I desperately need your help guys. You see, I cleaned my Badger 175 airbrush this morning, removing the tip, the needle, even the tube shank, and soaking everything (i.e., tip, head, needle, and body but not the tube shank) into a jar full of lacquer thinner. Fine, old paint removed, assembled it per instructions. When I plugged it to the AC - no air was coming out. I pressed the trigger several times - no air at all.

Any ideas why this is so and how I can rectify this (other than shipping it to Badger for a 1-2 weeks repair or buying a new airbrush/part)? Thanks in advance.

Lets see I'm starting really basic and working up
1. will air pass through the hose without the AB connected? Could be the hose not the AB.
2. Take the nose cone off the needle out and the tip cone off and connect it - will air go through? If so then it may be reconnected to tightly.
3. Check the hole just to the side of the needle in the front. That's where the air should come out. It may be clogged. If so try to drip in some solvent to clean it out. (unconnect the air hose).

your needle is adjusted too far forward

Before using mine,I loosen the lock nut,and draw the needle out to the rear.Then I clean that with mineral spirits on a piece of toilet tissue.I slide it slowly back in,watching the point as it extends past the end of the nozzle.I tighten the lock nut then.
I set up and spray.When I finish any 1 color,I spray clean thinner through the brush from a clean extra paint mixing jar.
Then I remove the tip,needle,cone inside,and use a pipe cleaner dipped in thinner to swab into where the needle travels.I invert the body to aim the input opening up.I drip some thinner in here,and let it drain out,followed by a pipe cleaner swabbing.
I swab the inside of the cone,and the nozzle.The I reassemble.

Thanks for the info so far, but I've isolated the problem (I think).



Air passes through the hose, so hose ain't a problem. I removed the complete valve assembly (50-036; see image above) and attached the hose to the AB's shell (41-015) without the valve assembly. Apparently, air was coming out of the AB's air passage way (the small hole on top of the needle).

Then I attached said hose to the valve assembly, pressing the plunging - no air was coming out from the two holes.

Could the O-ring of the valve assembly "melted away" by the lacquer thinner, clogging the air passageway, thus causing my problem? Or is there any left over thinner or some other obstruction in it. I can't open the valve assembly unfortunately.

ooops,Laquer thinner.
There is an outside chance the O ring got croaked.Normally I use mineral spirits,or Model Master airbrush thinner for cleaning.Since I clean immediately,I don't give paint a chance to build up.If you still have the instructions,I would look to see if there is a caution against using laquer thinner as a cleaning agent.It might say what parts it would affect.I think they mention the teflon seal near the front is subject to deterioration from laquer thinner.

Have checked the manual. I didn't see anything mentioning "Do not use lacquer thinner." AFAIK, all it said on the teflon seal is that when the AB starts to pulsate, that could be an indication that the teflon has deteriorated.

Isn't the teflon seal for the needle? Or is it in the air passageway? Looking at the image, I reckon it's the needle's bearing and if so, it's mounted in the shell, not at the valve assembly. If it's in the air passageway, then I got TWO problems - the valve assembly AND the teflon seal. I thought teflon was impervious to nearly anything?

Hmmm,can you disassemble your lower air valve down to those components shown in the exploded drawing?Inspect those,esp the grommet,maybe the thinner hurt that.Also,during a normal re assembly,is the trigger part down far enough? Sometimes mine will hang up,and I have to move it around to get it to sit down far enough to reach the plunger below.

I've tried to disassemble the entire valve component, but it looks that it's shut really tight - I ended up making unsightly grooves on the metal and risk further damaging it.

I did notice though that the trigger felt it didn't go down that much during re-assembly this time. I tried wiggling it to no avail. Then again, it has been quite a while since I've last used it and I forgot how the trigger "felt" when I press on it.

Would re-soaking the valve in lacquer thinner help perhaps?

At least I managed to borrow a very basic SA airbrush from a friend this morning, and though I had to rig up an adapter to join the airhoses together, it works like a charm. So at least some good news.

Hey there GIBeregovoy,

I've not used the Cresendo, but my experience with the Badger 150 and 200 taught me this:

1 - DO NOT soak the teflon washers in lacquer thinner or Acetone, it will get eaten and be useless (if it's not completely dissolved).

2 - If the rubber O-ring (part # 50-0141) is not up to spec, it will block your airflow. It once expanded on me for no good reason and I had to replace it. I'd press the air button only to have a quick spritz of air then it would shut off.

3 - You only need to soak the head and/or needle (minus teflon components) in Lacquer thinner/Acetone if you are going that route. As for the main body; DO NOT soak the whole thing; if you have to clean it with the hard solvents, dip a thin cotton swab in Lacquer thinner/Acetone and poke it into the siphon bottle mount and the front of the body where the head screws into/onto. If you put some Lacquer thinner/Acetone in the bottle/cup and spray it through the airbrush between sessions, that will do a decent job of cleaning out any gunk.

HTH,
Nemanja.

Thanks for the info Trdnfigrhead and TankCarl. And here I thought Teflon was tough. Sigh...

Trdnfigrhead: Unfortunately, I did number 3 in your list. I got so industrious cleaning my airbrush that I thought "Hey, let's REALLY clean this one!" and I placed the shell into the jar full of lacquer. Sigh...

