Needle Know How - Avoid Paint Drying On Your Airbrush Needle Tip!

[@energypull6847]

That you try to accommodate people with disabilities makes every dollar I spent on your airbrush more meaningful.

[@harderairbrush]

Thank you for that comment :-)

[@ThePereubu1710]

"tiny trigger movements" - HA! That explains why I don't get tip drying. My great sausage fingers can't do "tiny trigger movements". I never thought that would be a win! :D

[@harderairbrush]

Actually, we have something FOR the sausage fingered amongst us coming soon - you'll be over the moon!

[@RynoKenny]

The first tip isn’t doable on the ultra 2024 using the beginner collar because it restricts further movement of the trigger to release wet paint. Dry needle tip has definitely been a frustration for me at every session.

[@harderairbrush]

Hey buddy... hopefully you've spotted the ULTRA 2024 painting process video, and seen how we advocate dealing with tip dry within the ULTRA system. It's very effective BUT admittedly not as fast as the technique described here. But it is a great way for a beginner to learn to spot and navigate tip dry quickly and easily whilst enjoying the support of the Collar. Once the trigger control is there, you should absolutely start painting with a free trigger as soon as possible, as this is the path to further develop your skill and creativity with the airbrush, and of course, then you can implement this technique as an additional means of preventing and dealing with tip dry. Hope that helps! W

[@gregharker1600]

I have been airbrushing since the late 70s, and it never occurred to me to paint blast to avoid dry tips. I have been pinching this whole time. With older airbrushes, I would take the protective cap off. Great tip.

[@harderairbrush]

Ah that's great to hear Greg - hope it works well for you!

[@mikeszczutkowski3066]

Thank you Warrick I for some reason never thought of blasting paint through the brush to the side, again love your videos on Q&A's I really respect your knowledge.

[@harderairbrush]

Thanks very much for that Mike! Glad it's helpful!

[@kevinkerlin5603]

I like the honesty and respect his comments being realistic what people may or may try or do from this manufacturers channel.

[@harderairbrush]

Thank you! We have a radical marketing strategy called telling the truth :-)

[@shutterfish]

Easy way to avoid dry tip is to always blow air. Never just let go of the trigger. Air-paint-air. No dry tip. Love the new Evolution 24 by the way 💕

[@harderairbrush]

I generally paint this way... Not sure that it has a big impact on tip dry, but it's an old habit from automotive guns... W

[@shutterfish]

@@harderairbrushFor me it is essential, if i do not end with air, tip dry comes qiuck. 😅

[@ibidesign]

I never thought of that before. Can't wait to try this out! Thanks.

[@harderairbrush]

Let us know!

[@ranchobob48]

H&S... you are 90% of my 15 brush arsenal. Keep up the good work!

[@eduardoserrano748]

For example in the infinity models (in my case Giraldez’s) when I start doing really tiny points it usually works fine the first time; the second time I have to clean the tip; but the third row of dots and points it’s like: I HAVE to clean my noozle already. So if instead of doing that, I just do a couple of shots, one full aside, and then go on, I could do that ‘infinitely’ for as long as it keeps wet. If I understood correctly that’s my issue and the solution. Thank you very very much!!

[@harderairbrush]

Exactly that Eduardo!

[@DingoPaints]

These video's have given me a huge amount of confidence with my airbrush. Thank you

[@harderairbrush]

Awesome comment - that's the goal! Thanks for letting us know!

[@styrenehelp]

Some very valuable tips to avoid 'tip dry'. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

[@harderairbrush]

My pleasure :-)

[@PeteCourtier]

Use lacquer paint👍👍

[@harderairbrush]

Ah the good stuff!

[@kitoushi66]

Very useful info on tip dry. I have bent so many needle tips on trying to "pinch" clean dried paint. Great video.

[@harderairbrush]

Do the pinch between your fingers, and don't involve your finger nails :-)

[@franktozier3184]

good information. It's probably been talked about before but what is the proper ratio of thinner to paint in an airbrush? I know that different brands of paint can quite different from each other,

[@harderairbrush]

Hi Frank... it's a difficult question to answer, because it depends on what you want to achieve. BUT as a general rule with most acrylic paints now, I'd go for 1 part thinner to 1 part paint as a starter. If you want more transparency, go more thinner. If you to limit atomisation (detail, texture) go less thinner. But that's a good starting point.

