Siphon feed airbrush

[Valvefloat]

Here's one for the airbrush pros.

I have a new siphon feed airbrush for larger areas but it won't spray.

So I tried straight water, sprays fine.

Then thinned out acrylic paint , 60% water, won't spray.

It will only spray at 90% water 10% paint????

[NOBLNG]

49 minutes ago, Valvefloat said:

Here's one for the airbrush pros.

I have a new siphon feed airbrush for larger areas but it won't spray.

So I tried straight water, sprays fine.

Then thinned out acrylic paint , 60% water, won't spray.

It will only spray at 90% water 10% paint????

What brand of airbrush? What size of needle and tip? Air pressure? Is the vent hole in the jar lid clear?

Edited May 29 by NOBLNG
More info needed

[Valvefloat]

Vevor brand

8mm

1.5 bar/22psi

Vent hole clear

Cleaned and checked every piece, only waterlike mix works, tried more psi, same

[Valvefloat]

I fixed it, went out side and used my bat to launch it into pieces, garbage siphon feeds

[Can-Con]

50 minutes ago, Valvefloat said:

I fixed it, went out side and used my bat to launch it into pieces, garbage siphon feeds

Congratulations on your creativity and problem solving skills. 👍

[NOBLNG]

54 minutes ago, Valvefloat said:

I fixed it, went out side and used my bat to launch it into pieces, garbage siphon feeds

Get yourself a Paasche H. It comes with a cup and also siphon jars. I’ve never had issues using either. JMO.

[Valvefloat]

19 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Get yourself a Paasche H. It comes with a cup and also siphon jars. I’ve never had issues using either. JMO.

Why does pure water work but 2 drops of paint in the same water....nothing, 22psi or 50 psi!

Gravity feeds only.

[peteski]

I've been using my Badger 200 siphon-feed internal-mix single-action airbrush for over 20 years and painted lots of models with it. Never had a problem like you described.

I never heard of Vevor. Might in fact be a crappy airbrush.  Have you used it in the past, or was it the first time you tried it?

[StevenGuthmiller]

56 minutes ago, Valvefloat said:

Why does pure water work but 2 drops of paint in the same water....nothing, 22psi or 50 psi!

Gravity feeds only.

I’ve been using a siphon feed single action Badger 200 NH for probably 25 years with zero issues.

Nothing to do with whether or not it’s a gravity feed or a siphon feed.

There are obviously other issues.

A lot of people have been using siphon feed airbrushes for a long time.

Just out of curiosity, I searched for Vevor airbrushes on line and discovered that you could purchase a dual action gravity feed Vevor online for $25.00.

That right there is probably your biggest problem. 😏

 

 

 

Steve

Edited May 30 by StevenGuthmiller

[Valvefloat]

30 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I’ve been using a siphon feed single action Badger 200 NH for probably 25 years with zero issues.

Nothing to do with whether or not it’s a gravity feed or a siphon feed.

There are obviously other issues.

A lot of people have been using siphon feed airbrushes for a long time.

Just out of curiosity, I searched for Vevor airbrushes on line and discovered that you could purchase a dual action gravity feed Vevor online for $25.00.

That right there is probably your biggest problem. 😏

 

 

 

Steve

Dont matter now, its scattered out in my yard.

[Valvefloat]

New airbrush

Testing my patience vs spray cans

[johnyrotten]

45 minutes ago, Valvefloat said:

New airbrush

Testing my patience vs spray cans

Get yourself something to practice on, even cardboard if that's all you got available, and "learn" that particular airbrushes "behavior". See how different pressures and what not affect your spray pattern. Like everything, it's a learning curve. 

[NOBLNG]

Those blemishes look like maybe a contaminated surface? I like to scrub the body parts with comet and an old toothbrush to remove all mold release etc. Then a good rinse.

[Valvefloat]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Those blemishes look like maybe a contaminated surface? I like to scrub the body parts with comet and an old toothbrush to remove all mold release etc. Then a good rinse.

