Airbrushes.com has announced that they are selling a product called SharpenAir, a product that makes your airbrush needle straight after damage.

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Thanks!

At £49 it may be a bit steep, but I'd be interested in something better than my current "press it flat on the table and roll it" technique that only sometimes removes the kinks! The direct link on their website is here.

First, l’m not affiliated with either Airbrushes.com or SharpenAir in any way. I heard about this tool on an airbrushing site I frequent.

Just let me say, this product works very well. It can be used to repair needles with bent and distorted tips and restore correct tapers. I collect and use vintage airbrushes and this product has already salvaged 3-4 needles that would have been almost impossible to replace. It works well on Iwata, Badger, Thayer & Chandler, Olympos, Tamiya, Grex and very old style Paasche brushes with single diameter needles like the V and VJR. It requires a little care and patience when using, but my SharpenAir has already more tha paid for itself in less than a month of use.

Paul H

Wow I've been living with bent tip all my years since I was too cheap to replace them, but this looks awesome! Quick question though... How does it manage to adjust to the many varied tapered angles of different needles?

Did you watch the video? There are two variations of this tool, one does the majority of airbrush needles, an alternate version of the tool is required for Paasche and DeVilbiss Dagr airbrushes. As such I believe that the needle angle of these two is different to the rest.

Watched it but wanted some user input. My iwatas and grex all have pretty large differences in angles and I thought more likely than not these are not standardized, so I'm not quite sure how such a tool could handle all of them with fixed slots. Paul seems to say that it'll do it all.

very interesting but I have the same doubts, as my badger 105 has the 2 needles from 0.3 and 0.5 have an angle only so ok is fine but the 0.7 has a big difference between the tip and the rest of the needle ... anyway it is a nice tool

it is designed to add a new finish to a needle with a bent tip and so in effect it removes the damaged tip and leaves it sharp again. I have one coming for review and I will be able to say more about then.

Hey Darren, Can we send you all of our bent needles for you to practice on?... kidding! It actually looks like a nice piece of engineering ... if repairing needles somehow outweighs the convenience of having spares on the ready.

—mike

Thanks Darren looking forward to the review. On the states side looks like it can be gotten for 59.99.

I have used it for Badger 100, 150, Renegade Velocity, Krome and Sotar type needles. I have not used it on the Patriot or Anthem type needles. The two stage needles of the those brushes don’t share the same taper as most of the other types.

Most, but certainly not all brushes with a .15 to a .30 have similar taper angles so the Sharpenair works well for many. In my experience, the most important part of the needle to tip interaction is how the tip seals to stop flow and how linear the flow variations are when the trigger moves versus how far the tip sticks out. That’s why the tool works for many brushes. A slight difference in angles could affect how far the needle sticks out, but in practical application I haven’t seen a significant decrease in brush performance if the tip protrusion is changed slightly. In fact, on my Paasche VJR, I noticed a significant increase in performance when I compared the reworked needle to a factory new one.

I have been pleased with the tool, but if your brush uses a significantly different than normal Iwata HP-B, Badger 100 profile on its needles it might not work as well.

Hope this helps,
Paul H

Thanks Paul this is very helpful. The two-stage taper is definitely what I was worried about, but it might be worth getting one to try it on my abandoned needles to see whether they can be resurrected.

Ok today my sharpenair arrived and I immediately put it to test on the needle of my brand new Grex TG 0.3 (do not ask questions about why after a week is already bent please! .... ) and I was amazed, it really makes well his work, straight as new, in the coming days I try it in the AB and see how it sprays but under the lens seems perfect, it takes a bit 'of practice because it is easy to push too much and block it between the stones and I find that the best thing is to start to straighten it as much as possible with old systems like with the 2 pieces of wood and then use the tool, the last step with the sanding pad that is given with the tool and it looks like it came out of the factory,now i want to polish with a bit of fine compoud and then I'll let you know how it goes with the AB ... anyway at the moment I'm amazed by the work done in less the 15 minutes

For the Aussie at the moment is on sale here ...

https://www.airbrushasylum.com.au/store/p436/SA_-_SharpenAir%E2%84%A2_needle_sharpener_.html

PS: i have the feeling that it can works also with the duble tapered needle because the first 2 hole works only on the final part of the tip and the second 2 hole in the rest of the needle