[@grzegoszbrzeczyszczykiewic7753]

Thank you!

[@ELPADREAIRBRUSH]

I love the answers you gave I think you should send me an infinity airbrush so I can try your theory myself because I can’t afford any of your beautiful airbrushes ! 😢

[@modelerjerry5119]

Awesome tips. Thank you!❤

[@harderairbrush]

Thank you for watching Jerry!

[@philipzwart6449]

Great info! Thanks for this it was most helpful.

[@harderairbrush]

Great - good to hear that it helped!

[@MrGreg972]

Excellent as always

[@mahari7285]

I just bought the Ultra 2024 and it is very disappointing to learn that the tip dries up within seconds unless you have it set to free flow. You can't clean it with your fingers and the paint is usually too caked on for treatment with a paintbrush, no matter how thin the paint was and from which manufacturer (I even tried the exact recipe from the latest tutorial with no difference). 😢

[@curtcleancut]

Another great video guys. Please keep up the great work.

[@harderairbrush]

We will!

[@pete_the_bak]

Really helpful thanks! I'm learning to use my Infinity at the moment, had a load of tip drying this morning and straight away knew to check out your KZbin 👌👌👌 What's your opinion on additives like Flow Improver for tip drying?

[@harderairbrush]

Hey Peter - ah man that's really great to hear that you're consulting us - we hope that we're worth the time!!! For me, I'm not a big fan of flow improvers, for two reasons. Often people confuse Airbrush Flow Improvers, with Paintbrush Flow Improvers, and they actually work in opposite ways - the ones for paintbrushes work to help the paint stay together so that it "draws" better off the end of the brush, and the point of the airbrush ones is that it allows the paint to "break" better i.e. atomise. So people muddle them up on the bench, and then end up using the wrong one in the airbrush and finding drama instead of peace :-) And all that for what will only ever be a small incremental improvement over just making a good paint preparation. For me, just focus on the following: use the thinner from the same paint brand as the paint; thin it until it drips with no elasticity off an old needle, but does not simply fall off. Keep your pressure around the 20-25psi area, and don't hesitate to pinch the tip to keep it clean, and also don't forget the little hack about occasionally pointing the airbrush away and giving it a quick full pull to wet the needle tip and clean it up (followed by a couple of taps on the air valve to make sure that your needle tip is paint free before you start your next stroke). Follow these and life will be awesome!

[@richardkatzman1215]

Your videos are excellent! Thank you.

[@KayakFishingCentral]

Great video as always, some good tips.

[@harderairbrush]

Thanks buddy! Great channel on your side too, all from the very lovely Harrogate too!

[@charlesyoung8600]

Use lacquer paints.

[@harderairbrush]

House of Kolor hoo-rah. Beautiful! But for some folks it doesn't work in the spare room!

[@simonfieldhouse]

Great video.

[@harderairbrush]

Thank you Simon!

[@Bunyip_Studios]

Super useful info as usual, having taken a long break from any painting, spraying off to the side is something I'd forgotten and had fallen into the depths of memory, thanks for bringing back to the surface BTW, any further development on the Cult of Paint trigger accessory? Wouldn't even mind if it was a stiff silicone "sock" that slipped over the standard trigger top 🥰🥰 😂 love you lots

[@harderairbrush]

Keep up to date with our YT and IG channels - we have been really busy over the last 18 months, and finally all the work will start to become public. Your request will be honoured! (but H&S won't be making any silicone socks ;-) )

[@Bunyip_Studios]

Will do! Yeah, kinda knew the silicone idea was a non starter really I just applied to Freelance with the Cult of Paint guys, so fingers crossed!

[@harderairbrush]

Best of luck!

