Anybody have any suggestions for a very good quality airbrush sprayer? I was looking here http://www.dixieart.com/Dixie_Art_Supplies_Airbrush_Main_Page.html. There are so many different types I would like to get something that is silky smooth in spraying and that would be perfect for N scale.
I have a Paasche H, single external action because it's a whole lot easier to clean then my old Badger Crescendo. Silky smooth is another problem altogether. With acrylic paints, silky is really tip maintenance. I have fond two main problems, paint and tip. Paint gloobs get into the nozzle, usually from air and heat making the paint start to set before you use it. I'm pretty much convinced on the idea that an opened jar of paint is a spoiled jar of paint. Gets expensive. Micromark sells filters to strain out paint glooblets, will have to get some. The acrylics don't really clean up well in water, although it looks like they do. You can get some very fine beading wire from Michaels or your local craft shop. This fine wire fits through the nozzle of the paint gun, but the tip will have a cleaning burr from when you cut it. With the gun broken down (external is VERY much easier!), I ream out the hole with the fine wire. You can feel the clear blockage right at the tip, which cleaning did not remove. This is the place where the paint atomizes, and the silky smooth quality is made or lost there. I have a short length of wire in my paint box, and use it before every paint session.
Thanks Tony. Passche were the units I was looking at the most. Yes, couldn't possibility live without Micro-Mark. I should buy stock in that company.
Airbrushes A Binks Wren with a "B" tip is what I use. I've had it for more than thirty years. I recommend a moisture trap installed about three feet from the compressor to allow the air to cool and the moisture to condence before goint through the trap. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't use the Acrylic paints. They dry in the tip making clean-up more difficult. I use Floquil and Scalecoat2. Accu-Paint makes some excellent paint. The thinner used should be by the brand of paint used. Clean-up can be lacquer thinner. For "N" Scale I would recommend Accu-Paint and their thinner. The paint has very fine pigments in it.
I use a Paasche VL, with #3 tip and needle. Easy to clean, just need a pipe cleaner. Disassembly to clean? Remove tail cap, loosen needle, remove head and tip, remove needle; clean as necessary. I have a few spare needles on hand, and a spare head assembly as well, JUST IN CASE I lose a part, or bend the needle tip.
I have 2 Paasche VL's and a Paasche turbine. the VL's are great, easy to clean and have a multitude of attachment options. I prefer using the small paint cup instead of the jars for my paint, the paint flows much smoother. The turbine is great, but you must use laquers with it as anything that has a high viscosity will not flow to the needle, this thing can spray a line finer than a ballpoint pen. Plus it sounds cool. For small jobs, an airbrush with a gravity fed paint cup on th top is really good, the paint flows much better and is actually better for detail work. My friend uses this type for autobody airbrushing and the detail is great.
I also have a Paasche double action. Silky smooth is what you will get after practicing with what ever airbrush you get. Different paints spray differently. I use Model Master and Floquil paints myself. But there is no right or wrong paint....they all work with practice.
HemiAdda2d, the shot was taken In Tehachapi @ Cable. I believe in February of last year or maybe the year after. Memory a little foggy. JD, what model Passche do you have and what tip(s) do you use. Also, what is the difference between single action and double action? Is one more advantageous over the other. I would like to try and spray with both acrylics and enamels. It looks like the 1/4 oz paint cup would be ideal for painting. Am I wrong in making this assumption?
I use the medium tip, but that's because I broke the small tip while I was learning how to use the airbrush. Yep, don't push the stick up to clear a clog, that doesn't work! Playing with water in the airbrush before you shoot is a good trick. I use a gallon bucket full of water for cleaning. Before I load up with paint, I make sure that water sprayed up into the air looks as fine as fog. If your gun can't aerate water, it has no chance at all of making paint look good on a model! :tb-rolleyes:
Jim (BNSF 7173) taught me that using the #3 needle with acrylic paints thinned with 91% alcohol is a great way to get the paint on smooth. That, and pressure is regulated under 20PSI. I generally shoot at 15-18PSI. Plus, the needle isn't as delicate. The #1 needles are just too delicate for my clumbsy fingers. It didn't take hardly anything to bend the tip on that #1.
an iwata Eclipse HP-BCS is what I use for painting and I am very happy with it... (I've tried several brands like Badger, Paasche, Revell (Badger) and Aztek but I will stay with the iwata)
A lot of good information here. Thanks guys. I still do not know what is the difference between double action & single action when it come to a sprayer. Anyone know? And is one more advantageous over the other?
A single action airbrush regulates the amount of air passing over the venturi (the part that sucks paint out of the cup and aerates it out the front). The amount of paint is whatever can be sucked out. If you add the ability to regulate the amount of paint also, you have a double action airbrush. High quality double action guns can draw a straight line. I can't, so I have a single action gun.
If you can afford it, it's worthwhile to buy an airbrush exclusively for enamels and one for acrylics. Before hurricane Katrina destroyed my airbrushes, I had 4 Paasche VLs (I did a LOT of airbrushing!). They were excellent brushes!
Thanks again for the additional information. I have checked out all the units recommended. The Passche"s seem very nice and the iwata Eclipse HP-BCS only uses one point. It must be an adjustable sprayer. No extra nozzles to buy or lose. I like the idea of having a sprayer for enamel paints and one for acrylics particularly if you have a large volume of painting. I also like the idea of low pressure spraying. Keeps the fumes and over spray down. I would imagine you have to keep the airbrush very close to the model when painting with low pressure. Can you do touch on your models with an airbrush or must you always paint the entire model?
Don't faint when you see the prices on the Iwata. BTW- I think that DixieArt is the best place for purchase of the airbrush and for parts.
