Hi all

Just starting putting paint onto my HMS Hood and have run into a snag...

I'm using a double action airbrush (for the first time), it's an AB-180 no-name model, has an air pressure regulator at its tip. Anyway, thinnned Tamiya acrylic 60/40 with windscreen washer and away I went. However am getting a lot of paint splatter and the finish looks awful, frankly.

Can anyone point out what I'm doing wrong? Tried varying air pressure but doesn't seem to help. Am I right in thinking I need low pressure for this, and perhaps to thin the paint more? Say 50/50?

Also, I will need to use the same brush for enamels (for the anti-fouling, couldn't find the right colour in acrylics). What is the technique for these?

Finally, would have uploaded some pics, but at the moment I get an error 'We're sorry, but the system experienced an unrecoverable error. Please try again later.' Anyone else getting this or am I having a jinxed day?!

Hi Graham!
I'm far from an airbrush Guru, but here are some things that I always try to remember...


There are really only three factors that you must master in order to get good results with your airbrush. They are:



Your paint to thinner ratio

Your air pressure and

The distance the nozzle or tip of your airbrush is from your model



For the first factor, I generally airbrush with Model Master (Testors) enamel paints, (although I’ve used Tamiya acrylics, M.M. lacquers and Floquil lacquers as well). I mix my M.M. paints at somewhere between 1/3 to 1/4 of thinner to 2/3 to 3/4 of paint. Also, I tend to stick with the Model Master name brand thinner. (Readily available at the LHS!)



For the second and third factors, they are both related. In general, the lower your air pressure, the closer you can get the tip of your airbrush to your model, without having the paint “pushed” all over the surface.



If you turn your air pressure down and pull your airbrush away from your model’s surface, you will probably end up with a grainy paint finish. Or, the paint may not even reach your model at all. (With the grainy paint finish, what's happening is your paint is drying just as it reaches your model's surface).



Conversely, if you increase your air pressure and pull your airbrush away from your model, you're going to get more of a full-paint coverage, as opposed to airbrushing small areas on your model, (like with the camouflage paint scheme on an aircraft or armor piece).



If you are too close with your increased air pressure, you will lose control over the paint flow and the airbrush will act just like a can of spray paint that's too close to the item that's being painted: the paint will be blown forcefully and pool on your model.



I usually turn my air pressure WAAAY down, (to between 10 to 5 pounds per square inch). For the distance, I'm usually most comfortable with my airbrush being 3 - 6 inches away.



In order to get a very fine application of paint with your airbrushed, you may have to move your airbrush much closer to your model - maybe 1/2 inch to an inch and a half. Also, your pressure will need to be turned WAAAAY down, (to prevent your paint from splattering over your model's surface).



Mixing your paint and thinner

You can both mix your paint in and apply it from a small paint jar or a metal cup. Both usually come with your airbrush.



With a bottle, you can mix up a batch of thinned down paint, apply it and put the top back onto the bottle, using it later in future airbrushing sessions.



With a cup, you pretty much mix what you need, using it in your airbrushing session. If you have any extra left, you can pour it back into the original bottle your paint came from. Even though it's diluted, it can still be be poured back in.



With the use of a cup, I tend to squirt my thinner in first (with an eye dropper), followed by pouring in the desired amount of paint. Then, using a trick I learned from a modeling bud (named Joe Smith), I press a Q-tip onto the tip of the airbrush and push down (and pull back) on the airbrush button. The air and paint go all the way through the body of the airbrush, and then are forced back into the cup, with air bubbling in the paint & thinner mixture, mixing everything together.





Some potential airbrushing problems


*1. A dirty airbrush, (or one that has not been cleaned adequately), can cut down on paint flow, or prevent it from coming out altogether.

*2. A bent airbrush needle can cause an uneven flow of paint to occur.

**3. A damage airbrush tip can cause an uneven paint flow, or cause your paint to splatter.

*4. Moisture in your airline can cause an uneven flow of paint & air, may stop your paint from flowing entirely or may cause water drops to splatter onto your painted regions.

**5. Paint that's either too thick or thin; if too thick, it either will not come out at all, may come out unevenly or may splatter onto your model's surface; if too thin, you paint will end up running once applied to your model's surface.

6. You are either too close or too far away from your model.





Maximizing your airbrush's punch and cleaning it out

A way to maximize your airbrush's punch is by painting numerous models and/or colors on in one airbrushing session.



With the use of an airbrush cup, you can just shoot some thinner through your airbrush when you're finished with one color before beginning the next. Airbrush the thinner through until it comes out clear. You don’t have to be so thorough in cleaning your airbrush out in between colors.



