Air brush woes - now sorted!

[Captain Kernow]

I've used a Badger 200 (single-action) air brush for many years, and it has generally suited my purposes very well. I am aware of the advantages of more sophisticated types, but this type of Badger product has served me well.

 

I was, in fact, on my second Badger 200 until recently. The first one started getting unreliable some years ago, in that it started 'spitting' when spraying, which doesn't do anything for a nice paint finish.

 

I had always cleaned my airbrushes thoroughly after use, so it wasn't blocked, but I didn't know what was causing it, so I laid it aside as a spare, and bought a new one. This was several years ago.

 

The new one has also served me very well for many years. Again, I have always cleaned it thoroughly, taking the needle out, together with the front part of the air brush and cleaning carefully round the nozzle etc. I have always spent more time preparing the job and cleaning the air brush afterwards, as compared with painting the actual job in hand.

 

A few days ago, my (second) Badger 200 gave up the ghost completely. The mode of failure started by an intermittent failure of the trigger to release any air to the nozzle whatsoever. I dismantled the thing almost completely, soaked a number of components in cellulose thinners and reassembled it, but this time there was no life in it at all.

 

There was a good supply of air and the compressor is in good working order.

 

I checked the website of my local model shop, and saw that they seemed to sell the Badger 200, so I resolved to go in there and buy my third example.

 

When I got there, I found that they didn't have any Badger 200s any longer, but I was persuaded to buy an Expo 'Model AB' dual-action air brush. It was only just under £40, so that seemed like a good price to get some experience of a dual-action air brush.

 

I used the Expo air brush this afternoon to spray some weathering mix on a loco. I then gave the air brush a good spraying through with both cellulose thinners and then Revell air brush thinners, that I had bought from the model shop. It continued to work as expected at this time.

 

I then dismantled it, as I usually do, to clean the component parts with cellulose thinners. This time, there were rather more parts than the old Badger 200, so it was going to be a more time-consuming task, but that's not a problem.

 

The problem has arisen when I came to re-assemble the parts. When everything is put back together, the trigger handle is completely lose (ie. 'flops' back and forth, with no springiness etc.) and doesn't grip the needle in any way. Thus the needle cannot be moved within the airbrush.

 

I have looked at the instructions, and (see photo below), they mention two parts that weren't evident when I dismantled the air brush, namely part 8 (described as an 'O-ring for needle guide') and part 9 (described as a 'needle guide').

 

I have checked the area where I initially dismantled the air brush, and cannot find any evidence of parts 8 and 9 falling out or otherwise 'going missing'.

 

I was hoping that someone on here with experience of this type of airbrush might be able to tell me whether these instructions are somehow 'generic' and that these parts '8 and 9' somehow refer to a different type of airbrush.

 

I can't take the airbrush back as faulty, as it was working fine before I started meddling.

 

I don't really know what I am doing/have done wrong and would appreciate any assistance.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2017 by Captain Kernow

[AndrewC]

dismantle again and check inside part 6 & 16. This is very similar to the Clarke model that came with my compressor. The O ring and guide on mine has a habit of getting stuck inside. 

[Spitfire2865]

Did you screw down part 14 onto the needle? On my double action that is the only part that directly connects the trigger mechanism to the needle. 

[Captain Kernow]

dismantle again and check inside part 6 & 16. This is very similar to the Clarke model that came with my compressor. The O ring and guide on mine has a habit of getting stuck inside. 

Hi, I did just that, and I think I've found parts 8 & 9, but they were embedded deep within part 6 anyway, and needed to be unscrewed to be removed (which I just did with part 9, and replaced it OK). Unfortunately it's made no difference at all.

 

 

Did you screw down part 14 onto the needle? On my double action that is the only part that directly connects the trigger mechanism to the needle. 

Hi - yes, part 14 is screwed onto the needle OK. It seems to me that that part 10 ('lever guide') needs to be sprung tight onto part 7 (trigger/'operation lever'), but this isn't happening. If it was, it would push the whole assembly of parts 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 back, which would, in turn, bring the needle back.

 

But the trigger/'operation lever' is just floppy within the main body of the air brush (ie. within part 6).

