Airbrushing Experience???

[Super]

Is there anyone with Airbrushing Experience. Not necessarily expert experience anything will be beneficial. Whether it be just a couple, a dozen or dozens of times. I would appreciate any sharing of what you think as I am thinking of dabbling a little. My interest isn't to be a major artist but just be able to do a little spraying now and then. I thought of this especially for my latest mod, Conrail. I wanted to lightly spray a clear coat over it because decals can become brittle over time and handling can make them fall off. If you do have experience how do you like it? Is it easy to learn and use? Have an opinion on what a beginner should buy? Any tips? What a beginner doesn't need? Any input would be appreciated.

[Ucwepn]

Hi I am an amateur airbrusher, so far I have done 2 locomotives and was very impressed with the results. You need to thin the paint to a milky consistency, a gravity feed gun is best and I started off with a kit from ebay for around $60 then upgraded to a better kit with 2 guns and a larger compressor. I have used humbrol enamel & acrylic and I was amazed at how thinly the paint lays down still leaving finely molded details clearly visible unlike with say a spraycan or brush which can cover up allot of detail with thick paint. A painters turntable as seen in the 3rd pic is also recommended

I use a Paasche VL airbrush its quite old probably from the early 70's I'm guessing, I got it from my dad, he doe some crazy airbrushing on cars. I used to use it alot when i built model cars.

Its old but its very nice and adjustable. I have the original metal paint cup and I was able to get a much larger 6oz bottle that attaches to the bottom. There still sold on Ebay for good price too, I've seen complete ones with the tools, cups and tips in the original case for less than $40. You can also still get all the parts as it was and still is very popular.

For an air compressor you only need a small 1cyl air compressor, they make special ones that only have a 1gal tank because they don't consume much air. I use a small 10gal 110v single cylinder compressor that came from an old brewery, its probably 50 years old. The key is a good regulator and water/oil separator, especially on piston driven compressors.

Make sure the airbrush is clean clean clean! Also if your going to use water based paint do not use tap water because the minerals and additives in city/well water will contaminate the paint, so use distilled water in a jug from the grocery store. Safety is important, paint and solvents are obviously bad for your health good ventilation and a respirator. Also get a gallon milk jug and cut the top off so when you clean your airbrush you spray your solvents/paint it will go in that.

For practicing stroke and spray patterns, instead of wasting paint and having to clean your airbrush, buy what's called "brush-up paper", its a specially coated paper that when its spray it with water it turns black on the paper, the best part is when the paper dries out the black goes away and you can use it over and over again its awesome!

One of the cool things that you can do for beginning is to use stencils, you can draw or trace a pattern on a manilla folder and cut it out and use it over and over again, its great when you want to have the same pattern and shape on opposite side of an object you cant have side by side.

I hope this helps out a bit. Ill go through my photos and look for some stuff my dad or myself have done. It takes practice, practice practice, but its great fun and if you get good at it you can make some good money on the side!

Is there anyone with Airbrushing Experience............

I've been airbrushing plastic model kits for many years. I started off with a fairly cheap airbrush sold by an auto-parts dealer, and I've never felt the need to upgrade to something fancier. I believe it's a Badger airbrush, re-branded. It takes Badger spares (I've gone through a few needles).

The one thing that's essential is a compressor with an air reservoir - a tank that holds a reserve of compressed air. The reservoir doesn't need to be large. Compressors that don't have this will deliver a pulsed airstream to the airbrush. Don't even think of using cans of compressed air.

Set your regulator to the lowest air pressure that'll produce a mist from the airbrush.

A water trap is not necessary unless you live somewhere that's hot and humid.

Your paint - either enamel or acrylic - must be thinned with an appropriate thinner, to about the consistency of full-fat milk. Not easy to judge at first, but you soon get the hang of how it should drip off the end of a wooden toothpick or whatever you use for stirring up the mix. It has to be airbrushed onto the model in thin mist coats, left to dry between each one, which doesn't take too long - minutes - if they're light enough. If you put on too much paint at a time it'll run.

Bright colours, and especially fluorescents such as orange (often used on model aircraft) must be applied over a white undercoat/primer - this can be from a spray can.

There are lots of on-line tutorials, such as this:

http://www.finescale.com/videos/how-to-v...techniques

[Super]

Oh boy, now this is the kind of help I am talking about, thanks fellows. There is so much about airbrushing on YouTube it gets confusing the more different videos I watch. Is cleaning the brush a hassle and what do you do with the paint left in the bowl, throw it out? What brushes do you guys use or prefer, single action or dual action?

@Ucwepn
I remember your first attempts at airbrushing. Didn't you have a tutor to help you set up and show you how, wasn't it your brother? A turntable is an excellent idea. How come you haven't done any projects since? Was it too much of a bother to set it all up and then clean it all up?

@Anc6802
Wow, you learned from your Dad who does airbrushing on cars? Cool, would like to see some of that work. Great tip on using Distilled Water, might not have thought of that. Is using water based paints any good as far as durability? Or is it just easier to thin or clean up? That is a fantastic tip about that "Brush Up Paper" I have to look into that as I am sure that would be an excellent way to practicing stroke and technique without all the clean up and wasting paint. I like that idea of using stencils too, I didn't think of that.

@Chrisjo
Is that helicopter and example of airbrushing you have done? That photo looks real. You mentioned primer under bright or florescent colors, is it beneficial for adhering and durability to use a primer for all applications? Good tip on adjusting the air pressure to the lowest setting that will produce a mist. And thanks for the link, looks like airbrushing is a favorite tool in the military model building genre.

[Ucwepn]

Yes cleanup is very important! and annoying haha I really haven't done any custom work for a long time as I feel they are getting too rare to modify Yes My bro was an apprentice spray painter in a smash repair shop and passes on allot of tips and showed me how to mix and lay it on etc.

[Super]

I really haven't done any custom work for a long time as I feel they are getting too rare to modify

There are plenty of old/junk/repaired trains out there that would have the benefit of new life with custom modifications instead of the trash heap.

@Chrisjo
Is that helicopter and example of airbrushing you have done? That photo looks real. You mentioned primer under bright or florescent colors, is it beneficial for adhering and durability to use a primer for all applications?

Yes, that's one of mine, based on a rather primitive resin kit from eastern Europe (and the date on the photos is 1999. Sheeeshh!) Background is some photos I took in a gravel pit printed onto A4 sheets. Yes, I would say always use either grey or white primer. I have always preferred Acryllic paints over enamels, I find them easier to work with, and to clean up afterwards. Tamiya is a good brand.

[Super]

Thanks for the tips Chrisjo. Do you know of any "No Brainer" paints that can be used in airbrushing right from the bottle? Seems like so much to learn all the thinning and testing. I love how the blades sag on the helicopter and the tarmac looks so real. That is an excellent model and great photo taking too.

Water based paints have come along way since they first came out. They do clean easier and there is no stink left behind from cleaning solvents, and better for your lungs in general. They have a comparable shine, with proper surface prep and several thin coats they are durable. Acrylic laquer paints have a superior shine if buffed correctly (it will look like the paint is 3ft deep) when looking into it. My dad airbrushed car hoods 40years ago that weren't always garaged and there is some small chips but only noticeable when up close.

For the brush up paper it goes for about $4 a sheet and if you use distilled water you can easily get 100+ tests before it goes bad. You can find it at most any arts and crafts store. Its really meant for people learning how to paint canvas art. You take wet paint brush and basically paint the paper and it will show you what your doing.

I wanted to go to my parents house tonight and dig up our photos but they've got the flu and I'm not touching that (I'm allergic to the flu shot). So ill post up some pic's my the middle of next week hopefully!