"airbrushing" Topic

If I don't buy another figure I have enough to keep me painting for the next few years……however, I have got it into my head to try out some of the fine resin WW2 vehicles that are on the market, and also trying to paint them using an airbrush.
Never used an airbrush before. I have started doing some research and there is lots out there. Do folks have any recommendations? Do I buy a whole kit including a compressor , or do I buy the airbrush and compressor separately? Or do I just go for the cans of compressed air to start with? Also, as a starter should I go for the paints which are pre-mixed for use with an airbrush.
I don't need to do this …..I can't help myself!!

I'm fairly new to airbrushing, but I can give you some thoughts:

- Canned air is horrible. Get a compressor. I lucked into an incredible deal on a high-end airbrush compressor which is quiet enough to use in my condo. If you're not worried about noise, you shouldn't have to spend too much.

- I also got a (relatively-speaking) cheap fume hood for airbrushing indoors. I also have a good dust mask that I wear while airbrushing to protect me from any blow-back that the fan in the fume hood can't handle.

- I prefer to use Vallejo Air paints, which are ready to use in an airbrush straight out of the bottle. You can thin them further if desired – I usually use rubbing alcohol to thin mine. It evaporates really quickly.

- Whatever airbrush you get, get comfortable with taking it apart and putting it back together. Having a clean airbrush is the number one most important thing to getting the results you want.

- Go slow. Don't try to get to the colour you're shooting for in one pass. Plan on doing many coats to achieve the opacity you want.

Personally I would NOT goof around with propellant cans. I've been airbrushing since 1990 (yeah it has been that long!), and most of that time I've used a compressor. A compressor is simply much superior, with more constant air pressure (a propellant can will drop in temperature as you use it, and have a parallel drop in pressure -- it's physics at work), more constantly available air pressure, and probably cheaper when extended over the lifeframe of the compressor (I've gone through 2 compressors since I started, and one died I think because I had it too close to the spraying area!)

As for pre-mixed paints, pre-mixed by what standard? IMHO it would be much more educational to jump in with both feet and use standard model paints that you have to thin yourself. Consistency will vary from paint to paint, and from job to job. FREX for detail painting you might want to thin the paint down more and drop the air pressure than if you're doing a basecoat job. Learning how to thin the paints depending on what you want to do, will be more educational and useful in the long run IMHO.

For airbrushes, I would jump in and get a dual action rather than a single action. A dual action controls BOTh airflow and paintflow from the button, whereas in single action it is just airflow (paintflow must be adjusted manually). I personally find single actions far more annoying, even if they are just used for basecoating and big jobs (I also don't see the point in having two airbrushes to clean either!).

For paints I would also look at Tamiya or Gunze Sangyo acrylics. Both can be thinned with rubbing alcohol, and spray very well, so can be a bit more forgiving than FREX Vallejos.

For compressors this is a pretty broad area, dependent on what you want to get out of it. But if you get an industrial tool compressor (like you'd get at Sears or Home Depot to run air-powered tools), look for one with a storage tank and a pressure regulator. Airbrush compressors often run a bit more expensive for what you get, but also have the advantage of being ready-made to hook up to an airbrush.

Off the top of my head…

Damon.

Go for a kit like this : auction

Firstly you are going to need a compressor, get one with a tank so that it does not constantly run. This compressor AS 186 is quite quiet.

Typically these kits come with cheap Chinese airbrushes, which as a beginner are fine to cut your teeth on and lot less heartbreaking and wallet breaking to mistreat. You will mistreat them!

If after a while you decide you want to do some serious airbrush work you can buy yourself a more expensive airbrush and you already have everything you need to run it.

Also, grab one of these : auction

Good luck!

Yes, that set available on eBay is a winner and its how I got started.

Canned air is the spawn of satan, unless you're talking about a BIG can, such as a cylinder of CO2 from the local industrial gas place (the kind used for soda fountains), in which case they're awesome (clean, dry, and silent). As for compressors, I dislike airbrush models, and favor regular air tool type units. They work just fine with a moisture trap, and have many other uses aside from painting. For the brush itself, I have been very pleased with the Aztek A4709 set. Regarding paint, I use normal model acrylics, thinned (sometimes with water, sometimes with alcohol, sometimes with bottled airbrush thinner (which I suspect may be mostly alcohol). Whatever rig you settle on, practice with it a good bit before using it on anything about which you actually care.

Doug

Brilliant – thanks folks.
Based on advice so far I'll definitely go for a compressor.
re paints I'll have a go with the Vallejo air range and also have a try at thinning my existing acrylics (mostly foundry and few old citadel pots). Is there an advantage to thinning with rubbing alcohol or just water ?

Rubbing alcohol both lacks the surface tension of water (so it flows better) AND evaporates faster, helping with drying time. It is important to note, however, that you test first before mixing up a batch. Not all acrylics react well to using rubbing alcohol as a thinner. Some of the really old citadel paints (such as the ones now sold by coat d'arms) will jel up if thinned with rubbing alcohol. Also the newer and current Citadel paints are IME a real PitA to airbrush…

Damon.

All good advice above. Definitely get a compressor. Watch for clearances or coupon deals from the craft stores. I picked up a professional one for just $50. USD Harbor Freight also has inexpensive ones.

The first rule of air brushing is keep it clean. The 2d rule is keep it clean. Care to guess the 3d rule?

There are a lot of How To videos on line. This series was very helpful when I started"

YouTube link

In addition to the great links above I'd like to add:

link

Don's tips have taught me a lot and I keep going back to them.

Definitely get a low cost model to start with, good brushes can cost a bomb.

Get a compressor, again don't go overboard.

Use vallejo model air paints, tamiya or any dedicated airbrush paint. Normal acrylics like citadel, foundry and regular vallejo acrylics can be very tricky to use, especially first time out.

I use an airbrush on many things, but have found over time that rattle can paints are best for monotone colour vehicles, definitely far quicker to use.

Watch all the youtube videos you can, there are some exceptional ones out there.

Regards thinning, a trip to Halfords, buy a 5L bottle of battery top-up water. This is deionized water and has all impurities taken out, use it for thinning and cleaning. Also buy the cheapest airbrush cleaner fluid you can get your hands on. If thinning your paint with water alone reduces the paint to much you'll need some sort of dedicated airbrush thinner. My personal preference is Vallejo's and either of the thinning products made by Golden.

I was in the same predicament a while back as you are now. I got the Aztec A4709 set but didn't get much further as I sat trying to work out what paints I would use & how much to thin them, whether to use compressor or air cans etc. What really helped was a course ran in the UK for airbrush beginners by Airbrushes.com in Lancing, Sussex. Details of their courses are in the link

link

They provide a range of Iwata airbrushes for students to use which gives you a good spread to choose from, but having the Aztec I took it along and they were happy for me to try it out as it was what I would be using myself.

You have the opportunity to buy their products at the end of the course & that is where I picked up my compressor. Robin, the instructor, has decades of experience as a professional airbrusher which he passes on with ease. The one point that sticks with me is that as a modeller in smaller scales you do not need a tank as the compressor should provide sufficient consistent pressure for your needs. If you were to get into prolonged airbrush sessions spraying large items then a tank might be required.

I am not sure where you are in the UK but have a look at the courses available and consider whether it might be something that you could attend to get you started. I did and haven't looked back.