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Ok... I got an airbrush starter kit recently off of ebay. I managed to get it kind of working but not really. I looked around and found out that maybe I should get a pressure regulator... so I ordered one of those from the same company. Instructions are something they seem not to believe in so Im throwing this out here. where exactly does the regulator go? Do I need to attach it to the cheesey compressor some how or do I need to get a second hose and do a set up with Compressor>hose>regulator>hose>brush.

There are two ports on the regulator with threaded attachments that look like it can accept two hoses on it. the following links are the items I got if that helps.

The airbrush and compressor via ebay

The pressure regulator via ebay

The latter example. You'll need more hose. When I was a lad and I needed a few inches of hose I'd sneak into my neighbour's backyard with a Stanley knife and...

Thought as much... good to know I was on the right track with it.

Take it to a brake guy and have him make hard lines from the compressor>regulator>airbrush.
You may find you want a water trap if you are in a humid environment.

sonofruss wrote:You will want a water trap.

Fixed that. Even in an environment that you might not consider all that humid, compressing the air will compress any moisture in the air, and eventually, that will lead to a blob of water shooting down your air line and ruining whatever you're working on, unless you get a moisture trap.

Does anyone have suggestions for a good starter airbrush and compressor. As a newby I have no idea where to begin in terms of price, good manufacturers extra things I'll need (like Fallen668's pressure reg.).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

everthing airbrush on ebay - i got the precission 800 & a MINI PISTON TYPE AIR COMPRESSOR WITH TANK FOR AIRBRUSH. price was very reasonable as were the results -
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/229851.page (btw still can't believe that it only got 3 responses one of which was me!)

The regulator says it has a water trap on it. I am not too sure how good the set up I have is. I got it to mess around with and at that price it was cheap enough that if it didn't really work out all that well then I wouldn't have lost too much financially. As it stands right now I am only down about 90 bucks for the gun, compressor, and regulator.

I had got that very same combo you did. It worked for a while but then the airbrush itself gave out. Having learned what I needed to I dropped a significant amount of cash on a high quality airbrush and compressor.

My advice with what you got is to fool around and learn with that combo, and if you decide you truly want to invest in airbrushing, get yourself some proper equipment.

Thanks for the advice. It's what I thought, just save up the cash and go for it. Just want to avoid any dodgy makes as well, cheers.

Edit: @ bubber, did you get these?:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINI-PISTON-TYPE-AIR-COMPRESSOR-WITH-TANK-FOR-AIRBRUSH_W0QQitemZ380102692910QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH?hash=item380102692910&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14#ht_2065wt_688

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260360268093#ht_2300wt_688

yes

What do you mix with acryllic paint? My instructions seem to have left that part out.

Usually I mix Methylated Spirits (in the paint section at Home Depot, $6 for a jug that will last your life).

If using actual water-based acrylics, like GW, you can use water to dilute it.

Joyous_Oblivion wrote:Usually I mix Methylated Spirits (in the paint section at Home Depot, $6 for a jug that will last your life).

If using actual water-based acrylics, like GW, you can use water to dilute it.

I use a cheap "Airbrush Thinner" (available in the craft paints aisle at craft stores like Michael's). Unlike water, it has a paint drying retardant, which keeps paint from drying in the nozzle while I'm using it.

You generally want to thin all paints before airbrushing (except ones prethinned for airbrushing; Vallejo makes some good ones). I normally thin Vallejo's Game Color/Model Color paints by about 50%. GW paints I'd probably thin at least 2:1 (thinner:paint).

tamiya acrylic paint thinner picked up at my local model shop.
there's also loads of tips in the FW book. they also mention Jonhson's Klear - I found some at Sainsburys. Its thicker than i thought it would be so I've only used it in washes not the airbrush.
another tip is to get a small syringe ( i got mine free from my local pharmacy along with a small pill bottle that i use for mixing the paints thoroughly in - don't use the jar that comes with the 'brush - you'll get paint everywhere and any lumps will jam up the needle (both as i found out)).
I also ordered some airbrush cleaning spray and a tamiya turntable stand thingy (which is absolutely great).
Don't pay straight away when you order or you'll get the P&P added for each item - wait for an e-mail & they'll lump it all together under the P&P for the compressor.

Great stuff guys. I got my Pay and annual bonus yesterday so think its time to invest in one of these baby's before Guard come out and I go tank/valkyrie mad.

Cheers

Apone

bubber wrote:tamiya acrylic paint thinner picked up at my local model shop.
there's also loads of tips in the FW book. they also mention Jonhson's Klear - I found some at Sainsburys. Its thicker than i thought it would be so I've only used it in washes not the airbrush.
another tip is to get a small syringe ( i got mine free from my local pharmacy along with a small pill bottle that i use for mixing the paints thoroughly in - don't use the jar that comes with the 'brush - you'll get paint everywhere and any lumps will jam up the needle (both as i found out)).
I also ordered some airbrush cleaning spray and a tamiya turntable stand thingy (which is absolutely great).
Don't pay straight away when you order or you'll get the P&P added for each item - wait for an e-mail & they'll lump it all together under the P&P for the compressor.

If you happen to live near an Ikea, you can get a "lazy susan" for ~$5, which makes for a great rotating paint station.

If you're going to invest in a decent airbrush, I'd skip the cheap "airbrush" compressors. You want something with a tank on it. I grabbed a fairly serious air compressor from Costco; cost about $80, plus $20 for a moisture trap from Sears, but it's wonderfully consistent, has a very adjustable pressure regulator, only has to run the compressor occasionally to top the tank back off, and I can also use it to inflate my tires.

Hello everyone!

I'm a first time poster on dakkadakka and I hope it's ok if I start out with my own airbrush related question

I just recently bought the wh40k starter box and after some contemplating also bought an airbrush (2 action). I've been toying around with it and so far I'm very pleased with it. So far, I've only been using thinned GW colors or rather color, as I've only used white as an undercoat.
I'll be using the spaz marines to play and I chose deneb stone as the primary color (foundation paint) and here's my question - can I use thinned foundation paints with an airbrush? The storekeeper where I bought the airbrush and the minis wasn't too sure about it, so if someone can advise me on this, I'd be very grateful!

Yes, you can use foundation paints with an airbrush. I use an airbrush with iyanden darksun for my imperial fists. I would recommend against using the airbrush to undercoat, a can of white primer would not only be cheaper for the amount you get, easier to use, not require compressed air, and help paint stick better.

You can run foundation paints through an airbrush.

However, be careful, as the foundation paints dry faster. This means that they'll dry in the nozzle faster too. You'll need to flush with some water periodically to keep things flowing cleanly. Make sure you thin them well too.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

One more question - would it be good practice to only use very small amounts of paint in the "gravity feed" container (it attaches sideways) and pour in some water to wash it after the paint is almost gone? In any case, I'll be sure to give it a shot (and I do believe I'll need some sort of paint remover sooner or later).