SPA Modeler

Recently i went to use my neo (which i cleaned thoroughly after the previous useage) only to find the needle stuck.
So airbrushing session delayed, i took the little airbrush apart only to find paint had gotten in behind the paint cup and glued the needled in place.
Normally after a spray session i can run a bit of IPA through it (spraying tamiya paints) and its good to go for the next session.
So i have 2 questions.

1. Is this possibly caused by degrading o-rings?

2. If i were to replace it, what would you recommend? (Would prefer to stick with Iwata, limited budget)

I have doubts that alcohol would degrade those O-rings. But, I noticed them being slightly widened with the airbrush stored with the needle in. So these days, after having cleaned my AB I take the needles out before I store them. Takes some time, but I think the O-rings feel tighter when using the AB later.

Don´t know what brand or type of yolours you spray, but a good airbrush cleaner is in need. My weapon of choice is Revell´s airbrush cleaner. I completly disassemble my AB after use and clean it even back to the area behind the paint cup in the body. Never had a needle stuck again.

I use primarily tamiyas. If i switch to a different brand then i use the branded cleaner. But with tamiyas i just use alcohol. Its cheaper than their thinner, and short of the retarder its essentially the same stuff.

Thanks for the tip on needle removal. I might give that a go.

I do a partial disassembly after every paint session. The needle, cup and tip get out to be cleaned separately. And after a few sessions (often when one model is finished) I go for a complete disassembly and put all the parts that can get wet in my sonic cleaner.

I learned that the hard way after getting a needle stuck in an airbrush with dried and clogged paint.

What kinda sonic cleaner do you have? I want to get one but not sure which one to get.

Get one with a metal tub. Plastic tubs don´t work good enough.

scorpiomikey wrote:I use primarily tamiyas. If i switch to a different brand then i use the branded cleaner. But with tamiyas i just use alcohol. Its cheaper than their thinner, and short of the retarder its essentially the same stuff.

Thanks for the tip on needle removal. I might give that a go.

Any updates here Scorpiomikey ?

- Kari