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Hey guys my father does taxidermy work and he has 2 airbrushes he s giving to me. Both are Paasche airbrushes, one is a single action and the other a double. I know little about airbrushes besides thin the paint, set the compressor to the right psi and press the button.... Can I get a little help and direction? Anyone worked with a Paasche before? Are they any good?

Thanks!
Ben

I have a Paasche dual-action. Had it for about 10 years now, along with my 1 gallon Puma compressor/tank. They both still work like a charm.

I just recently got back into mini's and I'm obsessed with blending. Check out my thread below... First few pics were done with traditional brush. Pic in 5th post was done with my Paasche and then a few washes on top of that.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/428713.page

If you run it around 20-25 psi with the .35 or .40 mm tip, you can get pretty good results. This was my first try on a Space Marine.

Thanks very much for getting back to me about this! What paints d you use and how do you thin them? I'll check out the thread!

I use GW and Vallejo, mostly.

I just got a new Vallejo Ultramarine bottle, but it's thick as hell and it's clogging my brushes, especially with the finer tips. The Vallejo white I just picked up, on the other hand, works great. I'll have to get another bottle of Ultramarine, because mine has so many lumps in it and even the teeniest tiniest lump will instantly jam a .2 needle.

Might help to mix outside of your brush and use a strainer before pouring into your brush (if gravity fed) or bottle (if syphon fed)

Lately, I have been using this formula for thinning:

5 drops paint
1 drop Vallejo Flow Improver
5 drops water (or more, until you get desired consistency)

I'm sure you've heard the advice of, "Thin your paints to the consistency of milk". Just don't underestimate how thin milk actually is. You want your paint to be pretty darned thin.

For what it's worth, I've never had problems with GW paints having lumps in them. Vallejo seems prone to it, or maybe I'm just unlucky. Both are great brands. If GW came out with dropper bottles I'd use them almost exclusively.

Paasche has been around for over 100 years and, besdies the Talon, haven't changed their design much in that time (only once for the VL). I have a Paasche VL and Talon TG airbrush and I love them both. The VL is over 30 years old and works just as well as it ever has... it's a real workhorse! Parts are more readily available and much less expensive than brands like Iwata (at least for US customers). If you ever have a problem, give their customer service a call and they will get you back up and running! I can't speak enough on the quality and service I've received from them.

As far as thinning paints I typically go with the "milk" bit but get there doing the following, depending on the paint and tips I'm using:

#1 Tip (.55mm or smaller) - 16-20PSI for details with the VL, Much less for the Talon. Low PSI and thinned paints = detail.

Normal GW & Vallejo: Water: Windex: Paint = 5:5:1
Foundation Paints: Water: Windex: Paint: Medium = 10:10:1:1 (I find the higher pigment count needs to be thinned more)

Larger Tips halve the amount of Water & Windex and increase PSI to 20-25.

General Advise:

-Some people will tell you that amonia is bad for seals and stuff but the only seal on a Paasche is in the air valve, which you shouldn't be getting any paint in.
-Make sure to clean the airbrush out with distilled water and a drop of soap as the final wash after running windex to clean that stuff out and you'll have no problems. Or you can buy something branded as "airbrush cleaner" but I find acrylics are easy enough to clean with windex then a cup full of water with a drop of soap.
-Get some Airbrush Needle Lube and apply a VERY thin layer on your needle and inside the tip to help reduce clogging. I ran foundation white through my brush for 2+ hours painting 10+ minis last night and never once had to stop and clear a clog.
-Take a look at this guys site for some other basic tips. https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/home


Welcome to airbrushing, hope this helps!

Thanks very much guys! I was originally just looking at using airbrushing to help speed up the base coating process. I didn't know how much you could actually do with these puppies! You have no clue how much this helps!

Thanks so much!
Ben