Delay of paint spray

Cld be as Squish mentioned above just crappy chunky paint, didnt read thru the whole but ya mention your using some cheap paint thread but try straining and then upping your pressure a touch..may just be spraying a bit low PSI for the paint your using..Anything a bit chunky really likes to be pumped out..PS Masters can be a bit of a pain and take some tuning to get right, polishing needles changing sprins etc can help cheaper guns..Could be worth nipping up your head assembly a bit to, often they can suck air in past damaged orings and the like, a little nip up may also help as it may ust be taking a few seconds to actually form the venturi..Good luck..I assume same thing is happening across all paint types you said you have?
 
Ok, got s chance to take some picts to help run through this stuff -

On both brushes, these will be things to check. On the one that paint will start flowing right away with trigger push - there is no alternative to the needle is not sealing within the nozzle (for one reason or another) I am going to assume there is some sort of debris inside the nozzle. I would fill the cup with either cleaner, or water, and start spraying. At the same time, loosen the needle chuck, and draw the needle back by pulling on the back end of it - maybe about 1/8th inch. Push it back in with a slight twisting motion. Repeat several times to see if you can stop the flow of spray when the needle is all the way in. If the spray stops, tighten the needle chuck, and you should be good to go. This will sometimes help to expel debris easier than just spraying...

On the other, there are several things to check. Sometimes air can leak from the head assembly where it mates to the body. If the leak is big enough, it will hinder performance. I check this by putting a drop or two of cleaner (or soapy water) at the seam where the two meet, and apply air by pushing down on the trigger. You will see bubbles like this pict -
View attachment 46777
If you have bubbles, either add teflon tape to the threads, or an old trick is to use bee's wax (chapstick will work also).

Next to check is the nozzle, as paint flow is generated by a vacuum caused by airflow over the very tip of the nozzle. You will want the tip of the nozzle to be at least flush with the air cap, or even better, protruding just past the face of the air cap.
View attachment 46778
If the nozzle is below the face of the air cap, it can allow air to enter the tip, causing back pressure. The option here to correct, is use the tip wrench to loosen the nozzle a little (this may then allow a vacuum leak at the base of the nozzle, which may be corrected with bee's wax or chapstick :)) You may also try replacing with another nozzle, as there is a fair bit of tolerance (or slop) in the brushes within this price range. This brings me to the next area to check - the base of the nozzle. If air is allowed to pass this critical area, you will have a problem :). It is possible the tiny o-ring is cut, or mangled, so I would be tempted to eliminate the possibility of leak here by using wax or chapstick on the nozzle threads (careful not to allow either to get into the nozzle, just on the threads)...
View attachment 46780

The other thing to look for will be the nozzle alignment with the air cap. The tip of the nozzle should ideally be centered in the opening of the air cap.
View attachment 46779
On several of the brushes I have of this type, I have been able to loosen the nozzle with the tip wrench, and then snug it back down while pushing in the direction I wanted it to go. Might take a few try's, but I have been able to get them at least much closer...

I hope this helps, and that you are able to identify the issue, and get yourself back into the game asap!


Ok, so I did what you mentioned above. Pain in the ass trying to clean cup that wont come off. There was still quite a bit of paint caked in some places. However, I had the same effect. I only used cleaner or water to check to see how it operated. The one that was getting the spray with air is the first one I tackled. Turns out that the O-ring on the nozzle was squished, even though I couldnt see it. I had to play around with the depth of the nozzle sticking out of the nozzle cap, but all in all....the spray came out fine, no pre-spray with air, but i had bubbles in cup:eek:. I searched around and got some chapstick and added to the threads like you said. I could still hear a faint air leak. I ended up tefloning all my air hose connections and no more bubbles and still no pre spray.:thumbsup:
However, with the other airbrush, I did all of the same things I did with the last one, thinking that I messed it up the same way. This one had a lot of bubbles after wards even with leaks sealed. I adjusted the nozzle length like before and bubbles stopped, BUT now its not spraying anything until the trigger is returning to forward position. I am going try and load some pics...... Sorry for the clarity, best I could get.
39270-4e53fdf8ba094e483d42edcc6349640b.jpg
Pressing for air, its fine
39271-bb3d53e590493c5929a3ef91107b9898.jpg
Trigger pulled half way....no spray at all
39272-af5ad288139473a6bc709c3afd6af25a.jpg
Trigger all the way back and nothing still.
39273-9b61a13dff001a8be0446c55ec4a8fad.jpg
You cant see it that well, but as I move trigger forward, I get spray coming out.
39275-b4215cb83a0304cfd5f92af677de7a97.jpg
Sprays some what like this.
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Plus I am getting liquid being pushed back into airbrush. If you cant see, there is water coming out the back. If this were paint, it would be all over the place. Any Ideas on this one, or should I be looking for a new airbrush?:confused:
 

