In part 1 of Disassembling & Reassembling Airbrushes we looked at the standard steps to clean, disassemble and reassemble an airbrush, which you would do after your paint sessions.
Sometimes, however, something goes wrong and you need to go further into your airbrush. Read on to find out how.
3. Going Further: Disassembling, reassembling and cleaning the nozzle
You would disassemble the nozzle if the airbrush wasn’t spraying properly and you needed to clean the inside of the nozzle, OR, if it was cracked, OR if you were installing a different size needle. In all cases, the method is the same.
First remove the nozzle cap by twisting it anti-clockwise,
Check the inside of the nozzle cap for any paint that might be blocking your needle. If there is, you can gently scrape it off with a needle (even your airbrush needle).
The airbrush comes with this mini-wrench to loosen the nozzle.
Slot the wrench into place and rotate counter-clockwise just enough to loosen the nozzle. Once it is loose, use your fingers to rotate it the rest of the way.
Once you get it out you’ll see it is tiny and rather fragile.
Important note: on the nozzle and beneath the nozzle cap you will see an o-ring (or washer). These rings are made of a rubber like material that doesn’t handle thinner well. While cleaning, ensure you keep the thinner away from them. Everywhere else is metal and there’s no problem with thinner.
If you need to clear paint from out of the nozzle, dip the needle tip into some thinner and gently pus it into the nozzle, and if need be, carefully scrape out any dried paint.
Once you’re done cleaning or just removing the nozzle in the case it’s cracked, twist the nozzle back on USING YOUR FINGERS. DO NOT USE THE WRENCH. As you have seen above that nozzle is tiny and it’s possible to tear the tip of the nozzle off the base.
Replace the nozzle cap and tip guard.
4. Going Further: Disassembling and reassembling the trigger mechanism
I’ve only needed to disassemble the trigger once; I had tilted the airbrush backwards while it’s full of paint and now need to clean the ENTIRE body. <_<
First step is to rotate counter clockwise the metal assembly sticking out the rear of the airbrush and then remove it.
If you pull this assembly you’ll see it’s made of 3 parts. From left to right: Needle tube guide, spring, and, guide bearing.
Looking back at the front of the airbrush you have this:
Pull out the main lever (left) and auxiliary lever (right).
After I cleaned the paint out of the trigger assembly I found the trigger was sticking once I pushed it down, meaning I would get air even when I released the trigger. I also could hear an irritating squeak whenever I pulled the trigger back. To fix this I applied some WD 40 and more recently Vaseline to these components.
When you want to reassemble the trigger you need to have the ridged part of the trigger towards the front of the airbrush and the auxiliary trigger pressed against it as shown.
The easiest way I’ve found is to first screw the spring assembly most of the way in.
Then replace the main trigger, you’ll know it’s in properly when pushing the trigger down feels the same as when you are pushing it down to get air during normal use.
I’ve never been able to get the auxiliary trigger in without using a pair of tweezers or pliers, but, if you can do it with your fingers power to you.
Now head back to section 2 and reassemble your airbrush.