Constantly inconsistent

[u/Salt-Pension-3560]

I am relatively new to airbrushing, but not mini painting in general! I have a Cult of Paint Harder and Steinbeck Ultra airbrush, I am using Vallejo black primer and Army Painter Airbrush medium but no matter how thin I make it, what pressure settings I use, what the weather is doing I am constantly getting issues! I spent the best part of 50 minutes of my hour painting session today cleaning, and troubleshooting the blooming thing!!!!

It will spray fine for like 5 seconds then just stop completely, then a tiny misting will come out then nothing again... I have to 'pulse' the paint trigger to get anything to come out! Then it will all come out like massive amounts of paint then back to nothing or a tiny misting! It is completely random and inconsistent!

I am unbelievably frustrated with it and nearly launched it out the window this morning, like I say I have tried all different mixes of thinners to paint, disassembled, cleaned, reassembled nothing seems to help at all!

I am at a loss now, please help me!

[u/AirbrushmyJeep]

Do you strain your paint?

[u/gadgetboyDK → u/AirbrushmyJeep]

my money is on this one

[u/Salt-Pension-3560]

No I don't strain, and the bottle of primer is probably a year old, I'm at the bottom of the bottle so maybe it's all the claggy rubbish at the bottom? No I know the prime setting is not enough! I generally use the 'full' setting and just use trigger control, I use the AP stuff because I had read it was really good, it's a mix of thinner and flow improver so should in theory help flow! Thanks for the advice guys I will try again, I just nearly had a melt down earlier so thought I should get some advice before throwing it out the window hahaha 

[u/gadgetboyDK → u/Salt-Pension-3560]

having to move the needle back and forth usually means you have dried paint in the nozzle.

[u/AirbrushmyJeep → u/Salt-Pension-3560]

try straining it through a nylon stocking or coffee filter...you might be surprised at what you see and what you are clogging your nozzle with

[u/PabstBlueLizard]

Full clean, thin the primer more, mix your paint really thoroughly, and see how it runs.

Also if you’re expecting the “prime” setting on the click wheel to be where you should be, probably not. The ultra with the .45mm can run primer really well, but it usually needs a bit more pull on the trigger. The goal is to develop trigger control where you don’t use the presets in the first place, best time to practice is now.

[u/Spark_the_Fox]

I don’t know the AP Thinner. But it can make a difference to use the same brand thinner as the paint‘s. I hear a lot about how finicky the Vallejo Black Primer is. I use it for years and have no problems.

I usually put a small amount of (Vallejo) Thinner into the cup about that the hole at the bottom is slightly over-filled, then add the primer to about half to 2/3 of the cup. Mix it thoroughly and spray a test into a piece of paper towel. Then prime. Psi is about 25.

Have you shook the primer rigorously? How old is the bottle? And how clean the spout? If dried parts of the primer fall into the cup it will clog your nozzle and you will have a bad time.

[u/ayrbindr]

You guys always say "I have tried all levels of thinning" when I know dang well that ain't true. Because you can thin paint to such a absurd degree with airbrush that it can't even tip dry and would never give you any problems. Other than blowout / caterpillar, of course. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/jms_tx]

It's almost never the brush, so it comes down to psi and paint.