hey guys i need more advice. Been having issues spraying with my iwata hp-cs with the .35 needle, i know it suppose to be milk like consistence but my iwata i guess does not want that. Tried 6 different colors and really had to thin the paints down to get it to flow. Am i doing something wrong or is that just how some of the paints act?
Whatever works for you,its not an exact science.
What are you thinning with and what air pressure are you spraying at?
all 6 colors are different vallejo brands thinned with their airbrush thinner with a drop or 2 of their flow aid also. I was having a hell of a time to get them to mix and spray. The copper, red and sea blue almost had to be 2 parts thinner to 1 paint to even get a dribble of color to come out of the brush. Was running about 20 psi
I am having severe issues getting it to work. The thinning process was a fight to get them to mix and spray. I am still learning loads so probably something i am doing wrong.
Do you have Vallejo Model Air or Model Color?
the paint was both air and model. The olive drab and yellow khaki where model air. The other 4 where model color.
Describe how you cleaned the airbrush following your last painting sessions.
I’d expect Model Air to be able to spray through a .35 needle unthinned. And then thin for personal preference from there, fwiw ( I like the silk like finish I get with MA with maybe 10% thinner added). I’ve shot it through a .25 needle unthinned as a test @ around 22-23lb working pressure or so with no issue. But I was using the Badger 200 single action brush not an Iwata double action…
Are you mixing in the gun cup,or another container? If in the cup, try mixing in another container to avoid getting thicker unthinned paint coming out before you get into the thinned stuff.
MC I can run through my Neo .35 at around 2 - 2 1/2 parts thinner to 1 part color.
ahh,I was looking at your results thinking it was working,not realizing you were having severe problems getting there.
I took everything apart and used the iwata cleaning kit with brushes and scrubbed down everything with the medea airbrush cleaner (iwatas cleaner). reassembled it and stored. When it came out for todays spray session (i store it in orginial foam inside the box) i added some water to it and flushed it out wiped it out again and added the model air paint first (spoons been primed for days with tamiya rattle can) the olive drab was actually first. It did not want to come out of the gun till it was thinned to about 1:1. The copper model color was just thick so i thinned it naturally and it sprayed beautiful at 1:1. Others where hit or miss on how much they wanted for thinning. I also clean brush and back flush between every color change.
Are you 100% sure you have Model Air there and well mixed ? You haven’t mixed up the needle and nozzles have you or do you just have the .35 set ( you had mentioned once wanting the .5, a .5 needle with a .35 nozzle would be interesting to deal with lol) ?
Some colors need more thinning than others, it’s the nature of paints with pigments for color. FWIW thinner is usually better than thicker as long as it covers.
yes the bottles say model air and no mix up on needle nozzles did not pick up iwata conversion kit yet. I guess it just wants thin paint is all.
Did you take off the nozzle tip and give the “innards” a scrubbing with thinner and a brush?(I use dental picks) Or a brush and a little thinner around the inside of the nozzle tip? Sometimes when I do my marathon painting sessions with my FrankenNeo with alot of different colors, even with flushing and cleaning, there still might be enough build-up of paint to mess you up.
I cleaned that also when I am done for the day i break the gun fully down and clean every little spot possible. Tomorrow ill check everything again before i give it a whirl again.
I’ve
Now you know why I hate Vallejo paints for airbrushing… Model Color or Model Air… makes no difference. Time to find something a lot easier and forgiving to airbrush. Testors Model Master, Humbrol, Mission Model…
Sounds like you are doing everything basically right.
OMG’s next question, how are you cleaning the brush between colors would have been my quesion too, and that too you seem to be doing exactly right.
Except, IMO 1:1 for model color shouldn’t work at all. I don’t spray a lot of model color, but when I get backed into a corner and have to, I pretty much start at 3:1 and add more thinner from there.
That said, I’m surprised you aren’t saying the model air sprays pretty ok and the model color doesn’t.
Still thinking…
I hate to say this, brand new airbrush and all, but have you inspected the needle tip under a glass? If you don’t have a glass, you can rough it by pulling tip across your fingertip, and feel for a drag.
Just keep it at, Fesan. The spoons you painted actually like pretty nice from the photos. Alot of ABing is just getting experience. You are already way ahead of what I was when I started. Keep asking questions and watching videos on youtube. You’ll get the hang of it. Even the Master Builder’s around here have troubles with ABing.
Contrary to what some people say, VJ and VJMA are fine paints, reasonably priced, good variety, and relatively easy to buy. 95% of my paints are VJMA and couldn’t be happier.
Checked the tip this morning before work i do not feel or see anything under my magnifying glass i have. I am just going to have to play with it more when i get a chance this adult thing known as work is really getting in the way of life right now lol.
Your needle probably fine, it’s always worth a check over anyway. I periodically polish up my airbrush needles with a piece of 000 steel wool. And check the tips that they are sharp and straight looking.
As far as paint, think milk lol ! Thin your paint to a similar viscosity and behavior, at least as a starting point, then tweek it from there. If it’s already there then it should spray. Also try 22-23 psi working pessure to start with and tweek that from there as well ( working pressure is with the trigger pushed down on the airbrush and after the drop on your compressor gauge, adjust that with the air flowing). That combo should flow paint like crazy from a .35 nozzle when pulled back for full flow. I think Iwata suggests 15-20 psi as a good working pressure ultimately but there are conditions that can effect this, like atmosphere, altitude, paint viscosity. Just try bumping it up and see what happens with paint flow then.