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Where I live it's fairly hard to get decent cheap primer so I tought it would be preferable if I got an airbrush instead of buying citadel spray cans (I'm aware I would have to buy a compressor too). I've also heard they are awesome to paint large flat surfaces with, something I'll see a lot since I'm playing IG.

So I have 2 questions for you airbrushers out there :
1- Is this a good idea at all? I'm not a pro painter by any means, would an airbrush be "wasted" on a newbie like me?
2- Is the official GW airbrush a good started one? I've heard people mention better choices out there but I haven't been able to find any cheaper. Be aware I don't know any stores stocking advanced Hobby material near me so I can't be too picky.

Thanks in advance

Crushy wrote:Where I live it's fairly hard to get decent cheap primer so I tought it would be preferable if I got an airbrush instead of buying citadel spray cans (I'm aware I would have to buy a compressor too). I've also heard they are awesome to paint large flat surfaces with, something I'll see a lot since I'm playing IG.

So I have 2 questions for you airbrushers out there :
1- Is this a good idea at all? I'm not a pro painter by any means, would an airbrush be "wasted" on a newbie like me?
2- Is the official GW airbrush a good started one? I've heard people mention better choices out there but I haven't been able to find any cheaper. Be aware I don't know any stores stocking advanced Hobby material near me so I can't be too picky.

Thanks in advance

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/289941.page

Long thread that should answer all your questions.

Yeah definitely search this forum... lots of good airbrush threads.

to answer your questions though:
1) definitely NOT a waste. It only takes a little practice.
2) NO, the GW thing is NOT a good place to start... you'll find a few folks that like it - but most agree it's not worth getting. Search this forum for 'PS900'.

I've looked at this PS900 and it looks great, but it seems the only way I can get it is from ordering from the USA, am I correct?

Oh I don't think so, not positive though... try your regional ebay.

No way to get one, using either ebay or amazon. Even ordering from the states... All I've been able to find that was able to be shipped here was 3 expensive Iwatas and an "Aztek A470 Airbrush Set"

Hmm wow. ...where are you located?

Was the Iwata Revolution CR (HP-CR) one of the options? ...that is a very fairly priced AB for the quality.

I have an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS, which is a bit more expensive, but let me tell you the Iwata customer service is amazing. NO questions asked, not even purchase date or location, they shipped out a part to me simply based on over-the-phone trouble shooting.

Curiously, they have the Eclipse HP-CS, and HP-BCS. The third one was just named differently (unless the numbering is important). They're all about 110$+plus shipping (makes it around 130$ for me). I'm worried they'll only come with the brush itself and not cables and containers. I'm not sure how I'd be able to get those seperate, and the cost would just keep going up

I've also found these:
PRO AIR BRUSH KIT for Model Makers/Artists/Nail Art
Draper Air Tools 25989 Air Kit 6pc

But they don't seem too precise. Then again, I've never touched an airbrush in my life.

"Mistress of Minis?! There's an airbrush thread over here with your name on it!!"

She'll be out in a minute...

I've been hunting around and found this:
PAASCHE 2000 VL

Would this be a good enough starter brush? It fits my budget and seems to have all I need except for the compressor.

I started out with the 2000-VL and while it's not bad, it's not ideal for the small amounts of paint you'd usually use. Try finding a gravity fed airbrush instead (paint from the top, not from a bottle on the botton).

And remember, once you've gotten your airbrush, that it takes a while to learn how to handle it. Patience (and proper thinning of paints) is the key.

Hmm... would 0.3mm do?
Generic bran airbrush, the bottle seems strange
seems better and is UK based

0.3mm would do perfectly.

Yeah look for 'Gravity Feed' and 'Dual Action'.

From the two you listed the first one seems much better to me. I never trust the brushes that switch from bottom feed to gravity feed.

I don't know anything about that AB brand or model, but the spec's are right on. Based only the specs I'd say it would be perfect.

