Okay, granted, i asked for it. I bought a cheap, no-name “hobby” airbrush and cranked it up looking forward to experimenting with it on my first P-38. I had to. It was all I could afford. But what did i get? Crap. Yes. Crap. I might has well have put paint in my mouth and gone pppffpfpftpttpthttpphh all over the plane. Worked like garbage. So now, I’m out of money and still dying to try this airbrush thing. Does anyone have a lil ole Badger or something simple they’d like to get rid of for cheap (and it’s embarrassing to say but I mean cheeeeaaaap) or better, trade? What do i have to offer, well I’m a rockin graphic designer and web designer. I’d be more than willing to trade my design skills if anyone is willing. Whatta ya say? Can anybody help a girl out? [:X]
cursed from hell? are you trying to make me cry? i hear you and your evil laugh as you think of the poor beginner struggling with the demon airbrush. why is it from hell? and will i be looking for the quickest way to slash my wrists if i try to use it?
seriously, you don’t want it. when i get my Paasche, i may just give it a viking burial, you know , set it on fire and put it out to sea. That might not kill it, however. the airbrush right now leaks paint, doesn’t work all the time, and has an extremely strange spray pattern. If you want to find a cheap airbrush, try eBay. there are soem slightly used brushes for like 10 bucks.
Meridith, it sounds like your paint might not have been thinned enough.
It should be about the same consistancy as milk. Also, there could be
pressure issues. You didn’t say what you were using as an air source.
I’d suggest you play around with it a little more but use a piece of artboard,
cardboard, or the back of a plastic FOR SALE sign to practice on. I’d bet
that most all of us on this forum have gone through just what you’re going through with their first airbrush. I know I did.
Best of luck
Ray
Odd, as my Aztek has worked well for three years now - my first and so far only airbrush… I suspect operator error, Cader! Just kidding!!!
Meridith - look on the birght side, if you actually had put the paint in your mouth and gone ppffpfpftpttpthttpphh with it, you would have had a really hard time getting rid of that paint taste. Well, I mean I THINK you’d have a hard time - never having tasted model paint, I wouldn’t really know…
Okay, so based on y’all’s feedback, I’m thinking maybe i just screwed something up…so any tips would help…first, it’s worth noting, that my cheapo airbrush came with no instructions, so i’m hoping i have it all connected right (and to the propel can)…no idea what the little wrench and gasket it came with are for…also, tried with future, which i understand from these forums doesnt need to be thinned and it worked the same as the paint…would love any help you guys could give…
cader28…thanks for sparing me the heartbreak
kolja94…you’re right…and my teeth would have had a very attractive silver tint…oooh sexy
You mentioned a propellant can. I would STRONGLY suggest a compressor of some sort. Nothing i have heard about propellant cans leads me to think they’re a “quality” source of air. Furthermore, they don’t last long (2 models to a can is what I believe one modeller mentioned) so before long, you’re spending more money than if you had bought a compressor.
I know you mentioned the money thing being a bit of an issue and I can sure sympathize, slowly emerging from that same spot in life myself - but if you wind up doing a lot of modelling, a better air source really will pay for itself.
I still use a very simple compressor from Kopyake (sp???) that I found in the Mircromark catalog. It goes pretty cheap. Now I KNOW it’s not the best and that it’s probably the weak link in my airbrush set up, but it’s been reliable and it gets the job done.
I’ve heard other people talking about using CO2 cylinders - the kind that you’d use at a soda fountain or whatever. I think folks find these by looking up beverage distributors. I’m not sure how that ranks price-wise.
One technique I use to provide a little “quality assurance” is to spray a “shot” of paint on a scrap piece of butcher paper or plastic (like “For Sale” signs). This lets me check the consistency of my paint, also helps clear the lines of any unwanted matter. If there’s water in the line somewhere, i’d rather have it spurt out on a scrap piece of plastic than on my model!
thanks for all the compressor tips guys…here’s my resistance to it…aside from cost, of course, 1. i have a small apartment without much room for a compressor, 2. noise, 3. no place to rig up a good spray booth so end up hauling all my stuff outside to do my spraying…all these things considered, is there a way for me to feasibly use a compressor? i really appreciate everyone’s input! y’all are great!
