Threshold Of Dreams

Having dismantled and re-assembled the entire Premiair G35 more times than I care to remember , I finally achieved success yesterday and it is now working (for now at least) and I was successfully spraying paints yesterday , I do not know why I was having so many problems , it could be the extra tightening with the nozzle (using the spanner) which did the trick - something I was a bit cautious of due to the delicate nature of the component.

The pulsing (previously mentioned) is no longer occuring , neither is the bubbling of paint within the cup.

My compressor is a cheapo chinese AS18-2 , this was bought three years ago at a bargain price from ALDI complete with an airbrush , the airbrush included proved to be rubbish , although at first glance it looked `professional` it soon became apparent that it was extremely difficult to maintain a steady  paint flow .

Maybe it is just me , but the pressure from the compressor doesnt seem to be as `forceful` as it was when I first purchased it , it has a built in pressure gauge which is meaningless under these circumstances , the motor doesnt seem to be running as rapidly as it did when new either , nevertheless there is still sufficient pressure at the moment (at least) to spray paint .

An update on this , and this is now becoming tiresome as there are a number of projects on the workbench awaiting spraying and the damn Premiair G35 continues to be troublesome and this is after a new Sparmax nozzle has been fitted , here are the observations.

1 - attempted to spray neat white spirit , no spray , weak air pressure and bubbling in the cup , when pushing the trigger it felt `spongy` if that is the right word !

2 - removing the entire end piece (thus exposing the needle and nozzle ) results in powerful flow of air pressure - surely this rules out the compressor as being the culprit ?

3 - no blockages in the end piece mentioned in (2) above !

4 - dismantled and re-assembled the whole airbrush , this resulted in a weak and pulsating spray pattern .

5 - I am beginning to wonder if there is an issue with the valve assemble , these are available to purchase as spares or the tiny rubber  O ring where the plunger sits and passes through.

6 - I am expecting delivery of a Sparmax Max 4 any day , see how this compares , I just do not understand the grief I am getting from my Premier G35 when it has given such excellent performance in the past.

Thanks for advice !

I mainly use the airbrush for weathering stock and I am N Gauge , the preset handle will make it easier to control the painflow and slowly build up weathering deposits.

I must admit that I have considered getting another Airbrush on the basis of `two is better than one` , I do like the sound of this ; https://www.graphicair.co.uk/product/sparmax-max-3-airbrush-with-pre-set-handle-and-crown-cap/

I like the idea of the preset handle which makes it significantly easier to control the paint flow , a step up from my existing Premiair G35 !

Just an update on this , I have removed and refitted the nozzle more times than necessary , the nozzle has also been immersed in cellulose thinners which was NOT a good idea on my part as I am sure there is a tiny miniature rubber seal on it.

I have since damaged that nozzle by overtightening with the small spanner included in the set , hence a `Sparmax` replacement has been ordered.

On the damaged nozzle I have used a fine needle to poke into the hole and can now see daylight throught that hole , something I couldnt previously , it could be the problem alll along was the nozzle having a tiny speck of dried paint within it causing the weak or non-existent spray pattern.

There is nothing to suggest there is a problem with the compressor as when the nozzle and end piece were fully removed and the trigger pushed , the air pressure through the airbrush seemed `powerful` and with no deterioration .

I have ordered a new nozzle and needle which should arrive in the next day or so  , hoping that these bring the airbrush back to its usual standard !

A replacement "Sparmax" nozzle and needle have now been ordered , the replacement needle was ordered just in case it was required .

The airbrush is a number of years old and I am a bit suspicious of rubber O rings as clearly these can or will deteriote over the years , there is an O ring of which the plunger passes through and is seated in , although this part is never subjected to any exposure to paint.

Hi Terry ;

My compressor is the AS18-2 type , basic and without a tank , it is around 3-4 years old but it has not had a great deal of use , when I remove the nozzle from the airbrush it is clearly evident that the compressor still has plenty of power in it , I am convinced the problem lies with either the nozzle , (less convinced about the needle) , it could even be the valve when the button is pushed , I am just after a source of spare parts I guess , whether that be Ebay or a reputable supplier.

I am hoping that someone chips in whom has the same model airbrush.

My PremiAir G35 airbrush has given a number of years of good reliable service , however this year it has been nothing but trouble.

I have been ready to dispose of it on more than one occasion , basically the spray has been `weak` as though my compressor has been underperforming or the airbrush is partly clogged.

