"New to airbrushing - where to go for help?" Topic

My lovely wife bought me an Iwata CS airbrush for my birthday complete with optional preset handle and a compressor. The compressor has a pressure control so everything is variable and controllable. I'm looking for basic information to get me started. How much to thin acrylics for airbrushing? What pressure settings to use? Simple, but saves a lot of trial and error if I have a rough idea before starting practice.
Some how to videos would be useful too, but googling there are hundreds online so wondering if anyone has a good recommendation.

Asking here, and perusing older posts on the subject in the message archives is a good way to start.

I will read with interest, since I want/need one too.

At the very least, I know you'll want a water/moisture trap for your setup.

There are probably lots of tutorials on YouTube as well.

There are hundreds on YouTube, that's the problem. Was hoping someone could point to a good one. It came with an airline filter/moisture trap. It looks like she got good advice!

I haven't done it, but I've read that some people use 12 – 20 lbs. of pressure, depending upon whether they're putting on a basecoat, or using the lower pressure for more detail, camo. work.

I think many dilute their acrylics by like 50% or so.

Some, like the Model Air Acrylics can be used pretty much as is, IIRC.

Best to double check my statements above first though, with others, just to be sure.

I have recently watched some videos on Youtube to seek guidance when airbrushing my figures.

There is a couple who do videos hosted by WSS which are good and well detailed. The Terrain Tutor has done one or two. The guys who run the game shop in the Wirral in the UK, put up explanatory videos on Youtube.

I think you have to search for something like "painting figures with an airbrush", and work your way through the list. It is basically a trial and error experience.

I use Vallejo Air paints where possible, but I also use Vallejo standard acrylics, and thin them with Vallejo thinner. I add about 5-10% thinner when necessary; "consistency of milk" is the standard guideline to follow.

link

Here is one.

Heresybrush website and videos are excellent.

Don's Airbrushing Tips, excellent resource though a dated web design.
link

For books, no question you should consider picking up "Painting Wargames Tanks"
link

It's a cut down version of the super pricey FAQ books.

Thing is to get enough insight to get you started, and then just practice and experiment. When I first started I picked five models at random to practice on, then did projects that would increase my skills incrementally. For example, the first project I did with an airbrush was to paint thirty tanks from primer to base Russian green, no fancy tricks etc. By focusing on just two stages, and with so many models, I quickly got the hang of using the ab in regards to psi settings and thinning.

Biggest learning – if at all possible start with Tamiya paints as they are the most forgiving to noobs. AK and Ammo from Mig are my go to these days, but they are temperamental paints to use.

link

link

Pictors Studio that Airbrushing video with Ken Schlotfeldt is very informative. Thanks for posting.

seriously, just don't be impatient, apply thin coats, practice on scrap, before moving to the model, spray onto paper or card and adjust –

The real trick is to get the right consistency of paint. And that varies depending on the distance you are spraying from. And that either takes a lot of practice, or you can buy paints (Vallejo Air for example) that can be sprayed direct.

For thinning, one recommendation I use is to thin (acrylic) with a mix of windolene and water.

It's fun, but as always, practice makes perfect. And patience, you need to work gradually – it's not a spray can..

My stuff sits unused in the basement. *sigh*

But I remember reading about first steps.

Distilled water can minimize unwanted deposits. Load your airbrush with just the water. Practice techniques on discarded newspapers. You can see the results without polluting the air.

Move up to a bit of food coloring and unused paper.

Then get on to bits and non-valuable things with actual paint. The consistency of milk is often mentioned. And learn thoroughly cleaning the airbrush.

I use Tamiya paints thinned exclusively with isopropyl alcohol and like it a lot better than normal acrylics. It should be noted that I hate Vallejo paints.

What % of isopropyl alcohol do you use with the airbrush, e.g. 40%, 60 – 70%, or 90%?

Test it at the same rate you use thinner, then vary to taste. It works well with Tamiya because they're lacquer based paints. If Tamiya made triads of their paints I'd be all over them still. Yes, I'm lazy.

i use 90 and 70. the 90 dries faster both on the tip and the model. i generally use 90. I do wish tamiya had more colors.