Vega 2000 problems need help

[Renee412]

Hello,
I am totally new to airbrushing and got a Vega 2000..I'm using a compressor. When I add my paint to the jar, bottom feeder, and then turn the compressor on, the paint is coming out the hole in the jar..I am using createx paint, it seems to be thin enough..does anyone know what could be going wrong..it seems like the air is coming out of the bottom feed, because it is sending bubbles into the jar..then when I hit the airbrush button, the paint comes out the hole in the jar..yes, it sprayed everywhere...HELP...Thank you...

PS> I'm using the #5 needle and tip...and I tried switching the needles, and tips..they don't seem to be split or anything...again, I'm new to this and can't wait to get started..:(

[hinddee29]

Hello.

Take off the head assemby and unscrew the the air cap. Hold the head up to the light and you will see 6 little holes. Check and see if any of these are plugged up. With the head off look at the front of the airbrush and there is
one hole see if it is plugged. You will have to tear the airbrush down to see this or blow through it to see if air comes out. I can't think off anything else
that might cause this at the moment.
Does the airbrush spray anything then out of the bottle? It kindda sounds
like it's back flushing on you.
Also once you get this figured out you may have problems with the needle
sticking. Get some super lube from Medea. It fixed it for me.

Shane

[Te_Wheke]

Follow hinddee's directions, also check that the little hole in the airbrush paint bottle cap is not plugged up too, use a needle to ream it out if it's plugged. Also loosen the needle and pull it out and push it back in a few times CAREFULLY don't shove it all the way through the tip. Sometimes paint gets dried in the paint flow and tip areas and can be loosened up this way.

If the needle feels sticky it's a matter of cleaning the dried paint. I would take off the head and tip, then push the needle in and out while running water in the paint bottle hole. then check the tip and carefully clean it with a toothpick, and be super careful not to split or warp the tip they are pretty delicate and once split they are useless and need to be replaced.. This is the lazy way to get it spraying again, a good proper cleaning should be done asap.

Cheers

[Maryl Lehman]

Hi Renee and welcome to the airbrush forum! Listen to Shane---he has fixed my airbrushes many times! He is very good at it! I'm lucky to have him live close enough to bale me out when I have airbrush problems! :clap: :clap: I'm sure TW also knows what he's talking about as he's a very good artist! :thumbsup:

[airbrush_ken]

A quick note on solving airbrush problems...
If you are getting bubbles in your jar or cup... something is forcing the air back through the fluid nozzle (tip). If the tip is blocked it will not make bubbles in the jar, if the air holes are blocked that will not cause bubbles in the jar...
Possible causes..
loose nozzle cap...
First make sure that the air cap (needle cap) is spotless and the needle is not bent...it's also a good time to check the fluid nozzles for cracks. Once your are sure those parts are clean...

Take the complete fluid nozzle, nozzle cap and air cap off the body. Leave the needle in the brush... loosen the needle locking nut on the other end of your airbrush and slide the needle forward about a half an inch.
Now put the fluid nozzle over the needle and the nozzle cap over the the fluid nozzle... gentley slide the whole assembly back into the airbrush and hand tighten the nozzle cap...

Now you are ready to tighten it up. Take a side cup or a small jar and half fill it with water....mount it on the bottem of the airbrush. Taking your small nozzle cap wrench slowly tighten the cap a little more..."DON'T FORCE IT". Now lock in the needle locking nut at the real of your brush.

Push down on the trigger and pull back... if you still see bubbles, tighten the cap a little more until the bubbles stop. That should fix it. If it doesn't let us know..

Uncle Ken

[Renee412]

I want to Thank all of you for welcoming me as a newbie and all of your great help..I'm sorry to say that I tried all of that and nothing worked..it don't seem to be clogged..the hole in the bottle isn't clogged, the tube isn't too long..I even tried using just a tiny cup without the tube (just holding the cup) and again, it did nothing but blow bubbles in the cup..I'm not even using paint yet..just water..to see if it will work..I've undone and redone everything..don't seem to be any clogs, splits or anything that I can see...again..I"M new at this...This was preowned..but looks pretty clean..she said she only used a couple of times..I'm wodering if it is broke or is it me? Thanks a million again..I'm just so excited about using it and so disappointed that it isn't working right..any info would be greatly appreciated...:wink2:

[airbrush_ken]

I thought it might help everyone if I made a picture of how/why you get back feed...http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/06-Dec-2006/67654-2000-web.jpg
The air travels through the body and over the fluid nozzle creating the syphen effect drawing up the paint from the jar. The only way air (bubbles) can get into the jar is the air following the needle/paint feed back into the Jar... That means all the air holes are clear or the air wouldn't get back into the paint feed line.

