Good morning folks
I've recently ran into a speed bump when I was taking my airbrush apart to clean. As I was about to loosen the fluid nozzle I turned the tiny wrench the opposite direction (righty tighty) and the nozzle tip just fell off. I'm under the impression I might have broken it when I tightened it the previous time I used it and put it back together after maintenance because as I turned the wrench I used absolutely no force whatsoever to try and turn the wrench. It easily turned and off came the tip of the nozzle.
This is the first airbrush I've owned and I learned that i'm tightening a small piece of metal, not some lug nuts. Anyway, what's done is done and I began searching the website of the hobby shop I bought my airbrush kit from and found no parts available. I called them and was advised to call the manufacturer, Grex, and purchase directly from them seeing as they (the hobby shop) wait until they have several orders before they place one large order with Grex. I called Grex and they told me they don't sell to the public but referred me to a couple of dealers in my area. After the call I went online to visit these dealer's websites. Some didn't even have parts on their websites. I had to call them just to get a, "we don't stock parts but can order what you need" response. Those who did carry parts in stock seemed to only have needle kits and adapters to connect Grex's air control valve or quick connect set with other brands of airbrushes. So for parts like the fluid nozzle I need I'm restricted to ordering from one of Grex's dealers and waiting. A troubling thing I found was about half the people I spoke with seemed to have a knowledge of airbrushes no grater then mine, which is why I'm here asking.
My question is, is this how it is with every airbrush company out there? Are some of the more popular brands like Iwata easier to (walk into your LHS and) get parts? Do hobby shops tend to stock parts from certain brands more then others, or is there just too much in terms of number of airbrushes being sold to stock replacement parts for any? Is this something Grex customers have to deal with or do Paasche, Badger, Iwata, etc. customers also go through this when they need to order a spring, o-ring or fluid nozzle?
Two other questions, one of the o-rings on a cup broke off. I'm not sure if that was also due to over tightening. I managed to get a replacement but the replacements look much smaller and cheaper quality. I read somewhere (maybe an amazon review) that their o-rings aren't very good and the person recommended the o-rings from another brand which happen to fit Grex's cups. Does anyone have any additional info or experience regarding this? Lastly, I had a question about reading PSI's. When I set my PSI to a specific pressure (for example Alclad suggests 15 PSI) then pull the airbrush trigger I notice the PSI reading drops by about 2, 3 PSI's (for example 13 or 12 PSI). Once air stops flowing through the airbrush the PSI's will raise back to the original setting (15 PSI). Which of these readings should I follow?
Thanks in advanced for your help folks.