It seems on the first one the paint "cup" is fixed to the Airbrush though, won't this be bothersome to maintain and for quick switching of paints?

Nah... I hear what you are saying about switching of paints... but it will be the same with ALL 'gravity feed' brushes, regardless of whether the cup is fixed or not.

But even with bottom feed you will still need to run lots of cleaner/thinner through before you can use a new color. It's not as easy as just switching the jar underneath.

You should always mix your paint in a separate cup, then pour it into your AB cup. If you still have paint in the cup and you are ready to switch colors, just dump it back into the separate cup and run the thinner through the brush until it sprays out clean.

As far as maintenance goes the fixed cup is really not going to make a big difference.

I'm not sure whether airbrushes are good for priming, which is the first thing you asked. As far as I understand it primers are a very different thing to paints, they are designed to give a good 'key' for paint to cling on to, certainly better than bare plastic.

I have an airbrush but I still prime using spray primers then use the airbrush for a lovely even coat of paint over the model.

Can anyone give advice as to whether an airbrush can be used for proper priming and if so how?

Natorum, you CAN airbrush primer, it's a lot cheaper too (especially where I live). Unless there's something I'm not aware off.

There are two ways to ab primer. Decant spray primer into a container for use in an airbrush (can be dangerous and messy if not done right) or buy hobby primer in a jar (Vallejo makes some ready to brush airbrush primer and I think Tamiya makes a few primers as well that can be airbrushed).

Iwata airbrushes are really good brushes. Also check out Badger. I have the 105 Patriot and it's a really nice brush.

Gravity feed works best for the jobs we are doing. Siphon feed ab's normally require higher pressures (40+psi) to get proper action. Gravity fed are operated between 15-30 (i'll go down to 15ps when doing panels on vehicles which of course requires even thinner paint than at 30psi).

Stick with dual action, gravity feed. PS900 seems like a good brush. Iwata are good if you are willing to pay the money. Badger is also another great brand. My Patriot has a .6mm nozzle so not IDEAL for finer detail but it basecoats just fine and that was my aim when i bought it (that and it can still do a pencil thin line, it just cant do a hair thin line).

Cheers for the brand names Fateweaver, I'll look for Vallejo and Tamiya paints for that, sounds like a much better solution than cans.

I love my Master series airbrush. I brought my first AB and compressor from TCP Global as a set. I now have
three Master airbrushs and use them to paint most of my mini's. These new brushs paint very fine lines and
give great coverage. I spray all types of paint using Liqitex Airbrush Medium. I use craft type paints for scenery and terrain. I use GW, Polly S, Vallejo game colors for mini's. These airbrushs are great for shading and blending. Try an airbrush and you will wonder how you did ever did without one. By the way, Les Bursley's
tutorials using an airbrush are really awesome.

I found this really neat kit here for 100€. It has this brush (I think; there's a small typo on the store's website)
http://www.airbrush-compressor.cn/airbrush/airbrush-57834.htm

and a compressor with the following features:

Features:
Portable & lightweight.
Thermally protected.
Low noise.
Simple and easy to operate.

Features:
Portable & lightweight.
Thermally protected.
Low noise.
Simple and easy to operate.

Specifications:
Type: Piston Compressor
Power: 1/8 HPVoltage: 220-240V / 50HZ
110-120V, 220V / 60HZ
Maximum pressure: 2.8bar(40PSI)
Air output per min./litres: 13L/min
Connctions: with connection 1/8 BSP

Net Weight: 2.1KG

Certificate: CE

As you can probably guess they're chinese made from some no-name brands. Finding info on them is hard enough as it is. On paper though, they seem fine. Should I risk it?

PS: Sorry if there was a misunderstanding but I'm not ordering from that store in particular, I'm just linking to it because it's in english

Yeah I mean that airbrush looks pretty generic but the specs are right. I have no idea about that brand regarding quality though... if it's really cheap though I guess you don't lose much in trying.

