paint leaking behind eclipse hp-cs paint cup?

[WelshZeCorgi]

I'm still pretty new to airbrushing, so I'm having some trouble with my eclipse hp-cs. Paint is leaking back towards the trigger, right behind the paint cup. Looking at the online manual, there's supposed to be some sort of "needle o-ring" and I'm guessing I have to replace the needle o-ring, but A) I think it's stuck inside the airbrush cause that part does not fall out when I pull out the needle chucking guide and I'm unsure of the proper way to get it out, and B) I don't know where to buy it, it's not showing up when I look online. 

 

Bonus question- I need to make some fine lines, and some articles mention a "crowned cap" that I can replace the normal needle cap with in order to get that nessesary air flow, but the ones I bring up seem to be for a different model of eclipse. Is none availible for the HP-CS model?

Edited August 10, 2018 by WelshZeCorgi

[dnl42]

I don't have that airbrush, but take a look at Don's Airbrush Tips, particularly his Troubleshooting page.

[Chris L]

 

 The part # for the crown cap is : I 105 0: Crown Cap

 

 There is a Teflon seal that the needle goes through but that should not come out . I would check that something forward of the cup might be plugged and blowing things back.

 

 Regards, Christian 

[Bob Beary]

How do you know paint is leaking behind the paint cup?

 

[WelshZeCorgi]

3 hours ago, Bob Beary said:

How do you know paint is leaking behind the paint cup?

 

I find a lot of dried paint caked about the middle of the needle after cleaning it as thouroughly as I can, if I leave it unused long enough, that dried paint acts as a glue and effectively prevents the needle from moving.

 

3 hours ago, Chris L said:

 

 The part # for the crown cap is : I 105 0: Crown Cap

 

 There is a Teflon seal that the needle goes through but that should not come out . I would check that something forward of the cup might be plugged and blowing things back.

 

 Regards, Christian 

So, what happens if that teflon seal is broken? Do I have to buy another airbrush? It's my first airbrush, so it hasn't exactly been treated with expert care. Once the needle got stuck inside the airbrush completely, would not budge with nozzle and Chuck guide completely out, tried to loosen it with solvents all day, but had to litterally tap it out with a hammer in order to get the needle free from the crusted up paint. 

[Chris L]

 The seal is replaceable but I have never know any of my friend to have one replaced on an Iwata brush.

 

 It's not unheard of on the Badger brushes but I think they have to go back to Badger to have that replaced .

 

Make sure all the orifices forward of the trigger are  good and clean particularly the nozzle . Anything that restricts airflow up front will generate back pressure towards paint cup and the back of the brush

 

I always wipe my needle clean when it's going to sit overnight . I have also found that placing a dab of Iwata SuperLube toward the needle tip tends to seall that portion of the airbrush. I now do that religiously and my needle never gets stuck anymore.

 

Hope this helps you out .. . Look for some paper points on Ebay . That will help you clean out the nozzle. Probably extra fine size.

 

Cheers, Christian

[admiralcag]

Do you have/know a local Iwata rep? If not, contact Tom Grossman at TAGTeam Hobbies (http://tagteamhobbies.com). He sells parts, the pro maintenance tool kit, and can fix the brush if that fails. Definitely sounds like the needle packing has issues.

 

Vern

 

[Don Wheeler]

I'm a little late getting into this thread, but I'll try to help if you're still here.  No, you didn't ruin your airbrush.  Yes, the needle seal is damaged.  You probably scratched it when you pulled the needle out with dried paint on it.  Normally the Teflon seal stays attached to the adjustment screw.  Yours is most likely stuck with dried paint.  A new seal and packing screw is about $7.  It's item 13 on this page. 

 

But, you have to get the old seal out.  Remove the needle and trigger assembly.  Pick up some fine interdental brushes from the drug store.  Dip one in some lacquer thinner or nail polish remover and insert it in the rear hole in the cup.  Here is a photo.

 

 

Scrub it out and hopefully you can push out the seal.  Do not allow thinner to get in the hole for the trigger pin.  There is a rubber o-ring in there that will swell and jam.  When you install the new seal, adjust it until you barely feel any drag on the needle.  It's a touchy adjustment.  Some airbrush dealers , like Coast Airbrush, will do all this for you, or you could send it to Iwata for repair.

 

In the future, whenever you clean the airbrush, pull the needle and wipe it clean.  Then it won't get stuck again.  And, it doesn't hurt to swab that hole out each time too.

 

Good luck with it.

