Free Troubleshooting Videos
Troubleshooting Videos
- Otherwise click below to watch these short videos:
- SU1 Setting up your spray machine
- TS32 Deep Clean your spray gun
- PM1 Clean Your Air Filter - Mini-Mist turbine
- PM2 Clean Your Air Filter - Mighty-Mist turbine
- TS1 Leaking gun
- TS2 Leaky cup
- TS3 Gun leak from nut in front of trigger
- TS4 TIP! Use camera phone to examine needle & nozzle
- TS5 spitting gun
- TS6 solution won't spray out
- TS7 solution won't stop spraying
- TS8 Bent needle
- TS9 Turbine not pushing out enough air
- TS10 General turbine issues & troubleshooting
- TS12 Smoke from turbine
- TS15 Spray machine wont turn on
- TS16 Funny noise from spray machine
- TS17 My trigger fell off
- TS18 Broken Hose
- TS21 My hose wont connect
- TS24 Exhaust port broke
- TS25 How to clean the hose
- SU2 Setting up your Vortex Fan
- TS34 My Vortex fan won't power on (fuse blown)
Very common causes of intermittent spray
Intermittent spray can usually be eliminated by making these simple adjustments to your equipment. These are common especially if you are fairly new to spray tanning, but by making these adjustments the problems go away and you’ll never have them again.
- Make sure the cup is securely tightened. This is probably the case, because you would have noticed it leaking if it weren’t.
- (Only on plastic gun) Make sure the disc is fully seated & the diptube is inserted completely.
- Be sure to do a “deep clean” of the gun. I’m sure you rinse the gun with water after every spray tan, but this is different, and requires a wrench. Here’s an easy video. You remove the nozzle from the front to expose the needle. BE SURE TO CLEAN & INSPECT THE INSIDE OF THE NOZZLE for debris. Watch this video:
If you look at the very front of the nozzle, can you see the needle move in and out when you pull the trigger? Like in this video? If not, then your nozzle is clogged.
- Is the needle tip broken off in the nozzle? The nozzle is the piece with the tiny hole that the needle peeks out of. The metal piece that’s blocking the nozzle is definitely the TIP of the needle. It broke off into the nozzle, clogging it.
This is extremely rare, especially because the “tines” (shown by the green arrows) protect the needle (indicated by yellow arrow), so it is very hard and unlikely that you could hit the front of the nozzle just right to break the needle during spraying:
- Have you cleaned the filter in your turbine (air compressor)? These strain sunless solution mist out of the air before it gets sucked into the motor. Over time, the filters get clogged, and will suffocate the motor since enough air can’t travel through them. This can result in air that doesn’t have enough pressure to atomize or fully atomize the spray solution, which means spotty solution droplets instead of fine mist.
- For the Mighty-Mist, remove the filter covers on both sides, as indicated by the red arrows below:
- For the Mini-Mist, open the filter housing on the bottom of the turbine, just pry out using a flat screwdriver (watch this video):
Here’s an example of a REALLY bad one!
- Check the hose for any leaks. If you are losing pressure because of a crack or hole in the hose, the air pressure won’t be great enough to get the fine atomization coming out of the gun. To check for leaks, turn on the turbine with hose & gun attached. Next, form a circle with your thumb & forefinger around the hose, then run the length of the hose. If there are any leaks, you should feel air coming out.
- Make sure both quick disconnects are working 100%. FIRST, remove the gun and remove the hose from the turbine. Look into the quick disconnect. There should be 3 silver ball bearings. If you don’t have all 3 in each connector, it might be leaking air, and that could cause spottiness. SECOND, they should “click” securely locked when you insert the hose at one end, and when you insert the gun at the other end.
- Please watch this video: Running Water through Gun
