dochollow Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 i saw somewhere on the net one time about polishing your air brush needles, does anybody do this? if so what do you use? i tried this on my HF ab and it did seem to impove performance. i used a dremel & a felt bob & some polishing compound. i am consideriing doing this to my paasche vl . just wondering if anybody else does this? thanx, doc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishwhittler Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 I've done it, and the paint does seem to flow a bit more smoothly after polishing the needle. It doesn't hurt anything, and if it seems to help give better painting results, I say go for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent R Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Just wipe your needle down real good with acetone.....but what ever you choose to do be careful and don't bend the needle. Are the only thing you will be doing is cleaning out your wallet...Good luck Brent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 just soak them in lacquer thinners then blo them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Yes, I polished the needle on my Iwata HP after reading about it online and it made a small improvement in paint flow. If you have a small diameter needle you need to be careful not to make things worse instead of better. For instance, make sure your Dremel is spinning in the right direction before you touch it to the needle or you will bend the tip. I wouldn't recommend doing it on an expensive Iwata that has the original factory-tuned needle unless you have a real problem. But bent or broken needle tips can be re-sharpened if you have the right fine grit sand papers. I think the process starts with 600-800 grit and goes up to 1600 grit, plus polishing. Guys don't realize how easily a needle can be bent - it's made of ductile stainless steel, not hard metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 (edited) I've polished the needles in my Iwata before and instead of trying to polish it with a polishing pad in the Dremel I chucked the needle up in the Dremel and held it against a piece of polishing compound. I was afraid that doing it with the polishing pad chucked up in the Dremel it would lead to the pad hanging on the needle and bending it. By doing it with the needle chucked up in the Dremel you can use one hand to hold the Dremel and one hand to hold the front of the needle while it's gently brought into contact with the polishing compound. This works better if you have a larger block of polishing compound and it also does away with the polishing pad and any hanging issues. Ben Edited April 14, 2012 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Ben - Again, you gotta be careful. A Dremel at 15000 rpm low speed is fast enough that if your needle is bent only a little, or chucked off center, it can seriously bend from the rotational forces. I ruined one of mine that way. I would consider running the needle chucked in an electric drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 I don't think my Dremel runs that high set on low, but I could be wrong. I also hold the needle out close to the end to steady it and haven't had any problems yet. The hand drill is probably a better idea though. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
