Well, this weekend I finally got around to using my airbrush. It's a Paasche H3 with a medium tip. Just to try it out and get a feel for it, I hooked it up to my compressor and set it for 15 lbs. I poured a bit of washer fluid (no paint) into the jar and opened the tip. My question is this; how much do you need to open the tip before you're getting too much paint? Is this something I'll find out as I practice? I noticed that there was a pulsing until I had the tip way open. Is this normal? Thanks!
I think you're correct that a lot of the technique develops with practice. The exact settings will vary depending on the type of paint and how much (or little) you thin it. The pulsing is probably from the compressor; if it becomes a problem, you may want to look for a compressor with an attached reservoir (provides a steadier supply)
John; I suggest that you experiment to see the type of spray you get with various tip adjustments. Also various tips give you a different spray. Stay cool and run steam....
I guess I'll have to find one of my junk freight cars and actually paint something. The compressor I have has a 2 gallon tank on it. It's a nice setup, it's pretty quiet. I have a water trap and quick disconnect for it. Now that the weather here is nice, it's time to start practicing! Thanks!
Yes experiment with pressure settings and also type of paints. I have settled on using modelflex paint as it covers well. I have found you dont have to strip shells completely which makes life a little easier for me.
I have an undecorated Micro-Trains caboose I need to paint, and I think it's funny how the body is black plastic and the cupola is brown. I have a LL GP18 that is the same way: everything is yellow plastic, except for acouple of small brown pieces. Anyway, I want to primer everything so the paint will cover properly. I guess that would be a good way to start airbrushing.
Paasche good! It's funny, when the water based paints came out, lots of folks commented that you need to use a lot more pressure than the old oils. Well, I had my trusty Badger vibrator compressor so I decided to give it a try. After lots of clogged guns, I talked to a gentleman about the problem. He said that if you don't thin the paint out enough, it'll clog. The extra air pressure was being used by folks to spit out the clogs, like using air to unclog a stopped up drain! Sure enough, that was the problem all right. Clogs come from the paint being either heated in storage, or from the jar just being open at all (air reacts with the paint and makes it clump). The blue PollyS thinner works great to remove clumps, but you have to let it sit for about 5 minutes to have maximum effect... Tony Burzio San Diego, CA
If you are going to spray acrilycs, get a #5 tip and needle for the airbush. Early acrylics did need high airpressure, but the modern Poly Scale and Modelflex both sray nicely around 20psi. Pick up some old toy train box cars to play around with - you can usually get these at swap meets for only a few dollars. These are a great way to learn.
Congrats on the move to an airbrush. Aztek, Badger, Pasche and Iwata are all good brands. (Modeler first than sales man, besides I'm the Floquil brand manager not Aztek ) Practice on paper before commiting on a model. I tell everyone at my seminars to mix Polly Scale 75% paint to 25% Polly S thinner (or distilled water) and use a wide needle or nozzle and spray at 16 to 18 psi. I have been spraying PS for many years and this works the best. I have had good results with spraying Modelflex as is out of the bottle at 20 psi. Also the Polly S thinner has reducer in it to make it spray better and not dry as fast as water. That comes in handy in the dry winter months. Hope this helps.
UHaul has cheap white paper sheets for packing that are ideal for painting! I use a clean sheet every time I paint, and the white lets you check the color and spray pattern. Tony Burzio San Diego, CA
Thanks, guys! When I was playing around with the washer fluid, I was spraying the white bottom of a cardboard flat that bottled water came in. I decided then that I need something with some color in it so I can tell what the spray pattern was. I did some reading and found that the sputtering wasn't the compressor, but from perhaps not having the needle open enough. Like had been said before, practice makes perfect! I also build model cars, and found that using a spray can leads to really bad orange peel, even in 90 degree weather. I have two hobbies that my airbrush can help me with!
You can get that, ummm, 'effect' with an airbrush too... If you are too far from the surface some of the paint will dry before it hits the model and as the rest of the paint dries around it, you get that orange peel surface. With an airbrush you get much more paint and less thinner than is in a spray can so you need to be much closer to the surface when you paint. Be careful practicing on paper. It's good for testing paint flow and such before shooting a model, but as a learning tool for us modelers it has limited use. The paper is porous and will absorb excess paint that on a plastic model surface will run, pool or just not stick. Raid your scrap box for plastic bits, get junk rolling stock from swap meets or even try some tin cans (with the label removed) to get a better idea of what it's like to paint a 3-d, nonporous object before you tackle that GP
