airbrush needle sticking

hi.

i was wondering if you good folks could help me with this. i own an iwata eclipse which i airbrush automotive lacquer through. i've only used it twice thus far and have thoroughly cleaned out the unit after each use. i've done such a good job that the lubricant on the needle is now gone and is beginning to stick while use. what type of lubricant does this use? i've wiped it down with some 3in1 lubricant leaving only a trace of lubricant on the needle before inserting it back into the airbrush. it only lasted halfway through use before it began to stick again. any thoughts? the manual for the airbrush cautions not to use wd40 as well.

thanks for your input.

When you've clean it, you've probably clean it with a lot of lacquer solvent... and if it's not rinse with water, it'll do this sticky thing :disappoin . Before to put any grease in this, pull out the needle and clean it again with lacquer thinner then rinse it with running water for a while to make sure no lacquer thinner is there anymore. Put the needle back in and push and pull on it to see how the travel goes... if it feel still sticky, maybe the teflon bearing have some solvent on it. Rinse the entire Airbrush and feel free to try the needle again and pull it out and clean it again. It may take a while but I had a Airbrush that does this exact same thing and I have manage to save it just by doing this simple trick. I admit, this is the only time I didn't rinse... now it a cure with lacquer thinner to clean it then a cure of water to clean the thinner !

Maybe some paint is still on that needle (it don't take much to jam a Airbrush) and doing those steps will help the Airbrush to regain it's integrity and original coolness. Iwata are supposed to outlive you.

Teflon Bearing are pretty hard to kill and I think that Iwata bearing are made of this so don't freak out... try to clean it and if those bearing are out of order (which I doubt) then replace them instead of putting strange oil or every paint you'll do will be a mess. :nono:

The best airbrush needle oil is the oil from your face, seriously. Slide the needle across your forehead and it will pick up enough oil to operate smoothy, and won't contaminate your paint. If you think you need more oil on it, wipe the side of your nose and rub it on the needle. This is not a joke. I've been airbrushing for over 35 years and this has always worked for me.
3n1 and WD40 can contaminate your paint and cause fisheyes among other potential problems. - Mark

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try washing the needle free from thinner and see how that works out. I don’t know if this airbrush has a Teflon seal. It feels more (and seizes like) a rubber one than Teflon.

I am only airbrushing lacquers here and am assuming that we all are using lacquers exclusively for our car bodies. Is the sticking/seizing needle problem inherent in all internal mix airbrushes when using it with lacquers?

Thanks!

...I am only airbrushing lacquers here and am assuming that we all are using lacquers exclusively for our car bodies. Is the sticking/seizing needle problem inherent in all internal mix airbrushes when using it with lacquers?

Thanks!
I Airbrushed numerous quality and kind of paint from Nail polish to email and Acrylics to Lacquer. I had this problem once and it was with Lacquer. I think I've just used too much Lacquer Thinner to clean and never really emptied (?not sure about the word?) it like I should. Now, I clean with thinner then with water to remove the thinner left in the corner of the Airbrush and never had the same problem since.

I know people who just let dry with the Airbrush dissasembled but it's a mess when you're ready to airbrush because if you're like me, when you're ready to airbrush you're on a surge and a rush of adrenaline and don't have the time to bother with that kind of waste of time. :grinno:

Thanks for the help guys! I pulled out the needle again yesterday night and rinsed it in water. I followed up by wiping it down with some tissue and that did the trick! No more seizing! I never knew lacquer thinners would do that to the needle. I'm just afraid that it would start sticking during use. Only time and experience will tell. Thanks again for helping me remedy this issue!

Told ya !! Don't worry, it won't happen when you'll be shooting but remember to clean it well when finish so the problem won't come back.

The best airbrush needle oil is the oil from your face, seriously. Slide the needle across your forehead and it will pick up enough oil to operate smoothy, and won't contaminate your paint. If you think you need more oil on it, wipe the side of your nose and rub it on the needle. This is not a joke. I've been airbrushing for over 35 years and this has always worked for me.
3n1 and WD40 can contaminate your paint and cause fisheyes among other potential problems. - Mark

Wow, thanks for the tip. I'll never run out 'cause I have the most oily face you'll ever see, lol.