Noobie Airbrush Question....

[cannon_fodder]

I've recently received a Badger 200 series airbrush (used) and tried it out for the first time. I couldn't get any paint to flow from the jar. I was using a P3 black watered down to 1 part paint 3 parts water. The propellant was making it's way through the airbrush, no apparent clogs, but no paint was coming. I checked the manual and I was not doing the 1/4 turn after inserting the stem into the main body, so that might help, but I wanted to ask whether or not the jar is supposed to be a sealed unit (not including the stem) or if it has an airhole to let the jar 'breathe.'

Basically, when I attached the jar to the main body of the airbrush and tipped it slightly, paint came out of the lid. I can't tell if it came from the little hole in the top, or from under the stem assembly where it meets the lid. Before I begin looking for a replacement, I wanted to make sure I wasn't making some type of stupid mistake.

Help would be appreciated. Much Thanks in advance

 

[finn17]

Experiment with water first...

 

[Einion]

Yep, playing around with just water is definitely a good idea - if even that won't spray you've taken the paint out of the equation and you know it's something to do with the AB itself.

If you do find it's the Badger, then I suppose the obvious thing to do is carefully disassemble it, check for clogs, dried paint etc., clean anything that needs it, put it back together and try again.

Einion

 

[QuietiManes]

The jar should be open (as in, not sealed, not airtight), needs to be able to suck air in to replace the paint being pulled out, into the airbrush. Make sure there's enough paint in the jar to cover the opening in the tube (at the bottom of the jar). Also, that the opening of the tube is IN the paint...I don't mean to sound condescending but sometimes it's an issue when there's very little paint in the jar.

 

[RuneBrush]

The genuine badger pot that will have come with that airbrush will have had a small (1mm) hole in the plastic top to allow air to take the place of the paint that is being sprayed (otherwise it'll try and create a vacuum and fail because the pressure isn't enough).

The P3 I've sprayed has been relatively thick and I'm not sure if 3 parts water would be enough to prevent it clogging. You need the paint to be roughly the consistency of semi-skimmed milk.

Is the airbrush the single action (press the trigger and that's it) or dual action (trigger pulls back to control the amount of paint coming out)? I believe the Badger 200 comes in both varieties (I have the single action at home).

 

[FigureSculptor]

I started with a dual action brush, then later added a single-action and had exactly this same problem. Took me a long time to realize it was pilot error - the screw valve that controls the amount of paint flow was closed tightly. There's nothing really obvious about the valve - it looks just like other components that come apart for cleaning.

Not saying that's your problem, just sharing one possibility. Took me the longest darn time to figure out that one, and then felt really stupid

 

[airhead]

View attachment 9002
Notice the tube inside the jar that picks up media from the bottom.

Notice the adjustment on the back of the handle. This pulls the needle back and allows more paint to flow.

Air pressure should be around 10-20 psi for starters, hard to tell with a can.
Cans for air suck. They run out quick and are expensive.

Other options include taking the front end apart (needle, cone, tip) and making sure all are clean. Dried paint will stop the gun from working.

 

[cannon_fodder]

Yeah, Airhead nailed it. . .I found a new way to spell stupid it's, "me not noticing that the little adjustment on back not being able to turn means no paint can escape the nozzle because it's closed..."