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Has Anyone Else Ruined Their SOTAR Airbrush?


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I seem to have a penchant for breaking dual action aibrushes.  My almost brand new Badger SOTAR is my latest victim.  I got to put black panel lines through it on my 1/48 Tempest, and then when I tried to replace the regulator part, the one without protective arms, with the regulator WITH protective arms, I have managed to break the SOTAR.  I thought you just had to replace the non-protective arm regulator with the one with the arms, but clearly, that is not the case.  When I tried to do that, I could get no flow out of the airbrush.  And, when I replaced the protective arm part with the original regulator piece (that is, putting it back to the original condition) the flow of the airbrush is poor, a significant amount of air is fed back into the color cup (bubbles in the paint), and the needle is no longer perfect (it has a kink near the tip, can't see it but I can feel it),  I'm guessing that then I tried to put the regulator with the protective arms in place, I must have bent or otherwise damaged the nozzle, and now the airbrush is pretty much useless.  I have no idea how that protective arm regulator is supposed to be installed, but obviously it's not the way I did it.  I've ordered several replacement 'fine' needle kits (3 to be exact) because if I can damage this airbrush so easily, I'm going to need these repair parts.  And, since I don't know what really happened, I ordered a brand new SOTAR airbrush, too, so I can start from scratch.  Nice to be replacing a week old airbrush.  I must be awfully stupid.

Edited by Curt B
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Thanks for your comment.

 

However, I just got off the phone with Spraygunner, where I bought my airbrush and the spray regulator from.  I want to send a warning to anyone who has purchased a SOTAR recently and wants to use the spray regulator with arms.  DO NOT TRY TO INSTALL THE REGULATOR WITH ARMS!!!  THE PART IS DEFECTIVE!!!  I had the gentleman I spoke with at Spraygunners try to install the part on one of their airbrushes, and he agreed that the part is NOT MACHINED CORRECTLY.  It did, in fact, damage the nozzle and needle.  When I tried to install the part, I did not force it.  I used hand tightening only.  But that was sufficient to have damaged the nozzle, and then, when the needle went through the damaged nozzle, it looks like the needle was also damaged.  SO PLEASE, if you buy a new SOTAR, DON"T TRY TO INSTALL THE SPRAY REGULATOR WITH ARMS!!!

 

Spraygunners is going to try to get their service department to look into this, but there may be some issues with Badger Customer Service, so we'll see how it goes.  I just want to try to make sure no one else does what I did and damage their airbrush.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey guys, in the interest of letting you know what happened with the SOTAR...

 

I sent the airbrush back to Spraygunner, on a Wednesday, and had an answer back from them the following Monday.  They took the airbrush apart, and noted that the part where the nozzle sits was not machined correctly, hence, apparently, any different nozzle would not have sat correctly.  It looks like that part was not machined, or not machined properly from the factory.  Also apparently, that is why the spray regulator with arms was not sitting properly.  Spraygunner worked on the originally defective part, and they gave me the option of taking back my original airbrush, which they were able to repair, or to wait for their next shipment of new SOTARs, which is supposed to be in before the end of the year.  I thought it was great that they gave me the choice, and I asked them to send back a new one when available, and they also offered to open he new one and check it out before sending to to me to make sure all is well.  I am very happy with that service.  The only part that I find disconcerting is that they saw the same problem, with a spry regulator on a SOTAR that they had, which is telling me that this manufacturing defect may be widespread.  They acknowledged that.  

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Hi All,

 

I just wanted to let anyone who may be interested know the latest in this episode.  

 

I received a brand new replacement SOTAR airbrush today.  Spraygunner had installed an air regulator with arms, just as they said they would, and they included a new Fine Conversion Set, which I had used in trying to fix the prior defective airbrush.  I was really surprised to see this replacement airbrush arrive so soon, as they had written to me saying that they would send a replacement as soon as a new Badger shipment arrived, which they wrote would probably be before the end of the year.  It obviously came sooner than they, and I, expected.

 

Spraygunner has done everything they promised, and I could not be happier with the outstanding service I have received.  I cannot recommend Spraygunner enough.  They will be my airbrush store of choice going forward, that's for sure!

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Hey guys,

 

I am almost embarrassed to post this, but I'd like your opinions.  

