can anyone help me out i got the testors airbrush and compresor kit at walmart. its the cheap one which comes with the can and the glass (that holds the paint) which attaches to the can. i get it home and the compresor seems to work the brush blows air but no paint. i lost the instructions so im kinda screwed here.[:(!]
Sounds like you haven’t thinned the paint, or haven’t thinned it enough. Before we go any further, what sort of paint are you using? Let us know the brand, and whether it’s acrylic or enamel.
Cheers,
Chris.
Learning how to effectively use an airbrush can be very agonizing, but very rewarding at the same time when you see the results. I also use that cheap-o Testors airbrush from Wal-Mart because it generally works for what I want to do (I spray only enamels). I’ve had it now for over two years and I STILL have trouble getting the paint thinned properly, especially grays. There’s just something about the grays (light ghost, dark ghost, AMC gray, etc.) that gives me fits. Sometimes I get a great result, and other times I get this hideous, rough, grainy texture that looks like I was spraying dirt on my model. Yet, it appeared that I had thinned the paint to the same consistency each time…Go figure…I don’t have this problem with other colors.
ohh you have to thin the paint out first. didn’t do that. never really messed with this stuff before. im a old school paint by hand kinda guy.
i know this is prolly the wrong forum to metion this but would it be possible to use car touch up paint in this airbrush after i thin it out? saw it on youtube that guys were using car touch up paint to paint models and i wonder if it works.
Run some pure thinner thru it. If that doesn’t come thru, somethings wrong. If it does work, start experimenting with mixing paint-25%, 50%, 75% and so on. The one big variable is paint, and you’ll have to try some things. One thing for sure is that testors enamel won’t work at all straight up.
Here’s a suggestion- go buy some acrylic model paint. It usually works right out of the bottle, plus it’s easier to clean up and the fumes aren’t nearly as annoying.
You might try seeing if it’s adjusted properly first (if it can be). If there’s an adjustable nozzle in front of where the air comes out, try screwing it up and down until you get something to come out. If you’ve got paint in the bottle (and it hasn’t been thinned yet) pour it back into its container and clean out the paint jar. Put some water in the jar and play with the adjustment until it sprays. Then put some thinned paint in it and spray away. The straight thinner will work as well, but water has no fumes.
I would be careful doing that. Much car paint is cellulose/ laquer based, and this stuff will attack unprotected polystyrene. I once destroyed a Fujimi 1/72 A-6 this way - I used laquer automotive primer because I was too lazy to go to the shop which sold acrylic. The model melted before my eyes!
Use paint for scale models, which is formulated for the purpose.
Cheers,
Chris.
Lew the airbrush that comes with the aircompressor is a Double action airbrush. You have to press down on the lever to blow the air through and then pull back on the lever to get the paint flowing.
Yeah, I was about to ask if it was a DA or SA. I found that the Testors brush is pretty forgiving, I’ve been able to flow paint through it right from the bottle. I only use acrylics, and about 90% are Tamiya. There is a nice booklet that came in FSM a while back that was all about the basics or using airbrushes, and it covered a lot of information about double action brushes. You should check it out, I think it may be available as a PDF download somewhere on this site.
And for something semi-on-topic; I’ve found a new (to me) way to hold the Cheap-O Testors brush. I used to hold it as probably most would intuitively, using the forefinger to control the trigger and the thumb as support on the non-paint cup side. I found that my finger became very tired very fast and began to ache after a few minutes, especially while applying intricate camo patterns.
So, I adjusted my hold on the brush so that my fingers are holding the lower part, where the air line goes in, and my thumb is controlling the trigger. I now have more control over thetrigger and I can paint for hours on end with no discomfort.
I know, it’s off topic, but you may want to try it out at some point
Missed the part about the compressor. In his post he said he was using an airbrush were the glass jar that held the paint attached to the can of air. I’ve got a friend that uses such a set up (think of a Badger 250 that mounts directly to the can no airhose) from Testors and I thought that was what he was using.