Thats what I use, but I think its spatter from airbrush. I just went over it with less psi seemed to cover.

[Bainford]

What is the new airbrush?

[DJMar]

3 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Those blemishes look like maybe a contaminated surface? I like to scrub the body parts with comet and an old toothbrush to remove all mold release etc. Then a good rinse.

Yeah, I agree. Those fisheyes look like there was something on the surface.

Also, I wonder if that paint was sprayed over primer or bare plastic.

[Bugatti Fan]

There are so many cheapo airbrushes on the market these days that it is very easy to seduced by the price for what looks like a well finished bargain bit of kit in the box. You only get what you pay for, and airbrushes in particular are no exception to this. Good airbrushes, even the more basic types are not cheap. They are precision made pieces of equipment made by Badger, Paasche, Iwata, Harder and Steenbeck, DeVilbiss  who have been making high quality airbrushes for many years now. There are  of course one of two newer quality makers on the block, but I have fallen back on the names of those I know. 

 It seems like Alex appears to be fairly new to airbrushi use. There is a learning curve to go through when you first use one so don't be discouraged. It will come together with more practice and familiarity with the airbrush and mediums you will be spraying with it. Also thorough preparation of your surfaces is almost mandatory. The fish eye blemishes are probably some sort of surface contaminant rather than the spraying itself.

My preparation method is rub all the main body parts down with a fine grade of Wet N Dry paper used wet. This will dull the surfaces and give them a first stage surface key for the paints. A good wash with a detergent washing up liquid gets rid of the rubbing down residue and also any traces of mould release agent that might still be present. After being left to dry, primer undercoat and finishes can then be applied. Hope this bit of info helps, but it new to airbrush use I would suggest looking out one of two good Books, CD Roms or Modelling Airbrush Tutorials to download.

Edited June 1 by Bugatti Fan

[Valvefloat]

5 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

There are so many cheapo airbrushes on the market these days that it is very easy to seduced by the price for what looks like a well finished bargain bit of kit in the box. You only get what you pay for, and airbrushes in particular are no exception to this. Good airbrushes, even the more basic types are not cheap. They are precision made pieces of equipment made by Badger, Paasche, Iwata, Harder and Steenbeck, DeVilbiss  who have been making high quality airbrushes for many years now. There are  of course one of two newer quality makers on the block, but I have fallen back on the names of those I know. 

 It seems like Alex appears to be fairly new to airbrushi use. There is a learning curve to go through when you first use one so don't be discouraged. It will come together with more practice and familiarity with the airbrush and mediums you will be spraying with it. Also thorough preparation of your surfaces is almost mandatory. The fish eye blemishes are probably some sort of surface contaminant rather than the spraying itself.

My preparation method is rub all the main body parts down with a fine grade of Wet N Dry paper used wet. This will fill the surface and give them a first stage surface key for the paints. A good wash with a detergent washing up liquid gets rid of the rubbing down residue and also any traces of mould release agent that might still be present. After being left to dry, primer undercoat and finishes can then be applied. Hope this bit of info helps, but it new to airbrush use I would suggest looking out one of two good Books, CD Roms or Modelling Airbrush Tutorials to download.

I clean /sand the body, gloves on, wash with Dawn , rinse, dry , inspect, no primer, mix acrylic color, spray 22 psi, 4 coats, leave overnight.

I live in a multi person place so I have to use acrylics (no smell). 

When it comes to airbrushes, gravity feed only, remember 1:1 cars dont get painted with siphon feeds.  

[DJMar]

8 hours ago, Valvefloat said:

I clean /sand the body, gloves on, wash with Dawn , rinse, dry , inspect, no primer, mix acrylic color, spray 22 psi, 4 coats, leave overnight.

I live in a multi person place so I have to use acrylics (no smell). 

