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Ok, I know, many have said to avoid the spray gun as it's only good for one thing - base coating - but then that's exactly what I needed to do, and in as quick a space of time as possible. So imagine my frustration when, on first use

- the propellant can leaked as the cap didn't fit snugly
- the leak from the propellant can caused it to form a film of ice over the can, which I only found out about when I picked the damn thing up and got my hand stuck to it
- the spray gun worked for all of 2 terminators and 3 tactical marines (I have 1200 points to paint for the 12th of May!) and then packed in altogether
- the paint chamber kept falling off the gun as it didn't fit snugly.

This goes with the 'eavy metal brushes that I got for Christmas. You know the bristles are supposed to keep to a point? Mine didn't.

Make me feel better Dakka, raging hobbyist in need! Everything I buy from GW that isn't made out of plastic, or a paint, seems to fail on first try.

The 'EM brushes are actually quite good from what I've seen. Are you looking after them properly (brush soap, conditioner, little bit of hair wax to retrain the point, and not getting paint in the ferrule)?

Edit: They appear to be, to all intents and purposes W&N S7's.

As for the spraygun, erm, par for the course from what I've heard in general. And most people seem to think it's good for NOTHING at all. Sorry.

Yep, I took care of them good and proper. I don't have any wax though, otherwise I was very careful with them. They've since been replaced and look to be much better. Time will tell.

As for the spray gun, we live and learn.

I had similar experiences with my spraygun. An absolutely awful product, I ruined a few models trying to get it to work properly before I threw in the towel and tossed it in the trash.

That being said, GW now sells brush on primer, Imperial Primer. I've only used it on one model, but I'm satisfied with the way that it stuck to the metal model I tested it on.

The eavy metal brushes are very good, equal to series 7s. You most likely didn't take proper care of them.

Clearly you got a faulty spray gun, just return it.

Its not great even when it works, but at that price range your not going to get much better.

Army painter or possibly halfords paint mixed to your colour in rattle cans would be a better cheap basecoating choice. Alternatively spend a bit more (probably twice the price?) for a cheap airbrush and compressor.

Aye, I'll be doing the airbrush & compressor - just wanted a quick temporary fix while I wait for some cash to come through to allow me to purchase the better ones

Skippy wrote:Clearly you got a faulty spray gun, just return it.

Its not great even when it works, but at that price range your not going to get much better.

Yeah, it is a $30 spray gun. It isn't meant to be awesome.

pretre wrote:

Skippy wrote:Clearly you got a faulty spray gun, just return it.

Its not great even when it works, but at that price range your not going to get much better.

Yeah, it is a $30 spray gun. It isn't meant to be awesome.

But $30 airbrushes can be awesome no? 0.o

As awesome as the GW spray gun.

Is it wrong to expect it to work for more than 2 minutes though?

K im returning mine.

kitch102 wrote:Is it wrong to expect it to work for more than 2 minutes though?

Nope!

Or you could get one of the Army Painter sprays, I use 'em, and there pretty good IMO.

LunaHound wrote:

pretre wrote:

Skippy wrote:Clearly you got a faulty spray gun, just return it.

Its not great even when it works, but at that price range your not going to get much better.

Yeah, it is a $30 spray gun. It isn't meant to be awesome.

But $30 airbrushes can be awesome no? 0.o

If you can find an airbrush and compressor for $30, let me know.

Skippy wrote:

LunaHound wrote:

pretre wrote:

Skippy wrote:Clearly you got a faulty spray gun, just return it.

Its not great even when it works, but at that price range your not going to get much better.

Yeah, it is a $30 spray gun. It isn't meant to be awesome.

But $30 airbrushes can be awesome no? 0.o

If you can find an airbrush and compressor for $30, let me know.

I dont know much about air brushes

I dont know whats the point of finding an airbrush AND COMPRESSOR for $30 means.
because spray gun still needs propellant.
And its debatable whether a limited use propellant is better or a compressor with unlimited use.
Or we can even say spray can etc etc.

I still dont understand :'3

kitch102 wrote:
- the leak from the propellant can caused it to form a film of ice over the can, which I only found out about when I picked the damn thing up and got my hand stuck to it

Sorry, had to chuckle when I read this.

Other than the paint chamber it sounds like a lot of it is propellant related. For that I'd probably just get a cheap compressor if you plan to use it or any airbrush in the future. If the paint chamber is a constant problem maybe you could return the whole unit and get a replacement or take a refund and put it toward a low-end badger or iwata with a large nozzle size.

I know, there's too many things that can be said about my hand gettingstuck to it - hopefully we can all just move on past that lol

I've written in asking what they propose I do, if given the choice I'll go for the refund and save up for a better quality airbrush; I've heard about the badger ones before, though everytime I read up on them people just say "try them out and see which is best suited for you". Thing is, I have no idea where I can trial an airbrush lol.