Anyway, I have good news and bad news.

Good news is that air is FINALLY coming out of the 175. I left it un-assembled last night and just 30 minutes ago, I assembled it and attached the hose and viola! Air was coming out once I pressed the trigger. To be sure, I removed the valve assembly (50-036), attached the hose, and pressed down the plunger. Air was coming out of the two holes.

Now for the bad news. No paint is being sucked up. No paint is being shot out of the nozzle. Then I made a little test - I covered the nozzle with my finger, pressed the trigger and pulled it back. Bubbles came out in the bottle. That means that there is indeed air but not enough air to suck up the paint.

I thought I'm dealing now with an air pressure problem, but I recently used my friend's airbrush (a basic SA type) and it works like a charm. So, that means (at least to me) that the pressure is ok.

Any more ideas?

I too have not used the Crescendo either, but have used many an A/B. With that said if the air is making bubbles in the paint pot that usually indicates that the tip or on associated part isn't on tight enough.
Hope this helps..
Paul

Ok ,since the air is now coming out the correct end,heres a simple test.
1.fill a paint jar about 1/2 way with plain water.
2.connect it to your airbrush.
3.make sure the cone is correctly in the place it belongs,and the outer nozzle is securely fastened over it.
4.Insert the needle,from the back,and watch as it comes through the front.
5.allow the tapered point to extend through the nozzle (look close) and a smidgeon of the straight part.You can judge it by feel,if it starts to feel tight STOP.
6 connect to your airsupply,and if you can,dial in about 20-30 psi.
7.depress down the trigger,but do not pull back.
8.look in the water,if you see bubbles,the teflon seal may be defective,air is going back from the tip,past the seal, and into the water.
9.Repeat the test with the needle slowly being drawn back.If you spray water,it is a paint thickness issue/pressure isse.Butif it starts to bubble in the water as you pull back the trigger,then it can be a bent needle or a bad teflon seal.

Did the test several times.




No bubbles when I pressed down the trigger (but did not pull back).




Nope, no water coming out. No bubbles either.


The bubbles only come out if I cover the nozzle with my finger.

Hmmm,Ok
Remove the jar,and invert the gun,so that the intake is up.
put a few drops of water in the intake,and puch down then back with about 20-30 psi .If it sprays,you are getting the venturi effect which pulls that water through the gun.And you are not drawing fluid up from the jar,which is a bad little plastic tube to cap problem.
Very odd that it can force air back when you cover the nozzle,yet not draw paint up through the siphon action.

Ok, will try that out later. Thanks to everyone (most especially you TankCarl) for the help. I hope this problem of mine will come to pass.

BTW, if only I can hook up to an AC with a higher pressure - maybe that'll help indicate the problem. Will search for an AC that can give me above 50psi.

Hello again GIBeregovoy,

Actually, I think that it is the teflon washer that has degraded and is giving you the problem. Same thing happened when I lost the piece on my Badger 200. The washer is there to prevent the premature mixture of the paint and air in the head before they reach the nozzle tip. If the Teflon tip has degraded or gone missing, then the air can escape into other parts of the airbrush, reducing pressure and preventing spraying. If you block the nozzle with your finger, then it goes to the one place that it now can: the paint jar.

HTH,
Nemanja.

I have had the same problem a few times as well. Seemed as though my air valve was stuck too. I put 2-3 drops of light machine oil (the type used on electric razors) on the valves plunger and worked it until it was free flowing again. Use a small coin between your finger and the plunger tip, it prevents that pointed tip from digging into your finger.

Thanks Trdnfgrhead! That was what I most fear - the Teflon seal being degraded/lost. Sigh...

I haven't tried TankCarl's last test yet - been busy doing other things - but assuming my Crescendo is well and truly dead, I'll start saving and get me a new Crescendo or even one of those Procyon DA-ABs by Gunze, and use the old AB as spare parts.

Thanks also Redaye. I'll try that one as well.

Now, assuming the Crescendo can't be fully repaired, I might back out from all the campaigns. Sigh...

I don't think you need to replace the whole A/B, just the washer (if possible) or the part containing the washer, but not the whole A/B. Don't give up hope yet. I've replaced everything other than the button, handle and needle screws on my Badger 200 since getting it 13 years ago.

Good thing air comes out. As for the paint, it has been my problem sometimes. This is what I do: (any of these)

1.Pull back the needle a little bit and then spray. Must be the needle blocking the air and paint passage.
2. Press the trigger to full mode. Eventually, paint will flow. (As with my case)
3. While holding back the trigger, try shaking the AB.

I really wouldn't advice using laquer thinner and soaking the parts in it. What I do to clean my AB, I use the funnel-like color cup and fill it with thinner (with the use of enamels). Attach it to the AB and spray like nasty until the sprayed paint becomes clear. Keep on spraying until the thinner in the cup is dried up.

Also, Check your manual, I believe it says that if you send the brush in, Badger will replace the Teflon seal, I don't know the charges associated with doing so, but i would think it would be cheaper than buying a new brush....

Don't quote me on this,but
I think it is a lifetime guarantee on the teflon seal.It will be a good idea to send the main body to Badger to see what they can do...