[@Bunyip_Studios]

I do apologise, I have just discovered that I have been using some incorrect terminology, so I shall obviously correct my error. Any further development as to when the Cult of Paint Lever Device Complete will be available to purchase as a separate item? Also a set of Angel's Distance Caps would be useful as well. People can't keep buying £200+ airbrushes just to obtain these excellent accessories

[@harderairbrush]

Hey buddy - you are absolutely right. My apologies for these taking some time. We have been working on a number of very exciting things which will be revealed over the next three months, and among them is a much better availability of specialist upgrade parts. Thank you for your patience. As a note, one of the things that we hold as very important to our brand is the ability to build your airbrush a little like "Lego" i.e. you can bring parts from other variants and use them on your model - this is something core to H&S and we intend to maintain it, so your desire to accessorise with parts from other models will always be possible.

[@Bunyip_Studios]

@@harderairbrush thank you so much for a quick reply. This is excellent news! I have played with the "build your airbrush" feature that was on the website a couple of times, all be it being mostly with color and engraving. To be able to build an airbrush that brings in the various features from different models to have something truly unique would be absolutely fantastic!!! I look forward to the revelations, and I'll stop pestering you now lol. I feel I should get a T-shirt "I 💜 Harder & Steenbeck"

[@musoseven8218]

@@harderairbrush I've three H&S brushes, I love the brand. Will we get to hear via here, re the new accessories please. I'm interested in improving the "slack" in the trigger take up on my two Infinity(s). I've tweaked my Evolution CRP to remove such, but you can't use the tail stop adjuster (I had that on my Evolution CRP as an accessory as I found it useful for doing "rusty" bolt heads etc), that way I'll have perfect atomisation and 110% paint control too👍✌️😊💜

[@stevenscott5073]

Great information really enjoy your videos and my H&S infinity’s 😃

[@harderairbrush]

Thanks for joining us Steven :-)

[@ThePereubu1710]

Question: I have an Ultra (0.2mm) with which I'm learning and improving albeit slowly (see my comment below regarding trigger movements 😆). Would it be possible to describe what differences there are between Ultra, Evolution and Infinity? Obviously I am aware that you want to sell the more expensive models!

[@harderairbrush]

Not necessarily - only if the extra value features are relevant to what you want to do. If you don't mind too much, I'm not going to detail it here, as we have some really well produced and much more complete videos coming soon about this exact topic. Thanks for your patience!

[@markblignaut3166]

Really great videos, thank you for the immense effort. If I may ask a question, intermittent spraying of Vallejo prime. 10drop thinner, 1drop flow improver, 8drop black primer, about 1.8 bar pressure. Starts spraying beautifully, then slowly the paint disappears, check the needle no obvious signs of tip dry but clean it anyway, no better. Trigger full open to the side to blast a bit of paint through. Sprays beautifully, paint then starts to get less, blast again and then sprays wonderfully again for the rest of the paint left in the cup. I am so confused,, I can’t see any blocks in the nozzle, so I leave it soaking in Vallejo cleaner for hours on end, please can you give me some advice. Sorry paint has been given a really good shake, it about two years old

[@harderairbrush]

Great question and I have to say that this sounds 💯 like some inconsistencies or clumps in the paint. Better shaking! Or straining if the paint is older…

[@musoseven8218]

Another great video✌️👍😊💜

[@harderairbrush]

Thank you 🤗

[@CalAndAly]

I got the ultra 24 and I can’t just pinch off paint bc of the head. My Artis opus dry brush can’t get it all off easily even with cleaner on it. I’m using army painter air paints and adding flow improver and all - w little to no down time between sprays, it just dries on the tip not matter what I do. I have to like remove the needle every time to clean it - Pls help!

[@harderairbrush]

OK a couple of tips... firstly, every few sprays and full blip on a full trigger helps a lot, as it puts a rush of wet paint over the tip and cleans it up. This actually works really well, even with an environment which encourages tip dry. Secondly, just use that brush more vigourously! You won't bend the needle - you can even go in from the front to clean up, as long as you don't touch anything with the ferrule.

[@johnspurr1792]

More golden truthbombs. These are epic.

[@harderairbrush]

Thanks John!

