Switching from airbrush to rattle can

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Hey everyone,

I think I’ve made the decision to switch from airbrush to rattle can. I’m finding the airbrush to be pretty time consuming (thinning the paints, cleaning airbrush, troubleshooting, etc). In fact, I sometimes put off working on my model if I know I have to airbrush. Last night I struggled for a half an hour with my airbrush (Badger single action), and ended up not getting anything done. Using an old fashioned spray paint seems so much easier and quicker to me. I don’t have the luxury of a lot of spare time (married, job, 2 year old daughter), so I want to make the most of the free hour or so that I do get.

Is anyone else in the same situation as me? Do you primarily use a spray can for the reasons I outlined above? How do you find the difference in quality? (I build car, planes, Star Wars kits, so nothing over complicated).

I’d like to hear your thoughts.

2

IMHO, the airbrush is overplayed.

As you point out, the rattle can is a lot lower maintenence.

The only disadvantage is getting certain special colors that only come in a bottle.

But then, honestly, I can get just as good or a better finish with a bristle brush as I can airbrushing when it comes to metallic colors.

I am building an old Monogram F3F, and I airbrushed the planes external features, and the silver/aluminum finish is not as good as my Williams Brothers Sparrowhawk, which I exclusively hand-brushed.

The only advantage of an airbrush is getting some of the “worm-track” camo schemes with fuzzy edges right.

I find it ironic that the devout airbrusher has to have a special masking technique (often using play-dough, etc.) to get the RAF style hard-edge camo schemes, which I can do free-hand with a bristle brush.

And of course when it comes to WWI subjects the airbursh againis at a disadvantage against a hand-bristle brush.

Your most skilled figure painters start out by painting a base coat on the figure from a rattle-can before going to a hand brush for details.

Tom T [cwby]

3

Rattle-cans offer very little control & all kinds of overspray (and therefore all kinds of stinkin’ up the house!). I always found it hard to control the amount of paint built up, especially gloss colours on a car for example. I use clear-coats from a can, everything else through the airbrush, also use a single-action Badger. As far as the cleanup goes, I was finding that a hassle too. I switched mostly to acrylics for the quick drying time, and also for the fact that I can clean up the a/b with isopropyl, less fumes than enamel thinners.

The bottom line - if it makes more time to model & you’re happy with the results, go for it. (But I don’t want to switch back!!)

4

Personally, I think you’re taking a major step backwards. I’ll grant you using an airbrush is time consuming; but the rewards far outweigh the alternatives.

I’ve used rattle cans before to do my painting. The problems are: you can’t do a whole lot of color matching, the dye lots can vary wildly even with the same product and I’m sure there are others that escape me at the moment.

I started out with a Badger 150. I actually went through two of them before biting the bullet and buying a single action Paasche from Hobby Lobby. I’m still a “single action” guy. There are some who swear by using “double action” airbrushes; but I’m just not ready to make the switch.

What are the kinds of problems you’re having? Maybe we can help.

5

If you don’t enjoy it, you shouldn’t do it. It’s a hobby.

Don

6

That was amusing Tom.

It is obvious you need to spend a lot more time practicing with the airbrush if you can do just as good with a paint brush.

Haha! Try painting exhaust stains on an A-1 Skyraider like this with your paint brush.

The airbrush is almost limitless and beats a paintbrush in every way other than drybrushing and delicate figure painting. [:D]

7

I wouldn’t dare try Green. [;)]

Your Skyraider is the perfect subject for the airbrush preference, both with the fuzzy-edged camo and the niecly done oil stain on the fuselage.

I’ve got a couple of old Revell SpAD’s and for those I intend to break out the airbrush.

One point of detail I would like to mention is that the streaks you see on the typical USAF AD’s (AKA Sandy’s) is not simply engine exhaust.

The engine’s oil tank was almost as big as the plane’s fuel tank,and it consumed it at about the same rate as the fuel.

So the black stain on the fuselage sides of the typical USAF Sandy was in fact dirty engine oil, and I have a photograph of one and it has an ugly solid black streak on each side, which I could do with a bristle brush, but I like the look of yours better.

