Air brush problem

Feb 19, 2004 9 Replies

Hey folks,



I bought an el cheapo Testors double action air brush about two years ago. I used it once or twice with limited success, then shoved it into a foot locker and it's sat there since.



Recently, I took it out to start practicing before I used it to paint the hull of the 1/96 Endeavour (J class America's cup yacht) I'm building.



For some reason, despite everything working correctly as far as I can tell, it won't draw paint from the jar. When I tip the whole thing to the side to get a little paint into the feeder, it works great until that runs out.



Any ideas as to what could be the problem?


-- Alan mundy


It sounds stupid, I know, but have you got a bit of tube inside the jar, connected to the airbrush body? If yes, check it and make sure it's tightly in place and not cracked or split.

RobG

Alan Mundy wrote in news:Xns9493E2B62C0EEidontwan2knowspamsuc@65.32.1.8:

I had the same problem with my A470 and I solved the problem by thinning the paint more. Just to make sure your brush is working properly try using plain water in it. If it sprays no problem then too thick paint is probably the problem.

"Rob Grinberg" wrote in news:4034beae snipped-for-privacy@news.chariot.net.au:

There's no tube...to the best of my recollection there never was. Should there be?

-- Alan Mundy

"D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F." wrote in news:Xns9494B96F49656newsdilligafspam@207.35.177.135:

I've actually tried this and I get the same results. It will spray if I tilt it over and force some water into the tube/body, but as soon as that runs out, it stops working.

I've actually come up with a kludge for the problem by plugging the hole in the lid and turning the jar upside down so it operates like a gravity feed. This is fine for practice, but I'd like to have the situation resolved (or a new brush) when it comes time to paint the model I've spent a good 4-5 months on so far.

-- Alan Mundy

Alan Mundy wrote in news:Xns9494C399C957Eidontwan2knowspamsuc@65.32.1.6:

Yes there should be a tube. If there is no tube then the paint can't travel up into the top then into the airbrush. The only way it would work is what your doing now, turning it upside down using gravity to feed the brush.

Here is a picture (the biggest I could find) showing the tube running from the top down.

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"D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F." wrote in news:Xns9494CEC1F14C2newsdilligafspam@206.172.150.13:

Thanks for the help...I'll root around and see if I have that somewhere. The memory must be going.

-- Alan Mundy

There ya go !!!! We have an asnwer !

The paint is definately not thin enough. Thin it to at least the consistancy of skim milk, and you should be just fine.

And for clogs, this airbrush is no worse or better than others. The tips come apart very easilly, and cleaning them is no problem.

Again, thin the paint more, and DONT put the unused paint back into the original jar !! (causes the remaining paint to break down faster)

"Only a Gentleman can insult me, and a true Gentleman never will..."

There ya go !!!! We have an asnwer !

The paint is definately not thin enough. Thin it to at least the consistancy of skim milk, and you should be just fine.

And for clogs, this airbrush is no worse or better than others. The tips come apart very easilly, and cleaning them is no problem.

Again, thin the paint more, and DONT put the unused paint back into the original jar !! (causes the remaining paint to break down faster)

"Only a Gentleman can insult me, and a true Gentleman never will..."

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