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I've been using my airbrush for quite a while now without much of a hold up, however recently I've been experiencing bubbles in my pot and the only thing that solves it is pulling the needle and putting it back in again. Any suggestions?

I'm pretty new to airbrushing but sounds like the tip is clogged up with a bit of paint causing some air to go back up the paint cup. Probably wipe off the tip and clean the needle should solve the problem

Its ususally a sign that there is a blockage.

it might be time to do a quick tear down and clean

or flush it with some iso

usually my lazy go to.

Well I regularly clean the nozle and break it down (as far as taking off the cup, taking apart the tip, and taking the needle out) after every color change and clean it, should I be breaking it down even further? is there anything else that could be the problem?

Woof i never go that far. generally all i do is flush the color with water (a lot of it) untill the color is gone, then introduce new paint. i only ever do a full tear down if its been a while.

hang on is it a siphon airbrush or gravity fed?

it's gravity fed.

Well ether then its ether your paint is drying inside the mix chamber, or your paints might be a little chunkey (i hear some model makers will use a stocking to filter paint)
or you are not cleaning it enough.

I use minitaire pre-thinned airbrush paint and also put a bit of water in it so it's unlikely that it's drying inside, and you know I clean way more than I probably should due to my earlier post lol.

what exactly is the "mix chamber."

 supreme overlord wrote:
I use minitaire pre-thinned airbrush paint and also put a bit of water in it so it's unlikely that it's drying inside, and you know I clean way more than I probably should due to my earlier post lol.

what exactly is the "mix chamber."

its where the needle the air and the paint mix before exiting the nozzle.

maybe its just drying on the tip then and reseating the needle is dislodging it. maybe some flowaid could help.

the mix chamber sounds like it could be it, the only question is: how do I clean it?

I'll pick up some flowaid this weekend.

What airbrush is it?

This is the airbrush I use, and I love it.

Ooo its pretty. looking at random iwata breakdown pictures it doesnt seem to have the same break down as a badger krome.

just tear it down to the best of your ability, inspect all the parts and make sure there is no paint on anything. otherwise i think paint is just drying on the tip when you put down the brush for a bit.

In general, if this happens on either of my iwatas I take off the nozzle cap and jam one of these in the nozzle cap, twist a few times, and put it back on.



For what its worth, it sounds like you are doing an insane amount of cleaning in between each color. You can 'cleanse' your airbrushes palette pretty quickly with water
and airbrush cleaner (And a large qtip if youre making a drastic change). Your workflow shouldnt be that obstructed by going from one color to the other.

well either way you guys will be saving me time now on breaking down my airbrush every time lol so thanks for that!

How are you actually cleaning the nozzle? Just because you clean it all the time doesn't necessarily mean you're getting all the paint out. When I started out I'd clean my brush heaps but wasn't actually getting all the paint out so it still slowly built up. You need to get a pipe cleaner down the passage between the cup and the nozzle and something to properly clean out the nozzle (for my larger nozzles I scrape them out, for the smaller ones I can't get a scraper in there so I use 1 or 2 bristles off a toothbrush and floss them out).

Other than that, yeah, it could be overly thick paint, paint drying in the nozzle as you are painting, or it could also be a bad seal between the nozzle and the airbrush body allowing air in the side of the nozzle (either the seal itself is bad or maybe there's some paint/scratches stopping it from sealing).

Today I had to do a complete teardown of my nozzle (first time). A small amount of residual paint had built up in the inner collar, and when I took the needle out to wipe it, it collapsed into the nozzle and blocked it. This was the first blockage I've had in 2 years. I flush it thoroughly between colors and wipe/lube the needle at the end of each session, but I guess it's still possible to get buildup in there!

I would worry about using a pipe cleaner or anything hard enough to scratch the metal inside, though. The idea of using a toothbrush bristle is probably a very good one.

 John Prins wrote:
I would worry about using a pipe cleaner or anything hard enough to scratch the metal inside, though. The idea of using a toothbrush bristle is probably a very good one.

I was more talking about the pipe cleaner for the passage that connects the paint cup to the nozzle, though I do also use it to clean out the base of the nozzle itself prior to scraping the paint out of the tip of the nozzle on my larger nozzle but not on the smaller nozzle because it won't fit (some nozzles flare out quite large, others are short stubby little things).

There's a product I sometimes use called premi air liquid reamer, it has seriously bad fumes but is a godsend for flushing through your brush to break down stubborn blockages. Don't know if it's available stateside but might be worth having a look.

Comes with a thin tube to direct the spray, remove needle, spray it, let it sit for a while then flush through with your usual cleaner. You'd be surprised at what comes out of a previously cleaned airbrush.

nedsta wrote:
There's a product I sometimes use called premi air liquid reamer, it has seriously bad fumes but is a godsend for flushing through your brush to break down stubborn blockages. Don't know if it's available stateside but might be worth having a look.

Comes with a thin tube to direct the spray, remove needle, spray it, let it sit for a while then flush through with your usual cleaner. You'd be surprised at what comes out of a previously cleaned airbrush.

Just googled it, that cleaner uses Xylene, so make sure you avoid inhaling too much and use in a well ventilated area.

I usually just use my typical cleaning agent (Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner for acrylics, Enamel thinner for enamels, Gunze thinner for lacquers) but also use pipe cleaners/brushes to shift it off the surfaces and can't say I've ever had a problem getting my airbrushes clean.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
How are you actually cleaning the nozzle? Just because you clean it all the time doesn't necessarily mean you're getting all the paint out. When I started out I'd clean my brush heaps but wasn't actually getting all the paint out so it still slowly built up. You need to get a pipe cleaner down the passage between the cup and the nozzle and something to properly clean out the nozzle (for my larger nozzles I scrape them out, for the smaller ones I can't get a scraper in there so I use 1 or 2 bristles off a toothbrush and floss them out).

Other than that, yeah, it could be overly thick paint, paint drying in the nozzle as you are painting, or it could also be a bad seal between the nozzle and the airbrush body allowing air in the side of the nozzle (either the seal itself is bad or maybe there's some paint/scratches stopping it from sealing).

you my friend may be a genius, I could be the seal, I notice it bubbling out of the piece between the nozzle and the brush every once in a while when I run water through it. I'll check out later tonight, Great suggestion tho, Exalted.

Were you able to fix this? ...I have the same AB and had a similar issue at one point. The usual suspects of course, as others have said, clogged nozzle or dirty tip.

One odd thing for me was this piece (labeled here as part # 2), which is just the cap that sits over the nozzle. With just the tiniest bit of buildup, I couldn't even see, stopped the airflow.


I used the MACK cleaning kit 'studded steel rods' kit, not sure of the exact name to almost "file" the little hole and it worked immediately after, this kit:

Oh man i haven't used one of those tools since my welding days cleaning out torch tips

I often use an old needle of the same size as the nozzle to push any excess dried up paint out of the nozzle, it works really well just be very careful you dont stab yourself or slip and tear your nozzle.

Here is the best trouble shooting guide you can find on the internet. He breaks it down barney style for you.

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/troubleshooting