When it comes to airbrushes, gravity feed only, remember 1:1 cars dont get painted with siphon feeds.  

There are acrylic primers, like STYNYLREZ, which is an acrylic polyurethane made by Badger. It comes in a bunch of different colors and is readily available online. I've used their white for figure priming and it works really well.

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 5/31/2025 at 7:57 AM, Valvefloat said:

 

When it comes to airbrushes, gravity feed only, remember 1:1 cars dont get painted with siphon feeds.

They certainly do!

Or at least they used to.

Again, a siphon feed versus a gravity feed for airbrushing models is a completely moot point.

With good equipment, (doesn’t matter what type) you can get professional results regardless.

 

 

 

Steve

[Beans]

Issue may not be the airbrush.  May be compressor.  Could be inconsistent pressure, or pulsing, or moisture in the line, too much pressure, too little pressure.  Whole bunch of variables and the only real way to figure out what will work best is to experiment with the specific paint you plan on using.  

 

[peteski]

On 5/31/2025 at 8:57 AM, Valvefloat said:

When it comes to airbrushes, gravity feed only, remember 1:1 cars dont get painted with siphon feeds.  

Alex, there  is nothing inherently wrong with siphon-feed airbrushes.  You had a bad experience and destroyed it before even trying to figure out what caused the issue, then you started to badmouth them.  Many modelers (and as shown, even 1:1 body shops) successfully use siphon-feed airbrushes and spray guns.

Looking at the posts in this thread you seem to have gone from describing the problem, to "taking a bat" to your misbehaving airbrush in about 2 hours. Why bother asking for assistance in troubleshooting since you can solve your problem so quickly in a very drastic way?

Let me ask you again:  is this the first time you tried to use an airbrush, and if you used them in the past, how much experience you had and what brand/model airbrushes have you used?

The bottom line is: buy and use whatever type of airbrush you prefer. There is no need to put down some a well established design just because you had a bad experience with a single example of some off-brand airbrush.

[Valvefloat]

I bought a well reviewed and well made Airbrush kit(compressor, 3 airbrushes, hose, tools etc) the siphon feed had a plastic body, loose fittings

and the jar was poor fitting into the airbrush.

The gravity feeds are all metal, well machined, smooth trigger, sprays A+. 

It just didnt make sense why pure water would spray but 80% water20%paint would not from the siphon feed.

 

[johnyrotten]

1 hour ago, Valvefloat said:

I bought a well reviewed and well made Airbrush kit(compressor, 3 airbrushes, hose, tools etc) the siphon feed had a plastic body, loose fittings

and the jar was poor fitting into the airbrush.

The gravity feeds are all metal, well machined, smooth trigger, sprays A+. 

It just didnt make sense why pure water would spray but 80% water20%paint would not from the siphon feed.

 

What set did you purchase? 

[Skip]

Brand? Single or Double Action? Air Pressure initially and after adjustment? Air pressure adjustments typically solve siphon feed pick up issues, crank it up a couple of pounds at a time until the paint is sucked up the siphon tube. Might help to stop, reread the directions and tips and troubleshooting section, regroup, reclean everything, mix to recommend  ratios, try it again. Keep at it you’ll figure it out!

Back when I first started you could get five jars of Tester’s enamels for a buck, toss in another $1.50 for a half gallon of lacquer thinner. Go home and spay away until you were either too goofy to spray any more or your mom yelled at you to quit because it was stinking up the house!  So it was easy to get lots off practice on the cheap. We used to practice on old models, tin cans, or small jars card board, News print to learn to control  the paint out of the airbrush. Key word is… Practice until you get good, then practice some more!

Fish Eye - Is your paint surface squeaky clean? Did you wash the hood or did it come riiight  out of the box? The only other source of contamination then would be - Compressor - Air Line - Airbrush.  Do you have an inline filter between airbrush and compressor? Water tap? Solvent cleaned airbrush? Is there moisture in the air where you’re spraying?