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I've been practicing with my badger krome for awhile now and while I do quite like the airbrush I'm finding when I take it apart theres paint/primer further down the needle than I think there should be.

I watched a guide that said to pull your needle out the front if the gun allows it, instead of out the back for cleaning as that prevents you from dragging buildup on the needle further back into the gun. I've been doing this now and thats when I noticed it has some buildup on the needle further back than the cup. Looking down into the cup as I pull the needle out, its maybe an inch or so further back along the needle. Is this normal? By dragging it out the back to clean it when I first got it, did I manage to cause a buildup of gunk back there thats now coming out as i pull it forward? Or did I manage to already do harm to the gun? =[

If its NOT normal what kind of symptoms/issues might this cause? Also any solutions would be great!

No harm done. It's pretty normal. All it'll really do is cause the trigger to be sticky. Get a set of these and you'll be able to clean it right out

http://www.amazon.com/Precision-Airbrushes-Airbrush-Exclusively-TCP/dp/B001N3IX3Y/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1380815948&sr=8-8&keywords=airbrush+cleaner

Airbrushes are pretty hard to damage in any significant way (except for the needle of course).

Some airbrushers (head of Badger springs to mind) suggest otherwise - while the nylon bristles are pretty innocuous, the cut ends of the twisted wire shaft can scratch things up during use, corrupting seals and/or inviting corrosion. Personally, I doubt it's all that bad, but there's the warning, for what it's worth.

As for the needle gunk, it's not uncommon, from what I gather. In my own limited experience, I pretty much always get a small ring of dried paint on the needle, well away from the point. For me, it's an issue compounded by brush design - the needle packing/seal/whatever is recessed from the bottom of the color cup, which makes it quite difficult to flush everything out of there. Over time, paint builds up against the seal, forming the ring. I'm not too worried about it gumming up the trigger assembly, as the paint there is generally already dry by the time I remove the needle (surprising, as I clean immediately after use - first with wiping, then thorough flushing, and finally needle removal for a wipedown with solvent).

Just how bad is the paint deposit? I can't imagine there's much there, as it wouldn't pull through the seal if there was and a seal loose enough to allow it would let paint flood back under normal use. I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about, but I'm far from an expert.

I currently use a krome, after heavy use or when I spot some stubborn paint I just soak it in a decent airbrush cleaner for a while. Tends to get rid of pretty much all the paint.

At the end of every painting session I completely take it apart and give it a good clean. Seems to do the trick.

I went to Harbor Freight and picked up a 30 dollar ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. When I've finished painting with my airbrush I create a solution of about 50/50 Windex to water (generally 40/60) dismantle the brush and put it in the cleaner and run it for 2 cycles, pull the pieces out, make sure the paint actually was removed, and then lay the pieces out to dry.

I do always give it a thorough cleaning after im finished using it. (and usually in between colors too just to be safe) I use windex first to just clear the gunk out and then a final run through with alcohol to get the last of it.
As long as a little paint on the needle back a little ways into the workings of the gun is ok...then i feel much better.
thanks for all the advice!