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You either need to adjust or replace the needle packing. If there are no air leaks around the head, and you are getting bubbles, then your nozzle is likely not clean, even though you may have cleaned it, you would be surprised at the junk that can hide in that tiny space. Sometimes with the cheaper brushes by the time you have replaced a couple of parts, you might as well just replace the brush, do that a couple of times, and you could have bought a better brush. This is how buying cheap starts to become a false economy. It does get you started though, to see if you enjoy it. If one brush is working for now and you know you are hooked and will continue, it may be worth considering an upgrade for the other.
 
And look on the bright side, you're getting a crash course in airbrush maintenance and disassembly. My first brush was a cheapy, it taught me HEAPS and I still got hooked even with all the frustrations :)
 
what has already been said - if you have liquid in the body of the brush,the needle packing needs to be adjusted. Without a proper tool this can be difficult, especially in this build style of brush. The needle packing is located inside the airbrush, in front of the trigger, so everything needs to be taken apart. You will need a long, thin screw driver. The first few times I did this, I made myself a tool by grinding down the long arm of an allen key to the approximate shape of a screw driver - it gets inserted into the slotted packing screw (it is what the needle passes through inside the airbrush before making it to the color cup) and turn it clockwise a little. Try slipping the needle back in, and when you have it right, you will feel the needle enter the packing, and then a bit of resistance before the needle passes all the way through...
 
I spent a little over 2 hours last night cleaning and troubleshooting both brushes. The only thing I have for cleaning are the various gauge coiled wires on a key ring and a dental scraper.. Any suggestions on a cleaning tool small enough to fit inside the tiny nozzle that would clean better than a tiny wire? Would a pipe clean soaked in cleaner work?
 
I spent a little over 2 hours last night cleaning and troubleshooting both brushes. The only thing I have for cleaning are the various gauge coiled wires on a key ring and a dental scraper.. Any suggestions on a cleaning tool small enough to fit inside the tiny nozzle that would clean better than a tiny wire? Would a pipe clean soaked in cleaner work?

Createx makes what is called "Restorer", which you would soak the part in. The stuff works like a charm, but will destroy o-rings and soft plastics, so you have to make sure you are only doing the metal bits. There are several small reamers available, but I personally hate the idea of sticking a piece of anything inside that small nozzle, and then expecting it to work again... If I had to buy a reamer, I would just buy the nozzle instead, that way you know you are back to 100%.
 
Using anything metal inside the nozzle is risking scratching/damaging the inside of it, and rendering it useless. Some people use interdental brushes, or even whittle cocktail sticks, but soaking is your best bet.

If I'm being truthful I have used my needle to gently tease out any old paint, but there is a risk of damaging or flaring the nozzle. Once you have your reductions nailed, and your cleaning routine dialled in blockages are a rarity.
 
