Okay, first off I am not an "Airbrush Novice", this is not a how do I use it problem!

...

I ran Luster Dust through my airbrush, about 3 weeks ago. Have done this before with absolutely no problems. This time was different! It clogged my airbrush horribly, and took me forever to clean it out and have it working properly (or so I thought). Ever since then I have been having minor problems with the airbrush...spitting mostly.

Then about a week ago the major problems developed! It is now spraying continuously, like the trigger is hung. The color comes out all the time and makes a HUGE mess. (I will be bleaching my counters today!) I have cleaned it thoroughly, soaked it in hot water, soaked it in vinegar, sprayed it out completely, but nothing is working for me. I even disassembled it looking for a problem. (This is not something I suggest doing! Unless you have the diagram to reassemble your airbrush!!!!) There was a clog in it, and I removed that this morning, thinking "Alright! This must be it!" But, NO! still having the same problems with the constant spray.

My husband is a mechanic, and seems to think that it may be a problem with an O-ring. However, there are only 2 O-rings in my airbrush and they are not accessible doing the basic disassembly I used to clean it. To get to them I would even have to disassemble the internal structure of the airbrush, and I'm not sure I want to go that far!

Do any of you, that use an airbrush on a regular basis, have any other suggestions as to what else to try? I am at my wit's end. I am seriously addicted to my airbrush and can't live without it...it's like taking cigarettes away from a smoker, NOT a good idea!

I too put lustre dust through my airbrush and I too clogged it.

I too have that constant "spray" now...but since I only use one basic color I just bring it over to my cakes and use it as is..lol

sorry not much help....

I too took mine apart and rubbed the long needle with my fingers to remove any "burrs" on the needle.

my over spray is now a very fine mist and until I get my hands on another airbrush I won't know if this is 'normal"

IF I get this fixed I can guarantee there will never be luster dust in THIS airbrush again! I am looking for answers as to how to fix this, if I find any I will let you know!

If it can't be fixed, I HAVE to have an airbrush that works properly, and WILL be purchasing a new one! This one will just be demoted to back-up! I guess I could always go back to using my old brush in the mean time, but this one has me spoiled!

BTW, Risque..was just browsing your website when I checked back in to find your answer! you do some awesome work!!!!

Thanks for the compliment...I just realized that maybe, we need a larger, more powerful compressor to 'blow" the dust through and not have it clog the gun.

As I saw DUFF using his airbrush to do so, I assumed that since he has all those powertools in his shop that he has a larger compressor also..not some table top model like we may have.

HTH!

I've already tried most of this but...here's a link to an article on airbrush rpairs:

http://www.airbrushartmagazine.com/maintenance-how-to-repair-your-airbrush.html

Maybe this will help some others out there!

Cool, try it and let me know if it works!

O hun I know exactly what happened to your airbrush. The tip of the needle is bent.
Sometimes you can straighten it out, disassemble the airbrush and carefully remove the needle, lay it on a flat hard surface and place your finger over the end, be careful to keep the angle of the tip or it'll get worse, now carefully draw the needle between your finger and the hard surface a couple times, re assemble the airbrush and see if that works. If not you'll just have to buy a new needle (which aren't really that expensive, better than buying a new brush). Sometimes what happens is that the very tip of the needle gets bent somehow and needs to be straightened. That is what causes the spitting and the constant paint flow.

Also, make sure that all your nuts are tight, that will cause the bleed through on the brush too. No worries ladies, the brushes are usually sturdy enough for a little abuse. Don't run out and buy a new one, just make sure that all your nuts are tight and the needle is straight.

Just wanted to add, that after disassembling your airbrush a couple times you get the hang of it and can pretty much take it a apart and put it back together blindfolded in the dark on the back stairs of a haunted house. LOL

thanks Chaptlps, I sort of did that after I clogged the brush.took it apart and ran the needle through my fingers a few times to see if I had any burrs on it...,

It's acutally behaving somewhat and, I'm not having too much of an issue with it right now...and I do use it EVERY DAY ...poor baby..I should get a smaller back up one just in case mine decides it no longer wants to put up with 'MILD ABUSE"..lol

From what the airbrush is doing it sounds to me it could be one of the O rings has bust. I don't have an airbrush but I have scuba gear, and that is exactly what happens. You get free flow on the air. O rings do not last forever, made from rubber so they perish over time.

I KNOW that the tip of the needle is NOT bent! That was the first thing I thought as well! I used to work in a bakery, and have dealt with that problem with the bakery's brush. thanks for the idea though.

