I am relatively new to airbrushing and bought a cheap one a couple of years ago (Iwata knock off, bought in ignorance!) and have had great fun and learnt some of the dark arts along the way, however recently when starting a session the needle seems to be stuck, this is beginning to be irritating necessitating stripping it down and re-cleaning before I can use it. I normally only use acrylics and am fairly fastidious about cleaning it before putting it away at the end of a session. At first I was thinking dried crud in the nozzle setting onto the needle tip but after careful cleaning of the nozzle the problem persists and I am now thinking perhaps the small O ring seal at the rear end of the paint chamber is jamming onto the rear part of the needle.
Here's the question, should airbrushes be lubricated and if so what with? I'm reluctant to use any kind of oil for fear of damaging the seals. Any help appreciated

Iwata lube. I use it periodically on my Iwata and H&S ABs.

Hi Paul, I got this problem with my Iwata Neo what I found was that no matter how well I cleaned the airbrush the needle seemed to have some residue on it.solved it by removeing the needle wipe with a tissue with airbrush cleaner on it, also I spray wd40 onto a tissue and wipe it along the needle but not on the point I leave about 2 inchs clear of the wd40, been doing this for a couple of years now and it seemed to work.Same thing happened with a clone I had, cured it the same way never had any problems.

You need to lubricate the needle with a few drops of Iwata Medea Super Lube. I would not use other oils as super lube is designed not to affect paints.

Thanks a lot guys, will get myself some Iwata lube.
Cheers Paul