Beginner Airbrush Problems SOLVED

Good afternoon! I'm so excited to share this week's video: Basics for airbrushing and solving all of your common airbrush problems! Paint bubbling, paint spider webbing, what psi to use, needle bent, airbrush clogged? I've got you covered.

Be sure to check out the sponsor of this week's video, Into The AM!
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00:00 Intro
00:25 #1 Paint Not Spraying
2:41 #2 Spider Webbing
4:10 #3 Gun Spits Water
5:30 #4 Gun bubbling Paint
6:09 #5 Needle is Stuck/Trigger is Loose
6:49 #6 Sticky Paint
7:41 #7 Pain Sprays Without Pulling Back Trigger
Background Music: Kevin Macleod, Serpent Sound Studio

[LylaMev]

Be sure to check out the sponsor of this week's video, Into The AM!

[SUMOCAT]

Helpful tips for beginners:
-Premix your paint in a separate container(like a small platic cup) and let it sit for a while, stirr again and then put in the airbrush. Depending on the paint/reducer type this can make a big difference.


-Write notes on how much you thinned your particular color and how did it work, especially if your working with different manufacturers paints, but even different colors have different consistency.

-The pressure you're spraying at is measured when the air is on. So you press the trigger down, hold and set your pressure. You can set many of these small compressors to for ex. 2bar/30psi but after a while (when the air goes on) it drops to a way too little pressure, because the compressor cannot keep up with the volume of air required. Depends on how much your airbrush consumes in CFM


-If you have a compressor with no tank, the best thing you can do is put a hose (10m/30feet) in between your compressor and your pressure regulator, this functions as a small tank and gives the air a chance to cool down before the moisture trap. A moisture trap which is directly attached to the compressor(hot air) is not able to catch all the moisture. The air needs to cool down in order for droplets to develope. Hot air will just blow past the moisture trap.


-You don't want pressure drop, it makes painting inconsistent and annoying. There is no point setting your pressure to for ex. 2bar/30psi if your compressor can only provide 1.2bar/17psi @ full consumption (what ever CFM your airbrush flows) Only thing it does, is you start with high pressure and suddenly it drops just a couple of seconds after you've started to paint.


-Make sure you have a quality cleaner that works very well with your paint! Many general airbrush cleaners are very mild and do not do the job properly. This is extremely important, you don't want to constantly disassemble you airbrush! and believe it or not, but it's almost never really needed if you're doing everything correctly.


-Don't use Q tips to clean inside you cup, this is one of those weird things that doesn't cause any problems for months and then suddenly one time those fibers go inside the airbush and cause problems and then you have real mess in your hands because no cleaner dissolves those fibers.


-The needle lube is used to lube the needle packing srew.


-Don't use needle reamers, it's not good in the long term. The cleaner must be able to dissolve the paint.


-If you have freeflow=paint comes out when you press the air on, it is not because you'r needle is not seated all the way. The needle does not just magically move on it's own. It's because there's paint on the nozzle or the needle does not move freely in the needle packing screw, not allowing it to return to the nozzle or the spring tension is too low. Yes sometimes a quick fix (for a while) is to re seat the needle. If you'r airbush is clean and you test it with water very close against a black table and there is no freeflow, this setting is not going to change on it's own. If this freeflowing happens often you'r needle packing screw is leaking and letting paint dry back there and then the needle sticks.


-Airbrushes are delicate, don't use any force with them.


-There is no need to soak the whole airbrush in cleaner.


-You don't need ultrasonic cleaners, you just need a cleaner that actually works.


-Use a respirator and make sure it seals into your face.

[mightymax]

By far the best airbrush problems fix video out there! Short, no unnecessary talk + good explanations about whats causing the problems. Thanks!

[Kay_Drechsler]

Oh my, thank you so much for the hint of releasing the water of the compressor. I didn't even know that such a thing exists and was constantly wondering why my airbrush recently started to spray so much unwanted water. Thanks again! Your videos are great!

[bradlothrop]

Seems to point out all the common problems I came across the hard way: good service to the new folk.
Too thick paint, through a tiny needle, at low pressure almost made me swear-off airbrush when I started.

I strongly suggest this important mantra: Air on - Paint on - Paint off - Air off. Not following the sequence leads to many kinds of tip dry or clogs do not perform air/paint on all at once.

