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Hey guys. Im having trouble with my airbrush compressor. It runs fine and shows getting 60psi but when I try to run paint through the airbrush it just doesnt want to spray. I tried some GW paint first and it didnt want to spray it so I cleaned it out and tried with just water and while it did spray it didnt do as it should have. Some how Im not getting enough pressure to spray my paints. It should spray the GW paint shouldnt it?

Games Workshop paint isn't Airbrush compatible if I recall correctly. I'd recommend trying some paint made for the Airbrush first.

krystalking wrote:
Games Workshop paint isn't Airbrush compatible if I recall correctly. I'd recommend trying some paint made for the Airbrush first.

You can thin GW paint to go through an airbrush. If it's barely spraying water there's something wrong.

I'm guessing there's more likely a problem with the brush rather than the compressor, a clog, paint somewhere it shouldn't be or a bad seal. 60psi is way more than you need for airbrushing, I doubt there's many people who spray over 30 and most people would be in the 10 to 20psi range. If you're really worried about the compressor you could just test it by taking the airbrush off, turning on the compressor and seeing if air comes out and if you place your hand over the outlet and pressure builds up, the compressor is probably fine.

Pull the airbrush down, clean everything, make sure the nozzle is clear and there's not paint caked up inside it, check all the passages aren't clogged with dried paint, put it back together and ensure everything fits together snugly (but don't over tighten, you don't have to crank it down, just make sure it's seating properly).

Someone with more experience will probably come along with better advice, but I'd just start by making sure it's well and truly clean.

Agreed, sounds like a blockage...

Air and paint run two different paths through the airbrush and mix at the tip of the nozzle. If you have air through when you push the trigger for air it's not the compressor or airpath. 60psi should be fine. However, if the paint is too thick it might not go through. water however should work at any pressure.

Two things to look out for.

1. If you fill the cup with water and press down for air (maby you need to pull back for paint aswell, don't remember), do you see any bubbles in the cup? If so the nozzle seal may be damaged or not tightened enough.

2. You may have paint buildup in the nozzle, its not so easy to clean out and hard to see. If there is buildup the paint forms around the needle so when the needle is pulled back there is still no channel for paint.

I found what was at least part of my problem. The nut holding the needle at the back of the airbrush wasnt tightened enough and the needle wouldnt spring back into place. Its spraying like a champ now. Plenty of pressure like it should have. I must have got a blockage when I tried using Citadel without thinning it enough. Any recommendations on how to thin my Citadel paint? What ratio?

Water is the easiest, although I prefer using a 50/50 mix of water and windex. The general standard is to thin it to the consistency of skim milk. There really is no set ratio, as paint thickness will vary even within a given paint range.

 honeybadger33 wrote:
I found what was at least part of my problem. The nut holding the needle at the back of the airbrush wasnt tightened enough and the needle wouldnt spring back into place. Its spraying like a champ now. Plenty of pressure like it should have. I must have got a blockage when I tried using Citadel without thinning it enough. Any recommendations on how to thin my Citadel paint? What ratio?

Good to hear you got it working again!

 honeybadger33 wrote:
I found what was at least part of my problem. The nut holding the needle at the back of the airbrush wasnt tightened enough and the needle wouldnt spring back into place. Its spraying like a champ now. Plenty of pressure like it should have. I must have got a blockage when I tried using Citadel without thinning it enough. Any recommendations on how to thin my Citadel paint? What ratio?

Thick pigment rich base paint could be thinned about 50/50.

Layer colors with less pigment only 30-25% water.

It's a starting point, you'll get a feeling for it quickly.

GW paint is really not good for airbrushing, the paints will clog your AB a lot. Go with Vallejo Air instead. Cheaper, pre-thinned, finer pigments so your airbrush won't clog too much.

Thinning paint is a trial and error thing. There is no perfect ratio. A ration might work for one color and not for another.

Yes you can thin with water but using only water can lead to other issues. Best bet is to use proper airbrush thinner. Vallejo makes some airbrush thinner which works great but can get expensive over time.

A more economic solution is to make your own thinner mix and transfer to a smaller dropper bottle and work with that. Personally this is the way I work. Since I started using my own thinning mix I swear alot less.

Two notes: If you thinning with water, use distilled water and if you use Windex (my teacher would strangle me if I did) use ammonia free if unless you feel like changing airbrush in the mid-term.

 Erik_Morkai wrote:
Thinning paint is a trial and error thing. There is no perfect ratio. A ration might work for one color and not for another.

Two notes: If you thinning with water, use distilled water and if you use Windex (my teacher would strangle me if I did) use ammonia free if unless you feel like changing airbrush in the mid-term.

Right on these points, for sure.

The best thinning medium I have found is Liquitex Airbrush Medium, It is purpose built for airbrushing and by an art company I have trusted for a long time. Highly recommend people use this over Windex, which with the ammonia content, will damage the airbrush finish, which can cause issues.