Actually, an Automist2000 might be just what the doctor ordered. It’s extremely silent, 100% portable and on the lower end of the compressor price range. The only drawback is that it does not have a pressure regulator, but that hasn’t kept mine from ruling my workbench!
at the risk of sounding really dumb…what’s a pressure regulator for exactly (other than obviously regulating pressure)…also i keep reading about “moisture traps” what’s that?
Ahhhh…good question. Actually, not all pressure regulators include moisture traps, so, you could actually consider them different gizmos. The pressure regulator itself does nothing more than giving you the option to increase or lower the air pressure going into your airbrush. The moisture trap actually prevents the water that condensates when air is compressed to reach your airbrush and create ‘spiders’ or splutter.
Regulator: An air compressor can easily develope 120+ PSI for airbrushing you want to regulate it down to about 30 PSI. This is done for several reasons one being that if you use 120 PSI on a hobby type air brush you’ll probably empty the jar in one blast.
Moisture Trap: When air is compressed it gets hot, when you spray with your airbrush the air decompresses and cools rapidly. This can cause condensation in the air line which will get in your paint job. Not pretty.
You can go to www.grainger.com for more info. This is an industrial supply house and the prices are kind of high but you can get an idea of what’s avaliable.
Azteks aren’t that bad. Cader just has a case of Paasche envy…(sorry cader, it was there, I had to take it. Nothing but love man.) Ya know Thayer and Chandler used to make an Atomizer, (the great ganddaddy of airbrushes) that was human powered. It had a little pipe that you would have to blow through to get it to work. I used to work with a guy that used one and could just about match anything we did with the big money brushes.
Anyway, hit the Home Depot (or Harbor Freight) they have a small, plug in your wall, 2 gallon holding tank $69 compressor that you can get up to 120psi out of.
Mount it on the wall, side of your work bench, back of your chair, and its realtively quiet, put some close cell foam under it and you could live on the 2nd floor and your downstairs neighbor wouldn’t know you had one. The tank and pressure capacity will allow you to run a small nail gun or air tool as well as inflate a tire if you came out in the morning and found yours low. The other thing we used to do in the art department was buy up old dive tanks. A couple of fittings and you got yourself and air holding tank that will last you a few models worth of airbrushing plus some as well as be absolutely silent. Take it to a dive shop and for $5 you can get it refilled. We used to keep one under each drawing table. The air is absolutley dry and clean so moisture in the line is not a problem.
Try and hook up with an IPMS chapter near you. It will give you an opportunity to try out different brushes as well as get some hands on experience with some guys that have been airbrushing models for a while. This way you can make an informed decsion rather than roll the dice. Frankly if you don’t know how to use it, all the money in the world isn’t going to buy you a good airbrush. Check out art supply places like Pearls, Koenigs, Blicks, or what ever chain is near you. They will usually carry a line of brushes that you can try.
When you decide on a brush, rather than jump in with both feet, paint up a piece of plastic or even illustration board with some primer. Try out all the settings etc. on it. This will also give you an idea of what the paint will do when it hits primer or no primer, over gloss, over flat (you get it…). Acrylic pushes different than enamel, different than laquer. How far to work the brush to get what effect. What happens when you pause, arc your hand, tilt the brush, start and stop your stroke etc.
Hit the search function of this forum. There are loads of posts regarding technique, troubleshooting, reviews, performance etc. Many of them the same questions or problems rehashed every few months but in their entirety pretty helpful.
You could also check out www.scaleautomag.com in the tips section. I found a link in the auto forums. It talks about cheap spray booths. Also, you could try to get a cardboard box that is not torn or wet from the trash and use that as the start of a booth. My first booth was a cardboard box with an old furnace filter and a salvaged box fan that needed a new plug. One plug, some duct tape and a little work later, I had an okay booth for about $5. You might still need a respirator to avoid the fumes, but at least you could paint inside the apartment.