 

When I ran into my problem with the SOTAR airbrush, I bought a second SOTAR.  I sometimes get impulsive that way.  I hadn't really tried to use this second SOTAR until today, when I wanted to compare the second brush to the replacement brush.  The replacement brush works perfectly, but I was seriously dumbfounded to discover that the second brush I'd purchased has its own problem.  What seems to be happening as that the air flow is 'pulsing'.  This is exhibited by trying to paint a relatively fine line, and what you see is a line that has gaps in it.  What appears to be happening is that air flow stops, for some reason, and then doe not begin flowing again until air pressure builds up a bit, and the flow restarts.  I don't think this is a paint problem, as a can hear what sounds like air flow stopping and restarting.  Also, I would say that the trigger does feel just  tiny bit 'stickier' in operation than the replacement SOTAR.  I find it terribly frustrating that two of the same model airbrush, particularly one designed and made in the US, has had problems.  I've written again to Spraygunners, and I'm hoping that they will just accept another return so they can check out the problem.

 

Any ideas of what I might be seeing?

 

 

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Curt, what is your air source?  Compressor? Water trap?  

 

Im a big fan of the 20/20, a simple fine line airbrush. In fact I’ve been using mine all weekend. I’m also like you, bought a second as well but it sits in the box unopened. You are not alone. 

Cheers

Collin

 

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1 hour ago, Collin said:

Curt, what is your air source?  Compressor? Water trap?  

 

Im a big fan of the 20/20, a simple fine line airbrush. In fact I’ve been using mine all weekend. I’m also like you, bought a second as well but it sits in the box unopened. You are not alone. 

Cheers

Collin

 

 

Hi Collin (that’s my son’s name also!),

 

My air source is an Iwata Smart Jet Pro compressor which works like a champ!  It can’t be the air supply.  I’ve switched back and forth with the other SOTAR, without changing any settings at all, and the other works perfectly at the same settings. I have several other airbrushes I could use, including a Paasche Model H (my standby go-to air brush that NEVER has any issues), an Iwata HP-C Plus, an Iwata HP-M2 single action, a Mr. Hobby PC-770, and a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution. However, I think I’ll really like the SOTAR, IF I can ever get one to work.  It’s sad that I’m zero for two on an American designed and built product. I realize that any manufactured item can have issues, but it’s not looking too good for Badger, in my eyes, at the moment.  

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Curt B,

 

My friend on another forum has been buying airbrushes for decades and has over 200 of them (including a lot of vintage examples). Ken at Badger has been trying awful hard to recruit him as a mouthpiece for Badger but he refuses- politely mind you, to get involved. The SOTAR 20/20 he received recently (twice mind you!) were both defective and does indeed point to a clear issue at Badger on quality control. My friend has now sworn off anything from Badger at this point and might I reccomend looking for a Thayer & Chandler Elite A or AA? A much nicer brush all around and can be had on eBay for less than $50US.  In short, the quality is NOT there any more at Badger. I have a Badger Renegade Spirit side feed (a SOTAR with a different body style) and mine does work fine with a Binks (Iwata style color cup) but will not bother to buy anything more from Badger due to the clear issues taking place on quality control. Caveat emptor boys and girls....

Regards,

Chris the cabbie

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Hi guys, SprayGunner is doing a great job for me and they are going to replace this second airbrush also.  However, as Chris spoke about, the Badger QC is obviously lacking.  Presuming I can get this second SOTAR working acceptably, no more Badger products for me.  I had been hoping for a cheaper alternative, with good quality and capability, but I don’t mind paying more for good working stuff!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/27/2019 at 7:09 PM, Chris the cabbie said:

 My friend has now sworn off anything from Badger at this point and might I reccomend looking for a Thayer & Chandler Elite A or AA? A much nicer brush all around and can be had on eBay for less than $50US.  In short, the quality is NOT there any more at Badger. I

 

Isn't Thayer&Chandler owned by Badger for several decades? IIRC Vega and Omni series were Thayer&Chandler designs.

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Yes

Thayer & Chandler we're bought by Badger sometime at the end of the last Century. If it is a model A then it is a Thayer designed brush, preceding their buyout by Badger. I have a Model A that I bought on eBay. I've never used it though as it was more of a piece for my airbrush collection. someone on hyperscale when I asked, if anybody has used one of these says it's a pretty decent brush....

 

Max Bryant 

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