"Glycerine" is a good lube to spray a drop or so through the bottom of the cup prior to paint loading (cheap too!).
It prevents the paint from sticking to the needle and nozzle and acts as a bit of a paint slow-dry, it is the primary ingredient for any needle "lube".


I hope things work out well for your viewers.

[FuzzboxxLP]

You might be one of the few YouTubers who actually wear a mask when airbrushing! Thank you! Protect you lungs people!

[bigH]

2 years later and this helped me with the exact problem I was having. You rock!

[blackthorne]

While I am not a beginner, I have learned a great deal about resolving airbrush issues by watching your videos. I was really impressed by seeing that you use a respirator while airbrushing. I stopped mid video and ordered one online. I have been having some minor sinus and breathing problems. Thanks for reminding me to be safe from particulates while painting.

[DrDeepspace]

Things I have in common with Lyla Mev:
- learning how to use my airbrush
- LOVE those Loot minis and busts
- left hand/thumb often covered in paint :D
Thanks for another useful lesson!

[ajosepi]

Another good video. Problem 7: Most of the time this is exactly what happens, but if you push the needle too hard into the nozzle you can warp and or crack the nozzle giving the same problem, but sometimes the spray pattern is to one side. If damaged you should get a new nozzle and needle. Keep the old needle as a backup if it looks good. If it looks bad, clip the tip and soften it with a finger nail sponge. Use that for deep cleaning the airbrush body and replacing internal O rings. When replacing O rings, put the O ring on the needle and slide that in part way. Take the nut on the packing tool and push the needle in. I have had better luck with this method not leaking on new O rings, or Teflon bushings. The needle fits better than the packing tool, and I think that helps in some way. You can inspect the needle and cap with most modern cell phones magnifying camera. Fingernail sponges can be used to dress up a slightly messed up needle. I have fixed needles dozens of times. When you have 6 airbrushes going at once you get good at keeping them going. OH, and if you need to get up and walk away for a bit, make sure your cup is not close to empty. Keeps it from making clumps in the paint.

[Elfhelm]

For cleaning dry needle tip you can also use the make up sponge - works pretty well!

[ZombieApocalypse]

Nice work! Airbrushes can be really frustrating if you don't know why what you're experiencing is happening. So this is a great resource for people who are new to using one.

[MaskedRiderChris]

Oh trust me, I've encountered every one of these problems and it's part of the agony and ecstasy of using an airbrush, I find. There's plenty of times I curse the thing and put it aside, and then have to pick it up and do whatever I gotta do to get it working again. As usual, a well done and informative video from you, thank you!

[iainmcpherson]

Great collection of problems and solutions! Hopefully this will help keep me from completely disassembling my airbrush any time there is an issue

[laertes]

Great, informative video. Some things I've learned when using an air brush, I noticed that when you remove the needle from the air brush you withdraw it from the rear of the air brush body. The problem with doing this is that any paint on the needle will be wiped off and deposited on the internal seals of the air brush which can cause a build up of paint on the needle seals. I always remove the nozzle first and then pull the needle out from the front of the air brush which prevents paint build up on the seals. I mostly use acrylic paints so I flush the air brush out using water, first I flush out the paint cup until the water runs out clear, then spray through with water until the water is clear. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) dissolves acrylic paints, so some kitchen paper towel with some IPA on it cleans the needle very effectively I find. I use IPA and small nozzle brushes to clean out any paint from the needle nozzle. Once the air brush is reassembled I also spray though a small amount of IPA just to dissolve any last remaining particles of paint and flush them out, then flush with more water. Hope this helps.

[predatornotprey]

I've been trying to figure out why my gun spits water out for a few days now and never figured it was the compressor water catch, not sure how I overlooked that simple problem. I figured it was me overthinning the paint or something. You're amazing. Thanks a million

[Gsauce]

Best video for this. Thank you.

No waffling. Straight to the point and separated perfectly 😎

[Bigelsiet]

Very helpful Lyla, I think I’ve had all these problems and you provided a solution to them all 👍

[corkcamden]

Good information. I have one critcism: don't use paper cups in which to mix your paint. They fall apart and the fibers in the paper invariably get into the paint and wind up collecting in your airbrush. I do enjoy your channel and I have learned an awful lot from them. Cheers, ma'am! Va. Cork

[Ruinstad]

A really easy way too get a good look at your needle tip to see if it's bent is too take a picture of it with your phone and use the zoom functions too get a close look at it.