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Well, my airbrush finally came in today and I got to play with it a bit. Set PSI at 20 and went to town. Found out that I wasn't thinning my paint enough when it was clogging like crazy. Once I hit that "sweet" spot it went so much better. Though the item I was airbrushing ended up with some paint drips on it, and in a few spots, the paint splashed out of the cup, I think it went rather well. All I need is more time and I should get it down pretty well.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sorry, posting while tipsy makes it hard to spell and/or write in a coherent manner.

Airbrushes are great, so much fun to be had painting allsorts with them. Its not just useful on mini's. Possibly the best tool I ever got! I'm an artist so this beats fun power tools for me

Wishing you good luck in your spraying career, there seems to be a few experienced and knowledgable sprayers kicking around on dakka , I know I'm happy to help with pointers and tips/tricks, I've done a lot of spraying with my airbushes and learned much on my way along, mini's are relatively new to my spraying jobs but I'm enjoying them and always keen to use the spray for more and more techniques

dont fret to ask for help around here.

Agreed. Airbrushes are freakin' amazing.

If you're interested in spraying other things, I like this wonderful guy on Youtube called Airbrushtricks. Lots of automotive tricks, artistic tricks, etc. Demonstrates the stuff clearly, usually on an empty Xbox 360 case. Freakin' love his stuff. I've got plans for some of his tutorials... >:-)

Actually, just check out youtube in general. So much awesome stuff you don't even know exists...

ahh yes I know that youtube channel. Would reccomend having a look. Also a guy called Ed Hubb's has a channel that taught me so much when I started out. I certainly recommend it.
There usualy working on flat or atleast smooth) surface with little to no details unlike our figures. But their object doesnt matter, all the techniques they teach can still apply.

 Debbin wrote:
Well, my airbrush finally came in today and I got to play with it a bit. Set PSI at 20 and went to town. Found out that I wasn't thinning my paint enough when it was clogging like crazy. Once I hit that "sweet" spot it went so much better. Though the item I was airbrushing ended up with some paint drips on it, and in a few spots, the paint splashed out of the cup, I think it went rather well. All I need is more time and I should get it down pretty well.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sorry, posting while tipsy makes it hard to spell and/or write in a coherent manner.

Don't airbrush while drunk. Don't airbrush while stoned. Both can lead to disaster. You need to hold it upright, and it's very easy to forget while eh, under the influence. Been there. Still go there sometimes. Want a t-shirt.

This said, the drops are possibly spatter. Always point the brush away from the model before pressing the trigger. Any spatter goes away. Then aim at the model and gently pull back for paint flow. Much less spatter.

The next thing you'll probably hit is tip dry. A few drops of flow improver in the paint mix REALLY cuts this down.

I'm also a brand new air brusher and one of the most important tips that I have fond the handiest is keep a cup full of simple green on hand and some q-tips. Every few minutes dab the tip of the needle with the q tip dipped in simple green and no more dry hum- err I mean needling.

I cant speak for simple green specifically. But a lot of household cleaners contain vinegar, or other things that corrode Chromium. Vinegar is the common killer. Check the ingredients and look up anything you are not sure about.

Household glass cleaners contain vinegar but automotive ones do not for example.
It will ruin any airbrush in a mere few months, down to whatever metal was plated in chrome. (You want that chrome to stay there really .. its vital to the brush operating smoothly)

I'd suggest Ammonia free window cleaner (Windex anyone?)

Vinegar is bad for chromium, but only if you really let it soak in for extended periods of time. Clean and rinse is no worry, but it's typically just easier to avoid the issue altogether in-case you forget about it soaking after a long paint session

Ammonia free cleaner or rubbing alcohol is what I go for, followed by a thorough rinsing with clean distilled water and a good lube job.

Would it be ill advisable to buy some empty jars to premix some air-brush ready consistency mixes of paint? I just got finished cleaning an ugly clog due to a really old and toothpasty Reaper Master Series Brick Red that took forever. I used an empty jar to mix it up so i could get the consistency mixed up BEFORE pouring it into the paint cup which worked brilliantly.

I then tried making up a premix in a dropper bottle - big mistake. Way too hard to judge the consistency. So I was thinking of getting some cheapy Badger bottles to put some premixes in. Thoughts?

That's actually a wonderful idea. Makes cleanup easier (no need except the workspace and the brush itself) and it's ready to go soon as you want.

 Thorn678 wrote:
Would it be ill advisable to buy some empty jars to premix some air-brush ready consistency mixes of paint? I just got finished cleaning an ugly clog due to a really old and toothpasty Reaper Master Series Brick Red that took forever. I used an empty jar to mix it up so i could get the consistency mixed up BEFORE pouring it into the paint cup which worked brilliantly.

I then tried making up a premix in a dropper bottle - big mistake. Way too hard to judge the consistency. So I was thinking of getting some cheapy Badger bottles to put some premixes in. Thoughts?

That is what I do - though you don't need to go with something like the Badger bottles unless you are using a siphon feed gun.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25040&catid=805

For my gravity feed mixes I mix them up in dropper bottles like those. When I need to use it it is ready to go and I just put as much in the cup as I think I will need.

