Basics. Airbrushing.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:03 am

Most craft paint dries pretty soft when air-brushed. I've played with stuff that was soft enough to take fingerprints through gloves. Future, on the other hand, is very hard so when you mix the two you get a much harder coat.

Airbrushing enable one to blend paints, that combined with the softness of the craft paint enabled the solvents to help the two mix more even when sprayed.

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:36 pm

AhHa, so if I were to paint over with some model acrylic paints, then I might not get *quite* as good results with the different layers blending in together. Either way, I see what your saying. It's not just the paint or the Future, but the Airbrushing that really allowed the blending to occur so well. Haha, maybe I'm just learning quickly on better techniques.

I had no idea craft paint dried softer. It's no wonder I was trashing the paint just by looking hard at it.

Edit: Actually, now that I've slept on it, I think I know exactly what you are saying and what was going on. The ammonia in the Future dissolved a little of the old paint enough to blend better with the new paint, and the fact that the old paint was soft, and the new paint was being AB'ed on, just helped the blending.

Jonas Calhoun · Post by **Jonas Calhoun** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:04 am

SJM wrote: Over the past couple of airbrush sessions, there as been a tiny paint clot (bloob) appearing on the top of the needle peice.

It's called tip dry. Typically shows up with acrylics, some more than others (I've had it with Vallejo and Testors, but not with Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya). It's caused by acrylics drying so quickly, and is affected by the amount of paint being sprayed, the psi of the air source, etc.

Use a bit of retarder in your paint, see if that doesn't help. Liquitex slo-dri, Golden acrylic retarder, there's a few others out there. Lots of the manufacturer's thinners already have retarder in it (Gunze Mr. Leveling Thinner).

Dan

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:07 pm

From Badgers garage sale... I picked up the 360 and the 150. the 150 was just the AB w/o any bottles to go with it.

My question is this... can I use the whole bottle/siphon assemble from the 360 with the 150 or does that require a different setup?

SJM · Post by **SJM** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:01 pm

Jonas Calhoun wrote:
SJM wrote: Over the past couple of airbrush sessions, there as been a tiny paint clot (bloob) appearing on the top of the needle peice.
It's called tip dry. Typically shows up with acrylics, some more than others (I've had it with Vallejo and Testors, but not with Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya). It's caused by acrylics drying so quickly, and is affected by the amount of paint being sprayed, the psi of the air source, etc.

Use a bit of retarder in your paint, see if that doesn't help. Liquitex slo-dri, Golden acrylic retarder, there's a few others out there. Lots of the manufacturer's thinners already have retarder in it (Gunze Mr. Leveling Thinner).

Dan

Thanks man

Post by **TER-OR** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:51 pm

I mostly have the dry-tip problem when doing shading effects, using lots of air and little paint. I keep a bit of water/windex in a cup with a stiff brush to clean up now and again. And keep the paint pretty thin.

SJM · Post by **SJM** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:01 pm

Also, something that came up last painting session. My paint was not as fine as it could of been. I was having trouble toning a down a colour

kosherbacon · Post by **kosherbacon** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:23 pm

I don't think this has been covered before, but with my airbrush when I pull back on the trigger it sticks. It doesn't effect the painting that much but it's annoying. Can I just take some regular oil that you would use for something like a bike chain, put a bit of that on and be done with it? I also have some compressor oil, would that work better?
Or is there some special type that you have to get?

Thanks.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:28 pm

Compressor oil is the better choice.

kosherbacon · Post by **kosherbacon** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:34 pm

Ok. Thanks!

Post by **TER-OR** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:11 pm

If you have some tri-flow, that may be a good lube for the airbrush. That's what I use on my bike. I have a little lube from an airbrush cleaning kit which seems pretty similar.

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:43 am

Want to try this... never have.

I would like to know that is the best way to do detailing with an AB? Meaning, I am guessing that I have to really thin the mixture down and then should the air pressure be low.... like 10 - 12lbs or high?

What I am looking at AB is the coolant parts on the Nacells.

Thanks

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:03 pm

starmanmm wrote:Want to try this... never have.

I would like to know that is the best way to do detailing with an AB? Meaning, I am guessing that I have to really thin the mixture down and then should the air pressure be low.... like 10 - 12lbs or high?

What I am looking at AB is the coolant parts on the Nacells.

Thanks

Thinner works better, you want it more like a glaze or even like coffee, then build it up in multiple light coats, the first couple of coats should barely be seen. I've done this with Tamiya smoke, really thin it down and slowly build up the shadows, works great, just takes a while.

Typically you go with lower pressure the thinner the paint, but there's so many variables when it comes to adjusting the pressure that I suggest starting at 10psi and raise the pressure as needed until you get the effect you want.

Ken

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:25 pm

Thanks.

So... thin it out and use multi coats to build up the color.

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 4:23 pm

Never seem to have this problem before.

Using HP CR to shoot Tamiya at 20 - 22 psi at a distance of 8 -10" from the kit.

Humidity is around 40%.

Paint is thinned with their thinner.

In some spots, it looks like it is lightly pebbled.

Any ideas as to what is causing this?

