Is my airbrush... dead?

[Drazimo]

Hey guys,

Short story, my airbrush looked crapped. I put it in an Ultra Sonic for a deep clean, I was then summoned by the wife to do things for the child, forgot about it. It's a H&S Ultra.

Came back about a week later after being busy and suddenly remembered it was still in there. When I took it out, I was greeted with...


This is all the way through the airbrush, and it even looks like the outer parts of the airbrush have discoloured in areas. Before I go on to try and fix it, would I be wasting my time?

-D

[Paul]

Wow, well theres a name from the past, sadly that looked like its ruined

[Drazimo]

Yeah, I lurk a bit, just don't have much time to commit to SiGs and GB's at the moment... kids, eh?

I tried as suggested by a friend to give vinegar ago incase it was some form of surface rust, but alas, isn't moving. May have to throw it on the scrap heap and call it quits. At least it's a lesson learned, if not an expensive one.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ya it looks like it has corroded through the silver plating down to the brass
If just the colour cup it could be polished, but if it is rough all the way internally would be a problem as paint would stick to the walls
Does the needle look the same??
Can the valves open and air move?

[digger303]

I have heard of brushes that have lost all their chrome and are down to the brass and still perform. As Scott says is the surface rough ?
You could strip everything out of the brush and using a pipe cleaner and polishing compound try to clean it up and see what it is like. The needle and nozzle should be ok. The brass is high quality so it maybe quite smooth once the crud is removed.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I have heard of brushes that have lost all their chrome and are down to the brass and still perform. As Scott says is the surface rough ?
You could strip everything out of the brush and using a pipe cleaner and polishing compound try to clean it up and see what it is like. The needle and nozzle should be ok. The brass is high quality so it maybe quite smooth once the crud is removed.

Exactly what I would try, except some fine sand blasting first
Send it my way of you are gonna just junk it

[Drazimo]

Hey guys,

cheers for the responses.

It's the cup and the main body that has been affected, so in theory, I can replace the two for about £40, as opposed to buying a new airbrush itself.

I don't have any polishing compound at the moment but will look at getting some. Would the Tamiya stuff be what you'd suggest, or something else?

The surface doesn't feel rough, like you'd expect from something rusty, but doesn't feel smooth like it did, a strange one, but yeah, you can see the brass coming through on the cup. I can't properly see what it's all like through the body smoothness wise but it's definitely discoloured all the way through.

I've also contact H&S just on the off chance they may suggest something that doesn't involve just buying a new one. :-D

-D

[Drazimo]

I heard back from H&S this morning.

So I guess it's a case of giving it a go and seeing what happens.



-D

[Gary30]

At least you know it's CLEAN now

Hope it works out.

[digger303]

Hey guys,

cheers for the responses.

It's the cup and the main body that has been affected, so in theory, I can replace the two for about £40, as opposed to buying a new airbrush itself.

I don't have any polishing compound at the moment but will look at getting some. Would the Tamiya stuff be what you'd suggest, or something else?

The surface doesn't feel rough, like you'd expect from something rusty, but doesn't feel smooth like it did, a strange one, but yeah, you can see the brass coming through on the cup. I can't properly see what it's all like through the body smoothness wise but it's definitely discoloured all the way through.

I've also contact H&S just on the off chance they may suggest something that doesn't involve just buying a new one. :-D

-D

You could use the Tamiya one or even a metal polish from a hardware store which maybe the best choice.