VL gun problem

[PiErow]

I got this gun last night. It was doing good for 2 color. Now it wont spray paint only air. I took the needle out and cleaned it, tryed a different paint cup, and stuck a Q-Tip in the paint inlet. I always clean it after each coat too. I am spraying Faskolor at 35-40psi. Any suggestions?

 

[PiErow]

No body knows how to clear out a VL?

 

[sl0eg1n]

your airbrush is clogged. your airpressure is set too high and the paint is drying up at the needle. when i use faskolor i set my pressure to 30psi. to clear out the VL user water (for water based) or paint thinner (laquer based) and spray it through the airbrush. i also put my fingertip over the nozzle for a short blast just to clear up whatever is left in the tip area.

 

[PiErow]

I did those things. It will spray laquer alright, just not paint. I will tear it down and give it a good cleaning. I dont think it ahould need that already though. I messed up myt lid too.

 

[sl0eg1n]

try using bigger needles. the smallest i use for waterbased paint is #3. #1 is too small.

 

[PiErow]

OOOO, so those extra needles are different sizes? How do i know which is which?

 

[sl0eg1n]

they have marks on them ie. 3 notches = #3

 

[PiErow]

ok, cool i will work on it later.

Thanks slogen.

 

[evilgrin]

you should also thin your paint to the consistancey of milk. I use windex to thin my paints for two reasons it dosen't breakdown the color like water and it helps the paint to flow better and dry faster without breaking down the color pigment. there is no hard rule as to how much to use as each bottle varies in thickness as well as variations from color to color.

 

[evilgrin]

also when you change the needle don't forget to also change the tip as well or it won't work properly, can't tell you how many times i've done that.

 

[PiErow]

Well i have a 3 on there. I started with that from the time it was opened. It worked fine when i sprayed black and red, but when i moved to blue and silver backing it pooped out on me. I used water to thin. Anyone know where the most commom point of paint "backup" is on this gun?

 

[Candyman]

Can you spray water through it? If so, I am inclined to think it's a paint consistency or pressure issue.

The path the paint takes is short. It's sucked out of the cup, goes up into a small chamber in the body and then out the nozzle. Check to see if paint got clogged in the tip. Take the needle out and clean it. Then take the tip off and use a toothpick to see if there's a buildup of dried paint in the little cone. Don't push too hard though because you don't want to distort that cone at all..

 

[PiErow]

It would spray laquer fine.

 

[BADNBADN]

I just recieved my VL also worked great for about 10 minutes, then I switched colors and then,,, no color.

But i figured it out!!!

The suction feed tube aganist the bottom of the bottle, So I lightly trimmed the tube at a small angle.

No problems since!!

Except this airbrushing thing is a little harder then I expected!

 

[Pinblaster]

I haven't had any problems with mine but then again I haven't used the paint jar yet either. I always use the small paint cups since they are faster and easier to clean up.

Question: did you guys blow out the air line before you started spraying paint? Sometimes the hose may have trash or chips of rubber from manufacturing that can get stuck in the tip.

 

[ImBroken]

Like Candy said, the paint has a very short path. Remove the nozzle tip, tapered cone & needle, so you can clean them up good.. I shoot mostly water based paints, so my gun is usually cleaned with windshield washer fluid. Works great.
And.. like sl0eg1n mentioned, you can hold your finger over the tip & give a short blast to clear paint from your gun. BUT.. if using a small paint cup, make sure it is removed, or you will blow the paint all over yourself...