[Mick Bonwick]

I'm not familiar with the type of airbrush that you are describing, but it appears to be a cheap copy of general dual action airbrushes. 'Cheap' means that the o-ring seal that is called part 8 will probably deteriorate very quickly if it comes into contact with cellulose thinners. Its purpose is to form a friction seal between the needle and the paint-filled compartment forward of part 7, the trigger. If exposed to cellulose thinners it will have expanded to the extent that it no longer forms a seal.

 

This does not, however, explain your problem whereby the trigger just flops about. You need to ensure that part 13 is screwed fully home into part 6 and that the spring, part 12, is properly seated inside part 13. When part 14 is fully screwed onto the needle shaft via partr 11 it will grip the needle tightly, and you will be able to move the needle into and out of the nozzle by manipulating part 11.

[Captain Kernow]

I'm not familiar with the type of airbrush that you are describing, but it appears to be a cheap copy of general dual action airbrushes. 'Cheap' means that the o-ring seal that is called part 8 will probably deteriorate very quickly if it comes into contact with cellulose thinners. Its purpose is to form a friction seal between the needle and the paint-filled compartment forward of part 7, the trigger. If exposed to cellulose thinners it will have expanded to the extent that it no longer forms a seal.

 

This does not, however, explain your problem whereby the trigger just flops about. You need to ensure that part 13 is screwed fully home into part 6 and that the spring, part 12, is properly seated inside part 13. When part 14 is fully screwed onto the needle shaft via partr 11 it will grip the needle tightly, and you will be able to move the needle into and out of the nozzle by manipulating part 11.

Thanks for the advice, Mick.

 

Unfortunately part 13 is screwed as far into part 6 as it will go, but the problem still remains.

[Kylestrome]

It looks from the photo that you have put parts 10/11 in upside-down.

 

Assuming you manage to get everything working again, it is not really necessary to do such a complete strip down just to clean the airbrush. Just release the needle and slide it back a little. Then unscrew the air cap and the nozzle. After this you take the needle out through the front of the airbrush. Clean these parts and the paint chamber, being careful to only tip the airbrush forwards, and re-assemble in reverse order.

 

HTH,

David

Edited October 25, 2017 by Kylestrome

[Mick Bonwick]

 

 

20171025_153133.jpg

 

 

 

In the photograph mentioned above (the third one in your original post), the positioning of parts 10 and 11 is critical.

 

You can see in the parts illustration that part 10 has a curved edge uppermost, which should press against the back of the trigger. In your photograph of your disassembled device it is properly orientated, but when you insert it into part 6 the top edge of that curved component should be protruding slightly above the top surface of the airbrush body (part 6) while pressing against the trigger. Yours cannot be seen at all! This could be because, as Kylestrome says, it is in upside down, or it could be because it is not put in fully upright and the top edge of the curved component is jammed inside the body rather than poking through the slot. See?   

[Mick Bonwick]

You can just see the aforementioned curved component pressing against the rear of the trigger in this photograph:

 

 

 

[BlackRat]

On mine there is a groove inside the body that 10 sits in, there's a small tang on 10 to alignin........ll I normally do it with a pair of tweezers to hold 10 in place.

[Captain Kernow]

My grateful thanks to Mick and everyone else who's commented.

 

I've only just seen Mick's post 8, timed at 2000 hrs and those that follow.

 

That's because I've spent the last hour and a half working the above out for myself!

 

I managed to get the air brush working again, initially by making up a small (4mm length) of brass tube to take the place of part 10. That saw the backwards and forwards movement of the trigger restored, but once the air was 'on', the pressure of the brass tube on the trigger component inside the airbrush was stronger than the spring that normally returns the air flow to 'off'.

 

I realised that this wouldn't be satisfactory, so I reasoned that it had to be to do with the relationship between parts 10, 11 and the trigger, as Mick has clearly said above. In the end (and by using tweezers just as Blackrat suggests), I managed to get part 10 in the correct orientation and the air brush now works as it did earlier this afternoon, before I took it apart.

[Campaman]

I had exactly the same problem when I first stripped one of my airbrushes similar to that one, its a fiddle to start with but once you get used to putting that part back in it gets easier.