Airbrush help

[kirara]

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction for getting started in airbrushing (minis)?

What is the best brand/model of airbrush in your opinion?
What kind of equipment do I need to go with it?
Any good books/videos/tutorials to teach me how to airbrush?

Anything helps! Thanks!

 

[Einion]

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction for getting started in airbrushing (minis)?

Well first off, please try a search or look in the Sticky Thread first :wink:

What kind of equipment do I need to go with it?

At the simplest: airbrush and air supply.

Any good books/videos/tutorials to teach me how to airbrush?

What do you hope to be able to do by spraying? This is covered in previous threads a few times - what's doable with an airbrush (or at least easily doable) and what's not, depending a bit of scale and airbrush type/quality.

Einion

 

[freakinacage]

also for tips etc, try youtube. the best instructional video i've seen was by a VERY gay guy who does body art. brilliant it was

 

[GeM]

your purchase will effectively depend on what you want to do with this tool.

But IMO an air supply is a "must have"... and by "air supply" i mean compressor and not air bottles. (sprays ? )

 

[roadster1959]

airbursh tips

I have been airbrushing jackets, shirts, motorcycle tanks, etc, for over 20 years. Not as a profession but for friends and acquaintances, it would lose the fun if I "had" to do it.
I would recommend using a dual action aribrush. You have better control over paint flow/airflow. Make sure the paint is thinned down to the consistency of milk. Use around 15-25 psi. If your paint isnt flowing right use a LITTLE more pressure. I use Paasche airbrushes, easy to disassemble for cleaning, fairly inexpensive. You can use the cans of air BUT, they dont last long, and I would recommend putting them in a container of warm, NOT HOT, water. This way when the can starts to ice up and lose pressure, it will postpone the pressure loss. Otherwise you have to stop what your doing and wait for the can to thaw out and start over then when it ices up again, wait for it to thaw, you see the pattern. A compressor is goin to run you at least $100 for a small one. I had the little blue paasche one, lasted about a year, cost $125. I had a Campbell and Huasfield 1/2 horse, VERY LOUD, and the pressure was spotty, you could tell when the piston was moving. It had no tank, hence the spotty pressure. Get a compressor with a tank. If you want one that is quiet, looking for one for actual airbrushing use. See if you can turn it on and listen for how loud it is. I have a Taskforce 1 1/2 horse 2 1/2 gallon tank. It is fairly loud but I usually wear my ipod when working with it, so it doesnt bother me. It runs til it reaches what pressure I set, then shuts off until it drops below a certain pressure then kicks back on. I got it from Lowes home improvement store for $120 I think, I've had it for 4 years now.
I have heard Iawata are good brushes, I have not used them. I have the Paasche VL, it has 3 different tips you can use on it. 1, 3, and 5, (small, medium and large resp.) I also have the Passche AB Turbo. Very interesting machine. Has a turbine drive, sounds like a dental tool. You can obtain fine hair then lines with it. Takes a lot of practice to get it right. The lower the pressure the closer you can get to the piece without blowing the paint.
Hope this helps.

 

[airhead]

Kirara, Enion has already pointed you in the right direction. Some need to knows before we can recommend:
1. Budget? ($200-$300 should get you up and running - depending on your needs)
2. What you think you want to do with an airbrush? Basecoat/clearcoat? Armor cammo? Fleshtones on anime minis? faces on 25 mm? (forget the last one... )

***

Roadster, where are you at... I'd love to trade you some Iwata (HP-B) time for some AB time.

I've always wanted to use one of those, but never could justify it - and am not near anyone I know with one.

 

[roadster1959]

I am in snowy Porter Indiana. About 35 minutes east of Chicago. Where are you at Airhead?

 

[airhead]

I am in snowy Porter Indiana. About 35 minutes east of Chicago. Where are you at Airhead?

Sunny Orlando according to my profile.

Bit far to drive to try out a gun, but if you're ever down this way....

 

[kirara]

I'm looking right now at this http://www.artsupply.com/Harder-Steenbeck-Evolution-Solo-Airbrush_p_62601.html and this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...me=Air+Compressors+&+Air+Tools&sName=View+All

What is the difference between a "solo" airbrush and its big brother, http://www.artsupply.com/Harder-Steenbeck-Evolution-Silverline-fPc-Two-in-One-Airbrush_p_62602.html ?

