Need help with airbrush problems.

[Fish_N_Fool]

I am somewhat new to airbrushing and at first I didn't have a lot of problems. however here lately I have had nothing but problems. I'm using Createx paints I got off Ebay along with a airbrush kit I got off ebay. 

This is the airbrush i have and I don't even know who makes it.

It said it is a,  Dual Action Trigger Airbrush Spray Gun 0.2/0.3 /0.5mm compressor Kit Art Paint

I got it last year and used it to paint up a few baits i took pike fishing and put it away in my bait shop  till about 3 months ago. The first thing I noticed is a lot of my paints are lumpy. Even the ones that have never been opened were lumpy. Some are not but I can't seam to get any of them to spray through the airbrush unless I thin it out till it is like water and even then it doesn't spray well.  If I do get any paint on the lure is is so thin it hardly changes the color of the bait. I'm not sure if it is my paint or the gun or both. I try hard to keep the gun very clean after each color change but never having air brushed before last year I may be do something wrong. Where should I start. Is this a crap gun? Should I keep the gun and try new paint?

 I did manage to get a few nice looking paint jobs before I had all the problems.

Edited November 8, 2017 by Fish_N_Fool

[BobP]

The first thing I’d check is to make sure you are using the correct tip with the correct needle. They’re easy to mix up.  If you stored the paint in an unheated garage over the winter and it froze, you may need new paint.  It should never be lumpy and you should be able to shoot even the thickest Createx through a .05 mm tipped brush, unthinned. Even though you cleaned the brush religiously, it needs to be soaked in a dedicated airbrush cleaning solution occasionally to remove paint deposits.  If  these 3 possible problems are eliminated and the brush still malfunctions, then it’s a problem with the airbrush itself.  Since you don’t know the manufacturer, you’ll be stuck at that point unless you have contact info for parts/service in the box.

[Fish_N_Fool]

Just now, BobP said:

The first thing I’d check is to make sure you are using the correct tip with the correct needle. They’re easy to mix up.

I have never changed the needle or the tip, it has the same one in it that it came with. Should I try a larger needle and tip?

Edited November 8, 2017 by Fish_N_Fool

[Fish_N_Fool]

Just now, BobP said:

 

 

Just now, BobP said:

 If you stored the paint in an unheated garage over the winter and it froze, you may need new paint.

 It doesn't say anything about having to be stored in a warm place and yes it was in my unheated shop all winter.

Edited November 8, 2017 by Fish_N_Fool

[BobP]

A .02 mm tip is pretty small and usually has to be used with thinned paint.  .03 mm is average size and that’s what I use 95% of the time.  .05 mm is large and useful for shooting heavy pigmented color base coats and flake paints.  As far as storage goes, you say your paint is “lumpy”.  Freezing water based paint causes it to separate.  If you can’t agitate and stir it back to smooth consistency, it’s toast and will always clog your airbrush.  How well cleaning works depends on what you used and how you did it.  Nonetheless, you need to soak it in airbrush cleaning solution occasionally to soften and flush out paint deposits that normal cleaning methods do not get.

[Anglinarcher]

On 11/7/2017 at 11:05 PM, Fish_N_Fool said:

 

 It doesn't say anything about having to be stored in a warm place and yes it was in my unheated shop all winter.

Paint is toast, toss it and get new.  Createx and almost all other water based paints cannot be kept in freezing conditions.  I have encountered only one paint that is water based and freeze stable, and I don't remember what it was (expensive).

I guess they just assume we know that, but it would help a lot of new people if they did a better job of saying it on the bottle instead of just on their web site.

[Hughesy]

I agree with Bob and Anglinarcher. The paint is shot. You need new paint and a soak job is a must. Install the .03 needle and tip. .02 is to small and is mostly used for thinned lacquer and inks.