Modelling tips

[46and2]

Stick Legs said:

You are welcome.



You say you are using enamels, brush or spray?

I was brush painting this, I actually over thinned the paint and then overdid it with the number of coats, tried polishing out brush marks, a whole mess but a good learning curve. I realised that with enamel anything less than 4:1 paint to thinner is too thin and creates more problems than it solves. I also didn't prime it because the way you have to build the model would have made it complex.

Its the Tamiya F16C so its too good a model to waste on a poor paint job so I'll try stripping it.

[new_bloke]

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

[robemcdonald]

new_bloke said:

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

My advice would be to spray it from the can. That’s what I do..

[new_bloke]

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

My advice would be to spray it from the can. That’s what I do..

But, but... the cool kids are all using airbrushes Joking aside, the rattle cans chuck out a HUGE amount of paint - it's super-easy to get runs!

[robemcdonald]

new_bloke said:

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

My advice would be to spray it from the can. That’s what I do..

But, but... the cool kids are all using airbrushes Joking aside, the rattle cans chuck out a HUGE amount of paint - it's super-easy to get runs!

A Halfords can yes, but not really with the Tamiya ones.
But, to each his own. 12psi seems a little low to me maybe you might need to add some thinners at that pressure? It’s probably all bout experimenting to get the right conditions.

I’m sure a more seasoned modeller will provide more useful insight.

[dr_gn]

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

My advice would be to spray it from the can. That’s what I do..

But, but... the cool kids are all using airbrushes Joking aside, the rattle cans chuck out a HUGE amount of paint - it's super-easy to get runs!

A Halfords can yes, but not really with the Tamiya ones.
But, to each his own. 12psi seems a little low to me maybe you might need to add some thinners at that pressure? It’s probably all bout experimenting to get the right conditions.

I’m sure a more seasoned modeller will provide more useful insight.

Never had any issue spraying decanted Tamiya stuff, either primers or colours. 0.5mm is a big nozzle for a small model though, I bet you get through a lot of paint in a short time? 0.2 is a common nozzle.

I use my H&S airbrush at 30-35 psi.

[new_bloke]

dr_gn said:

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

My advice would be to spray it from the can. That’s what I do..

But, but... the cool kids are all using airbrushes Joking aside, the rattle cans chuck out a HUGE amount of paint - it's super-easy to get runs!

A Halfords can yes, but not really with the Tamiya ones.
But, to each his own. 12psi seems a little low to me maybe you might need to add some thinners at that pressure? It’s probably all bout experimenting to get the right conditions.

I’m sure a more seasoned modeller will provide more useful insight.

Never had any issue spraying decanted Tamiya stuff, either primers or colours. 0.5mm is a big nozzle for a small model though, I bet you get through a lot of paint in a short time? 0.2 is a common nozzle.

I use my H&S airbrush at 30-35 psi.

Thanks Dr! I will try with the smaller nozzle at higher pressure. How far do you hold the brush from the model when you paint? Do you mist the paint on, or are you aiming for a wetter coat? Sorry for all the questions - I really want to learn how to do this!

[dr_gn]

new_bloke said:

dr_gn said:

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

robemcdonald said:

new_bloke said:

Hi all,

Can anyone offer any advice on airbrushing decanted tamiya rattle can paint? I'm using TS-15 (gloss blue - can you guess what it is?!), but no matter what I do, I seem to get either a matte / rough finish or nasty orange peel. I am using a gaahleri airbrush (cheap, but by no means the cheapest) with a 0.5mm needle and about 12psi on the compressor. Is this just a fact of life, and I need to spend time sanding / polishing, or am I doing something wrong? Any and all advice welcome!
Cheers,
NB

My advice would be to spray it from the can. That’s what I do..

But, but... the cool kids are all using airbrushes Joking aside, the rattle cans chuck out a HUGE amount of paint - it's super-easy to get runs!

A Halfords can yes, but not really with the Tamiya ones.
But, to each his own. 12psi seems a little low to me maybe you might need to add some thinners at that pressure? It’s probably all bout experimenting to get the right conditions.

I’m sure a more seasoned modeller will provide more useful insight.

Never had any issue spraying decanted Tamiya stuff, either primers or colours. 0.5mm is a big nozzle for a small model though, I bet you get through a lot of paint in a short time? 0.2 is a common nozzle.