[@d_dog9939]

Thanks,the needle step meme get solved.

[@harderairbrush]

It's a meme?! Stoked that airbrushing has reached meme-able status!!!

[@d_dog9939]

@@harderairbrush Due to Japan's😅 poor reputation in industry recent years, people tend think 🤔old ones are better. And airbrush collecter (bought some old airbrush like olympos) find 🤨old needle is not double tapered. Thus there is meme that single taper is better. (After all, single taper do looks more pointy)

[@harderairbrush]

Now I'm thinking of the Dictator movie!

[@henningb.1162]

I have a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution Silverline 2 in 1. Is there an open needle cap for it i can buy, or do i have to take it of every time i want to clean it?

[@harderairbrush]

Certainly - any of our heads called FineLine have that functionality.

[@henningb.1162]

@@harderairbrush Awesome. Thanks for the quick reply. I looked online and feel kind of overwhelmed. Do you maybe have an item number of what exactly I need to purchase?

[@harderairbrush]

If you can hold your powder for a couple of weeks, there will be some very relevant new releases for you!

[@henningb.1162]

Sounds interesting. Sure i'll wait and keep a close look on this channel. :) @@harderairbrush

[@d_dog9939]

Hmmm so the second tapered part is not so important (compare to the first part)? I use to found certain needle has a completely flat tip after the second trapered part (somehow a tripple tapered needle?)...

[@harderairbrush]

Yes, it's true, there are some needle designs with a radiused final tip (the excellent Rotring airbrush of yesteryear for example), and indeed a flat cut final tip. All the for same reason as detailed in the video. From our research, the flat cut tip is optimal for robustness, but not as optimal for extreme detail performance. Hence why we don't go for that solution. It's not really possible to describe the "best" design solution, as they are all compromises, but if you define what your priorities are, then you can define "best" in that context. For us, the priorities are spray performance first, with robustness (within reason, but not to the point where it compromises spray performance) a very close second. Ease of manufacture is NEVER one of our priorities. We have a culture in the company where we LOVE finding solutions which offer real benefits but are very difficult to make, because we're always happy to take on the challenge where we believe others will not :-)

[@d_dog9939]

@@harderairbrush 😃Got it, thanks a lot.

[@harderairbrush]

No worries D-Dog.

[@S.A.S.H.]

I've found harsh words, regardless of the language in which they are spoken, has no positive impact. Unless making me feel a tad better can be considered a positive result. But seriously, as always very informative. And these Are not an integral part of my Saturday morning ritual. Coffee, email and H&S KZbin videos.

[@harderairbrush]

Ah thank you! Hope we made it a good start :-)

[@flyfishing7107]

Why am I getting paint drying instantly no matter what? Try to blast it but it dries seconds into painting.

[@harderairbrush]

Hey buddy - give us a little more info... what paint, thinner, pressure etc? W

[@robpaintsminiatures]

My goal is to purchase your new ultra 2024 air brush... but money these days is not easy to go towards the hobby

[@harderairbrush]

We hear you buddy.

[@chrispeacock3541]

Just received my new ultra and so disapointed as its not a beginner airbrush in any way shape or form as already ive spilled paint everywhere 4 times and like every new beginner having a paint cup with no lid is not complete in my book. So many beginners are going to fill the airbrush and spill paint everywhere once they first start using it. Its like buying a tin of paint and they dont give you the lid to go with it, its bizzare. I cant understand it. For a few pennies more you would pay to have the cup lid included so dont get it, it really does feel like its not complete for a beginner. I dont know any other airbrush you can buy that the cup lid is not included. Surely you cannot be penny pinching that much to save a few pence on not including a lid. It is common practice for a beginner to use the cup lid and any airbrush instructor tells you to always use the lid as waving an airbrush around is only going to lead to a disaster. I am fumming that the airbrush is not fully complete with all the tools you need as a beginner. Im now going to use my cheap chinese airbrush as it its complete with a lid so im not going to spill paint all over my model. Im gutted.