When you're finished painting for the session, once again shoot the thinner through your airbrush until it is clear. Then, dismantle the brush and clean out it's "innards." Q-tips, pipe cleaners and (generic) paint thinner can be used for the cleaning.


Generally, regardless of the type of paint that you use, you’re going to have to thin it down in order to get it to flow smoothly through your airbrush. Otherwise, it’ll be too thick and won’t come out smoothly, (but will splatter and very well may not come out at all).



An exception to this rule is Model Master Metalizer Paints, (which are composed of small, metallic flakes floating around in a diluted lacquer medium). In addition, the newly released Alclad II paints, (that are also diluted, lacquer based metallic paints) don’t need to be thinned down before using.



General rule for thinning paints

The rule of thumb here is to use the thinner that’s the same type as the paint. However, as is the case with just about everything in life, there are exceptions here as well.



You can mix “hot” thinners in with enamel paints. These include Lacquer and Xylol (or Xylene) thinners. Be veeerrrrrry careful with them, though. Use them in a well-ventilated area. Also, you should use them while wearing a respirator.



Both thinners are very powerful and can do your body BAD if breathed in. The Xylol (Xylene) is actually listed as a nerve agent.



A reason these potent thinners are sometimes used by modelers is because of their rapid curing time. The paint will cure very quickly (in a matter of seconds or minutes), allowing multiple colors of paint to be applied onto your model in one building session.



Another exception to the “thin the paint with the same type of thinner” rule is with acrylic paints.



With Polly-Scale acrylic paints, you can cut them with regular ole' windshield wiper fluid. (When you get the chance, compare a gallon of the blue-tinted windshield wiper fluid with Polly Scale's "standard" thinner).



With the Windshield Wiper Fluid, you get a WHOLE lot more liquid at a fraction of the price of the more expensive, name brand thinner.



I've also heard of folks successfully thinning other types of acrylic paints with a combination water, alcohol and a drop or two of liquid dish detergent. This dish detergent helps break up the surface tension of the water, that otherwise might cause your acrylic paint to bead up on the surface of your model.




Hope this helps ya some, mate! Keep Modeling!
~Gunny

Gunny, thanks for the very detailed answer. I am indeed already using the 5 litre tubs of windscreen washer fluid, a bit more economical as you say!

Cheers, I'll experiment and let you all know how I get on.

there is also another potential reason for splatter. it happened to me last weekend. i use a gunze sangyo gravity feed double action airabrush. -

i was intending to do some large area painting and was getting tired of pulling a huge distance back on the trigger so i got too smart and moved the needle way back... this caused some of the paint to start leaking and gathering at the nozzle tip... and every initial press of the trigger caused an initial splatter.

hope this wasn't your reason, just needed to warn you guys out there

Hi Graham

I would say nozzle trouble - but Marks input is a very compreensive one!

And btw: Welcome to ModelShipWrights, Lim

Skipper

Thanks Mark. I have Osprey's How to use an Airbrush book, a insert on airbrushing from FSM, and I've read a number of articles online. I think I got at least as much information from your post, for FREE, than I did those other sources.

I've got a couple of questions you might, or might not, know. Here goes...

I have the little blue Testors air compressor. I got it because it's quiet, not like my big compressor I use for my home improvement tools. It has no air preassure regulator. So that means I have to vary things like the thinner to paint ratio, and the distance. Any suggestions for doing this?

Also I've always hand painted Future on my kits. Do you have any suggestions on airbrushing it?

Well thank you, Rodge, I'm glad someone can get a little good out of my ramblings...basically, I make alot of mistakes and experiment alot, and document what works best for me...I've tried things that other modelers do with completely different results...I dunno...





I'll be absolutely honest with you Rodger, and tell you that I have been using the same compressor for years, which is an old Dayton compressor with twin air tanks, and i've never really strayed from this setup...my best advice I think would be to experiment with different ratios, spray distances, etc. and follow the best path...Do you know how much air displacement your Testors compressor puts out? Sometimes this can be a HUGE deciding factor of how to mix your paint...and there's alot of other variables too, airbrush type, style, and even amounts of humidity in the air that can effect how your paint flows..often it's just a little too complicated for me and I grab a rattle can and git' er done!