I will want to use the thing for terrain and for highlighting things like folds of cloth on 28mm.

 

[GeM]

Usually, "two in one" means that your airbrush is furnished with 2 nozzles of different sizes, and in a case.
There is also a suplementary cup.

Good "airbrushing"...

 

[flagoon]

What is the best brand/model of airbrush in your opinion?

I hope you are not going to buy the best model on market as a first airbrush. I've seen some links you put in this thread and 200$ is way to much. I'm not from USA but in Poland you can buy airbrush for about 30-40$ and it's considered as a good one. Besides, it's better to buy cheaper one and learn on it, than buy expensive one and broke it, because you didn't know how to use it.

Any good books/videos/tutorials to teach me how to airbrush?

Youtube is your friend . Try awesomepaintjob latest tutorials including Getting Started. There are some good advices including choosing airbrush (he suggested buying expensive one thou ), paints etc.

 

[airhead]

Only thing with the unknown brand guns you pointed out. They are fairly expensive. Can you get parts for them? Where? How much? You will crash needles, replace the cones (nozzles) with the needles as a set. I keep several spares for my Vegas, but only one for my Iwata HP-B ($5 vs. $50) - I can get them anywhere, one place local and several online (Bearair, Dixie Art, etc.).

I will want to use the thing for terrain and for highlighting things like folds of cloth on 28mm.

Two entirely different applications.

Terrain:
Bottom (jar) feed.
0.5mm nozzle or larger.
Double action not required.

Vega 2000, Paasche VL, Aztec with large nozzle,
up to:
Auto touch up guns:

Highlighting 28 mm cloth folds:
I won't do it, but I'm not saying it cannot be done. I'd use a brush for this and avoid a half hour setup and half hour cleanup for 10 seconds work.
Top feed
0.2mm nozzle or smaller
Double action
Iwata Custom Micron
Paasche AB Turbo

 

[Einion]

Well Harder & Steenbeck are a solid choice in an all-metal airbrush, seen some rave reviews.

What is the difference between a "solo" airbrush and its big brother, http://www.artsupply.com/Harder-Steenbeck-Evolution-Silverline-fPc-Two-in-One-Airbrush_p_62602.html ?

Apart from the 80 bucks:
http://www.hansa-airbrush.de/english/evolution_02.html
http://www.hansa-airbrush.de/english/evolution_05.html

Like already said, terrain painting and fine detail work aren't necessarily within the scope of a single airbrush (a single nozzle/needle set to be more precise).

...and for highlighting things like folds of cloth on 28mm.

Assuming you mean airbrushing them individually, rather than using something like zenithal spraying, a really good airbrush - in the right hands - is probably capable of doing this, but it's generally considered to be infeasible.

Einion

 

[kirara]

well... I mean like capes, not grandad's forehead wrinkles of course

Thank you for the very helpful links and advice!
In scouring the net I have now two more questions... nowhere have I seen how you would "rinse" your airbrush, like to change colors or maybe prevent a clog. What do you do in the middle of a painting session (with acrylics)? Do you just leave it, and clean at the end, or rinse it or what?
[edit] found a tutorial that covers that finally, nevermind!

Also, what's the "connector" that some of the sites talk about? As in airbrush + connectors/adapters? + compressor. Do I need to get that too?

If I understand what you're saying about the 2-in-1, one comes with a small nozzle and the other comes with a small and larger interchangeable one.

@Flagoon - inexpensive would be nice, but I keep hearing that I should start off with a good one. I didn't mean best on the market, I just meant best to start with

Thanks for your invaluable help.

 

[Einion]

well... I mean like capes, not grandad's forehead wrinkles of course

Even sleeve wrinkles are probably too small to airbrush feasibly. It is possible, but usually considered more trouble than it's worth.

A problem that might not be obvious is if you don't do the entire thing with an airbrush when you switch over to brushes the difference in smoothness can become very obvious, jarring even. This is IMO actually a good goad to upping one's game with regard to how smoothly you paint, but it's not easy seamlessly integrating airbrushing and brush-painted blends.

In scouring the net I have now two more questions... nowhere have I seen how you would "rinse" your airbrush, like to change colors or maybe prevent a clog. What do you do in the middle of a painting session (with acrylics)? Do you just leave it, and clean at the end, or rinse it or what?
[edit] found a tutorial that covers that finally, nevermind!

