Hey Everyone,
After a long absence, I have decided to get back into the Hobby. I’ve had my collection on the wall for long enough. One of the skills I would really like to learn is Airbrushing, specifically for structures, track, engine and rolling stock weathering. When hand-painting, I prefer acrylic paints for more control. Can anyone recommend a good system for a beginner, but that would also provide quality results as my skill develops.
Also, I you can point me in the right direction to good book on the subject and perhaps some inexpensive projects or exercises to to help me establish my technique. Thanks.
Railfan2882 - I am just in the process of looking for an airbrush myself. I am not a pro, and the airbrush will see only occasional use, so the price tag is quite important to me.
Airbrushes can be had for as low as, say, $ 20, with the sky being the limit for professional artist´s equipment. Here are a few points you should look for:
- Needles need to be exchangeable
- Paint cup should be above and not below - this lets you spray small amount of paint, important for weathering. This is called gravity feed
- Double-action trigger, to control airflow and paint flow
Badger seems to be a good brand.
Hi Railfan,
I have a Paasche model H single action gun. I’ve been using it for the past 15 years and I’m very happy with it. I’ve had the #3 needle in it (it came with a #1; #3 and #5 for thin, medium and thick fluids) and I have never used the 1 & 5. I can get a fine line about 1/16" wide up to a wider pattern about 1" wide.
I bought a more expensive dual action model VLS a few years ago and haven’t even tried it out, I still go back to the model H. An internal mix brush is harder to clean. A dual action is trickier to master. I can vary the color flow by turning the cone even while painting but, unlike a dual action, the flow stays consistent throughout the job.
A color cup comes with the kit and I have used it occasionally, especially when weathering cars and engines since you need to change colors often and you are only using a few drams of paint each time.
I made a length of track with a coupler anchored at one end, I can power it and run the engine slowly (steam) so I can get an even coating on the moving drivers and rods.
I mostly use Polly Scale and thin it with distilled water but I have shot some oil based paints, too.
Main thing to remember is to strain the paint. I made my own strainer out of a copper pipe reducer with a 200 mesh screen pressed into it. The small end of the reducer fits nicely into a 1/2 oz jar. They sell strainers that fit the end of the dip tube but I have never personally used these. On a lengthy painting session the water based paints tend to clog up. Nice thing with the model H is I can open the cone and blow out the gummy stuff (on a scrap of cardstock) and continue to paint. Sometimes I have to disconnect the gun and run some water through it and clean out the jar. Be sure to mark paint jars that you have already thinned.
These are just my experiences. Once you settle on an airbrush get several pieces of poster board and
Here’s an earlier thread I marked as one of my favorites earlier this year when I was looking. Maybe there’s some helpful info there.
I bought a Paasche VLS but haven’t used it yet. It came with an instruction booklet with exercises to do. I will try those before upcoming track painting.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/202850.aspx
Paul
I’m in the same place, still designing my layout but I’ve already bought some building kits and I’m anxious to get going on the bubuilding sieve been looking at the badgers, the 100 is super simple, the 200 looks pretty good and the 250 has more features
I like the ones that have a removable paint holder, didn’t know about the down feeding feature…
I already have a pretty big compressor for woodworking tools, anyone know the specific adaptor I’m gonna need for using the big compressor with the smaller airbrush hose?
matthew
To generally answer the question about how to use your power tool compressor for an airbrush, you will need, at a minimum, an adapter to get the small airbrush hose on to the large output hose of the compressor, a regulator that can take your pressure down to about 15-20psi, and a moisture trap to remove excess humidity from the air. Water droplets that won’t bother your driver will seriously mar a paint job.
It’s really hard to say what model is best for you. For me, the ergonomics of an Aztek (for a lefty) trumps all the other brands, but that may not be (probably isn’t) true for you. I also favor double action, internal mix models. Yes, double action is harder to learn and control, but once you get the hang of it, that extra measure of control is what makes the difference between “OK” and “great” when painting, especially when you really want a fine mist of paint (weathering, for example). Yes, internal mix is harder to clean, but I just run a paint cup full of soapy water thru the brush (into a cleaning station) after every cup full of paint (certainly after every color), and I never have problems. Windex (the old-fashioned kind, which contains ammonia) is a great cleaner, but only when you’re done painting (I keep a jar of soapy water nearby while I’m painting, and all used paint cups, nozzles, pipettes, etc., go into the jar to when I’m done with them so the paint doesn’t harden on them).
I’d say your best bet is to see if you can find a clinic or trade show where you can try several brands and configurations. This will give you a feel for what you like and don’t like.
Everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to explain in detail your preferences and recommendations. I’ve got a lot to consider.
I have another question on this same theme. Should I also be looking to invest in a spray booth? I most likely will not be painting on a regular basis and as I stated before I will be using acrylics as opposed to solvent based paints. Now, I have seen a couple of options in the MicroMark catalog. Does anyone know if these are any good and worth the price.
Build your own. Get a really LARGE cardboard box. Add a vent hood as used in a kitchen. Cost of that is about $40 new. The vent hoods usually have a fan and lights in them. That is what I am using.