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I'm getting back into painting now. I'm clearing the backlog of undercoated models and already have some that need varnishing. Soon I won't have any undercoated models left and I'll have to undercoat some more.

The dilemma I have is that I have now moved into a small flat. I don't really want to spray undercoat and varnish on my balcony and spraying indoors seems like a really bad idea, for various reasons. The way I see it I have two options:

1. Brush apply undercoat and varnish. The varnish probably isn't a big deal to brush apply, though I'm more concerned about the undercoat. For one thing it's time consuming, for another I don't want to lay the paint on too thick or end up with a result that is significantly worse than spray painting.

2. Airbrush. I don't mind investing in an airbrush. I've never used one so I'd have to get all the gear (not a small expense) and learn how to use it. With all the money and hassle involved though I'm not sure it's worth investing in this if all I'm going to use it for is undercoating and varnishing? I guess one benefit is that I could then learn to use the airbrush for other effects too.


Any tips or comments on this, or ideas I haven't thought of yet would be most welcome.

What's wrong with the balcony?

Personally, I'd advise against airbrushing a primer and varnish. It's a lot of effort for not a lot of gain, at least in my opinion.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What's wrong with the balcony?

It's a very small balcony, so I'm concerned about getting paint / varnish everywhere. Also I'm concerned that my neighbours won't appreciate the toxic fumes wafting into their flats.

Maybe I'm just overthinking it and need to give spraying a try in my new circumstances. I would like to explore other options though.

If you spray into a cardboard box or something on your balcony, you should contain enough of it to not be a problem

I spray on my balcony. Put cardboard down and watch the overspray.

It’s not like I do it all the time, and by the time the fumes drift over to the neighbors, they will have thinned out a bit.

If the worst thing I do to irritatte the other people in my building is spray once a month, they should condider themselves lucky. And it is.

Crispy78 wrote:
If you spray into a cardboard box or something on your balcony, you should contain enough of it to not be a problem

I do this. Big solid cardboard box with models on a rotating thingy right towards the back. Keeps all the direct spray contained, but there are still fumes and black snot if I don't wear a mask.

Brush-on primer and varnish can be just as good as airbrush, you just need to avoid touching the paint as it dries. Darren Latham's explanation in the first 3 minutes of this video demonstrates the principle nicely: https://youtu.be/U9EgQwCzbjQ

Brush apply dude. I personally dont use sprays

I spray indoors in my small flat.

Make an enclosure out of old box lids so excess doesn't stray too far from the target, and open the window for a few minutes if it's smelly.

Yeah just spray into a cardboard box then leave it open end up to vent once you've done. once it starts to fall apart or get dusty with paint, get a new one.

I tend to spray out the back door, I open an opposite window to create a draft and use that to keep the overspray to a minimum in the kitchen.

I got a clout once before, for making the casing on the TV a dusty red (she wernt bothered about the smell as it smelt like nail varnish)
The missus asked what I had done, I had gave the I dont know what your talking about then about 30 mins later she saw the painted miniatures and swifty wacked me for lying and making the TV red.

I've got one of those little fold-up spray booths – fold it out when I wanna do some spraying and poke the pipe out of the window. Works a treat.

I spray inside all the time.

Open as many windows as you can, put on a many extractors as you can and pop out down Tesco for your sanctioned exercise and groceries.

Thanks for all the comments.

Sounds like I need to revisit the idea of spray painting. I'll give it a go and take it from there.If that turns out disastrously I'll look into brushing rather than investing in an airbrush.

 Nazrak wrote:
I've got one of those little fold-up spray booths – fold it out when I wanna do some spraying and poke the pipe out of the window. Works a treat.

Mine is a banana box liberated from the local supermarket.

Another vote for a spray booth here.

Gloss varnish and primer are usually fine. Matt varnish - warm the can (carefully!) then shake for 5 minutes.