is there a color chart that shows vallejo paints that are close to polly scale? having alot of trouble airbrushing with polly scale
Use a large tip and needle and crank the pressure up to 30-35psi. That’s what I do to spray them right out of the bottle.
Take a look at Micro-Marks new MicroLux Acrylic paint, they state it is a perfect match for Pollyscale paint colors and Paint formulators from Acrylicos Vallejo blended the paint to Micro-Marks specs. I have never had any paint that I use give me problems with a air brush, PSI and thin to Paint ratio is very important, also type thinner being used. If you are using water to thin your Acrylics, forget it and use Denatured Alcohol, you will get better results, you could even use Lacquer thinner,which I prefer.
Frank
Well, you’ll not likely have to worry about spraying Pollyscale once it’s discontinued.
I followed the advice of several members here who suggested thinning it with alcohol (or washer fluid or Windex) and boosting the pressure to 35-45psi, but had so much trouble with the brush clogging, usually right at the start of painting, that I stuck with Floquil, using PollyScale only for brush work.
Eventually, some Floquil colours became temporarily unavailable locally, and since I already had those colours in PollyScale, I decided to check Testors website for tips. They have some good suggestions on there about using Pollyscale in your airbrush and I was surprised to see that, in addition to their own brand of thinner, distilled water was recommended as an ideal thinner. They also suggest spraying at 16-18psi.
I use a Paasche VL with a medium #3 tip. Following their recommendations (and with not a great deal of hope) I began to paint some boxcars. During this work, I changed colours several times (actually, just different shades of boxcar red) without stopping or cleaning the airbrush, and the paint went on smoothly, with no sputtering, clogging or any other anomalies. When I was done, I had four dozen boxcars ready for lettering. Clean-up was easy, and the same as I use for all paints: a small amount of lacquer thinner sprayed through the airbrush, then dis-assembly, with a lacquer thinner-soaked pipe cleaner pushed through the internal passages and the small parts soaked in thinner for a few seconds, then wiped dry.
You can buy distilled water at any supermarket (good for ballasting and scenery work, too, if the water in your area is especially hard), but nowadays, I use the water out of
Thank you gang for a quick response. I have just placed an order for some MicroLux paint and am now trying different thinners. My compressor is a second hand Thomas Industries Sprayit thay with moisture trap/regulator overheats when turned down below 18psi so I’m trying everything at 20-25 psi. I’m using a Paasche model H that is also from a yard sale. Could the airbrush be malfunctioning? If so, how do you repair it? If not, what do you recomend if I need to buy a new one? Again many thanks David Andreotti
David,
If I may suggest, investing in a better air compressor, one that has a storage tank. Something like a Craftsman, 2Gal, or 4Gal, pancake tank,with motor above the tank. They really don’t cost an arm and a leg. They have adjustable regulator built in, and will not overheat at all. Most air compressors without tank will also pulsate air,which is not good for constant pressure when painting anything. A lot of people will disagree, but in my own experience and all my painting friends who do it for a living agree with me.
As far as your air brush, Paasche is a quality air brush and that model should have come with three tips, there are a number of the same brush out, that have different methods of assembly, so without knowing your exact Model # I can’t tell you how to take it apart. But you may contact Paasche and they will help you, very helpful people. I do strongly suggest that you clean it throughly with Lacquer thinner only, for the best results and always clean it #1 priority.
Once you get it working properly, practice on scrap cardboard, to get the feel of air flow/ paint mixture. As far as a new one were it me, I would stick with Paasche,single action, but that is my preference,others will have their own.
Have Fun!
Frank
I just started using my airbrush a couple of months ago, but have plenty of experience with automotive paint spray guns and found it really isn’t that much different.
What Frank says about the compressor is right. I bought a little airbrush compressor with my Pasche H and it worked OK for a short while. But it would not hold pressure much above 20 psi with larger tips on the airbrush, when it ran hard it really heated the air, and even with the moisture trap it would spit and sputter a bit. It died only after about a month of use. So I bought a new 6 gal regular pancake compressor (less than $100 on sale). Huge difference. It hardly runs, the air has time to cool off, I don’t see any moisture in the trap so no spitting, and I can set the pressure wherever it needs to be. The compressor sends consistent, dry, cool air to the airbrush which eliminates a lot of problems.
I bought the Pasche H specifically because it is external mix. It may not be as good as internal mix at making very fine lines, but if you are painting structures then fine lines are not really needed and it is easy to clean. Keeping the air brush very clean is critical (just like automotive paint guns) so well worthwhile getting some cleaning brushes and developing a good system for cleaning.
The mid-size tip (#3) works well for just about everything I am doing. I can’t tell any real difference between it and the fine tip (#1) unless maybe the paint is very thin and the goal is to make as fine a line as possible. But the #3 is a bit more clog-resistant. The large-size tip (#5) will put out a bit more paint for a large structure but I expect your little compressor will not keep up very well. The tips are available separately and pretty cheap, and if you continue to have problems I suggest just buying some more tips.
One thing I didn’t realize at first- the various tip parts are engraved with parallel lines