OK Rodge, now this is something that I've experimented with meself...I know some guys that do spray FUTURE clear and get good results, but personally, every time that I try this I get a different result...sometimes good, some not so good...the proper consistency should be about the same liquid texture as 2% milk...and the stuff clogs easily in your airbrush, so you have to get the job done fast or your going to have a gummy nozzle...but cleanup is easy with some warm water. For most of my applications Rodge, I just hand brush on a good heavy coat and let it settle out naturally...works best for me, mate! Hope I helped you out some, my friend, but the best advice from alot of the real airbrush artists that I've talked to is just experiment with what you have and practice alot...

~Gunny

So far on the Future I've always hand brushed and it's been working. One thing I DON'T want to do is gum up the nozzles. The one main issue I've always had with my Aztek air brush is keeping the nozzles clean. I've heard all the pros and cons about taking the nozzles apart. Testors says no, others say yes. The last time I couldn't get the thing to spray a modeling friend, Matt aka Red4, showed me how to take them apart and it worked fine. If there is even a chance of this gumming them up again I'll keep brushing Future.

Hey Rodger
If you clean your Aztec right after pouring the rest of Future into the bottle, there's no issue!
That's my usual proceding and after that clean it with running hot/warm tap water

Skipper

Ok Skip, on your head be in. I'll give a try, per your instructions. If I mess up my nozzle I'll be coming after your head. Portgual? That'a that little country to the left of Spain, right?

I don't think so, but thanks. As I said the spatters happen every few seconds, not just on the first trigger press...

I've been pretty successful with spraying Future. I have a single action Pasche so that might be a factor. Also a non adjustable regulator. I add just a touch of water a 1 in 8 mix perhaps. spray it on the model then immediatly stick the brush in a large glass of water and run it for a while. This causes a nice "boiling" effect which cleans the brush tips well as well as the cup

Well I just had just about the best airbrushing session I've ever had. It didn't go smoothly all the time, but better than I've done in the past.

I started out by cleaning all my bottles, nozzles, etc. Then I mixed all my paints, mostly Tamiya, but also MM flat black. I sprayed a bunch of tires, twenty or so, along with some tracks. ( I know this isn't a ship, but I'm getting confidence for doing my ships.) I have two nozzles, a white one and a tan one. The white one worked great, the tan one like crap. At first the black wasn't spraying so great, but then I thinned it a bit more and it went fine. Next I switched to Olive Drab. It wasn't fun. It would spray fine for a second or two then just spray air. I kept thinning it down to the point I think I had it too thin. I then put some more fresh paint in the thin paint, still doing the same thing. Finally I did one thing Testors told me not to do, I put my finger on the end of the nozzle and sprayed for a fraction of a second, to blow out the nozzle. That worked great. I switched to two other paint colors, and each worked great, as long as I did the back pressure thing every once in a while. Between colors I blew a bunch of brush cleaner through the nozzle.

I know I'm rambling here, but I'm excited that it worked as well as it did. I was ready to give up on this airbrush, and I am giving up on the tan nozzle, but I'm glad I read this thread. Now, if anybody has any suggestions on anything else I can do, I'm all ears.

Well, Brother, that's EXCELLENT news!
I'm glad that you're having better luck with your setup, Rodge, and I think that you're going about things the right way, with the right attitude...like I said earlier, I have some friends that are true ARTISTS with the airbrush, and it seems that the best advice that I've ever received from them is to experiment with your stuff and stick to what works best for you....I dunno, seems to work for me, mate! Good luck, keep us posted, and Keep Modeling!!!

~Gunny

Trust me on this Rodger!

And Portugal is far more bigger than the rectangle you mention
We'll go all the way to the middle of the Atlantic
You're most welcome here, btw (all of you!!!)

Skipper

EDIT: Rodger, the Tan nozzle is meant for fine detail work, dot work, very fine mists and should be used with Lacquers, inks, water colors, Metalizer Paints (not acrylic colours)...
Was this what you were trying to accomplish?

You are right Skip, as usual. I had that tan nozzle from the days when I still used other paints than acryilics.I thought it would still work, but apparently not. Would you, or anybody else here, like an extra one? Just PM me with your phyiscal address and it's on it's way.

Next time Hobby Lobby has a 40% off coupon I'll look at picking up another nozzle for acryilics.

Hi Rodger

Thanks for the offer - but I still have mine in pristine shape

Perhaps to anyone who really needs one

Skipper

Had another try using enamels, and the brush performed better. Maybe it just doesn't like acrylics!

Rodge, the care instructions with my brush recommends spraying into a sheet of paper towel, wadded up, to clean the brush. It builds up a back pressure (have the air turned up high) and bubbles the cleaning fluid back through the feed pipes