Neo refused to spray.

[Tim Marlow]

Two comments Tim, if I may. I don't like the brushes that are sold for cleaning airbrushes as the twisted steel wire in the middle is likely to cause damage. I prefer to use interdental brushes, which are relatively soft and cheap as chips. Second, I've used a 0,2 nozzle for various acrylics and lacquers as well as Stynylrez. I have a 0,4 nozzle as well but don't find it any better for 1/72 aircraft.
Pete

Agree ref interdental brushes, but I only meant using the bottle brushes for the large main body pathways Pete, not the finer ones in the nozzle or air distributor parts..
As to nozzles, if the 0.4 is no better, that makes it no worse by definition. It is much less likely to block as well, so why use the finer one if you don’t have to? In my case it would be laziness, but as I only have a 0.35 in my Iwatta I don’t have to switch anything anyway.

[stillp]

why use the finer one if you don’t have to?

Well, why change if I don't have to? I'm used to the 0,2 mm now.
Pete

[Tim Marlow]

Fair enough mate. If it works for you why mess with it…..
Ive thought for ages that there are so many paint types, so many ways to thin it for airbrushing, and so many different brands of kit to use to apply it, all various combinations of which work for someone somewhere, that it’s really a pretty bulletproof process. Saying that, we don’t half make hard work of it at times :flushed:

[Mark1]

I second the the mr hobby tool cleaner,brilliant stuff.

[Guest]

I had to soak the this tip in acetone for an hour before this flake of Stynylrez floated out. I honestly thought I had it cleaned out…

[MEDIA=flickr]2ogmcCf[/MEDIA]

[BarryW]

I had to soak the this tip in acetone for an hour before this flake of Stynylrez floated out. I honestly thought I had it cleaned out…

[MEDIA=flickr]2ogmcCf[/MEDIA]

Yup, that makes sense. We often think our a/b is clean but……

Glad you found the real issue.

[JR]

Totally agree Pete. An airbrush is basically an air tube and a paint path. The air mixes with the air as a vortex as the air goes past the paint path, and the nozzle on the end controls flow of the subsequent mix. It’s a simple idea, but the finesse of the engineering makes them as flexible and refined as they are.

Let’s try to analyse this…..if you can sort this yourself John you will not only save money, you’ll learn more about how your airbrush works…..and sort it out more quickly next time….

If you cant get air/paint out of the nozzle it must be caused by a blockage in the air/paint mix path. The blockage must be located in the body of the brush after the paint and airflow mix. If the blockage was further back in either path you would either get no air, or no paint. The paint and air paths themselves can therefore be taken as clear and working as expected.

If you are getting air back up the paint path into the paint cup then the blockage has occurred after the paint has been mixed into the airflow, and the air can only escape via the paint path.

The most likely place for the blockage is a very small crud lump in the nozzle, which is the most restricted part of the flow path. 0.2 is pretty small for general work, after all, and is better suited to inks (that have finer pigments) rather than paints. This is shown by your nozzle and needle change getting the brush back to working order.

I would definitely go with Dave’s tool cleaner suggestion. Soak all the air/paint path parts at least overnight and then scrub the large tubes out with the small bottle brushes you can get for the purpose. You can use an old nylon paintbrush to clean through the finer parts.

I would then try flushing through the nozzle with cellulose thinners using a pipette. Fill the pipette, push the pointed end of the nozzle into the pipette, and then expel the cleaning agent slowly backwards through the part using the pipette. Only clean it backwards! You don’t want to drive any blockage further in, especially if it is insoluble…..repeat this several times. Once you get easy flow through then the part is probably clean. Keep the flow slow and controlled. You want the solvent to dissolve away the blockage, not expel it by main force.

Clean the needle by drawing it through a fold of kitchen towel dampened with cleaning fluid. If the needle is dirty you will get a paint line on the paper. Repeat this until the fold stays clean.

Lastly, have a good look through the nozzle against a good light source using a jewellers loupe or such. You should be able to see light through the hole…..if you can’t, it’s probably still blocked. Repeat the processes above until you can see through it.

Lastly, I would rethink using a 0.2 nozzle for anything except really fine streaking or weathering. For the stuff we paint, it’s probably unnecessarily fine.

Thanks Tim and the others who responded.
Since then I've received a needle set from Air Brush Net, it includes the needle , tip and nozzle for the Ultra, also bought a inner seal kit.Having the tool before made the job much easier. This is now spraying perfectly.
It appears the the Neo , which had a .34 in Tim sprays to one side. This could be dirt or in fact a bent needle. Not bothered at the moment about spending yet more money for a replacement. would rather attempt to clean as you guys have shown.The Neo is now back in the drawer.

[Scratchbuilder]

John
Had the same problem with my Neo, stripped it all down and cleaned it. Then the same issue, so stripped it down again and left it to soak in IPA in a jar (Apple Sauce type with lid) for 24 hours and then did another clean, and the gunge that came out sorted the job.
Mike.

[stona]

I'll just add that I agree with everything said about cleaning, some kind of crud or build up is invariably the root of this sort of problem.

I use cellulose thinners as my go to cleaner, but be sure that the seals of your particular airbrush can take it. Most decent brushes can.

[JR]

John
Had the same problem with my Neo, stripped it all down and cleaned it. Then the same issue, so stripped it down again and left it to soak in IPA in a jar (Apple Sauce type with lid) for 24 hours and then did another clean, and the gunge that came out sorted the job.
Mike.

I'll just add that I agree with everything said about cleaning, some kind of crud or build up is invariably the root of this sort of problem.

I use cellulose thinners as my go to cleaner, but be sure that the seals of your particular airbrush can take it. Most decent brushes can.

Have plenty of IPA will give that a try, either that or it will be

[JR]

Success !!!!! Soaked the nozzle and tips in IPS, left for 30 mins. What a load of thin dried paint came off one of them. The actual tip was clean , but the inside of the nozzle must have had a small layer of very hard paint, worked it out with a soft brush. Re assembled and all working perfectly. so thank you all .:thumb2::thumb2::thumb2::thumb2::thumb2:.

[adt70hk]

Success !!!!! Soaked the nozzle and tips in IPS, left for 30 mins. What a load of thin dried paint came off one of them. The actual tip was clean , but the inside of the nozzle must have had a small layer of very hard paint, worked it out with a soft brush. Re assembled and all working perfectly. so thank you all .:thumb2::thumb2::thumb2::thumb2::thumb2:.

Good news.... Not had any issues on mine but might do it just in case!