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I've been at it for three hours and am ready to break the damn thing with my bare hands. I've run it through my ultra sonic cleaner a dozen times, ran pipe cleaner through the barrel, used acetone to clear out the inside of the nozzle, NOTHING has worked. I'm getting air but no paint out of the air brush. I put in a new needle and still get nothing coming out. ANY suggestions would be fantastic. I use a Badger Renegade Krome with an Aspire TC-908 compressor, at 10 PSI.

Try thinner paint (actually, I'd just use water for testing) and higher pressure. If the paint starts flowing, then you can start reducing pressure incrementally until you get the spray pattern and distance you want.

I've actually been using water this whole time while trying to trouble shoot. I'm not getting anything out.

Did you make sure you are using the right collet and needle size?

I don't know how to check that. I've only used parts and needles the air brush came with, and I've been using it for about a year now.

First question, does the needle move back with the trigger? ~ if not check the needle chuck at the rear,

If it does, check the nozzle o-ring, if thats in good condition, (normally if a seal is gone at the front end then when you press for air the paint cup bubbles up)

Consider removing the needle seal (this need a specialised tool ~ a screw driver with a prong in the middle to align it properly again)
this is accessed from the back with the screwdriver(ish) tool. you could get it out with a regular driver but not back in properly.

If thats in good nick too, then something had to have been not tight enough? or im at a loss
(assuming your idea of clean is clean clean ofcourse)

Also gravity or siphon brush ~ they have different general issues

Its a renegade so its gravity.

Id tear down and check the nozzle area.

Its possible the inside of the tip is cloged some where

Also you can check if its blocked by running the brush with water and using a Q tip or something to block the front and see the blow back. you should see air coming out the cup (with water)

Also just noticed

you are not running acetone inside the brush right?

You may kill some o rings that way.

Finally try running 90+ % iso through the brush. that usually breaks it up for me.

Needle moves back with the trigger, yes. I definitely don't have a special screw driver, where can I get one? I also don't know what the nozzle o ring is, could you explain? Thank you for the help.

Some diagnostic questions to triage the issue.

1. Was it previously working? Did it just stop working during use? Or did it stop working after cleaning and reassembly?

2. Does it fail to work at higher PSI like 25, with just water?

3. Try re tightening the inner nozzle (the one the needle threads through) then the same for the outer cap - sometimes it's a seal issue. But don't shear the threads

Edit - a lot of airbrush issues are actually #3 above. That the nozzle or cap isn't tight enough to create a vacuum or that, for those with o-rings between the nozzle and / or cap, the rings are worn.

I've run acetone inside the brush before, particularly early on when I didn't really know what I was doing. Haven't done it in a good long while until today. Could I have made it worse by doing it?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yeah it was working before, I was using it this morning to air brush Vallejo primer onto some minis. The primer usually gums it up pretty good so I throw it into the ultrasonic cleaner after priming. It usually works fine after that, but not today

The setup of seals largely depends on your particular airbrush ~ ive been using only Harder & Steenbeck pieces for 2 years now so it has been quite a while since I had one of those teeny weeny nozzle threads to worry about. Every brush has its own setup of seals and threads to have correctly set up. (H&S are tool-less except the needle seal)

H&S sell a tool for their's it may (or may not) fit other brands ~ I dont expect its too much different at that end.

More often than not its jus that something wasnt seated quite right, if your certain everything threaded right and is adequately tight, then Im guessing an o-ring seal is gone somewhere. acetone does eat those.

http://youtu.be/IDRBBvkjn-s
This video seems reasonable at showing how to generally take one apart entirely and put it back together.

If it was working before;

Only stopped working after intense cleaning;

Now doesn't even spray water.

I'm 90% sure it's a seal issue.

Have you got a roll of teflon tape? You could reseal the nozzle as per that video? worth a shot.

Alright I just tried tightening everything as much as possible without feeling like I'm going to break it, so... doesn't seem like a seal issue. Any other ideas?

Will water come out without installing the needle at all and pointed downwards?

It drips out, yeah. Only if I take off everything though, like nozzle and all.

