TeamBacklash Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Good afternoon everyone, I am fairly new to airbrushing and have a couple of questions. First, I have a GalaxyAirbrush SC3000 and a Paasche Talon airbrush, I use Createx paints, and also have a plenty big air-compressor. I'm having the very common problem of sputtering. I thin my paints with ammonia free windex and the tip in my air-brushes is 0.3mm and I spray at 35-40 psi. When I spray an alcohol/water mixture it sprays very fine, as soon as I try to shoot paint, it starts to spray, then stops and as soon as I pull the trigger more, it then comes blowing out. I can't get any sort of a consistant spray, especially at low volumes. It's really driving my crazy as I'm spending more time stripping baits down and starting from scratch. I've searched the site for remedies to this very annoying issue, and think I've covered all possibilities. I bought a cleaning kit from Paasche, completely disassembled the airbrush, soaked all the parts over night, scrubbed the airbrush thoroughly, and I'm still having problems. The very first time I used my SC3000, it sprayed like a dream, very consistant, fine, and with precision, and I cleaned it, and ever since it gives me problems. And the Paasche Talon has given me some issues from the get-go, which leads me to believe it's my paint consistancy. Am I not thinning it enough? I read the post mentioning the paint should be the consistancy of milk, and I thought I was doing that, but I might not be getting it quite thin enough. Any help is MUCH appreciated. Best Regards, Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KandyBass Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Sounds like your paint is still too thick. Keep thinning little by little until you find that perfect blend. You will eventually notice it seems like every can of paint is slightly different than the next. Keep practicing and you will get it. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Anthony - I go along with 'Kandy Bass', sounds like your paint is too thick, so maybe thin it right back and start from there, thickening it until it does not spray. Is the paint fresh, the smallest lump in the paint will also block them. I know this is a stupid question, but is the needle chuck tight?? Also get a magnifying glass and have a good look at the tip (with needle removed) and the cap, after your first use, paint may have dried in the tip and once dried in there is hard to remove, even with a cleaning kit- Try using denatured alcohol to soak and clean it, as this stuff strips w/b acrylics really well. Fill the paint bowl with denatured alcohol, loosen the needle chuck and with your fingers gently spin the needle in the tip, this should disolve any dry paint, which you will see coming through and onto the needle. Be carefull doing any of this, as the needle is the most delicate part of the brush and they are easily bent. Good luck with it and let us know your solution as it may help someone else down the track. pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamBacklash Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Awesome, thank you "Kandy Bass' and Pete. I'll try thinning my paint some more and also double check the nozzle for even the slightest speck of paint. As far as the freshness of the paint, I believe it's fairly fresh, I bought it at Hobby Lobby less than 5 days ago. I'll definately post the solution once I figure it out.. Thanks again, Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) It isn't logical to me that a .3mm tip airbrush spraying at 35 lb psi with Createx paint would sputter. I often spray unthinned Createx with smaller tips than that, with no problem. Have you tried it without thinning? Have you tried thinning it with plain water (as recommended by Createx)? Maybe the particular Windex you're using isn't compatible with Createx. I assume you're using a moisture trap and an oil trap if your compressor is oil lubricated, and that your system isn't blowing water or oil into the brush. Edited May 7, 2009 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamBacklash Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 That's exactly what I thought. Seems like 90% of the information I found regarding Createx paints is that it's ready to paint. I have found that the opaques do sme be a little thicker straight out of the bottle. Yes, when I first started out I was thinning with water, until I started getting inconsistent, so my first assumption was that I should tru s different thinning agent, so I switched to "glass Cleaner", it's a generic glass cleaner as I could't fins Windex w/ot ammonia. One thing that concerned me was that the "Glass Cleaner" is that it has a "Jet Dry" ingredient in it, ad I worry that that's what is causing me the head-aches. I ran to another store this eveing and found some of the original stuff... I think the other was not hiig I have a oil-free compressor and a water trap at the end of my main hose. I think I can rule the hardware out of it as I just bought a brand new Paasche Talon and it's performing exactly like every other brush I have. I now have a few things to try and will post the results of my testing... Thanks again everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 After reading this time and time again one thing rings a bell. That is I think that pete hit the problem on the head. The needle cap might have an air leak. This part must be sealed in order for the siphon action to work. If not once there is a heavy material that produce resistance the air passes through the cap instead of the fluid ,no matter how thick or thin. Try to take the air cap of and tighten the needle cap as much as you can . Most brushes come with a wrench for this part hopefully you still have it. Probably safer to remove the needle to prevent damage. Not that I have ever damaged a needle like that before. Most gravity feed guns don't have these kind of problems but they can just not as likely. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Yes I will go along with Bob and Frank, sounds like you might have a crap windex mix (try water), and I have had the cap problem (gasket), make sure all three, nozzle, cap and needle cap are TIGHT, otherwise air will take the path of least resistance - If the windex does not fix it, try a small amount of detergent in water, open the trigger and run some drops of this over the caps and nozzle, if there is a leak you will see bubbles, heaps of them.pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