I use my H&S airbrush at 30-35 psi.

Thanks Dr! I will try with the smaller nozzle at higher pressure. How far do you hold the brush from the model when you paint? Do you mist the paint on, or are you aiming for a wetter coat? Sorry for all the questions - I really want to learn how to do this!

The following is just from my experience. Airbrush advice varies a lot, possibly from different interpretations of issues that can have multiple causes, which also often combine with each other! Also, different manufacturers recommend different pressures; H&S brushes seem to need higher pressures than others.


For me it depends on what you're painting. There will be different settings for a 1:72 aircraft than for a 1:24 car. This is how I did a 1:43 Ferrari a couple of years ago:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I've seen better finishes on a model car, but at normal viewing distances it looks fine.

IIRC I used quite a few thin coats, flashed off with a hairdryer between coats. They didn't always dry totally glossy. Then polish with Tamiya compounds. You need to locally re-spray if you rub through to primer. Then apply decals, and then a final coat of Tamiya Gloss.

For the above, the airbrush is about 40-50 mm from the model. Aim for the paint to flow on the model (definitely not a sanpaper finish, which indicates the paint is drying before hitting the model), but without running. I know that's easier said than done. Don't try to get it perfect becasue you can always polish any light orange peel out. For gloss, you ought to leave it a few days in an airing cupboard before flatting.

It's difficult to describe, but you'll just know when you've hit the sweet spot of distance to the model, and how fast or slow to move it over the surfaces. At least with decanted paint you know you've not got to worry about thinning. I'd definitely get a 0.2 mm nozzle and try that; 0.5 mm might be giving you coase paint atomisation or something like that.

Does your airbrush have a needle limit adjustment? If so you can wind it down to limit the volume of paint coming out of the nozzle when you pull the trigger back. Again, experiment with this because too much paint will make runs and spidering more likely, too little and the paint might start to dry before it gets to the surface, giving a rough finish. As above, experiment on a scrap model or something - you'll know when it's right.

I just looked for some Gaahleri airbrush reviews, and they are mixed to say the least.

[PH5121]

Now I've had a go with my new airbrush set up I've got a couple of questions regarding the paint.
When spraying with Tamiya XF range paints do you thin the paint when it is in the airbrush or seperately, and if you have thinned paint left do you keep it / put it back in the jar, or just dispose of it?
If you thin the paint in a seperate container what do you use? I've been using silver foil dishes left over from Christmas mince pies, but waste more paint than I use.

Aplogies if these are numpty questions, but I'm interested to hear how experienced modellers do this.

TIA PH

[Prolex-UK]

PH5121 said:

Now I've had a go with my new airbrush set up I've got a couple of questions regarding the paint.
When spraying with Tamiya XF range paints do you thin the paint when it is in the airbrush or seperately, and if you have thinned paint left do you keep it / put it back in the jar, or just dispose of it?
If you thin the paint in a seperate container what do you use? I've been using silver foil dishes left over from Christmas mince pies, but waste more paint than I use.

Aplogies if these are numpty questions, but I'm interested to hear how experienced modellers do this.

TIA PH

I decant from the tamiya jar into a small glass jar with lid.

Can get them from ebay or reuse the small jam jars you get at hotels.

Then mix and pour.

Keeps a while if lid is sealed twice.

Being tight i normally don't mix enough....

[Eric Mc]

It's totally up to the individual to work out what they want to do.

I tend to mix in the paintbrush cup as it eliminates having to clean out another receptacle. If there is any paint left in the cup at the end of the session, I DO pour it back into the original paint jar. That's because I'm a tight wad and I hate the idea of paint going to waste.

[MBBlat]

Eric Mc said:

It's totally up to the individual to work out what they want to do.

I tend to mix in the paintbrush cup as it eliminates having to clean out another receptacle. If there is any paint left in the cup at the end of the session, I DO pour it back into the original paint jar. That's because I'm a tight wad and I hate the idea of paint going to waste.

Not the worlds best painter but do something similar, unless it comes in a dropper, in which case I use the remainder to test my technique. The only exception is if I’ve mixed paints, in which case I do try and save the remainder for touch ups.

[Stealthracer]

If there's any unused thinned paint left, I always pour it back into the original jar. Never had any ill effects, just means I need to remember to thin it a bit less next time.