model_madness Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 (edited) They keep clogging my a/b ( Badger 100 XF ) My thinning is fine ( tho im not using any retarder ) and pressure 10-20PSI but last night after a long day spraying the camo on my 104, i was spraying white on wheel wells, landing gear and my airbrush clogged up every 5 minutes. I cleaned the tips, needle, even the inside of the a/b but to no avail. The clogging continued. Now at 3am in the morning, when your'e trying to finish and get to sleep this can be very annoting to say the least :( Im quite disheartened at the results ive had with Xtracrylics so far, the brown also clogged my a/b previously. Funny i have only good things to say about Tamiya, no clogging, sprays beautifully every time. Anyone else have the same problem with Xtracrylics? Should i use spray can whites rather? Would a Badger 200 with a medium tip rather than my 100 with a fine tip suite acrylics better? Or is it something im not doing right ;) Hope you guys can help :) Edited February 24, 2007 by model_madness Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aidan Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Hi Kevin, I have also found that xtracrylix are very unforgiving through the airbrush. The secret, may sound obvious,is a PRISTINE brush. Any remnants from a previous session appears to cause clogging. I thin with water with no added retarder, as long as the brush is clean, I can spray for ages without problem. Never a prob with Tamiya but my first choice would be Gunze if only it was more assessible. Aidan in Ireland Quote Link to post Share on other sites
model_madness Posted February 24, 2007 Author Share Posted February 24, 2007 Hi Kevin, I have also found that xtracrylix are very unforgiving through the airbrush. The secret, may sound obvious,is a PRISTINE brush. Any remnants from a previous session appears to cause clogging. I thin with water with no added retarder, as long as the brush is clean, I can spray for ages without problem. Never a prob with Tamiya but my first choice would be Gunze if only it was more assessible. Aidan in Ireland Thanks man, at least i feel like im not the only one Im gettting out my Badger 200 medium tip to see if that handles better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Graham T Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 I got really excited when Xtracrlix came out, having been an ardent user of Xtracolours enamels for years. Here, I thought was a solution to all the problems of enamels (smell, mess, cleaning etc.). However I too found them, virtually impossible to spray with. I'm sticking to Xtracolours! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
model_madness Posted February 24, 2007 Author Share Posted February 24, 2007 (edited) OK the clogging seems better on the Badger 200, but im not sure if its the white pigment, but the paint comes out all runny and watery no matter how thick/thin i thin. Drat this is starting to **** me off! Edited February 24, 2007 by model_madness Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dmanton300 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 (edited) I'm using the exact same combo, and often get a little bit of clogging, particularly when I'm spraying detail with a fine spray, i.e. very little paint flow.I always clean every last scrap of paint out of my brush between every session, but it still keeps happening. I thin with Xtracrylix thinner & a few drops of flow enhancer, and I think it's the thinners that is causing the paint to dry too soon when there's only a small paint flow. I've tried thinning with water before, but the paint just beads on the model - that's probably my fault though, as some people manage fine with water. How I get round it is to occasionally aim the brush away from the model & spray with the needle all the way back. That usually clears the clog & I can then continue. If that doesn't work for any reason, I use a cotton bud dipped in thinners to clean the tip. I'd love to hear from anyone with any better ideas though, as my technique is still a bit of a faff... Mike, if you want to thin with just water, try addinga tiny drop of washing up liquid to your mix, it will kill the surface tension and should stop the beading. I loathe acrylics anyway, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Gunze Mr Color laquers man! Edited February 24, 2007 by Dmanton300 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
miduppergunner Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 (edited) I threw a tantrum the other day for the very same reason - not xrtraclix incidentally but Tamiya - and found the cause was tiny bits of sediment in the paint as when I switched colours the problem went. I think it is right that a clean super clean airbrush and absolutley "grit" free paint mix is essential. Logical really because the airbrushes we use are so finely engineered even the tiniest speck will block - I think even old paint - particularly yellow and white can clogg just by being there! Mind you I find that sometimes CA has gone off and will not set and that will set me off! Just the trials and tribulations of modelling! Other days everything goes well. PS You may be interested to hear that I bought some of the new Revell acrylics (in the square pot) just for odd bits of small paintbrush work. However I have used the Silver for an undercoat on the Mavis and the yellow and brown since in the airbrush, all with no problems using water as a thinner! They are cheap and quite concentrated and so you do get a lot of paint for your money. Edited February 24, 2007 by miduppergunner Quote Link to post Share on other sites
model_madness Posted February 24, 2007 Author Share Posted February 24, 2007 (edited) OK the clogging seems better on the Badger 200, but im not sure if its the white pigment, but the paint comes out all runny and watery no matter how thick/thin i thin.Drat this is starting to **** me off! Update: i spoke too soon, clogges continually when i tried thinning less and even neat paint :) And cleaning the colour cup, what a ****, the paint stuck to the sides like muck, even LT didnt help take it completely off. This white is really baaaaad stuff :) To be honest im giving up with Xtracrlix white! I think ill go buy some tamiya white or try a rattle can. Lets see how that goes Edited February 24, 2007 by model_madness Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeC Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 The airbrush itself seems to be a factor: Xtracrylix clog severely when I use my Badger Anthem, but work perfectly (thinned with their own-brand thinner) through my Iwata. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
model_madness Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 ***UPDATE**** Got hold of some Tamiya white. Thinned slightly IPA and added Windsor+Newton flow retarder. Came out beautifully with good coverage. Xtracrylics will be binned, Tamiya is here to stay for sure :) Chuffed i found a white that works!! Give it a try, you wont be sorry - promise Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Donnico Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Im seriously on my way to ditching all non-tamiya acryls due to the clogging issue. Its just such a pain in the ***, and it makes the hobby much less fun.... With certain paints (*ahem* polly scale, MM acryl), if you thin too little (even if you thin with tamiya thinner & a drop of detergent) its a clog every few mins, and if you thin too much its bleeds and runs and then there's the dreaded under-the-masking-tape-creep. And theres no way to get it right, because different colors thin differently...... I think Im going back to enamels exclusively. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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