Cannot get paint to spray from my Spraycraft airbrush kit

[Dellboy]

Hi Just bought a Spraycraft all purpose airbrush kit which has the canister of air. Thought I would try the cheaper method before progressing to a compressor. I opened the kit etc and started to spray- the only thing that came out was air. Cannot get the paint to come through at all and have now virtually used up the small can of air that came with it. tried to spray just using water to see if that came through- but no luck. Has anyone any advice for me. Many thanks

 

[tecdes]

Do not know the construction. But can only think that the needle is not screwed tight to the trigger part of the airbrush.

On the average brush remove the back end & there is a screw which tightens the needle to the trigger assembly. Unless they work as one the needle will not move back allowing the air to pull through the paint.

Laurie

 

[stona]

Can you give us a model number? I'm not familiar with the make but knowing which one it is may help us solve your problem.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Dellboy]

Hi thanks for replying guys. It is a Spraycraft All Purpose Airbrush Kit- model SP20K. It is just a plastic type airbrush with the two nozzles- one for air canister and one for paint. You cant unscrew anything at the back. At the start some paint did come out but then stopped. I did clean it all out etc to try and fix it. Very frustrating lol

 

[tecdes]

That gives us a clue Dellboy (you are not the TV one are you ?)

If paint did come out originally then this narrows the field & probably? is paint which has dried.

Can you take the brush apart in any way ? What paint are you using enamel or Acrylic as this affects how to go about unclogging ?

Laurie

 

[tecdes]

Just had a look in detail which I should have done before replying. Tut.

See that the brush is a bottom feed form a bottle. I would just check to see that you have a good airtight fix on the connections here. Also that the nozzle is finger tight.

Also take a good look through the instruction manual to see how much apart it comes & then clean all of those parts. Fill the bottle with air cleaner or thinners of what ever paint you are using & give it a good blast through.

Another thought had you used so much compressed air that there was not enough pressure to bring in the paint.

Another for future use thin the paint as even those paints specifically manufactured for use with an airbrush are thinned by most of the members of this forum.

Running out of ideas but all these worth a try.

Laurie

 

[yak face]

Hi dellboy, as well as the other reasons above for paint not coming out, it could also be the feed pipe. I once had a similar problem with a siphon feed brush, not much or no paint coming up the pipe. Checked everything , nozzle unblocked,paint thin enough etc, then found out that when i screwed the bottle on , the feed pipe was making contact with the bottom of the bottle and sealing it off so no paint could get up it!! I resolved it by cutting a couple of mm off the bottom and cutting a small 'V' shape in the bottom of the pipe to stop it happening again. Hope this helps , cheers tony

 

[Dellboy]

thank you for your replies= going up to try all your advice now and if it does not work I will be sending the kit back lol. Will let you know how I get on. My trouble now is I have used up my cannister of air lol

 

[m1ks]

Clearly it's a suction feed single action.

My recommendation is get rid and buy a cheap double action ab and mini compressor set from ebay, (about £60).

A da is much more controllable.

However, to persevere, check the following.

Air coming out of the top pipe blowing forward.

The upright nozzle must be screwed down so that, (looking from the side), the flat tip is inline with or below the air output hole. If it is above the air cannot pass the top creating an area of low pressure and therefore a vacuum which draws the paint up the emulsion tube.

Check all seals are present, jar to brush, hose to brush and propellant etc

Check the emulsion tube and nozzle are clear.

Check it's not fouling the bottom of the paint jar.

Check that the paint is thinned appropriately, it needs to be a milky consistency, so it sticks to the side of the jar if swirled but only a thin coat, you shouldn't need much air to get the paint to flow.

If the above are ok it should work.

I know some or most have been mentioned in previous replies but having started with a sa brush myself was hoping to get everything step by step for you. I may do a quick video with my old badger sa for youtube to cover this as a few have asked on here.

 

[Dellboy]

M1ks- thank you - going to work through your advice step by step and if all fails will return it tomorrow and by one with a mini compressor - great forum everyone

 

[andygh]

Sadly these airbrushes really are a false economy, very frustrating and waste a lot of paint. I'd take the advice above and get something decent, it'll most likely be a revellation

 

[Richy C]

I have to agree with Andy , a half decent airbrush like the Iwata revolution range or even one of the new Neon AB`s and a compressor will give trouble free modelling in the long run and save you a fortune in air cans , when people ask about air cannisters 99% of forum members always advise to give them a miss , 2 reasons - you have no control over the pressure and you can bet your last pound note it will run out halfway through spraying a model ,

With christmas around the corner it maybe worth contacting John to see what sort of package he can do.

Richy