New Spray Gun
- Thread starter groffus
- Start date
Hi, i would have to say alot has to do with the type of spraygun/airbrush and the air source(can or compressor) .. keep the paint thin, either with water or a airbrush medium (I use Medea airbrush cleaner) i also use a hairdryer to speed up the whole drying process between coats. Hope this helps.
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
what gun?
Get very familiar with it.
Learn to take it apart, clean it and put it back together. Don\'t bend the tip of the needle or you\'ll be buying a new needle & cone. (go ahead and order a set now).
Thin your paint like 2% milk (almost water).
I know a few training exercises, but they mostly depend on what gun you\'re using.
Get very familiar with it.
Learn to take it apart, clean it and put it back together. Don\'t bend the tip of the needle or you\'ll be buying a new needle & cone. (go ahead and order a set now).
Thin your paint like 2% milk (almost water).
I know a few training exercises, but they mostly depend on what gun you\'re using.
generulpoleaxe
New member
vallejo model air doesn\'t need thinning so this would be a good start as you will get used to it\'s consistancy making it easier to then thin down your other paints.
just like with painting, it\'s better to do several thin layers than one or two thick coats.
move the spray back and forth, don\'t spray in one spot and then move to another otherwise it will pool and run.
also, start the first part of each sweep either just of the model or on your thumb, that way if their is any splatter for any reason (tip dry etc) then it isn\'t going to screw up your already painted/sprayed parts.
other than this advice, practice, have fun and give airhead a shout as he knows so much more than me on this subject it\'s scary.
just like with painting, it\'s better to do several thin layers than one or two thick coats.
move the spray back and forth, don\'t spray in one spot and then move to another otherwise it will pool and run.
also, start the first part of each sweep either just of the model or on your thumb, that way if their is any splatter for any reason (tip dry etc) then it isn\'t going to screw up your already painted/sprayed parts.
other than this advice, practice, have fun and give airhead a shout as he knows so much more than me on this subject it\'s scary.
generulpoleaxe
New member
Originally posted by groffus
I am using a Revell beginers airbrush set
http://www.emodels.co.uk/plastic-kits/revell-beginners-airbrush-with-propellan-p-3666.html
when you can afford to do so upgrade the brush and get a compressor.
you will get a far more consistent finish as well as save money in the long run (canned air becomes expensive and within two years a compressor proves to be cheaper)
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
I actually own a couple of those. I use them for base coats and clear coats. They are about as adjustable as a spray can. Get the pitot tube up into the air stream for paint flow.
If it seems it is having a hard time spraying after a while, rub your finger over the paint hole. A tiny bit of paint can skim over right there and plug up the works. Do this while spraying into a trash can. (with a trash bag in the can).
About the only other thing that can go wrong is you use too much paint and get paint in the relief hole and it can no longer suck paint out of the jar.
**
Agree with the cheap dust mask if you are shooting acrylics. I set up a box fan with an air conditioner filter in front of it. Pull all the overspray away from me.
Agree on the compressor for cheaper air. Canned air is expensive. Initial outlay for bottled air (CO2, Nitrogen, etc.) is about equal to a compressor and still has recurring costs (gotta refil the bottles).
***
Invest in some frisket. This is slightly sticky plastic film. If you want to do more than just spray your base coat on the tank, you cover everything you don\'t want painted with the frisket. (actually, you cover everything with the frisket - then use a razor knife [xacto] and cut out what you want to paint). This will give you a nice hard edged transition between two colors.
For a softer transition, tear a piece of paper into the shape you want and spray across the torn edge - if you spray into the torn edge, it will lift and you\'ll spray everything. This works good for cammo patterns.
Even softer - hold that piece of paper up just a bit so the spray can kinda get under but not much.
Play and explore. shoot lots of posterboard and plain white paper.
If it seems it is having a hard time spraying after a while, rub your finger over the paint hole. A tiny bit of paint can skim over right there and plug up the works. Do this while spraying into a trash can. (with a trash bag in the can).
About the only other thing that can go wrong is you use too much paint and get paint in the relief hole and it can no longer suck paint out of the jar.
**
Agree with the cheap dust mask if you are shooting acrylics. I set up a box fan with an air conditioner filter in front of it. Pull all the overspray away from me.
Agree on the compressor for cheaper air. Canned air is expensive. Initial outlay for bottled air (CO2, Nitrogen, etc.) is about equal to a compressor and still has recurring costs (gotta refil the bottles).
***
Invest in some frisket. This is slightly sticky plastic film. If you want to do more than just spray your base coat on the tank, you cover everything you don\'t want painted with the frisket. (actually, you cover everything with the frisket - then use a razor knife [xacto] and cut out what you want to paint). This will give you a nice hard edged transition between two colors.
