) you can screw up a gakload of work pretty easily.

my suggetsion would be to check/clean the tip pretty regualarly, in your case you say it last 5 mins, i'd be checking it after a few mins. you shouldnt have to break the gun down either to do so

The paint could be too thick, thin to the consistency of milk. (To test, take toothpick, dip in the paint, touch the drop of paint on toothpick to side of paint cup. If the paint instantly runs down the side, its good)

Or.. you could be running the compressor at too high a pressure. What are you running it at?

If you're using alcohol as a solvent, it dries considerably faster than water, and could be drying as its exiting the brush. I prefer to use water... but I make sure to use stuff from the brita pitcher in the fridge.

A method for cleaning the tip while still brushing, is to use a q-tip soaked in alcohol, push it over the exposed bit of the needle (gently, and straight on), and twist it. I do this quite regularly while working.

If you are cleaning the tip frequently, have you damaged the needle/nozzle?

Hi,

This isn't caused by heating- your compressor gets hot because it's compressing air, but it then returns to atmospheric pressure in the airbrush, so then a pressure drop and cooling...

Usually this is because your paint is too thick for either the pressure you're using, the brush your using or the nozzle. What happens is the paint dries on the needle and brush aperture before getting out of the brush. There are various solutions, usually involving thinning your paint as mentioned, or using a higher pressure to spray - I imagine if you're using a tankless compressor you don't have this option, so thin the paint or use a larger nozzle. As you're painting mins, I doubt you want to do the latter, so again, you're back to paint consistency.

This can also sometimes happen when using old paints which aren't properly solubilised, and tiny particles act as flocculation centres that others can build up on and block your nozzle. Some thinners (especially methanol based) can actually cause semi-precipitation as well, which has the same or worse effect. As has already been mentioned, use an isopropyl alcohol (propanol or propan-2-ol) based mixture with water and you should be ok

If you use pure windex or pure alcohol to thin paints this will happen...one thing that is a quick fix is get some q-tips and keep a small container of your thinner of choice around. every few minutes, dip the q-tip in the thinner and gently swab the tip, that will keep things moist and keep clogs from developing in the tip of the nozzle. This is a particularly good technique to use when spraying at very low psi and thinned paint....

Alternatively, what I did to correct this problem was change up the thinner. I still use windex but now I use a 50/50 mix of Future Floor Polish and water mixed with the windex. It is about 1 part windex to 2 parts future/water. I find this mixture works very well, and also serves to make the paint a little more durable. Future is basically a acrylic medium and protects the paint better during the painting/handling process.

Ashton

I just suggest dropping the Windex and the rubbing alcohol, and using an Airbrush paint retarder. All it does is prevent the paint from drying so quickly. Each company that provides airbrush paint usually also makes extenders and retarders.

But take caution: it's potent stuff. Read the directions carefully before just dumping some into your paint (NEVER DRY!)

That's my advice. Windex and rubbing alcohol actually break down the paint, and that's why it gets thinner. If you thin too much with those 2 options, the paint loses integrity. Use an actual paint thinner, because the base of the thinner is the same as the paint itself (it's actually a really thin paint with no color).

I'm no pro, so the decision is yours to make.