Hi. I have a Badger Model 100LG and have bubbles in the paint cup. Manual states that the spray regulator might be turned out too far (to turn it back in), loose head or missing head seal. I checked and the regulator and head are tied firmly, head seal is there. I did take everything apart and clean it but did not help. Any other thought or suggestions ? I searched on the web and all mentioned that there is a blockage somewhere in the head but when taking everything apart, I could see through all the holes. Thank you in advance.
Thanh.

The Teflon needle bearing, part number 50-046, could be damaged and allow compressed air to pass the needle and enter the paint channel and bubble up into the cup.

These parts become worn as the needle is removed for cleaning and dried paint on the needle acts as an abrasive as the needle is pulled out. The factory gives a life-time replacement warranty on these parts if that's the problem. (You do have to ship the airbrush back to them, tho...)

After a good cleaning and inspection to ensure all the other parts are in good order and present (the head washer, especially), this is the only thing that I can think of that would cause your problem.

I have had a replacement head washer that was too thin that also caused a similar problem with a Badger model 200 (very similar design from the trigger forward). But replacing the replacement with a waher that was in-spec fixed the problem. If your head washer is the original, it could be worn or damaged maybe. (I lost mine; that's why I needed a replacement.) These head washers are available from places that sell Badger airbrushes for pretty cheap.

You could try screwing the head down tighter or adding a bit of bee's wax to the head threads and head washer and seeing if that helps, but I suspect the problem might be the needle bearing.

HTH and good luck,

Or a clogged nozzle.

Or as Matt didn't mention it this time have you changed your head or needle for a different size and not matched them up? Badger airbrushes require that you change the needle and the head assembly which need to be matched or problems will be the result.

Completely dissassemble the airbrush. Depending on whether you used a water based or not soak it in windex or paint thinner over night. Clean it in the morning. This worked with my Badger.

Hi everyone and thank you all for the replies. I did soak the head section of the airbrush in Denatured Alcohol overnight but it did not help. The seal does not have any physical damage on it. The airbrush still works as I can paint my models but bubbles keep foaming in the paint cup.

I stopped by my LHS yesterday and they happened to have the replacement head in stock. I bought it to replace the current head and tested it with water instead of paint or thinner. So far so good, no more bubbles. I guess the blockage is somewhere in the head and I will try to find out where later on this weekend. Thanks again for the input.
Thanh.