I gave it a clean yesterday , no improvement.

I may have made a mistake here but to clean it I have been using a little spanner type tool to remove the tiny nozzle and immerse it in cellulose thinners for around 10 minutes !!

I was about to put it into the dustbin , then did a bit of reasearch and found that spare nozzles and needles are available , albeit `China produced` , I did not know that these were replaceable parts !

I am convinced that is where my problem lies , the needle no longer protrudes from the nozzle ( you could just about see the needle move to and fro from the nozzle end when the trigger was pulled - this is no longer apparent).

There are spare nozzles and needles available to buy on Ebay and Amazon of varying sizes 0.3mm \ 0.4mm \ 0.5mm .

Can anyone advise if these type of nozzles and needles are a universal fit for my PremiAir G35 ( I suspect this is now known as Sparmax SP35) OR would I be best approaching a reputable Airbrush dealer for advice and availability of parts.

Thanks in anticipation !

Have they arrived? 

 

How well do they work? 

 

How many items have you done? 

 

Where are the photographs? 

 

 

Seeing as I hold some responsibility as the initiator of this post then I shall stick in my two penn`orth !

I have since bought a bargain price compressor of type AS18-2 from a well known German discount retailer , but , due to work commitments I have not had opportunity to use it and I believe I will need to source and purchase some conversion adapters before I can , incidentally the price was £44.99 for compressor and airbrush and a quick glance at their website and the product is no longer lister , so maybe I did buy just at the right time.

In true `Blue Peter` style , here is one that I prepared earlier , much earlier in fact - a few years ago , this is 60059 `Swinden Dalesmen` in `N` Gauge , not the Graham Farish example , but a kit built TPM version and which I sprayed using my faithfull single action airbrush with can of compressed air , not brilliant photos due to limitations of  my camera , but it does highlight what can be achieved even with basic equipment , not to mention a kit which comes with very fine etched brass details and was a right PITA to build.

The plan is to put my new compressor and airbrush to good use by weathering much of my stock , but this will be a longer term project

order now placed for compressor and airbrush

I discovered this , which seems a real bargain at £44.99 , featuring said compressor and basic `cheap` airbrush which I guess would be ok for basic spraying but not more intricate spraying , ie thin lines ?

It looks like it is the AS18-2 !

https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-airbrush-compressor/p/083261211637200?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu_vp8_2e3QIVS7TtCh2kdAfSEAQYAiABEgLTqPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLqAo_j9nt0CFU4W0wode10I2A

Comments welcome ?

Brilliant advice , thanks very much for responses

I have been looking at the reviews for the BA1000 compressor and they do appear to be of great quality , I would assume them to be of better build quality then the `cheaper` AS18-2 which I guess are manufactured in China .

I am keen to purchase a compressor for airbrushing , the models I am interested in are the AS18-2 (without tank) and AS182 (with tank) , these models appear to be readily available for purchase on the internet and if required can be bought as a package with a pair of airbrushes.
I am no stranger to airbrushing , having previously worked with a Badger (single action) airbrush with can of compressed air , I know this is not an ideal arrangement but I am purely `N` Gauge and  have sprayed and weathered locomotives and stock etc with pleasing results using just this `basic` set up , I did tend to find that with `N` gauge I was only doing short bursts with spraying before allowing the model to dry and applying further coats , the compressed air cans seem to be fine for this purpose , I did find that this set up had limitations  too as it was tricky controlling the spray pattern such as achieving narrow lines.
I also own a Premiair G35 dual action brush which I acquired cheaply but I have not yet used , I understand that these compare well with with Iwata type brushes and give greater control over spray pattern (opinions welcome ?)
So , I am just interested in opinions on the AS18-2 and AS182 type compressors , There is a price difference with these two models and I read mixed reviews on the airbrushes that are supplied with them , I am curious too as to the price variations , they seem to vary in price by anything up to £20 , I am unsure if the slightly more expensive come with better quality airbrushes ?
I am prepared to consider either of these compressor models , the cost difference is irrelevant but if the cheaper AS18-2 (without tank) will fulfill my needs then I would sooner go with that , I read discussions of `pulsing` because of the lack of a tank but I assume the `pulsing` would be more noticeable with prolonged airbrushing , this is a requirement for `N` Gauge and there would be no `prolonged` airbrushing as such , just short bursts to slowly build up paint layers.
Opinions , experiences welcome ?

Thank you !