I've got some of the army painter alien purple spray primer, which is alright, though not the colour that I'm after. I'm looking to spray mephiston red over a chaos black undercoat, to do that I need a need an airbrush, so... um... yeah :S

This might be more effort than its worth, but if you could somehow locate a local print or fabric artist they probably have a wide range of airbrushes and could give you their opinions or even set up a test drive. I know that nail salons also use airbrushes...I can just see you bringing a terminator into a nail salon asking to try their low-end airbrush.

I might do that, just for the funnies. If I do, I'll definitely video it. Hell I'll go in to a nail bar just for the women lol, show 'em my artistic side haha

I've never used the spray gun, but have found that the tank brush works very well for base coating quickly. It amused me that they stopped selling the tank brush around the same time that the spray gun came out.

I think I have narrowed down your problem to this part here.

kitch102 wrote:thing I buy from GW that isn't made out of plastic, or a paint

lord_blackfang wrote:I think I have narrowed down your problem to this part here.

kitch102 wrote:thing I buy from GW that isn't made out of plastic, pewter, or a paint

Fix'd

There is a good chance that the propellent can didn't have a leak. The freeze you experienced is a result of the quick release of the contents. The can contents are under pressure. When the propellent releases it quickly expands and takes up heat from the surrounding area. If you release enough propellent quick enough, you get the freezing you described. Use a compressed air computer duster for a bit and you will get the same result. The spray gun is probably junk regardless though.

The ice on the propellant canister is caused by Boyle's Law.

The GW spray gun is OK for what it is. Even Badger make a low price spray gun/air brush you can buy for under £20.

It's all right for basic spraying of wide areas. You can also do this with spray cans, of course.

If you want to do anything complex or detailed you really need a proper airbrush and a compressor, which is a lot more expensive though a good investment in the long term.

I say invest some money into a nice air brush and compressor.
You'll save yourself the money from having to buy propellant cans. Sorry but I find that to be the most ridiculous item they've sold in a long time.

Mr.Malevolent wrote:I say invest some money into a nice air brush and compressor.
You'll save yourself the money from having to buy propellant cans. Sorry but I find that to be the most ridiculous item they've sold in a long time.

Will be doing, just needed a quick fix to get my Sons of Orar painted up for the 12th (busy this weekend on a stag do, so I only have evenings to paint in).

Decent airbrush and compressor are on the cards for the not too distant future, as soon as cash permits

Thanks to everyone for the replies - especially Killkrazy, always interested in knowing the science behind... things...

If nayone can recommend a GOOD QUALITY airbrush that's pretty simple for a beginner to get to grips with I'd appreciate it; I think I'd prefer a gravity fed system that's fully adjustable so can be used for large tank surfaces or fine detail stuff.

Cheers all

I've had the propellant leak with mine, you've got to be careful with the screw on cap. The humbrol version has a metal thread so it can't wear away, but the GW one is plastic so you can damage the threads. The leaking is probably because it wasn't on tight enough, that's why mine leaked.

I've found some compressors/airbrushes on eBay, I've not got them yet, but it's £48 for an airbrush, compressor and the tubing to connect them. The brush I'm looking at does fine lines up til an inch and a half coverage, so it sounds like you can paint small minis

Also, with the GW airbrush, how are you using it? If you're pressing the button down constantly, instead of in little bursts, you're going to make the cans cool down a lot quicker, and then you'll lose pressure.

The AB-130A from everythingairbrush.co.uk is pretty simple, easy enough to clean, and has replacement parts easily available. Cheap too.

stubacca wrote:I've had the propellant leak with mine, you've got to be careful with the screw on cap. The humbrol version has a metal thread so it can't wear away, but the GW one is plastic so you can damage the threads. The leaking is probably because it wasn't on tight enough, that's why mine leaked.

I've found some compressors/airbrushes on eBay, I've not got them yet, but it's £48 for an airbrush, compressor and the tubing to connect them. The brush I'm looking at does fine lines up til an inch and a half coverage, so it sounds like you can paint small minis

Also, with the GW airbrush, how are you using it? If you're pressing the button down constantly, instead of in little bursts, you're going to make the cans cool down a lot quicker, and then you'll lose pressure.

It just leaked from the instant that I put the cap on, no matter how hard I tried to tighten it (whilst being mindful of its potential limitations too). I had it off a couple of times to check that I'd got it on correctly but that made no difference. And yeah, I'm using 2-3 second bursts, not going trigger happy with it.

That compressor and airbrush deal you found sounds great, maybe too great! I'm being mindful of spending too little on these now lol!

I used mine once, I had the exact same problem. Its saat in the back of my cupboard ever since.