Airbrush virginity broken....

[chrisga]

So, with zero previous experience I used an airbrush for the first time last night to paint part of my latest model (Tamiya 1:12th Pramace Ducati Desmosedici - pics to follow). It seemed fairly straightforward actually. I was quite nervous I'd screw it up to be honest, but think it went fairly well.

The main thing that i was worried about was that i always use tamiya acryllic paints and handpaint with a brush, so only ever use the tiniest amount of paint. Decanting paint into the airbrushes paint pot seemed like it would be a ball ache, not least becase i model in the loft and its a trek to the sink to do my cleaing out between each colour. What I did find out though was that the tamiya paint pots fit the lid of the airbrush paint pot so I can just screw them straight on and use them directly (no decanting). Coincidence? Perhaps not....

So the painting went ok overall, I think I might have a few areas of blotchiness, didnt hang round until it was dry. Is this caused by the paint in the pot being too thick? Should I need to thin a standard tamiya acryllic paint down for proper use in an airbrush? And by how much? What sort of consistency should i be looking for? Custard say or coloured water or somewhere in between?

Overall I'm quite happy with the first effore but jeez what a lot of faff compared to a brush!

[Eric Mc]

I always thin. I don't use any set ratio but judge the amount of thinning by the visual consistency of the paint. The general advice is that the thinned paint should have the consistency of semi-skimmed milk.

As far as I know, Valejo paints are the only acrylics which can be used straight from the bottle.

[dr_gn]

Eric Mc said:

I always thin. I don't use any set ratio but judge the amount of thinning by the visual consistency of the paint. The general advice is that the thinned paint should have the consistency of semi-skimmed milk.

As far as I know, Valejo paints are the only acrylics which can be used straight from the bottle.

Vallejo "Air" paints are pre-thinned to a degree, not the the "Vallejo Colour" or "Vallejo Panzer Aces" range. Even so I've always added a drop of Vallejo thinners to the "Air" range too for the best results.

As far as consistency goes: you can't beat trial and error. Add a drop of thinners progressively and spray a test piece until you get the best result. Too thin and it will run, too thick and it will dry before hitting the surface giveing a textured finish.

[chrisga]

Thanks guys, thats the sort of info i need, simples, too thin and it run, too thick and it is lumpy because it dries before it hits the surface. Eric, i'll let you know how i get on with the tamiya acryllics, i guess its a coincidence that the airbrush cap has the same thread and diameter as the tamiya pots then?

[Zad]

I'm surprised you got any coverage at all to be honest, whenever I fail to thin acrylics enough it just clogs my airbrush within seconds. It may be the same thread so you can use old paint pots to hold thinned down paint? Experiment with various mixtures on some old cardboard.

[Eric Mc]

I use an airbrush with a gravity feed from above rather than a syphon feed from below. I find I can control the paint/air mixture much better with that type of airbrush.

[dr_gn]

chrisga said:

Thanks guys, thats the sort of info i need, simples, too thin and it run, too thick and it is lumpy because it dries before it hits the surface. Eric, i'll let you know how i get on with the tamiya acryllics, i guess its a coincidence that the airbrush cap has the same thread and diameter as the tamiya pots then?

It's probably not a coincidence, although a bottom-feed type airbrush is more commonly used for larger scale RC car shells, and has probably got more nozzle clearance which would allow thicker paint to be sprayed. I wouldn't assume that just becasue the thread is the same, so the paint can be used as-is. Tamiya X- and XF- paints are farily thin, but would still need thinning to get a decent finish in a gravity fed airbrush.