And yeah, I have taken it apart before...it was much less stressful this time! I am leaning towards the O-ring problem. I'll just have to break it down again, and see if there's something I missed!

One other question though. Can an airbrush used for cake decorating be "oiled"? I just wonder if the parts are not seating properly?

hmmm, gm;
ya know it wouldn't hurt to try hun. Get some food grade lubricant and try that out n see what happens. If it doesn't help it can always be wiped off. maybe the o rings could be dried out or something and that would help them become more pliable.

Hi all! I have been looking at all your cakes and all your airbrushed cakes look fantastic! Would you mind sharing what brand air brush and compressor you are using? Am looking into buying one and kinda am lost on which to buy. Many Thanks.

Erika

me too! i have asked several times for a brand and never gotten a reply. Am ready to buy but am lost in the sea of options.

Sorry, I'm just now checking back in at CC!

Mine is a "Magic-Mist" brand airbrush. It is virtually identical to the Kopy Kake brand. Works and looks the same. I purchased mine through a local cake decorating supplier, and have had NO problems with it up until the current luster dust issues.

However, now that I am having problems, I can find NO INFO available on the internet for this brand.

Thanks for the airbrush info gmcakes! It's much appreciated.

UPDATE:

MY AIRBRUSHED IS FIXED, YEAH! ...and, I did it myself!
(Insert picture of me doing happy dance here!)



I visit All-in-One Bake Shop in Austin, TX and have spoken to Jennifer Bartos (she is the blonde that has helped Bronwen Weber on several of the Food Network Challenges, aand co-owner of the shop!) about several things before, and happened to mention to her that I was having airbrush problems. She was kind enough to show me her airbrush and several things I could try to alleviate the problem.

It turns out that her suggestions did not work, but they did lead me to discover that I had a clog in the fluid nozzle that was causing the needle to not seat properly. I boiled a small amount of water in a custard cup in the microwave and then dropped the fluid nozzle in the water to let it soak. I was then able to insert the needle backwards, thru the nozzle to remove the clog! She also suggested that if I was having problems to clean the needle very well and to even wipe it with steel wool to remove any burrs. (I happened to have 1000 grit sandpaper on hand from another project and used that!) It is working so much better now, it almost feels like a new airbrush!

I'm so proud of myself I could just scream...and not having to buy a new airbrush, THAT is a truly priceless feeling!

I'm glad I ran into this thread! I'm going to try what you did gmcakes, I hope it works for me too!!

KittisKakes, I'm not sure what problems you are having with yours...but, I forgot to mention one thing!

After soaking the nozzle, and inserting the needle point first thru the pointed end of the nozzle (needle-----> <fluid nozzle)...hope that makes sense...I still needed to "blow" the clog out!

HTH!

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so relieved for you! so, let me ask you this... is super pearl luster dust ok to used with the air gun or will it do the same clogging thing?

I am not familiar with the "Super Pearl", and I know lots of CC members who run luster dust thru their guns with no problems...but I for one will not be doing it again with this gun!!!


...I may run luster dust thru my spare airbrush!

gmcakes - For me, it sounds like I have similar problems that you had. It started to "spatter" just the other day. It also has a faint, continuous spray of color coming out, even though the trigger has not been engaged. I believe this happened when I used a metallic luster dust. I never seemed to have a problem with the other luster dusts though. I'm getting all my paperwork put together today to get a business going, so I will work on it tomorrow.

After using luster dusts in my airbrush, I take it apart and soak it in water with a denture cleanser tablet.

I haven't had any problems since I learned this trick.

I have used luster dust many times in this brush, this is my first time to have problems with it. However, since it was such a MAJOR investment I a leery of running dusts thru it again. If I use them in my other airbrush I will have to try the denture tablet trick (thanks, BrandiBakes!).

denture cleansing tablet? hmmmm. do any of you use air brush cleaning products (sugarcraft sells one)?

I use airbrush cleaner at the end of using colors... but after dusts, I use the tablets.

At the place I used to work, their airbrush barely worked - so I took it apart and used a single denture tablet and it was like new again.

Do you use the tabs after each use? (Not between colors, but at the end of an airbrushing session?)

I use a double action Badger airbrush with a cup on top. The compressor...it doesn't matter as long as it can be adjusted down to ~8-12psi. The airbrush doesn't have to be marketed for cakes. Look through the craft/art stores online.

I use the tablets after I use dusts - or if the airbrush is really clogged.

When I use just regular colors, I rinse with water between colors and use airbrush cleaner when I'm done.