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I am new to the hobby and am so happy with my painting and modeling progress but one major pain I am having is with my airbrush. I just cannot keep it from clogging.

I have tried everything I can think of. I only use specialist airbrush paint. I religiously strip and clean, I run cleaner through it regularly, I even got an ultra sonic cleaner but no luck. My airbrush keeps clogging.

I thought that maybe my early days may have done permanent damage so I bought a new brush with an even larger nozzle but after the first few uses, it started breaking down as well.

Is there some basic trick I am missing? For the record I am using tamiya brushes with a tamiya tankless compressor. Thanks

How long does it take before your airbrush clogs?

If you thin your paints even more, does it help? Even airbrush-ready paints can require some thinning.
What pressure are you using?
And when you spray, you start sending some air, then pull the trigger back to release some paint. But once you want to stop the spraying, do you stop the air right away, or do you first release the trigger, then stop the air? In the first case, it leaves some paint at the tip, which increases dry tips. It shouldn't be enough to cause repetitive clogging (except on very long sessions), but it's still something to look for.

How long until it clogs... a few minutes, I guess. Not long enough to do a rhino layer...

I thing the psi is .18 fixed. I start with air first and then put in paint but I stop both immediately, thinking about it...

poachninja wrote:
I start with air first and then put in paint but I stop both immediately, thinking about it...

That's tough one to avoid. I get that issue all the time which is why I often have habit of doing quick brush off the model just in case there's paint from incorrect stopping which otherwise might fly into the model causing ugly dots.

Other than that can't think up much except too thick paint. Thinning these seems to be tough one.

Hi,

I had similar problems, and I'd guess it comes down to the paints and thinning medium.

Used mainly Vallejo Model Colors through airbrush with my FoW USA army, and usually after about ten minutes the paint turned into a sticky goo that clogged my airbrush nozzle - resulting ultrasonic cleaning after every paint session. Even my Badger Patriot 105 with .5 nozzle struggled with them, and Renegade with .21 nozzle was a disaster.

Vallejo acrylic resin in Model Color/Game Color is more elastic and rubbery-like than other manufacturers, or their own Model Air/Game Air ranges. Most likely the acrylic resin started to half-dry inside the airbrush and caused problems. My thinning medium at the time (distilled water/flow-aid mix) didn't have enough retarding properties. Never had similar issues with Vallejo Air ranges.

Find the right thinner for the paint brand you're using and invest in good retarder medium. I've used Vallejo new formula airbrush thinner (71.161) and AK interactive retarder.

Lesson learned, and haven't had any problems since with Vallejo Air, Lifecolor, AK interactive, Ammo of Mig, Tamiya, GW etc.

use some flow improver - and use air brush paints specifically. i have never had that problem. but you might need to disassemble your airbrush and clean the needle off. after you use your air brush, spray some water through it until its blowing out clean.

Spray water through it - get used to the flow and working the needle.

If it won't spray water consistently, then clearly that is an issue.

Check your paint - make sure there are not excessive particles in it - if the paint is old (or of lower quality, or a bad batch) it can have small chunks in it - that will clog up a brush fast.

18 psi is low unless you are using very high quality paint that is very thin.

See if you can increase your psi.

Finally, see if there is anyone in your area with a bit of airbrush experience, and meet up with them for some help (or maybe at your local hobby shop?). Airbrushes can be very temperamental.

Clean your nossle out really good. That is where your clog is occurring 95% of the time. If your nossle is clear when you start painting and you clog in a few minutes - your paint is too thick. If you think the paint looks too wattery when you paint with it lower the pressure a little bit - adjust how far away you are holding the brush.

For GW paints I go for a straight 50/50 water to paint ratio some need more. GW airbrush paints usually require about 90/10 ratio.