The compressor though, I'm not sure about those specs. Does it have a moister trap and does it have a tank?... also the auto-shutoff feature is really fantastic to have.


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I don't see any prices but these look the best to me, from that site:

http://www.airbrush-compressor.cn/tc-20t-airbrush-compressor/tc-20t-airbrush-compressor-58061.htm
http://www.airbrush-compressor.cn/airbrush-compressor/airbrush-compressor-57934.htm
http://www.airbrush-compressor.cn/airbrush-compressor/airbrush-compressor-57932.htm

I've been looking around and I know tanked compressors are better in every way, but waaay expensive... It would push my purchase into something around the 200€ mark.

Do those specs make the compressor completely worthless? I don't mind wasting a few compressed air cans until I save up for a decent compressor if that's the case.

Sorry I never got back to you here, but I don't know the answer to that question Crushy...

Hopefully this bump will attract some of the true AB genius's here!

My main problem with getting an airbrush is more of a supply thing than anything else. It's very hard to find decent stuff for sale here, and when I do it's very expensive.

For instance, I went to many hardware stores and the only decent airbrush (and by decent I mean usable for things not car or cleaning related) there was a no name, single action, syphon fed one with 2 suction bottles for the same price as a GW one around here.

Anyone know a good european online store for airbrushing? There's an article here on dakka listing one it's closed down.

Natorum wrote:I'm not sure whether airbrushes are good for priming, which is the first thing you asked. As far as I understand it primers are a very different thing to paints, they are designed to give a good 'key' for paint to cling on to, certainly better than bare plastic.

I have an airbrush but I still prime using spray primers then use the airbrush for a lovely even coat of paint over the model.

Can anyone give advice as to whether an airbrush can be used for proper priming and if so how?

I just recently bought two bottles of the new(?) Vallejo polyurethane primer. And it's really awesome. It levels out really well, doesn't smell and dries quick. Accepts both airbrushed and brushed on paint without a hitch. The texture isn't as rough as the army painter primers. And no matter how hard I tried to not follow the instructions it hasn't turned glossy like canned primers tend to do if you spray way too close to the figure.

Here's a picture of a quick one pass with the airbrush using the grey primer. (Do remember that the camera shows way more contrast, looking at it in real life it's way smoother.)

pixelpusher, may I ask where you got yours? I haven't been able to find it and was thinking about using gesso but I'm worried about the viscosity.

Also, one last question. Is a 116 psi tanked compressor good enough for airbrushing? I don't think it has a regulator.


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Self bump due to edit.

Hey Crushy, 116 psi is way too much. That'l will turn your ab needle into a deadly weapon hehe.

You can use that compressor likely, but you certainly need some sort of regulator... you should be working around 15-40 psi... depending on the tip size and consistency of your mix.

PS - Gesso is decent for brush-on priming, but do NOT put that into your airbrush. ...the Vallejo Model AIR gray primer is what I use (in the AB).

From reading here I assumed it was usable :

Spray Application Dilutions
The degree to which the GOLDEN Gesso needs thinning depends on what type of spray equipment is being used. No dilution of the Gesso may be required when using equipment with relatively large orifices and substantial pressure. Thin Gesso for spraying by blending with GOLDEN Airbrush Medium, which reduces viscosity, improves flow and tip-dry, and promotes leveling. Start with a mixture of 1 part Airbrush Medium to 1 part Gesso and test spray quality. Additional reduction with the Airbrush Medium may be required, especially with smaller nozzle equipment and lower air pressures.

Hmm reading it better, I think they merely mean it would work, but it doesn't sound too pleasant

Also, would a 16 liter tanked compressor suffice? That's 4.22675284 US gallons for the metrically impaired.

Note

You need a good place to use it. Using one in your bedroom is NOT going to work. You need plenty of ventilation and an area you dont mind over spraying. Many people use a garage to do their spraying.

Others will have ideas on where to spray though. Its not like you're spraying a car or house. Thats messy!