Appearantly the Navy kept their planes cleaner then the USAF, and of course the dark blue paint scheme some had would make it not so noticeable.

Tom T [cwby]

8

BTY, I own a couple of compressors, three simple single-action and three double action air brushes as well as a couple of cans of propellent and can adaptors.

I like them OK, but if I can get by without them, I do.

Tom T [cwby]

9

Thanks for clarifying that Tom, I failed to mention that.

As crew chiefs and pilots used to say, “If the Wright engine wasn’t slinging oil then something is wrong.” [:D]

10

I’ll second what Don says so well. Go with what’s best for you. Rick

11

I have two silent compressors and 14 double action airbrushes. [:)]

What works best for you is all that matters my friend. If you can get the results you like with a paintbrush alone then go for it. Clean up is a lot easier as well. [;)]

By the way, that Skyraider was an old Monogram kit.

12

I know how you feel, i just completed my first model using the airbrush, and i turned out quite well.

i will still be using rattle cans for white, because that is a horrible colour to airbrush.

defiently keep the airbrush, and keep practicing with it, anytime you get a chance.

I’ve got a badger double action.

13

Just a couple more thoughts: Thinning is pretty easy once you learn what properly thinned paint looks like, but that takes a little experimenting. Cleaning shouldn’t take more than about 10 minutes unless you’re doing it wrong. And, if you keep the brush clean and take care of it, troubleshooting should rarely be needed. When it is needed, it will be easier if you understand how the thing works. Maybe you just need a little help. There is plenty of it on the web. Which model Badger do you have?

Don

14

I know quite a few people that refuse to touch an airbrush. Some like a rattle can and some like a paint brush. They all do very nice work. I enjoy using an airbrush. It’s my favorite part of building. Mixing, thinning, spraying, getting it just the way I want it. That’s all very relaxing to me.

Tony

15

I’m a devout rattle-can user… Excpet for the finer stuff that only an airbrush can do, like dusting, fading, and other special FX, a rattle can finish is quite east to do once you understand how to control it…

Feathered edges are accomplish via the masking tape not being pushed down on the odel, but folded under about an 1/8th-inch, leaving a soft edge…

Simple camouflage schemes are rattle-can specialties… Overall OD on a tank, why airbrush it if the right shade is already there… Same with German Dunkelgelb, Russian Green, whatever you want…

Nothing to it… You just use charcoal instead of paint on the brush…

Pastels are what I use for any kind of exhaust or gun-stains… Way more control over the color and intensity of it, plus mistakes can be wiped off instantly… Try that with an airbrush…[;)]

I do use an airbrush, but only for special applications where a fine paint-line is needed… for over painting of one-two, and three-color camouflages, rattle cans are fine…

Sure, there’s a lot of over-spray, but I don’t mind it, don’t mind the smell (actually, I like it), and one can of paint is good for several models… Need clear coats? Rattle can Dulcoat or Glosscoat… Done in 60 seconds…

Airbrushing IS and art-form and takes practice, pratice, practice… It’s also a difficult tool to master, although it can be tamed to work for a beginner rather quickly… But like you said, the constant clean-up of the thing is why I only use mine for special jobs…

I’d be happy to show you some tricks and tips I’ve learned from using rattle-cans for thirty years… One right now… Before a painting session, warm the cans in a pan of hot water (about 120 F) for a few minutes… This will make the paint come out in a finer mist…

Contact me back-channel for anything you need in the way of help…

CAF P-82, rattle black, rattle-can clear satin:

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/Finished P-82/FinishedModelCraftP-82011.jpg)

Rattle-can Model Master Dunklegelb;

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/Tamiya Marder III/TamiyaMarderIII006.jpg?t=1241854555)

Rattle-can semi-gloss white, oversprayed with flat clear.:

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/Monogram Mafia/MonogramMafiaJu87003.jpg)

After pastel w/ brush weathering:

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/Monogram Mafia/MonogramJu87004.jpg?t=1300453454)

ModelMaster OD, Testor’s red rattle can

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/P-39 GB/OldCrowDiorama013.jpg?t=1266339998)