I'm hoping that I can lightly wet sand it with 1200 and then shoot it again to get a smoother finish.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:07 pm

starmanmm wrote:Never seem to have this problem before.
Using HP CR to shoot Tamiya at 20 - 22 psi at a distance of 8 -10" from the kit.
Humidity is around 40%.
Paint is thinned with their thinner.
In some spots, it looks like it is lightly pebbled.
Any ideas as to what is causing this?

Sounds like a combination of:
Air pressure too high
Spraying too far back
Environment is too dry

The paint is partially drying in the air on its way to the model, what happens is that it can't level out in time before it dries, resulting in the pebbles.

Ken

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:23 pm

Yeah, that is what I was thinking was the problem.

Any suggestions on a fix?

Thinking of wet sanding it with either 1200 or just a tee shirt and then see what happens.

A friend of mine suggests that the gloss clear may just level it all out.

Funny thing is... the dark color is the problem child while the light color, that I just sprayed, went on ok.

All settings and distances were the same for both colors.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:42 pm

A quick wet sand with fine grit sandpaper should take off the rough spots.

It will take so many coats of clear to level out the surface you'll be better off to sand it out.

Regarding the colors, one of them was probably thinner than the other or one of the variables was different between the 2.

Ken

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:04 pm

Sounds like a plan.

Looking at it now.... doesn't look so bad, but I would still like to smooth the final coat out.

This kit (PL D7) has been the kit from hell.

Biggest problem has been that the seam along the neck keeps showing up thru the bondo. I think that I have finally got it taken care of and now this.

Hey, will work my way thru it.

Best part is that I lit this sucker and looking forward to seeing it completed so that I can go back to my 22" Constellation.

Dukat, S.G. · Post by **Dukat, S.G.** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 4:08 pm

All,

What thinner-to-paint ratio would you use if you wanted to apply a few translucent flat [mediumish] gray MM enamel coats?

The model I'm thinking about trying this with will be blue-gray with very dark green highlights. I want the green and underlying blue-gray still somewhat visible, but darkened and "blended" together ever so slightly.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:50 pm

Dukat, S.G. wrote:All,
What thinner-to-paint ratio would you use if you wanted to apply a few translucent flat [mediumish] gray MM enamel coats?

75% or so thinner, make it more like a glaze than thinned paint, but thicker than you'd mix a wash up.

Ken

MillenniumFalsehood · Fri Oct 09, 2009 12:29 am

Got a couple of questions, one of which I'm sure I know the answer to:

Will Alclad airbrush cleaner be alright to use to thin enamels (pretty sure this will eat off the undercoat, but I had to ask).

What paint brands and types can be airbrushed straight from the bottle?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:46 am

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:Got a couple of questions, one of which I'm sure I know the answer to:

Will Alclad airbrush cleaner be alright to use to thin enamels (pretty sure this will eat off the undercoat, but I had to ask).

What paint brands and types can be airbrushed straight from the bottle?

Not really, it's lacquer thinner.

What brands? Well Alclad II, Model Master Metalizers (IIRC)... can't think of any others off hand.

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:01 pm

I don't believe metalizers are suitable for airbrushing; as I recall, they'll eat up the inside of the brush because they are composed of tiny metal fragments.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:18 pm

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:I don't believe metalizers are suitable for airbrushing; as I recall, they'll eat up the inside of the brush because they are composed of tiny metal fragments.

Uhm, they're made specifically for airbrushing...

MillenniumFalsehood · Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:58 pm

Hmm. I wonder where I heard that they'll eat up a brush. . .

Thanks for the heads up. I'll probably get some.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:11 am

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:Hmm. I wonder where I heard that they'll eat up a brush. . .

Thanks for the heads up. I'll probably get some.

All paints eat up the brush at the needle and nozzle, metallic paints just more so. You're effectively firing pieces of mineral pigments though a tiny aperture at relatively high pressure and volume. When those pigments are no longer just pigments essentially from the ground or the lab, but are flakes of metal, the damage is accelerated. That is why nozzles wear over time and so do needles. Hell, even just firing non-pigmented inks, like Winsor & Newton, will gradually erode the needle and nozzle, just like any high pressure fluids would erode any other such arrangement.

I hope this helps.

Kenny

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:46 am

Which is also why having a spring steel needle in your Iwata is a big help. And why they changed their nozzle design to make so the high wear area gets replaced only.

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:29 pm

Ah, okay. I forgot about the "high-speed bits of flying pigments suspended in carrier" bit.

Thanks for the explanation Lt. Z0mBe.

Darkowski · Post by **Darkowski** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:51 am

Hi folks!

I'm new at airbrushing, and wanted to know how do you paint clear parts with clear paint.
What's the pressure, distance, paint consistency, and so on that you should have?

I tried and the result was a blutchy job. I had more paint in some areas and not enough in others.

It wasn't uniform if you know what I mean.
I used a Tamiya Clear Blue diluted with Tamiya thinner.

Thank you!

Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Basics. Airbrushing.

Are these interchangable

Detailing with an AB

Re: Detailing with an AB

Tamiya problem

Re: Tamiya problem

Airbrushing Clear Parts