For a softer transition, tear a piece of paper into the shape you want and spray across the torn edge - if you spray into the torn edge, it will lift and you\'ll spray everything. This works good for cammo patterns.
Even softer - hold that piece of paper up just a bit so the spray can kinda get under but not much.
Play and explore. shoot lots of posterboard and plain white paper.
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
I prefer to spray out into the open with a cross breeze. If I\'m going to be shooting a while, I\'ll set up a box fan in a window and pull the air out of my bedroom/studio.
If you spray into a box, it should have an air out at the back or side to keep from building up a fog/haze inside the box. That is not good to breathe and it tends to rebound on your mini.
For simple priming, I\'ll set up on my patio table and spray a lot of minis at once. The patio table is krylon white primer anyway so I\'m only helping it stay white.
(Don\'t tell my wife).
If you spray into a box, it should have an air out at the back or side to keep from building up a fog/haze inside the box. That is not good to breathe and it tends to rebound on your mini.
For simple priming, I\'ll set up on my patio table and spray a lot of minis at once. The patio table is krylon white primer anyway so I\'m only helping it stay white.
(Don\'t tell my wife).cybersquig
Dangerous when wet
Does anyone use airbrushes for more than basecoats, clear coats, or large camo patterns/details on vehicles? Anyone use it for glazing small parts or gradiating the finish on a large area such a a cloak or the gw giant\'s skin?
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
What makes you think it was too thin?
Spidering?
That can be caused by several things:
Paint too thin
Pressure too high - hard to adjust with your rig.
Too much paint - move the sprayer faster or wait longer between coats.
Too close - probably the most common error.
I think its to thin because its very runny. Maybe as you said I am to close. To be honest I am scared to use it again incase I balls everything up. How long should it take to dry? How far away should I hold the gun from the tank? I am sorry these are probably the most stupid questions you ever heard but I am new to sprayguns and I would like to do it right.
Also when I bought the gun the guy in the shop gave me a free pot of primer its not gw its Mp (miniature paints made by GAMECRAFT in Liverpool UK) Has anyone else used these paints? are they any good?
Also when I bought the gun the guy in the shop gave me a free pot of primer its not gw its Mp (miniature paints made by GAMECRAFT in Liverpool UK) Has anyone else used these paints? are they any good?
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
It sounds like you are putting too much paint down.
One of several cures:
1. Reduce the pressure. If you are using that can top thing, turn it down. Makes your air go further and you are not blasting things.
2. dial down the paint nozzel further - this puts it not quite in the air stream and less paint is pulled out.
3. pull further back. With this gun, you should be in the neighborhood of 12-18\" away (30-50 cm.)
4. move faster - this seems obvious, but actually takes a bit to master.
5. Don\'t start or stop on the model - Start your spray off of the model, move across the model, then end your spray off of the model.
If everything is working right, you should almost fog the model - the paint should be thin enough that it lays a very thin - almost transparent layer down on the model. It should take 2 or 3 passes to build up a nice primed mini.
If it looks gritty, your paint is too thick or you are too far away or you need to turn the pressure up a bit.
We all started somewhere. The airbrush is probably the least intiutive tool in an artest set. Don\'t be afraid of it - like everything else, it takes practice. If you can find someone that knows what they are doing, get them to take an hour with you. It is worth soo much more to be with an actual instructor than anything I can write here.
Try the library for any of the Airbrush Action videos.
Terry Hill\'s Learn to Airbrush series is great. I\'m not sure if they were produced by Airbrush Action or Createx.
Einion
New member
The paint has to be \'runny\'. It\'s nearly impossible for it to be too thin - I\'ve regularly sprayed with what looks like dirty water.
Only when you spray too much onto a surface does watered-down paint become runny paint
Depends on the temperature where you are, how thickly you sprayed and from what distance as well as the paint. Shouldn\'t be more than a minute or two for a wet layer but mist coats can dry nearly immediately.
I can hold a model in my hand and spray it, off and on, continuously for maybe 10 minutes. Each light layer is dry or nearly dry before you spray a bit more. If you have a layer that\'s wet and you want to proceed use a hairdryer to dry it off and then go back to spraying.
That\'s very variable and something that you\'d pick up with practice and experience.
Practice on something else - this is one of the best reasons not to use canned air where you\'re constantly thinking of it running out. It\'s a bad idea to jump straight in and spray something if you don\'t know at least in theory how to airbrush but with the basics picked up from reading you can get a good feel for it from a little hands-on practice.
Worst case scenario, say it does go pear-shaped: don\'t be afraid to strip it and start again (another reason not to have to worry about \'wasted\' air
)Einion
