please dont look at this post and its length and just back out. please read and answer these 6 questions as i think they would be good general ref. material for any begginer (as myself) or someone planning to buy an airbrush. advice is good, but i have 4 airbrushes and each one sprays different paints at different thinning ratios at different psi with different results. thanks.
first, what brand airbrush is your favorite?
with said airbrush, what is your favorite paint brand and is it enamel or acrylic and why?
with said paint brand and type, what is your “sweet” concoction to achieve your desired results?(thinning ratio/ brand of thinner/ retarders / mediums/ superlube/ ect.)
with said “sweet” concoction, what is your home psi for general spray/ detailing?
what do you model the most?
what do you shoot through your brush to change colors/deep clean your airbrush with?
here are my answers:
iwata hp-c with the .4mm needle/nozzle combo
tamiya acrylics, ease of use, no notious fumes to share with my family, i can achieve the look i like with no additives
i start at 60% thinner 40%paint using tamiya thinner and have recently began applying superlube to my needle. the superlube actually works well to prevent tip dry. i was pleasantly surprised. i would reccomend buying it.
my home psi is usually 15 to 18 psi for general spraying, 10psi for detailing and such.
ill try any aircraft with a cammo scheme. i love painting cammo!! but ironically, my favorite bird of all time is the P-51D which is usually found in its birthday suite.
i just spray some windex/water to change colors, then load the next color and spray about 3 seconds away from the subject to “prime” the airbrush with the next color. to deep clean i break it down and wipe down all affected parts with model master acryl solvent, reassemble and spray about a half a bowl of said solvent and leave just a tad in the bottom of the bowl and stick a toothpick in the little airhole in bowl cap.
i have found the above to work well for me with plenty of advice from this forum and other places on the web, but mostly from trial and error (mostly error).
i just came from my LHS and the guy there said he talked the winner of some local model contest and ask him these 5 questions and the one that floored me was his home psi. his home psi for all spraying was 40psi!!! i was curious as to how many modellers used this kind of psi on there projects. ive never ventured over 25 psi when painting a model, but i tried it on some scrap plastic and was pleasantly surprised at the softness i achieved. i also was able to achieve an awesome tight fine line with as little overspray as spraying at 10psi. also, the airbrush trigger was more “responsive” if you will. what do you think? later.
T&C Omni 3000 or my old, ever faithful Badger 200.
Tamiya acrylic because of the water cleanup, and lack of noticeable fumes.
I thin my paint at 3:1 (paint:thinner) using 90% isopropyl alcohol, however this is frequently dependant on the type of paint, airbrush, and air pressure. Never used retarder, but I’ve thought of it a few times! I do use Medea Superlube in my airbrushes.
15 psi from about 3"-4" away from the surface.
WWII aircraft
MikeV’s magical mixture of distilled water, Simple Green, and Windex.
I use a Badger 150 for most of my work. I also have a Badger Crescendo for doing large areas. I recently purchased a Sotar20/20 but haven’t gotten use to it yet.
I like Tamiya acrylic paints the best. They leave a smooth and even finish, and are very easy to use. (For handpainting, I love Humbrol)
I mix 60/40 paint to thinner. I have never used retarders or superlube.
Usually 20 psi, but will go up to 30 or down to 15 psi.
I like 1/35 scale armor. But I take breaks and do about everything: figures, aircraft, nascar, etc.
first, what brand airbrush is your favorite? BADGER
with said airbrush, what is your favorite paint brand and is it enamel or acrylic and why? TAMIYA ACRYLIC
with said paint brand and type, what is your “sweet” concoction to achieve your desired results?(thinning ratio/ brand of thinner/ retarders / mediums/ superlube/ ect.) 3:2:1:2 Paint :Thinner: Clear Flat :Future
with said “sweet” concoction, what is your home psi for general spray/ detailing? around 35psi at 8 inches
what do you model the most? aircraft
what do you shoot through your brush to change colors/deep clean your airbrush with? water + iso + lacquor in 1:2:1
Badger/Thayer & Chandler. Does that surprise you? [;)]
Model Master enamels. Although I have been playing with the Acryl line and may switch to it.
