Hi all
I recently got me an airbrush, however I'm not sure the paint adjustment mechanism is working properly. As I understand one should be able to completely lock the needle travel, or am I mistaken? As seen from the photo, the lock is 1-2 mm short of meeting the needle lock nut. Is it just on my airbrush it's like that?

In advance thanks
Erik

AFAIK You can not lock the needle in one position. The travel adjustment stops the needle from going past a certain point, when you pull back on the trigger. Unless I am doing very fine work, I generally ignore the travel lock; building up layers instead.

Thanks Matt
What I meant is that, when it's all the way in, I still feel it's giving too much paint, I would it to have better control.

/Erik

This is dual action airbrush ? With out pulling back on the trigger just push down for air , you should have no paint coming out . As slowly pull back the paint flow should be gradual a little to a lot . Is it not like that ? Then the issue could be the tip is bigger than what you want ? What size is it ? The piece you have circled is what locks the needle down . You loosen it and the needle will slide back and forth . Now at the very back of the airbrush the knurled cap , will that turn ? If it does that might be what you are calling the needle travel stop , clockwise minimum needle opening , counter clockwise max opening . Let me know if it is what I think it is .

Hi Edmund
Yes it is exactly as you describe, it's a 0.5mm needle/nozzle I use (I have a 0.3mm set as well). So when turned all the way clockwise, I want the needle to be completely locked (no paint). As it is now, when turned all the way clockwise, the needle is still allowed to travel a distance corresponding to the needle opening to a degree giving too much paint. I know I could just use a 0.3mm needle/nozzle or gradually pressing the lever backwards until I've reached the desired amount of paint. I was just curious, if the needle isn't supposed to be "locked" when the "Needle travel adjustment" thingy is turned all clockwise?

Thanks again
Erik

The needle travel adjustment should not lock the needle, no matter how far you turn it clockwise. Achieving the desired paint flow relies on air pressure, needle/nozzle size, to what degree the paint is thinned and a steady hand. I hope this helps.

Erik, on the brushes I have, the Badgers and Tamiya fully lock providing no travel. The H&S has a very small amount of travel (maybe 2-3 tenths of a mm at most). 1-2mm travel seems a bit excessive, I would check that everything is assembled correctly and that the rear adjuster isn't being bound up.

Thanks Matt and James.
I'll have a closer look at the assembly.

Erik

I am incorrect. You should be able to lock the needle down, on Badger airbrushes. I recently changed brands from Iwata, which I do not remember having the capability of locking down the needle.

(Deleted my previous post, as I got the wrong idea!)

On my AB the travel lock is meant to act directly on the rear end of the needle itself rather than on the lock nut.

If you have different needles, you need to make sure you use the correct-sized tips for each one. Otherwise they might not form a good seal when fully closed, giving some paint flow even on "air only" without pulling back on the trigger, so the travel lock is negated.

Does your .3mm needle lock down more than your .5? If so, are the needles both the exact same length? Sometimes aftermarket replacements aren't quite the same, so might be a few mm too short to reach the travel lock properly.

I consider that to be a travel lock or a travel stop . Limits your needle opening for say you want to draw a fine line the needle opens to the same diameter each time . To get consistent results each time ? You don't have to manually lock the needle close . The spring pressure closes the needle each time the trigger is release . If it does not you have a problem with the needle or the tip . If you manually lock you might tighten the needle too much and cause damage to the needle . Just purge that thought out of the organic computer , it's not needed and a waste of storage space in the hard drive .

On my Iwata, the 'nurly' bit to the left of the red oval 'locks' the needle to the "Needle chucking guide & Spring Guide assembly" (!) mechanism, so when you move the trigger leaver, the needle moves.

I learned Saturday, that the needle/Spring guide doesn't need to be drum tight, but you can slack it off anti-clockwise to lessen the pressure needed to move the trigger, yours may be similar.

Other a/b's including my single-action Badger 100 have a mechanism to limit or set the maximum pull-back on the trigger, to limit the maximum paint/air volume, yours may be the same.

Iwata also market a 'triple-action body' that does all of the above in 'one handy handle' as an extra.
Confused yet? I was. lol

I don't recognise the make or style of your airbrush, could you add that to your post, would be handy to elicit answers from people who have your model?

Also Google "(your make & model) + handbook" to see what the user guide says.

Good luck

Thank you all for your inputs. It's not really a big problem, although it would give me more control. My airbrush is just a cheap Chinese made one, and I guess it's just made that way. I'm thinking of modifying it though.

Erik