Rattle-can camo- MM for both colors, underside Wal-Mart grey primer- Pastel exhaust staining…

, …

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/P-39 GB/ARIIP-40004.jpg?t=1265183504)

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/P-39 GB/ARIIP-40006.jpg?t=1265183321)

Anyway, all I’m pointing out is that there’s nothing “wrong” with using rattle-cans… With a liitle practice (far less than an airbrush), and knowing a few masking tricks, they turn out pretty good…

16

I used to feel a similar way you do. My airbrush scared me (and I ruined some nice models too) and it took a long time to get a setup that was right for me. But once I figured it out, I haven’t looked back. I also switched from an Aztek A470 to a Badger 200 which solved a lot of problems for me, and got a good paint/thinner combo that is dynamite. Although my Aztek is still an ok airbrush I find the 200 easier for day to day use.

I have a couple of Badger single actions myself (200G and 200NH) and I have found them extremely easy to use, clean, and are pretty reliable. I can dismantle and clean them inside and out in about 5 minutes. And doing the paint/thinner mixing takes me a mere minute since I mix it in the airbrush color cup.

If you don’t mind, could you describe to us what exactly what problems you are having with your airbrush? Is it the paint finish or the tool itself giving you problems? What kind and how are you mixing your paint/thinner? Why do you find it time consuming? ← Just a few of the thoughts I’ve had while reading your post.

17

Thanks for all the responses. I find with the airbrush that one day it’ll work perfectly. The next day, the paint sputters through the nozzle, I thin it, then it’s too thin, etc. Then, I’ll disassemble and clean to see if that will help. The model I have is a Badger 350.

I just find it frustating certain times. Whereas a rattle can is ready to go right away. I’m going to keep experimenting with both, but if I can get the same finish with a rattle can, then I will make the permanant switch.

18

The problem is that most of the time when someone ask for an AB suggestion, folks tend to suggest AB’s without considering the OP is usually a newbie. Airbrushing has a learning curve that can be intimidating and can even drive away someone starting to airbrush. I would NEVER recommend a Badger, Iwata or any of those ABs to a beginner. One has to crawl before walking and those AB’s are very time consuming during a learning curve. In my humble opinion and by personal experience, there is no better AB system to learn what airbrushing is about than an AZTEK. They are so simple to use and easy to clean and get a hang of airbrushing, that one can put more that time learning how to use instead of becoming a jeweler to make it work.

Once one get a hang to airbrushing simply move up to another model or brand. When a newbie ask me in my forum for a new digital camera, I always ask for the budget. I wouldn’t put a person thru the latest and the greatest with a camera full of features that wont help his/her photography’s learning curve, but rather overwhelm and possibly scare away from the hobby.

I’m guilty of owning besides my AZTEK a Badger and Paasche. Every time I finish a complex project I ask myself why the system is so bashed and underrated. Could it be that I learned to airbrush with it; and during that learning experience I’ve got to know how the nozzle system behaves with acrylics and/or enamels at different PSI. Truth is that IMO, there is no better system to learn AB than Aztek and I tend to leave the illustrators and graphic artists with the most fancies AB’s. Again, IMHO, mileage might vary.

19

It’s all about what you’re comfortable with.

Personally…I find I can get much better, more consistent results through an airbrush than I can out of a rattlecan or brushpainting. I’m happy to brus paint small things, but pretty much whatever I can, I airbrush.

Cleaning can be tedious, especially the every so often that the airbrush needs a deep clean (I have an Iwata HP-C+ that one got enamel paint in the trigger mechanism…THAT was fun to clean), but I find rattlecans just as tedious (have to soak them in warm water, have to hope it’s not too humid or too hot, have to lay out coverings so I don’t spraypaint the grass/driveway/cars/dogs, have to work by the exterior house lighting since I do my modeling at night after the wife and kids are in bed).

20

The Badger 350 is pretty near bulletproof, being a single-action, external mix brush. It’s a decent enough brush to learn the basics with. It does, however, have a tendency to put out a flood of paint at anywhere past “just” open.