When you pull the trigger beck, does air come out? It should.

When you disassemble the front, and put water into the gravity cup, does the water flow freely? It should gush.

When tour take off the crown, do you see the point of the needle, and when you pull it back, do you see the needle retract? it should cleanly retract.

If all of these are yes, the problem is in the tip/nozzle, probably residue gummed up near/around the opening. Your needle basically pokes a hole through gunk, just large enough for the needle to fit, but with no extra space for paint to flow around it. If you look into the tip (from the back) with a flashlight and magnifying glass, you will probably see the obstruction.

Ultrasonic cleaner will do nothing. You need to use a tip cleaning kit; there are also solvents like Mr. Tool Cleaner (from Mr. Hobby) that will melt through paint, but you will still need something to scrape the residue out. Take care not to dunk O-Rings into any solvent.

 creeping-deth87 wrote:
It drips out, yeah. Only if I take off everything though, like nozzle and all.

But with the nozzle and cap on, and air running, but without the needle installed - will it spray?

I'm starting to think the same as Talys. Maybe a clogged nozzle.

Holding the nozzle up to the light, can you see the light through the pinprick hole?

I didn't know tip cleaners were a thing. There was one occasion I remember a few months ago where I could actually look into the back of the tip and see all the crusted paint. I remember scraping it out with my hobby knife, very gently. I don't see anything like that now, maybe it's deeper inside where I can't actually see it? What tip cleaners do you guys use?

An airbrush needle works great, but will probably ruin the needle for painting use. And you'll be amazed at how much paint you can't see gets clogged up in there.

 DarkLink wrote:
An airbrush needle works great, but will probably ruin the needle for painting use. And you'll be amazed at how much paint you can't see gets clogged up in there.

Yeah, I use a .25 Paasche needle that I don't use at all (for painting).

*sigh* wow, I now have another totally unrelated problem. My TC 908 compressor is now shutting off after only a second or 2 of being on. I hear a distinct 'click' sound and then it goes off. I thought it was overheating but I left it alone for a couple hours and just plugged it back in, same thing is happening. I am totally losing my mind.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Okay, after fiddling with the pressure adjuster on the air compressor I suddenly heard a rising pitch of rushing air followed by silence. It then started working normally. Does anyone know what I accidentally did to solve the problem? In case it happens in the future?

Also I scraped the inside of my tip with the air brush needle and then put the whole thing back together again, it now sprays perfectly well so I guess that was it all along. Still going to buy myself tip cleaner.

Thank you everyone for all your responses, this was really helpful.

I find an old toothbrush works well as a nozzle cleaner for those tiny little nozzles. Soak the tip for a while (or if it's still in the airbrush, just blow some cleaning agent through it for a while) to soften the paint and then remove it and depending on the nozzle size I can usually fit between 1 and 3 bristles through it (pushing them through from the larger opening, don't try and fit them down the skinny side) and just rotate the nozzle around on the bristles to get the stuff off the walls. You can start by using a bunch of bristles and work your way down to a couple of bristles just to clear the tiny little hole itself.

That's for those tiny little nozzles, some airbrushes use much larger nozzle fittings, for those ones I use an old paint brush soaked in cleaner.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
I find an old toothbrush works well as a nozzle cleaner for those tiny little nozzles. Soak the tip for a while (or if it's still in the airbrush, just blow some cleaning agent through it for a while) to soften the paint and then remove it and depending on the nozzle size I can usually fit between 1 and 3 bristles through it (pushing them through from the larger opening, don't try and fit them down the skinny side) and just rotate the nozzle around on the bristles to get the stuff off the walls. You can start by using a bunch of bristles and work your way down to a couple of bristles just to clear the tiny little hole itself.

That's for those tiny little nozzles, some airbrushes use much larger nozzle fittings, for those ones I use an old paint brush soaked in cleaner.

Good tip! Just remember the Renegade Krome has a nozzle that is smaller than a grain of rice.

 creeping-deth87 wrote:


Also I scraped the inside of my tip with the air brush needle and then put the whole thing back together again, it now sprays perfectly well.

LOL! Omg... thank you. Thank you for that.