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Hi all, just looking for some help with my airbrush. When I use it it almost immediately clogs up in the nozzle. I know to keep the tip clean and I clean it off as soon as it clogs up but that doesn't last longer than a couple seconds. I've also tried thinning the paint more and it just kinda pooled on the model.
So the only other things I can think that might be the problem is the air pressure or my needle is bent but I have no idea if either of those two things could be causing my problems. Any and all help with fixing this and keeping it from happening in the future would be greatly appreciated.

What paints are you using? In my experience using Citadel paints (not the Air variants) have caused more rapid clogging in my airbrush. I mostly use Vallejos Air and Game Air ranges for spraying now, and I don't have much issues.

Also, what are you thinning with? If you're thinning with water, I would recommend using a proper airbrush thinner. Again, Vallejo makes great stuff here.

Finally, if you are using proper paints and thinners, but you're still having issues, could you share your setup? Which brush and compressor are you using, and how bad is the bent needle?

You could also use drying retarder for your paints as well, but you need to be careful when spraying so you don't spray too much, and you need to allow the layers to dry (which will take longer obviously) before painting new ones.

Are you sure you've cleaned out the nozzle and paint passage properly? If the inside of the nozzle and/or passage between the paint cup and the nozzle is caked in paint, you might get some paint flow initially but it'll clog very quickly.

You need a pipe cleaner type thing to clean out the paint passage (or buy an airbrush cleaning kit) and how to clean the nozzle depends on what sort of nozzle it is.

Other than that, what paint are you using and what thinner? Some combinations will clog faster than others.

Pressure should be adjusted according to the viscosity, if you thin more, you should drop the pressure to avoid pooling, thin less and you should up the pressure a bit but too much and you'll get a grainy finish as the paint will dry in the air instead of on the model. I usually set my pressure first (high for priming/base coating, low for fine detail work), then adjust my viscosity to the right ball park, then tweak the pressure to fine tune it.

 alleus wrote:
What paints are you using? In my experience using Citadel paints (not the Air variants) have caused more rapid clogging in my airbrush. I mostly use Vallejos Air and Game Air ranges for spraying now, and I don't have much issues.

Also, what are you thinning with? If you're thinning with water, I would recommend using a proper airbrush thinner. Again, Vallejo makes great stuff here.

Finally, if you are using proper paints and thinners, but you're still having issues, could you share your setup? Which brush and compressor are you using, and how bad is the bent needle?



You could also use drying retarder for your paints as well, but you need to be careful when spraying so you don't spray too much, and you need to allow the layers to dry (which will take longer obviously) before painting new ones.

Thanks I appreciate the advice. I'm using a Badger 105 with a compressor from harbor freight. For the paint I'm using the non airbrush citadel paint and have been thinning with water and some flow aid. I'll try using a proper thinner and some drying retardent and see if that works. As for the needle I'll put a picture up this weekend and if you could tell me if I should replace the needle your help would be much appreciated

Ahhh...

That is a decent airbrush and an adequate compressor (my back up compressor is the HF).

The problem is the paint.

Just adding water does not actually thin paint - it dilutes it in a suspension - there are literally hundreds of posts on thinning paints for airbrush use, so I won't go into the chemistry of it - but the best use for an airbursh is airbrush paint (the pigments are ground finer, etc.).

I you need to thin non-airbrush paint, it has to be clean, and without flakes (even small flakes or clumps can cause problems). The best thinners are aribrush medium - its basically airbrush paint without the pigments.

If you are looking for good airbrush paint - there are dozens of posts on that as well, but my favorites are;
* Vallejo model air
* Vallejo game air
* Minitaire
* Golden brand artists airbrush paints (amazing quality).

See if you can find someone in your area with some airbrush experience and some paints to try out - airbrushes are amazing and a lot of fun, but have a steep learning curve with all of the variables in using them.

Also the tip of the needle really only looks bent at the very top.
As an addendum basically what happens is I'll stop getting a good spray and there will be a bunch of paint on the tip of the needle and nozzle so I'll pull back on the trigger to retract the needle and a bunch of paint kinda ends up on the needle.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

davethepak wrote:
Ahhh...

That is a decent airbrush and an adequate compressor (my back up compressor is the HF).

The problem is the paint.

Just adding water does not actually thin paint - it dilutes it in a suspension - there are literally hundreds of posts on thinning paints for airbrush use, so I won't go into the chemistry of it - but the best use for an airbursh is airbrush paint (the pigments are ground finer, etc.).

I you need to thin non-airbrush paint, it has to be clean, and without flakes (even small flakes or clumps can cause problems). The best thinners are aribrush medium - its basically airbrush paint without the pigments.

If you are looking for good airbrush paint - there are dozens of posts on that as well, but my favorites are;
* Vallejo model air
* Vallejo game air
* Minitaire
* Golden brand artists airbrush paints (amazing quality).

See if you can find someone in your area with some airbrush experience and some paints to try out - airbrushes are amazing and a lot of fun, but have a steep learning curve with all of the variables in using them.

I appreciate the help. I'll try some airbrush medium because I have a bunch of regular paint and I really don't want to go out and replace it all cuz it's damn expensive.

This stuff....

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-0003535-4-Airbrush-Medium-oz/dp/B005REJMBM/ref=sr_1_4?

I used to use a variety of other things (alcohol, windex, hobby co thinner, tamaya thinner, vallejo thinner, etc.) but this stuff is amazing.

Worth every single penny.

I love Vallejos airbrush thinner. They also make great paints, the Air and Game Air ranges are both superb.

Hope you sort it out with some proper paints! Citadel works fine for brushwork, but for airbrush you really want the stuff that's made for it, or atleast thin it with the good stuff.

I appreciate all the help hopefully I'll be up and running again soon!

Hi all, it's been awhile I know but I just wanted to thank everybody for their help and wanted to let everyone know that my airbrush is up and running smoothly again.