This is a common problem with Paasche, Badger 175's and omni (thayer chandler).

Guys I realise I sometimes come on a bit strong and I ment no disrespect to TW or Shane... I have an advantage over you folks as I use to be their service agent.. I ment no disrespect...sorry

Ken

[airbrush_ken]

Renee,
If you sent me the airbrush to fix, I would do the very same thing I told you to do...
Only option I can see..
The fluid nozzle base is damaged and won't seat (a chance) or the body is damaged and woun't allow the nozzle top seat (highly un-likely)...
Purchase a new fluid nozzle and follow my assembly steps (this will make sure the the nozzle is centered) and you need to make sure it is tightened, using only the little wrench supplied.

I am pretty sure that is your problem!

Old but still here...
Uncle Ken

[hinddee29]

Ken no disrespect taken. That's what you old fokes are here for:D.
Just kidding about the old fokes thing. Well I went through some
stuff and I'll have to agree has to be something with the fluid nozzle
or head not seating right.
I do have a question because I had kinda the same problem one time and
the holes in the head where plugged. So let's say the hole in the head are
all plugged. Blocking the air from going out. Wouldn't that force air into the
bottle?
Well it was the problem I was having and it fixed it. I thought that if the
head was not tight enough it just wouldn't pick up the paint out of the bottle.
I have learned something here. I would of never thought it would cause bubbles. Thanks.

Renee412 is there anyway you can post some pic of the brush? Maybe it would help us help you. Also it being used who know what it's been though.

Shane

[Te_Wheke]

I thought it might help everyone if I made a picture of how/why you get back feed...http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/06-Dec-2006/67654-2000-web.jpg
The air travels through the body and over the fluid nozzle creating the syphen effect drawing up the paint from the jar. The only way air (bubbles) can get into the jar is the air following the needle/paint feed back into the Jar... That means all the air holes are clear or the air wouldn't get back into the paint feed line.

This is a common problem with Paasche, Badger 175's and omni (thayer chandler).

Guys I realise I sometimes come on a bit strong and I ment no disrespect to TW or Shane... I have an advantage over you folks as I use to be their service agent.. I ment no disrespect...sorry

Ken
Hey Ken

No offense taken here either. I was just trying to help quickly get the ab spraying again without confusing anyone with a detailed process and was a bit apprehensive about my slack instructions to be honest. I was secretly hoping Ken would come along an do it up properly :) Thanks for the illustration btw Ken. :thumbsup:

I have the bubbles problem pretty often myself, due to slack ab cleaning practices of late, but can always get them going again after clearing the paint clogs with as little effort possible (Man I have become SLACK:rolleyes:). In my case it has always been either the paint bottle, breather hole clogged, or the tip clogged, stuck needle? I have had junk in the air path outside the tip but that usually only caused a crap spray pattern.

I grabbed my Vega 2000 and took it apart haven't used it in around 9 years, it's basically the same sophistication and design as a paasche VL, the fluid tip looks exactly the same. As they are pretty simply designed there isn't a whole lot that can go wrong that can't be fixed easily.

Anyways thanks for the input Ken and I hope this ab can get sorted out. Good Luck!

[Renee412]

Thank You Thank You Thank You:clap: Got a fluid nozzle and did what you told me and it works great now...I'm SOOOO happy...now I just have to practice, practice, practice...Does anyone do dog art? Do you always have to use stencils or does anyone freehand paint..or is that tooo hard..I paint gwith acrylic paint and paintbrushes..but never tried with airbrush...This is a fantastic site with wonderful people...Thanks a million again to all who responded...:thumbsup:

[Maryl Lehman]

Hi again Renee! I'm glad you got it fixed and it's working well. I was thinking, if all else fails---call the manufacturer!!! They should have an 800 number to call for help, and they will guide you thru fixing it----at least Paasche and Iwata have one to call! Oh, and I do pet portraits if you want to check my website. They're all totally airbrushed. See link below my name. ;)

[airbrush_ken]

Renee,
I am glad it worked out for you mate....
it's a common problem like I said, now you know what to look for. Check out Maryl's site, soem nice dogs painted there.

Sam (the other Sam) had a how to posted here some years ago about airbrushing cats, using loose masks ...maybe our Sam could find a link to it for you...

Regards,
Ken