Badger 350 airbrush

[lsi3009]

I just bought a new badger 350 , single action airbrush, I'm having issue with it, every once in a while it Spits paint out , when airbrushing. I'm using tru-color paints thinned 3-1 . Paint goes on nice Just once while its spits out paints, I keep it cleaned regular with laqcour thinner. Could it be my air compressor , not getting the 20-40 psi they say it will spray at

[RR_Mel]

I use a Badger 350 as well as the Harbor Fright look a like both work very good.  I also use Tru Color Paint but I do not thin it.  I use a badger cap adapter and paint straight out of the bottle.  I called Tru Color before I started airbrushing with their paint and got their advice.  They told me it doesn’t need thinking and said to use 35 to 40 pounds in my Badger 350.  I ended up setting the pressure at 38 pounds and it works very good.

 

The 350 airbrush needs a constant even pressure at 30 to 35 pounds.

 

As your 350 is new I can’t help you with the spitting issue unless it’s the 3:1 thinning.  As the paint in the bottle is exposed to air over time it will thicken up a bit and when it does I add a drop or two of Acetone to thin it.

 

As your airbrush gets older the O ring in the nozzle can go bad causing the paint siphoning to be uneven giving you an erratic spray.  

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

[skagitrailbird]

Two possibilities come to mind:

• Do you have a moisture trap in the air line between the compressor and the air brush? If not, that might be the problem. Acquire and install one and see if the spitting continues. I use a Badger transparrent in-line drainable moisture trap (item E on page 17 of the Badger on-line catalog).
• Do you have any sort of screen or filter between the paint and the air brush intake? If not, I recommend using one. I use Badger's in-jar fluid filter (item U on page 18 of the aforementioned catalog).

Good luck!

[zstripe]

Isi3009,

You should get into the habit of straining all Your paint before using, Also make sure You have the correct tip, medium should be good. Could be tiny pigment particles making it spit some times....but I believe Your compressor is the culprit....It is always best....to have a tank, which I believe You do not...pulsing pressure, just don't cut it. Been painting 1:1 and Models for many year's. Find Yourself a Air Brad nailer with tank and You can use it for other purpose's....there are many on the market, that won't break the bank....whole big differance in using a air brush.

Good Luck! 

Frank

[RR_Mel]

skagitrailbird

Two possibilities come to mind:

• Do you have a moisture trap in the air line between the compressor and the air brush? If not, that might be the problem. Acquire and install one and see if the spitting continues. I use a Badger transparrent in-line drainable moisture trap (item E on page 17 of the Badger on-line catalog).
• Do you have any sort of screen or filter between the paint and the air brush intake? If not, I recommend using one. I use Badger's in-jar fluid filter (item U on page 18 of the aforementioned catalog).

Good luck!

 

Roger I live in no humidity country so I didn’t think about the filter.  It’s 95° at 11% this afternoon, yesterday it was 101° at 12%.  I have a moisture filter inline but it’s never even damp.  About a month ago I decided to drain my tank to see if it had any moisture in it, it’s been about four years since I checked for moisture . . . . absolutely none.

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

[arbe1948]

If I recall, acetone is the solvent for Tru-Color paints. Perhaps lacquer thinner isn't doing the job.  Anybody know this for sure?

Bob Bochenek

[lsi3009]

Yup acetone is what u use to this the tru color paints, you want too many Hun them 3-1  done it today sprays good and looks good on rolling stock. I found what was my problem had a bad air line, replaced it and good to go

[RR_Mel]

I called Tru Color several years ago and ask a lot of questions, one was what type of thinner can I use.  They’re answer was Tru Color thinner.  I’ve been using Acetone without any problems for several years.  I picked up on Acetone from another forum.  I use it for cleaning my airbrushes as well as thinning.

 

All in all I’m very happy with Tru Color Paints, I’ve had better luck with it than I did using Floquil.  One thing I thought I wouldn’t like is most of their paint is gloss but Dullcoat takes care of the glossy finish.  I have used several of their flat colors, weathered black goes on very nice to my steam locomotives.  Most of my airbrushing is to my Daylight fleet and their SP Daylight Red and Orange is perfect.

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

[forester6291]

if you get a comp. with a tank,make sure it's not an oiless one, they are much noisier and have less of a lifetime. One with a cast iron liner is best

[maxman]

forester6291

if you get a comp. with a tank,make sure it's not an oiless one, they are much noisier and have less of a lifetime.

Hmmmm.  I thought that it was best to get an oiless compressor so that there was no possibility of oil getting into the supplied air.

Maybe I'm mistaken.

[zstripe]

Acetone vs Lacquer thinner:

> > Acetone is a single pure substance, lacquer thinner is a mix of acetone
> > and other similar chemicals (ketones), some of which evaporate more
> > slowly. Think of acetone as salt, lacquer thinner as seasoned salt.

 

Take Care! 

Frank

 

[Uncle_Bob]

RR_Mel

I called Tru Color several years ago and ask a lot of questions, one was what type of thinner can I use.  They’re answer was Tru Color thinner.  I’ve been using Acetone without any problems for several years.  I picked up on Acetone from another forum.  I use it for cleaning my airbrushes as well as thinning.

 

All in all I’m very happy with Tru Color Paints, I’ve had better luck with it than I did using Floquil.  One thing I thought I wouldn’t like is most of their paint is gloss but Dullcoat takes care of the glossy finish.  I have used several of their flat colors, weathered black goes on very nice to my steam locomotives.  Most of my airbrushing is to my Daylight fleet and their SP Daylight Red and Orange is perfect.

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

Tru-Color thinner *is* acetone.  I believe it says so on the bottle, and a friend who runs a nameless hobby shop also found on some dealer literature they got from Tru-Color.  

[RR_Mel]

Thanks for the info Bob!

 

The older bottles of TCP that I have don’t mention any thing about Acetone, the newer bottles (early Aug) say it contains Acetone.  I did a search of their site using Find with both ‘Acetone’ and ‘Thinner’ and only got hits I got was on TCP Thinner.  I haven’t visited their site in quite awhile and they have added a lot and changed things but nothing about thinner that I could find.

 

I’m pretty sure Acetone is correct because if it wasn’t I would know by now, I’ve gone through about 40 bottles in the last few years using Acetone without any problems.

 

The only problem I’ve had is getting paint to stick to a Cary pot metal shell.  It was a 40 year old unpainted shell and although I’ve never seen a Cary shell made from Zamak this one sure looked like Zamak. It was a real fight but I finally got some Rust-Oleum Self Etching Primer to stick after letting the shell sit in vinegar for four hours then baking it in the Bakersfield Sun at 108° for eight hours.  Once I got the primer to stick the TCP went on perfect as always.

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California