The most basic thing is just to shoot through clean water, but a solvent of some kind is usually necessary to properly clean everything. For our type of paint this can be something as simple as screen wash or ammonia.

Also, what's the "connector" that some of the sites talk about? As in airbrush + connectors/adapters? + compressor. Do I need to get that too?

Only if the compressor doesn't have the right male threaded output to match the female threaded end on the hose that comes with the airbrush.

@Flagoon - inexpensive would be nice, but I keep hearing that I should start off with a good one. I didn't mean best on the market, I just meant best to start with

Azteks are probably the best true airbrushes (as opposed to suction-feed sprayguns) to start with since it's extremely difficult to damage the needle or nozzle, both of which can happen with relative ease with a traditional airbrush design.

Since the Aztek sets come with multiple nozzles and colour cups (which can be switched out in seconds) they're also hard to beat for versatility.

Einion

 

[Einion]

Bang for the buck comparison

Here's the 4709 set on BearAir, the one I usually recommend. As you can see, six nozzles and six colour cups for $98, versus $123 for the Solo.

Because the colour cups are physically separate from the airbrush body in the Aztek design, colours can be switched without the need to flush out the airbrush in between, which is both much faster and allows for something unique - a brief transition phase where the first colour runs out and the new colour comes in. This can be played with to allow intermediate colours without the need to mix them manually.

Einion

 

[kirara]

thank you!

 

[airhead]

well... I mean like capes, not grandad's forehead wrinkles of course

Learn to use the side of your brush (another reason for a good sable.)

Thank you for the very helpful links and advice!
In scouring the net I have now two more questions... nowhere have I seen how you would "rinse" your airbrush, like to change colors or maybe prevent a clog. What do you do in the middle of a painting session (with acrylics)? Do you just leave it, and clean at the end, or rinse it or what?
[edit] found a tutorial that covers that finally, never mind!

I usually rinse with a squeeze bottle full of water and a drop or two of dish soap. Fill the cup and spray in a trash can full of paper towels. Repeat as needed. Working from light colors to dark colors can minimize your time spent changing colors. But that is often backwards from the way most paint minis.

Also, what's the "connector" that some of the sites talk about? As in airbrush + connectors/adapters? + compressor. Do I need to get that too?

Most compressors output to 1/4" NPT. Some airbrushes need an adapter to get the hose end to match. I then add standard quick connects to mine so I can change guns without much hassle.

If I understand what you're saying about the 2-in-1, one comes with a small nozzle and the other comes with a small and larger interchangeable one.

Not uncommon for airbrushes to have a Fine/Medium/Coarse needle/tip combos available. The Paasche VL was the original work horse in that category. Still a great production gun - not necessarily a great detail gun.

@Flagoon - inexpensive would be nice, but I keep hearing that I should start off with a good one. I didn't mean best on the market, I just meant best to start with

Inexpensive and airbrushing don't go well together. I've got a drawer full of cheap airbrushes. No-name or Unknown-name airbrushes are just as bad. If I cannot get parts for it and it doesn't work smooth and consistent, it is wasting my time.

****
Cleanliness. The only thing I clean better than my pistols is my airbrush guns. It only takes a tiny speck of hardened paint to turn a session into a frustrating "Chase the problem" night instead of a "Paint the xx" night. The opening in the cone is 0.2mm (less than a fine pencil lead) and most of it is filled up with the needle. The actual opening is way less than the cone.

 

[GeM]

I live in France and it's time for me to go to bed.
but i answer more precisely tomorrow.
Rapidly, if you want a good airbrush with good paints (believe me, there is a real difference) it will be expensive (from "a little" to "very").

Yes, you will learn to use this new tool, and sometimes it's not so easy.
but once you have experienced the basics, with a good tool, you will be able to do terrains and folds very easily.
And may be later, with a good(or not so bad) airbrush, you will want to experiment something different : And at this moment you will be happy tu have paid the price.

In fact it depends on what you want after this "basics" that are terrain and folds, if you think you will have other aims. (MP me for an aragorn from "the 3 hunters" blister, i will take a few pictures if you want)

 

[kirara]

(thanks GeM)

One more question... Instead of a compressor have any of you had success with a CO2 tank (and if so, what kind? Like dive shop tank?)