Iwata NEO and Lacquers

[SJM]

Is it true that airbrushes can spray anything (acrylic/enamel etc), as long as you use the correct thinner/solvent?

I have a NEO and need to use some lacquer paint, will this work out ok?

Thanks.

[Lt. Z0mBe]

I have a Neo and an HP-CH. the HPCH I have had for years but the Neo is less than two years old. The seals, including the needle bearing are not the PTFE (Teflon) that is used in the HPCH and other first-order Iwatas. They look like rubber. However, I have fired metallizing lacquers through the Neo, lacquer-thinned Mr. Surfacer and of course, pure lacquer thinner for cleaning. It's a cheap brush I use for wider applications so I just assume that when those seals and bearings wear out, I will get a new "beater" brush. In short, you should be fine so long as you don't take to soaking the thing in the lacquer or thinner. But, being that those are non-teflon bearings and seals, the lacquer will absolutely act on them and cause them to wear prematurely. Hell, lacquer thinner even gets to Teflon if it's left to soak in it.

I hope this helps.

Kenny

[Jonas Calhoun]

That's the key--just clean it well afterward, and don't soak it. You'll be fine.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

I tried soaking my airbrush (a Wave airbrush, not an Iwata) and the O ring expanded and got real loose. I was afraid I'd ruined it and would have to replace it, but it returned to its original size. Not gonna do that again!

[SJM]

Guys, thank you so much. This was so helpful, exactly the kind of info I needed!

Hi Greg

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

Hey Scott, you should fix the links in your signature. HTML won't work on forums; only phpbb tags.