 

Don

[CANicoll]

Don offers good advice, but if you have damaged the teflon seal, who knows what else has been damaged.  I recently sent my HP-CS back to Iwata for them to do a 'tune up' on it - replace any worn seals, etc.  Came back good as new for a fraction of the price of a new airbrush - and it usually takes a couple of weeks.  Here is the link and scroll about half way down.  You can call them, or fill out the form and they will contact you.

 

How is your needle, by the way?  Check the tip and the nozzle, both need to be spotless (and no bends).

 

Hope this helps,

Chris

[dnl42]

13 minutes ago, CANicoll said:

How is your needle, by the way?  Check the tip and the nozzle, both need to be spotless (and no bends)

That's always something to keep track of. I keep a spare of both on-hand in case they get damaged.

[CANicoll]

4 minutes ago, dnl42 said:

That's always something to keep track of. I keep a spare of both on-hand in case they get damaged.

 

At Nationals this year I picked up a needle sharpener.  I somehow got a minor bend in the tip of my spare needle that I could not straighten out.  Works like a charm!

[CaptainObvious]

3 hours ago, CANicoll said:

 

At Nationals this year I picked up a needle sharpener.  I somehow got a minor bend in the tip of my spare needle that I could not straighten out.  Works like a charm!

 

That's really interesting. Do you have a brand / link that I can look up?

Thanks

-co

[CANicoll]

5 hours ago, CaptainObvious said:

 

That's really interesting. Do you have a brand / link that I can look up?

Thanks

-co

 

Here you go.  It is a little pricy at $45 but it really does the trick.  I've used it on all of my needles at this point.

SharpenAir

[WelshZeCorgi]

10 hours ago, CANicoll said:

 

How is your needle, by the way?  Check the tip and the nozzle, both need to be spotless (and no bends).

 

Hope this helps,

Chris

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm not too sure. It looks fine and straight but I was told that even the most minute of bending can mess up the spray pattern and I don't know if my eyes could detect such a minute bend. 

 

Anyways, as an update it did turn out that the packing nut was quite loose in the airbrush and after cleaning it up and giving it a small coat of wax it pretty much stopped the leaking behind the cup. 

 

I think I should send it back to iwata for that tune up though. Would be nice to hit the reset button after all the crap it went through under my care. 

[CANicoll]

Do you have a magnifying light?  I use that to see smaller details and the bend was pretty clear looking through that.  And I"ve seen that happen many times with that nut.  Another test if the needle is far enough forward is if you press down the trigger, but don't pull back, and you see paint coming out (paper towel for example).  I've had to re-seat the needle a few times after failing that test.

 

I don't use wax but do use a blue airbrush lube that seems to work well, on the trigger as well.

 

Yeah, can't hurt to get it checked out, right?  I had mine for many years - not my first airbrush but the other was the Aztek 470 - and I was not always very thorough about cleaning it out.  Now I am!

Good luck,  Chris

[dnl42]

Bees wax is a good sealant for the head cap. I keep a small block at my airbrush station and give the threads a light swipe against the block when I disassemble the cap. This will also fix some issue with air bubbling in the paint cup.

[CaptainObvious]

17 hours ago, CANicoll said:

 

Here you go.  It is a little pricy at $45 but it really does the trick.  I've used it on all of my needles at this point.

SharpenAir

 

Thanks Chris!

[EightyDuce]

On 9/29/2018 at 10:36 PM, CANicoll said:

Don offers good advice, but if you have damaged the teflon seal, who knows what else has been damaged.  I recently sent my HP-CS back to Iwata for them to do a 'tune up' on it - replace any worn seals, etc.  Came back good as new for a fraction of the price of a new airbrush - and it usually takes a couple of weeks.  Here is the link and scroll about half way down.  You can call them, or fill out the form and they will contact you.

 

How is your needle, by the way?  Check the tip and the nozzle, both need to be spotless (and no bends).

 

Hope this helps,

Chris

How much was it for this "tuneup" and what exactly did they do/change out? I picked up an HP-CS second hand and would like to have it looked over.

[CANicoll]

Probably best for you to give them a call and they can tell you directly what they do and how much they charge.  I don't know if their prices have changed or not in the past year.  Good luck!  Chris

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[Jkool559]

You need part No. 13. 

http://www.coastairbrush.com/partsairbrush/eclipseparts.asp

 

Unscrew the current one with a small flat head screwdriver and install the new one. Don't over tighten, otherwise the needle wont move properly. I can post pictures if it would help. 

Edited October 16, 2018 by Jkool559