Hi!

I have only had my airbrush for a couple of months but I have already managed to bend the needle.

I tried to reshape it by gently pressing it against my cutting board while rolling it. Finally it at least looked straight.

So my question is: Do you guys think I'm fine or should I buy a new needle? And how will I notice if the needle is still not straight?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Ola,

I suspect you've come to the right place to get your answer. I don't know if I'll have the exact answers but do have some thoughts. Others will no doubt offer other insights.

I use a Badger Patriot. With this model, the needle seems to be pretty tough. I've found, like you that the needle can get bent. So far I've had luck doing what you did, "rolling" it straight. As long as the needle shaft can move freely through the air gun's inner workings it seems fine. The exception to this would likely be that if you bent the needle sharply and result in a kink along the shaft. I believe at this point, it's time for a new needle, as it will no longer slide freely.

Next, is the tip of the needle. These little bends are hard to see, but clearly cause problems (ask how I know? Haha). I've bent the fine tip, and had luck fixing it with a fine file, using it like you would to sharpen a knife or on chainsaw teeth. Be careful, you can get a flat spot if you don't roll the tip while you're sharpening it.

I've used airbrush cleaner (the product used for water based acrylics) to test the results. I realize cleaner has no pigment so it's very fine, but, you can see pretty clearly if the "spray" is right or not. If the tip is bent you'll see the mist won't be sprayed straight, and instead will favor some direction - this is more obvious in real life than in text. Similarly, if you can't control the spray, that is more or less of a cloud/stream, you'll know your needle shaft could be bent. You'll also feel any jamming as you try to work the trigger.

Fortunately, there's a big art supply store near me where I can purchase replacement tips. Hope this offers some help!
Good luck
Nick

To straighten a bent needle tip I use pair of tongue depressors placed above the bent area, press the depressors together and pull the needle through them. Once the bend is close to straight, I place the bevel of the needle flat on a piece of glass and press against any remaining kinks with one of the depressors while spinning the needle with my finger tips. I've straightened many a bent tip this way. As long as the tip is returned to the original shape it won't damage the spray nozzle. If kinks remain, it's time for a new needle as the kinks will wear the tip and affect the spray pattern.

Hope this helps

Paul

If you have a thick piece of glass or a piece of metal that you are sure is flat , take the needle and a short metal ruler to flatten the needle , sandwich the needle between the surface and the ruler then roll it out . 95 % of the time it will make the needle tip straight again .

As most have already stated, a bent needle isn't the end of the world. Just be sure to straighten it out by rolling and NOT by counter-bending.

As long as it doesn't catch on anything while in use then it would most likely be fine for modelling. I think the only time I would worry is if I'll be doing extremely precise airbrushing, which I never do

I was told once that in order to minimize the chances of bending the needle it was better to take it out of the AB from the front instead from the back and put it back again from the front.

With my cheap AB there is no problem but with my Iwata I fill it is tighter (it moves with no problems but not as freely as the cheap one) to take it out from the front and therefore would like to know if it is a good idea to take it out from the front of the AB.

Best regards,
Angel

I think pulling the needle from the front doesn't really reduce the chances of damaging it significantly. My purpose for doing it mostly would be so that paint stuck near the needle packing will not get to the valve area. Even then, the needle packing should ensure that most of the paint residue won't pass as you pull the needle to the back. Doing this still requires you to pull the needle a bit before taking out the nozzle assembly then pushing it forward. I only do this for airbrushes that have a free floating nozzle such as the HP-CS. Removing the needle from the front on most airbrushes requires you to wrench out the nozzle which should only be done when deep cleaning the AB or when performance is greatly reduced.

Pulling from the front has its merits but sadly it is not easy to perform on a lot of airbrushes without tools (nozzle wrench). I have never tried assembling the needle from the front nor have I heard of such method. Bottom line is, the needle is not made of glass, as long as you be careful in inserting and pulling it, there shouldn't be too much of a fuss on taking it out/in from the back.

Hi Ola believe it or not your airbrush will function pretty well even with a bent needle, if its too far gone you should hear a rasping sound when spraying. i wouldn't obsess about the needle being 100% straight.

Thanks everybody for taking your time to write all the great advice!

It seems that my airbrush functions pretty well now that I bent it back into shape! Maybe I'll buy a spare needle in case of emergency!