Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So ive been following this tutorial http://elementgames.co.uk/painting-tutorials/264-1-day-daemons-how-to-paint-plague-drones

ive finished step 3 about to do 4, im thinking it has been airbrushed but im very new to all this so i could be wrong, but i cant imagine that kind of blending being done with a brush atleast by myself.

anyways some parts of that are very small so you have to get in close and with low pressures, would you go thinner or nthicker with paint than normal airbrushing? can somebody please give me a ball park figure for the pressures i know its not that simple but a starting point could help.

thanks

Yes this is def airbrushed. Thinned paint as per normal and a low PSI

this gw screamer pink doesnt want to spray unless i npull the needle back, but first i went even thinner so when i did pull back the needle i get a massive pool and blew all over the place. this aeroplane didnt like it, but its better than me not liking it on the plague dronethat would have offendede me lol

Personally I like to mix up the paint in little plastic shot glasses before putting into my airbrush, for games workshop paints I will usually thin in a ratio of 1 part paint, 1 part thinner. You ideally want the paint to be around the consistency of milk before putting it through the airbrush.

On a side note to that, I find that when using games workshop paints, they tend to dry and clog the airbrush very quickly in comparison to others, I usually will try to only use very small amounts, and keep cleaning the airbrush in-between changing colours, sometimes adding more thinner to the original mix if I feel that it is drying more than I'd like.

PSI wise for that kind of work I'd probably work at around 15 - 20 PSI, I really find it best to test on an old box or something before going at the model with the airbrush just to see that I'm getting good control over my airbrush. Is it a dual action airbrush that you are using?

Typically, your psi never changes much. However, I have lowered it slightly when spraying illustrator inks, but paint always about 20-25 for me, but as @Ghostkeel says, 15-20 may work for your brush, too. Your needle will control the amount of paint, not the air pressure.

Even if you are proficient, always test on scrap before you splatter your model. That first spray can sometimes come out like a mess!

On another point I will add as my personal preference, is for small details with my fine brush I will never shoot water-based acrylics, but only thinner-based enamels. As @Ghostkeel says, acrylics dry fast and will clog your brush in a second. Also, when dry, no amount of carrier (water) will bring it back to life and keep your brush from clogging. Enamels atomize much finer, so will give a smoother coat and when it starts to dry at your tip, the carrier (mineral spirits) in the paint will dissolve and loosen to prevent clogs. Also, using flat enamels for the prime coat in the main base color of the mini gives me a much more durable base and also painting in the main color of the mini knocks out the main color, so it speeds up your painting a lot. It is just the way I paint, but not everyone will agree.

Ghostkeel wrote:
Personally I like to mix up the paint in little plastic shot glasses before putting into my airbrush, for games workshop paints I will usually thin in a ratio of 1 part paint, 1 part thinner. You ideally want the paint to be around the consistency of milk before putting it through the airbrush.

On a side note to that, I find that when using games workshop paints, they tend to dry and clog the airbrush very quickly in comparison to others, I usually will try to only use very small amounts, and keep cleaning the airbrush in-between changing colours, sometimes adding more thinner to the original mix if I feel that it is drying more than I'd like.

PSI wise for that kind of work I'd probably work at around 15 - 20 PSI, I really find it best to test on an old box or something before going at the model with the airbrush just to see that I'm getting good control over my airbrush. Is it a dual action airbrush that you are using?

Yeah it's dual action eclipse hp-cs ,15 to 20 I was thinking alot less, I guess you are only very slightly pulling back on the trigger I guess if the power is there but you don't release all of it you could get a better result .

I use a dual action badger 105 patriot, I actually have a hp-cs eclipse too! the hp-cs is more designed for the finer detail work. Generally I push down first, and very gradually work back on the trigger, it really requires very little to allow paint through. With the eclipse you could probably work at an even lower PSI, the only issue I find with this is that sometimes paint can splatter a little more, particularly with my badger airbrush, I haven't used the iwata for a long time so I cant call it on that.

Id just advise to test first on some cardboard, practice control over your trigger finger too, sometimes less is more

Good luck on you daemons!

Ghostkeel wrote:
I use a dual action badger 105 patriot, I actually have a hp-cs eclipse too! the hp-cs is more designed for the finer detail work. Generally I push down first, and very gradually work back on the trigger, it really requires very little to allow paint through. With the eclipse you could probably work at an even lower PSI, the only issue I find with this is that sometimes paint can splatter a little more, particularly with my badger airbrush, I haven't used the iwata for a long time so I cant call it on that.

Id just advise to test first on some cardboard, practice control over your trigger finger too, sometimes less is more

Good luck on you daemons!

But yeah i have only really done priming and base coats with the airbrush so far, the closest thing to fine detail is spraying the bruised bits on the drone, which is still nowhere near to fine detail. But i've only painted one mini so far one of the space marines i got in aset with all the paints and a brush which i'm pleaseantly suprised with the quality of the brush, it's no broken toad but how it keeps it's point even tho it's not sable it's just very very good. Now about to spray the drones legs so that will be even finer,iv'e considered getting a second airbrush for priming and things like an iwata revolution perhaps.

Let us know how it goes! It will be good to see how you get on, could post some photo's if possible too!

If you'd like a recommendation, go with a badger 105 patriot, It has a slightly larger needle than your Iwata brush, but boy is it reliable, I've used mine for the last 4 years + and never had a problem, I can do fine detail work as well as priming.

This link is a video I watched when first airbrushing, it demonstrates what you should be able to achieve with Iwata brushes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJUOOVKlOyA

Ghostkeel wrote:
Let us know how it goes! It will be good to see how you get on, could post some photo's if possible too!

If you'd like a recommendation, go with a badger 105 patriot, It has a slightly larger needle than your Iwata brush, but boy is it reliable, I've used mine for the last 4 years + and never had a problem, I can do fine detail work as well as priming.

This link is a video I watched when first airbrushing, it demonstrates what you should be able to achieve with Iwata brushes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJUOOVKlOyA

well i scraped to step 7 it was mixed results spraying the legs went with your higher pressure idea and was gentle on the pulling back of the trigger, trick is to be patient there it seems otherwise it gets a bit too excited and can com eout a bit too flowing i rescued it with some tissue and touching it up a bitwith the base colour of the legs. i cant be bothered to do a photo right now but tomorrowc when i have some energy i will.

I airbrush everything at 20psi because I'm too lazy to constantly change the pressure. That said, you can do some pretty fine work if you have good control of your airbrush. As others have said, it's largely in how good you are at pulling the trigger back just the smallest amount to get the paint out. If you're not confident in your abilities quite yet, I'd practice on some scrap sprues or cardboard.

 Mr. Grey wrote:
I airbrush everything at 20psi because I'm too lazy to constantly change the pressure. That said, you can do some pretty fine work if you have good control of your airbrush. As others have said, it's largely in how good you are at pulling the trigger back just the smallest amount to get the paint out. If you're not confident in your abilities quite yet, I'd practice on some scrap sprues or cardboard.

Yeah i use this airfix plane for that he got drenched in pink on one side, I should probably prime this plane so that I am spraying on to the same material as the model I want to look good.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh I took some pictures and made a post on wordpress as one of you asked to see the progress https://alamandrablog.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/a-spot-of-painting-old-chum/