I whiddle down a toothpick and soak it in cleaner. Be careful not to break it off in the tip...
I also carefully use an old needle...carefully, the key word here
 
Long bristle Artists paint brush works a charm. Soak the nozzle in the restorer for a few hours then use the brush to clean the inside of the nozzle.
Throw the metal brushes into your tool box. Use artist paint brushes, interdental brushes an pipe cleaners(careful of the metal core)

Invest in the Createx retstorer, its reusable so it's economical. I decanted some into a small solvent proof , airtight plastic container as a soaking bath for parts
 
:)Just want to thank everyone on the forum. You all have been a big help. Saved me some money. I went through and cleaned everything again on my last brush. I almost wasnt able to get the packing nut out. MAN that thing was nasty. Clumps of dried paint as I unscrewed it. I made tiny adjustments to get a good seal on the needle, but still able to move easily. Everything back together, made minor adjustments to nozzle as it was not seating properly within nozzle cap opening. Tested spray with water. NO BUBBLES, NO FLUID IN SIDE BRUSH AND SPRAY WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT COMING OUT.
I may do the same with the other one just to make sure its just as clean.
You guys are Awesome. I now know a great deal about my brushed and more troubleshooting techniques.
Thanks again to all you.
 
It's best to avoid pulling your dirty needle back through the brush. If you don't want to remove the nozzle every-time you want to remove your needle, you can use small cleaning brushes to run through your packing nut occasionally, to clean it off without removing the part. Iwata has a specialty pipe-cleaner that would be ideal (don't use craft store ones they will leave "fibres" behind and thats a whole new issue) removing and adjusting the needle packing nut regularly can affect the seal you need on the needle to prevent paint paint leaking back into your trigger area.
 
So glad you're up and running again:thumbsup:

Most of us remember being where you are...

http://www.airbrushforum.org/threads/no-paint-or-water-flow.12004/

I was glad that everything worked out with test spray, however when i put in my paint just to practice my lines and loops, I started getting that delay of spray again. I reduced, over reduced, under reduced and also played with PSI up and down. I would get sputters and spray delay again, but it worked fine when i tested them. Since i wasnt having these issues before, I am thinking i have to replace pieces again or my paint just is excrement. IDK
 
I was glad that everything worked out with test spray, however when i put in my paint just to practice my lines and loops, I started getting that delay of spray again. I reduced, over reduced, under reduced and also played with PSI up and down. I would get sputters and spray delay again, but it worked fine when i tested them. Since i wasnt having these issues before, I am thinking i have to replace pieces again or my paint just is excrement. IDK

Buy a single bottle of some good, airbrush specific paint - it will go along way towards helping you get things figured out. If money is tight, I may have a spare bottle or two laying around:)
 
If your brush sprays water just fine (assuming the paint hasn't blocked it up again right away, or that as a cheaper brush using and taking it apart a few times hasn't affected parts and performance) and then wont spray paint, then the paint is an issue.

Def worth getting a bottle of branded paint just to try. As a cheap skate I did this by emailing a few places and asking for samples of paint I was interested in and got a 1oz bottle of E'tac, and a bottle of Wicked. (If you do that you may need to buy the appropriate reducer, Wicked for example doesn't work with water). Or as I just noticed, snap up Dave's generous offer :)
 
I do have some createx paint, but they are transparent. Would that make a difference?
 
I do have some createx paint, but they are transparent. Would that make a difference?

Which Createx paint? Most of them need some sort of reduction (hitting the reduction just right may be part of the problem you are having), and all but the Illustration and Bloodline colors are probably better off through a larger nozzle/needle set up. When reducing them, it is advisable to use the correct Createx reducer, as they do not play well with straight water... The goal here s to eliminate as many variables as possible ;) to arrive at a solution.
 
If you can get your brush spraying water well, and know its 100% clean etc, then try using the createx. If its the original Createx then the brand has moved on since then, newer paint lines are more refined now, and if its an old bottle that is open and has been sat around a long while, it might not be the best. As Dave said, you are eliminating variables, so a new bottle that you know is good would be better, and if you are going to buy new then createx illustration might be a good choice if working on paper and board will be your thing.

If you do decide to use the bottle you have, you will need the right reducer, and filtering it might help too, even if it is a new bottle.
 
The createx i have i got from Hobby Lobby. I have some florescent, some pearled, and the rest transparent and one bottle of wicked colors reducer by createx. The transparent suggests that I up the PSI 40-60 and use what ever an illustration reduction is. However I havent been using those paints yet.
 
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