[@harderairbrush]

Hey Chris. You are the first person to comment on that particular point. Personally, I would advise you strongly that if you have a problem with spilling paint, a lid is not the solution that you should look for - your airbrush handling, or how much you are filling your cup are the problem. There is a reason why the ULTRA 2024 does not come with a lid, and it IS related to making it more suitable for beginners. Here at H&S we do not penny-pinch on anything - our focus is entirely on the user experience. The ULTRA 2024 is substantially more expensive to make than the outgoing Ultra, due to the massive increase in beginner specific functionality, durability, and quality/cost ratio in general. You simply cannot look at the finish, quality and feature list on the ULTRA 2024 and see any evidence of penny-pinching anywhere, so I must disagree strongly, but respectfully with you on that remark. Lids are a subjective topic and you're basing your entire view of the airbrush on the absence of a lid. For me, with my 27 years of experience as an airbrusher, and as an airbrush customiser/ designer, the choice to exclude the lid is the right one FOR a beginner. I hate to see a dissatisfied customer, however, so if you'd like to contact me personally on [e-mail] I will happily arrange to receive your airbrush back and give you a refund if it was purchased directly from us. I hope that helps :-)

[@chrispeacock3541]

@@harderairbrush I admit I am heavy handed whilst using an airbrush as I mentioned I'm still a beginner and I don't paint 1inch figures with just a few drops of paint in the cup. I paint large scale models mainly 1/48 scale aircraft and 1/35 tanks and you paint a large surface area and paint at all different angles underneath the model around the sides over the top so you do use a lot more hand movements than painting a tiny figure or onto canvas so the likely hood of spills really increase especially during the primer stage when painting a lot of surface area and need a lot of paint so a lid is viral for the likes of me who as I say is a little heavy handed plus in my 50s with arthritis in my hands so shake a lot and a lid gives you peace of mind that your not going to spill paint over the model. As I mentioned as well I do have a few other airbrushes from badger, sparmax, gaalheri and fengda and all come with multiple cups and all the cups have lids and I did ask many many KZbinrs who have huge airbrushing experience and they told me every airbrush they own have lids with there cups so I did find it very odd why a beginner airbrush did not come with a lid for the type of beginner painting larger scale models and might be a little heavy handed. Okay I apologize that I'm wrong on the count you are not penny pinching but I'm only giving my honest opinion that I found it really bizzare the airbrush had no lid included. I did get a few online airbrush lessons quite a while ago and they always told me to use the supplied lid as even they themselves as experienced scale modellers have made the mistake of spilling paint over some of their models so again I was only being honest that it does happen not only to beginners but also experienced modellers. I've went and ordered a lid for my ultra from where I bought it from but I really do think it should have one included in my opinion. I'm sorry that you feel Ive been a little harsh but again I honestly was a little disappointed and found it strange as all other airbrushes come with lids hence why I asked the question was it due to price. But know as you have mentioned it's not about price. Hopefully when the lid arrives I will be able to use the airbrush better without any spills.

[@harderairbrush]

Hey Chris - no problem buddy - express yourself :-) BUT unfortunately I think that your cup lid will not fit as we don't do a lid for that one... so it's probably something you should cancel and i don't think it will fit... unless they have Frankensteined a lid from something else. I've just completed a large dragon with mine with all sorts of flipping and turning, but did not spill anything - even if I had a lid I certainly would not want to rely on it. What we DO do on our cups, is to make a shape at the top which causes any slopping to be thrown back into the centre of the cup due to the internal shaping.

[@chrispeacock3541]

@@harderairbrush Hi the lid I've just purchased was from the scale model shop and said it was the lid for the 5ml ultra cup. I even looked it up on everything airbrush as well as aircraft net they say it fits harder and steenbeck 5ml paint cups. I went with scale model shop because it's where I bought the airbrush from and was the best price for the lid.

[@harderairbrush]

Sure. But the ULTRA 2024 has a new 5ml cup and it is not designed to accept the lid from the old system. We did this purposely because we don't recommend using lids with the push-in cups.

[@360.Outdoors.Videos]

I add a tiny bit of retarder in my paint .

[@RCBOSS1969]

Awesome info, thank you!