According to Badger Airbrush Co. the subject tip on a model 150 brush (like mine) can be unscrewed by hand, or if tight, by a tri-cornered reamer (Badger part no. 50-061). Well, mine's too tight to unscrew by hand, even with a rubber glove, and I don't want to use needle-nose pliers since they could deform the (brass) tip. Neither Badger, nor its recommended parts supplier, USA Airbrush Supply Co. has the above-mentioned reamer, which sounds like it would work with those 3 sharp edges to grab the inside of the tip. The only sources I've found for it seem to be overseas or eBay. Shipping from overseas is real pricey, and I hesitate to use eBay (real McCoy/really new? questions).
Anybody remove these tips with something besides said reamer?
Hi staybolt,
I think that all you need is a little more leverage. My suggestion would be to wrap the tip in a couple of layers of masking tape and then use slip joint pliers to loosen it. The tape will give you some extra traction so you shouldn't have to squeeze too hard.
Slip joint pliers have a curve in their jaws that will help to distribute the force more evenly. The best ones for your task have a small curved jaw area like this:
Alternately, needle nose pliers will work too.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
If it is stuck due to paint, soak the tip end of the brush in very hot water for awhile and try removing again. Works for me with stuck model paint bottle lids.
Good options listed above.
I used Dave's method on one occasion. Applied strips of masking tape on each jaw of my slip joint pliers and (with patience) gently gripped the tip and turned counterclockwise. Tip came off with no damage.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
maxmanIf it is stuck due to paint, soak the tip end of the brush in very hot water for awhile and try removing again.
And if that doesn't work, lacquer thinner likely will.
I use a Paasche VL, and the tip has always been easy to remove without need of any tools (not including, of course, the "tool" using his fingertips.)
Wayne
doctorwayne maxman If it is stuck due to paint, soak the tip end of the brush in very hot water for awhile and try removing again. And if that doesn't work, lacquer thinner likely will.
maxman If it is stuck due to paint, soak the tip end of the brush in very hot water for awhile and try removing again.
Probably yes. Except don't heat the thinner!
Thanks to all for suggestions. I tried them, but I my tip was defiant. I finally resorted to heat, which has always been a go-to solution for me. No, I didn't use a torch, but I did use a heat gun, gingerly, set on 1,000 deg. So that apparently expanded the collar so I could unscrew the tip by hand (after cooling!).
Glad to hear that you have solved your problem without doing any damage to delicate parts.
My concern is why was the tip so tight to begin with? I don't know what your cleaning routines are after you use your brush, but I wonder if the problem was caused by residual paint in the tip threads.
After using my Badger brush, I always take it completely apart and soak the bits in lacquer thinner. I also have a small set of metal brushes which are designed specifically for cleaning air brushes. I have never had any part seize up. In fact, the brush is always easy to disassemble just with my finger tips.
Cheers!!
Dave,
I imagine paint residue had lodged in the tip/head threads over time since I had never removed it. I use acrylics so my cleaning procedure consists of flushing water through the brush, removing the head to clean the outside of the tip, washing out the siphon uptake "pipe" on the underside of the brush and removing the needle for cleaning. Of course, I also clean out the color cup including its siphon uptake "pipe". I find that if there's much delay with all this I have to resort to using acetone to remove paint residue in various places since acrylics dry so fast.
I posted here about the tip removal because I was suddenly experiencing zero siphoning action with the brush and thought that there might be something plugging the tip that I couldn't see. That suspicion evaporated when I found the brush would work if I held it upside down and filled the siphon pipe with water, hence using gravity to feed liquid through the brush. When I described the problem to the Badger folks they said a likely culprit could be the teflon needle bearing deep inside the brush barrel. If the bore in it gets out-of-round or scored with hard, dried paint some air used for siphoning can leak, thus causing a pressure decrease. To at least avoid dried paint scoring, Badger recommended drawing the needle out the front of the brush instead of pulling it out the back. The reasoning is that any paint residue collects on the needle forward of the bearing, so withdrawal from the front avoids pulling the abrasive dried paint through the bearing. So that's what I'll do from here on.
There's a needle bearing removal kit available from USA Airbrush Supply Co., but since I live close to Badger's plant I took the brush to them to replace the bearing (no labor cost, as the company declares on its website, only the bearing itself). That solved the problem. The brush is siphoning normally again.