Since there isn’t really a specific airbrush community, i’ll try dumping my issue here ok? I’m following the Q/A structure of the airbrush subreddit for completeness sake :)
Alright, so I just got my first airbrush for my birthday - for mini painting - and I’m getting very unreliable / unpredictable paint flow after an initial clog and cleaning.
Airbrush make and model
Timbertech ABPST05
Compressor make and model
Same name, came with the set. Running just over 20 PSI during open airflow.
Paint or other medium you are using
First some Vallejo Black Primer with Vallejo AB Thinner, then some Scale75 White which clogged.
Now I’m struggling with Citadel Shyish Purple contrast paint with thinner despite its already very liquid nature.
Have you done anything different lately?
After thoroughly cleaning (stripping the whole thing, running Timbertech AB Cleaner through the pot -> nozzle etc) I slowly started noticing unreliable spray pattern:
I open airflow, then pull back ever so slightly -> a thin stream comes out for maybe a second -> stops. I pull back a little more -> a slightly bigger stream, then stops.
Once I hit a “wall” on the trigger, it starts working a little bit better but still not entirely reliable.
No bubbles appear in the tank during this.
Have you tried using just water, tear-down and cleaning…
Just water feels like it’s working fine, just thinner also seems fine.
I did a full tear down after it first clogged because that’s how a YT video told me is the right way to clean an AB after every use T_T
I’m pretty confident that I put it all back together right.
I switched out needle, nozzle and cap. I let some cleaner flow through the pot, out the front without a nozzle on to check the channel isn’t blocked.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Sounds like it’s still clogged. When you spray with just water, is it coming out in a nice uniform spray for as long as you have the trigger pulled back? Do you have little pipe cleaner files? A lot of airbrush kits come with a little cleaning tool that is a a thin wire you can push into the opening.
I would get one of those if you don’t have one. Take the whole thing apart, let it soak in a bath of airbrush cleaner overnight. Make sure you’re fully taking apart all of the little pieces of the nozzle on the front. This should unscrew into several small pieces. Then push the cleaning wire through each hole of the airbrush and really scrub the insides with it.
When you’re cleaning it after use, spray half a bucket of cleaner through it, working the trigger back and forth as you spray. Then hold a piece of paper towel over the tip where the paint comes out and spray more. You should be preventing anything coming out the front as you pull the trigger, which should cause the air to bubble up through the cup instead of coming out the front. This is a good way to get cleaner into all the parts.
I have this cleaning set. The holder is nice because it can hold the gun for you while you’re filling it, etc. and it comes with a variety of cleaning things.
Thank you very much for the detailed answer!
I got some of those wires and a poker exactly like that, so I’ll do the big soak and clean you suggested.
Also yea, ive absolutely been missing a holder, good call :)
Here’s a question rereading your post - are you using airbrush primer, or just plain brush on primer? Primer tends to be very thick. Even primer formulated for airbrush I thin a little more. Primer clogs my gun faster than anything else I use. Alternate spraying some cleaner through the gun after each round of primer if you’re doing big batches.
Vallejo Black Airbrush Primer. I thinned it by eye 2:1 primer to thinner.
I had no idea about this issue with primers though, so thanks!
The main clogging issue was scale 75 white which seems to have gotten a bit grainy.
I was also told about dry tip which might be it. I’ll know more later when it’s had some time in the soak
It’s hard to judge any airbrush by white. The pigment used tends to be larger than say a red, so it clogs more frequently.
If you have some primed models, after you’ve cleaned your brush use the paints you have rather than a primer. As someone else said, there’s an additive in the paint to make it a ‘primer’ and that has a tendency to stick tight to the insides of my brush.
Yeah i only used the primer for priming :)
Didn’t know that about white either though thank you
Yeah, especially with white it can get caked around the needle. I use that wire brush tool to scritch the hell out of the tip area periodically, especially with white paint. You can see it getting all caked up around the needle.
Yeah i used a bristle brush earlier, sitting in cleaner. Some sporadic brushing and blasting paint through helped so much, it was night and day
Noice noice noice noice noice