I like to thin Model Master enamels 2:1 with Sunnyside Specs thinner which is a mineral spirits thinner. For finer detail a 1:1 ratio is sometimes necessary depending on temperature.
I spray between 15-20 psi for general coverage and drop to 10-15 psi for more detailed spraying.
Mainly WWII and modern military aircraft, with an occasional car, especially if it’s a Porsche. [;)]
Lacquer thinner for enamels and lacquers, and the mixture that Scott mentioned for Acrylics.
It can be done but control of overspray would be tough on precise camo patterns and such.
first, what brand airbrush is your favorite? Iwata HP-CS
with said airbrush, what is your favorite paint brand and is it enamel or acrylic and why? Polly Scale then Tamyia. Easy clean up and also the lack of noticeable fumes.
with said paint brand and type, what is your “sweet” concoction to achieve your desired results?(thinning ratio/ brand of thinner/ retarders / mediums/ superlube/ ect.) I thin with distill water with PS and Alcohol with Tamyia. I really don’t know what my ratio is. I just go until the mixtures looks like thin milk or just looks for feels right.
with said “sweet” concoction, what is your home psi for general spray/ detailing? 10 to 15 psi.
what do you model the most? WW2 Aircraft, normally American and Japanese. But I have done some German planes as well. I was into armor for a while and may still go back some day. All the armor I have built have been German.
what do you shoot through your brush to change colors/deep clean your airbrush with? I normally spray one color then clean the airbrush and come back later to do another. So I rarely spray more than one color during a spraying session. This mainly because of time. When I go to clean I run windex through until its clear, then I clean the paint bowel, then spray some more windex through the brush. Then I use a cotton swap to clean the nozells and the needle tip very carfully of course. Then I run some water through the bush and I am done. Every month or so I take the brush completes apart and clean her up with Windex or Material Sprits. But I do not soak the brush just clean every thing I can get to with a cotton swap or with a micro brush.
As for 40 psi. Way to much for my hose. I have to use a split in water trap and if I go at 35 or mor psi the hose will blow apart at the water trap.
Right now it’s a toss up between the Badger 150 and the Paasche H
I prefer to use Testor’s Acryl.
Concoction?!? What’s that?
I listen to everyone else and dial the compressor up to 20psi.
I’m starting to find that what I do most is made for War Hammer 40k I don’t play the game, but my LHS only has that for Sci-Fi. I might be buying from MonstersinMotion soon but that creates problems that I won’t go into (wrong topic after all.
I think my passion is building rather than painting, as long as the build isn’t tedious.
Just water. The Paasche came with a huge bottle. I keep it full. But I am really still new to multi color painting.
Fave paint = Tamiya Acrylic. Sprays great, smells great and cleans up easily with water and Windex.
I always use 1 part Tamiya X-20A thinner to 1 part paint for general spraying, then for details I’ll switch to 3 parts thinner to 1 part paint. I always use Medea Supa Lube on the airbrush needle to help delay the onset of tip-dry and just to lubricate the airbrush. action.
Air pressure for general spraying = 15psi. For detail work I drop it to around 10 psi.
Mostly WW2 fighters. (Allied or Luftwaffe)
For airbrush cleaning I shoot water and Windex. I clean up the colour cup with Windex and swish it around with a soft paint brush.
Good topic Salty! I’m surprised a few more people haven’t responded. It certainly makes interesting reading and educational to boot.
first, what brand airbrush is your favorite?
ATM, Omni 4000
with said airbrush, what is your favorite paint brand and is it enamel or acrylic and why?
Tamiya and Gunze acrylics, both work really well for me.
with said paint brand and type, what is your “sweet” concoction to achieve your desired results?(thinning ratio/ brand of thinner/ retarders / mediums/ superlube/ ect.)
Still working on it, used to be a mix of 60/40 paint and X20A thinner
with said “sweet” concoction, what is your home psi for general spray/ detailing?
From 15 to 20 psi
what do you model the most?
WW2 aircraft, but have modelled everything inbetween.
what do you shoot through your brush to change colors/deep clean your airbrush with?
Used to be X20A thinner, but just to damn expensive. Dont like the water idea, water around here is just too chockers with minerals. Now I use Isopropanol, cheap as chips, and smells nice.