Hello,

I'm doing my first armor, a Marder 1A2 from Tamiya, and decided to try the 3-tone nato scheme. To really get the upper hand on the camo painting I bought a new airbrush, a HS evolution solo (0.2). However, since the start of painting this tank I've been struggling with the airbrush shooting blanks.

I am able to paint with it if I keep a high flow, but when I get down to the edges between the color fields I want a very thin transition between the colors and therefor, of course, I need to adjust the needle lever properly. It's when I do this i start to get problems. Very quickly the paint stops flowing and I get the impression that there is a stop inside the nozzle.

Many times I can clear it by "full throttle" against a newspaper and then start over with the detailed lines again. However the joy is short lived. After a short time 10-60 seconds the paint stops flowing again. Especially if i make a small interruption to the flow.

Sometimes going "full throttle" is not enough either. Then I have to jerk the needle lever back and forth repeatedly to allow the needle to actually push some paint out of the nozzle until paint starts flowing again. But it's the problem is soon back.

Some details about my setup:
Paint: Vallejo Air Nato Black/Brown/Green
Paint mix: Tried everything between "out of the bottle" to 1 part paint and 2 paint/thinner. The thinner is Tamiya. I've also tried to replace thinner with airflow improver from Vallejo.
Air pressure: 10 - 30 psi

Note: I do get a slight back blow of air into the cup sometimes, but it is very little.

Where am I go wrong? This is really taking the fun out of it entirely. However those short moments when it's spraying as expected the results are absolutely wonderful.

Is the paint drying? Do I need to keep a higher pace to keep the paint coming? It's not like I go make my self a cup of coffee, but I might need to stop for a couple of seconds to check the reference photos, adjust my grip etc.

Any ideas are welcome.
Cheers
Anders