Just started myself as well. Iwata hp-a is what I'm using. I'm learning how to adjust the needle and figuring that I don't like black as a base coat anymore. Too many coats to make the color normal lol. Wish I could help more.

winterdyne wrote:Don't airbrush while drunk. Don't airbrush while stoned. Both can lead to disaster. You need to hold it upright, and it's very easy to forget while eh, under the influence. Been there. Still go there sometimes. Want a t-shirt.

This said, the drops are possibly spatter. Always point the brush away from the model before pressing the trigger. Any spatter goes away. Then aim at the model and gently pull back for paint flow. Much less spatter.

The next thing you'll probably hit is tip dry. A few drops of flow improver in the paint mix REALLY cuts this down.

I didn't paint while drinking, just posted while drunk.

HairySticks wrote:I cant speak for simple green specifically. But a lot of household cleaners contain vinegar, or other things that corrode Chromium. Vinegar is the common killer. Check the ingredients and look up anything you are not sure about.

Household glass cleaners contain vinegar but automotive ones do not for example.
It will ruin any airbrush in a mere few months, down to whatever metal was plated in chrome. (You want that chrome to stay there really .. its vital to the brush operating smoothly)

fenrir1997 wrote:I'd suggest Ammonia free window cleaner (Windex anyone?)

Vinegar is bad for chromium, but only if you really let it soak in for extended periods of time. Clean and rinse is no worry, but it's typically just easier to avoid the issue altogether in-case you forget about it soaking after a long paint session

Ammonia free cleaner or rubbing alcohol is what I go for, followed by a thorough rinsing with clean distilled water and a good lube job.

Doh, now I need to get some ammonia free window cleaner. I used the reg cheap stuff to thin with, but it was only for a few cups worth of paint.

Thanks all for the feedback. Once I actually use the airbrush for a real project, and not a test subject, I'll post some pictures.

Hey, all good. Got to you before you messed up super-size, ya know?

Ammonia or vinegar = DETH to airbrushes (*twitch twitch*)

Do some Google-work about it, because I'm unsure, but I thought I saw once that typical acrylic airbrush artists actually use windshield washer fluid. It's ammonia free to protect the multitude of coatings that help protect your eyes from the sun and other crap.

Check it out, it may be an even cheaper alternative to Windex ($2.50/spray bottle vs $2.50/gallon) IIRC. Also, if I am correct, do a little test. Soak a random bit of plastic in the fluid to make sure it won't melt your dudes. Another test for any resin if it's a possibility, just to be safe.

Looking forward to your work, good luck

 Thorn678 wrote:
Would it be ill advisable to buy some empty jars to premix some air-brush ready consistency mixes of paint? I just got finished cleaning an ugly clog due to a really old and toothpasty Reaper Master Series Brick Red that took forever. I used an empty jar to mix it up so i could get the consistency mixed up BEFORE pouring it into the paint cup which worked brilliantly.

I then tried making up a premix in a dropper bottle - big mistake. Way too hard to judge the consistency. So I was thinking of getting some cheapy Badger bottles to put some premixes in. Thoughts?

I did this with some.

However.

If you can, buy airbrush paints. The difference is night and day.
You get excellent colors, and great consistency.

I prefer;
Golden (a brand name - get it at most high end art stores).
Vallejo Model Air
Createx

Once you try the better quality stuff....its worth every cent.

Good luck!!!

If you are going to use non-airbrush paint, do yourself a favor and get some real airbrush thinner. Yes, water works to a point. Yes, people use windex, etc etc. Why not invest a few dollars in a bottle of Golden brand airbrush thinner. Or other brands work too. I throw Golden out there as their stuf is top notch and works quite well. Airbrush thinner works great and it is meant to do the job. I just do not get why people want to thin with anything but an airbrush thinner when the stuff is fairly inexpensive, designed to do this job, works very well, etc. I have tried the home remedies and once I finally got a bottle of the real stuff, i'd never go back.

If you do not have a place around you that you can get it from, take a look at www.dickblick.com and you can find it there.

 Synchro wrote:
If you are going to use non-airbrush paint, do yourself a favor and get some real airbrush thinner. Yes, water works to a point. Yes, people use windex, etc etc. Why not invest a few dollars in a bottle of Golden brand airbrush thinner. Or other brands work too. I throw Golden out there as their stuf is top notch and works quite well. Airbrush thinner works great and it is meant to do the job. I just do not get why people want to thin with anything but an airbrush thinner when the stuff is fairly inexpensive, designed to do this job, works very well, etc. I have tried the home remedies and once I finally got a bottle of the real stuff, i'd never go back.

If you do not have a place around you that you can get it from, take a look at www.dickblick.com and you can find it there.

This ^

I have used the golden and liquitex brand of airbrush mediums, and it is a LOT better than using any other thinner.

Keep in mind though, Golden works for most hobby paints, but some paints like Tamiya do not play well with it (Mr. Color too from my experience...but they are not seen as often as Tamiya is).

In general, make sure you know what kind of paint you are using. Vallejo has some alcohols in their line up that don't like the Golden Thinner. If you are looking to spray clears - some of those will be lacquers or enamels (which don't like the Golden Thinner either).

To simplify things though, I normally will use the thinner provided by the paint manufacturer (if they have one). If they don't (for many hobby paint lines) I will use a GP like Golden, Liquitex or Createx.