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I'm not exactly a novice painter, but I'm not really 'Eavy Metal either. Yet recently my basecoats have been rather clumpy, so I thought I might need to get an airbrush. Should get those cheap under a tenner ones, or do I need to go a little higher? And do they actually do the job well at all? Thanks for reading!

well as long as you dont expect to pick up an airbrush and magically become a getter painter then you are when using brushes.

to start off you can go with a cheap chinese airbrush (usually comes in blue foam) but for the compressor you will want to invest a little bit more to get one with an tank (3-5ltr will be fine!)

Very worth it if you know how to use it.

Even if you dont know how to use it, you still have a competent paint sprayer > GW's

DijnsK wrote:well as long as you dont expect to pick up an airbrush and magically become a getter painter then you are when using brushes.

to start off you can go with a cheap chinese airbrush (usually comes in blue foam) but for the compressor you will want to invest a little bit more to get one with an tank (3-5ltr will be fine!)

This.

In terms of money; it's around £7.50 for a can of spray paint (£10+ GW prices!) these days. A good airbrush set up runs to around £150, including paints, varnishes and cleaning gear. Considering how often can nozzles get blocked etc, and how often Purity Seal takes the pooch, buys it dinner and then books a cheap hotel room, it pays for itself pretty quickly.

In terms of airbrushing the main piece of advice is KEEP IT CLEAN. You cannot 'over clean' it. Get in the habit of cleaning it out properly regularly and it won't pack up on you, and providing you don't physically mistreat it (bending the needle etc) should last you a good long while.

winterdyne wrote:
In terms of money; it's around £7.50 for a can of spray paint (£10+ GW prices!) these days. A good airbrush set up runs to around £150, including paints, varnishes and cleaning gear. Considering how often can nozzles get blocked etc, and how often Purity Seal takes the pooch, buys it dinner and then books a cheap hotel room, it pays for itself pretty quickly.

In terms of airbrushing the main piece of advice is KEEP IT CLEAN. You cannot 'over clean' it. Get in the habit of cleaning it out properly regularly and it won't pack up on you, and providing you don't physically mistreat it (bending the needle etc) should last you a good long while.

QFT

wow just realized this is the first time winterdyne and I agree with eachother right off the bat

Lol, I'm sure it's not...

Speaking of cleaning, an ultrasonic cleaner filled with a mix of windscreen wash, dish soap and warm water is a great idea. I strip and dump my airbrush in it every time I go for a tea break. There is nothing worse than having to clean out dried up paint from inside the body of the brush before you carry on. It takes about 30 seconds to take the brush apart, about a minute to put it back together. give it 10 minutes in the cleaner and it'll come out with a nice clean flow. Learn it like rifle cleaning drill (this is my airbrush, there are many like it, but this one is mine...)

I got a cheapo 2-stage from Harbor Freight with a compressor for around $80 shipped. I haven't had any problems, and I've used it for everything from basecoats, spraying washes, zenithial highlighting, etc.

Definitely the thing to remember is to thin the paint properly. I use testors airbrush thinner some use water. A drying retarder helps as well. Clean after each use, in fact clean it all the time.
I keep mine next to my sink so that I can have hot water running. As soon as I'm done spraying I flush it out. Basically just never set it down with paint in it for more than a minute.

+10 to everything said. These guys gave me advice.

+1 - For starters, don't super invest. You're only going to base coat at first. My first airbrush is a siphon fed Badger 250 ($35). Sprays paint like an aerosol can, but man- I can base coat a whole battalion quicker than *#&^.

+1 - If you do choose to get an airbrush, clean it. No point in spending the money if you're going to ruin it and throw it away next week.

Thinning. Most people quote "The consistency of Milk." Sounds about right. Youtube it for a few good, visible examples. Distilled water is good to start thinning your paints with, then move on to something else if you find your having difficulties.

Personal tip - I use "Paint Easy." Cheap and effective (but I doubt you'll find hardly anybody else that uses it hehehe...). Works on all water based paints, thins without dilution. I even use it to thin my brush paints.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wagner-Paint-Easy-Paint-Conditioner/19212151

Good luck.