I'm Still Not Clear on Paint and an Air Source for Air Brushing

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’m moving up to air brushing. I have been painting my engines and rolling stock, but with spray can paint from the hobby store. My private name industrial railroad has only a simple two color paint scheme, and I use custom decals. I actually got pretty good at putting thin layers of paint on the models using the spray cans, but that meant most of the paint going up in the air and in my lungs.
I want to try my hand at air brushing.

I have been doing alot of reading, here and at Fine Scale. It seems the Badger 155 Anthem has a good reputation, and I think I’ll get that. Unless, someone guides me away from it.

Anyway, questions …

Paint … everything I read, everyone uses something else, and don’t say why.

Is one type of paint better than the others for what we do? Acrylic, enamel, etc?

Is one type "old school, " and others are newer and better?

And the brands of paint? Personal preference, or do most people seem to
like one more than the rest?

Air supply … again, I’ll just be painting some engine shells, few rolling stock, some weathering … not often, just when I have the time.

Do those cans of compressed air really work? Since I’m not doing a real lot of painting all the time, do they make sense? Or is it kinda dumb to have a decent air brush (155 Anthem is decent, right?), and use can air? The can air makes it harder to get good results from the air brush?

Air compressors… you need one with a tank, right? The electic air pump I have in the garage , that continuoisly runs, is no good?

The compressors made by Badger and other air brush companies are the way to go?

Thanks alot
Ken

2

Cans of compressed air are expensive and notorious for running out of air just before you finish a project. Air compressors without a tank are fine as long as you can control the output pressure and have a pressure gauge–and ideally a filter so you get clean air. I have been told airbrush compressors are nice, but they’re expensive and I already had an air compressor.

An air tank is nice–you can get an air tank to fill from your compressor, then power the airbrush off the tank without the loud compressor noise while you’re trying to paint. If you run out of air, you just turn the compressor back on to charge the tank.

If you have an airbrush, you’ll find ways to get more use out of it.

3

I’m not familiar with the Badger Anthem but I notice that it is a double-action, internal mix airbrush. I have an older Badger double-action internal mix airbrush and can honestly say that I prefer the cheaper model 350 external mix air bru***hat I have over the fancier one.

The external mix airbrush is much easier to clean. The internal one always had to be taken apart to clean - despite how clean I got it it never worked right away if it sat unused for a long time.

As far as the fumes go - you’ll get them with the airbru***oo!

You can check the Craftsman Corner forum over at Railroad-line.com and search on paint recommendations. Many of the regulars swear by the cheap, acrylic paints you can get at the craft stores and X-marts. Many colors to choose from. Thin them with automotive washer fluid. Airbrushing with the craft store acrylics (over a primed surface)requires a good thinning and a higher pressure but it’s do-able. Give them a try - they won’t cost alot.

-slim

4

Don’t go there. [:)] Try to figure some way to keep from breathing the stuff- even the acrylics (basically, a colored plastic) can’t be too great to have in your lungs, and the VOC-based are nasty. At the very least, use a GOOD mask- not the white paper things that cover mouth/nose, but a real particulate filter mask. Ideally, find a way, any way, in which to have a paint stand if you have to paint inside.

WRT which type, you will certainly find all opinions, because all people are different. I jumped straight into a double-action internal-mix brush- a Badger 150- as well. Since I haven’t used a single-action, I can’t comment on how well they compare. One also can’t judge based on my quality of work, since I’m not the most artistic person in the world, nor can I claim to have surmounted the learning curve. [}:)] I can agree, though, that clean is golden, and a little difficult to accomplish. [:(] I certainly do take it completely apart after painting, as once I didn’t clean quite enough, and it took a while to recover. [:I]

I mostly use acrylics, simply because I’m a little paranoid (can you tell?) about VOCs, and I do my painting in my basement hobby area (with a well-ventilated booth, though). I think that Floquil is “old school”, in your terminology, but apart from the VOCs, there’s nothing wrong with it, and I sometimes use it as a primer coat on metal.

Finally, I’ll second the opinion- a small compressor (mine is a 3-gallon model from Home Depot) will cost you about the same (or less!) as a hobby compressor, and be far more useful. I’ve also used it for blowing up an exercise ball, an inflatable boat, car tires, and most recently, blowing out holes I’m drilling in concrete footers.

Brian Pickering

5

An additional source is an air tank. You can buy portable air tanks very reasonably that hold up to 80-100 psi. You will need to get a pressure regulator. You can charge them at a gas station and then carry it home. They have enough air to do a couple models.

Best is a air compressor with a tank and regulator, not a hobby compressor. I use mine to run a brad nailer for wood working and benchwork jobs too.

Dave H.

6
  1. Still subject to the “Running out of air just before you finish for the day” problem. [:)]
  2. Dunno 'bout your area, but it seems like the only gas stations that still have any air pump locally charge you 50c for the privelege. I can understand, from their POV, but I just don’t think this would be worth the trouble (q.v.)

Fully agreed. How much would the air tank cost, anyway? Rough estimate of how much it cost for my compressor: $75 or so. I just felt that, given all the other potential uses, it was a no-brainer.

Brian

7

You guys go right ahead. I’ll stick with my Testors airbrush set. I’ve never had any problems with it-so far, and have been wise enough not to let my air run out before I finish a project…

trainluver1

8

I’ve used Solvent based Floquil paint for years. Great paint, but smelly and unhealthy. Plenty of ventilation required.

Thanks to a friend, I’ve switched over to Acrylic (waterbased) Polly Scale and Badger ModelFlex. Great paints! Always make sure that your paint surfaces are CLEAN! Even a little sweat from our fingers can cause loss of Adhesion. You can thin these paints with distilled water, 70% alcohol, or Polly S #546008 Air Bru***hinner. The nicest part? My wife no longer complains about fumes! (that used to be an ordeal!)

Air source: I recommend a compressor. Home Depot’s self contained unit is not a bad way to go.

Another option If money or noise is a problem: A CO2 gas cylinder. You can get them used, in decent shape. Look in your phone book for welding supply dealers. If they don’t have any used units in stock, they may be able to direct you to a customer that carries them. CO2 will last you through quite a number of paint jobs, and of course there is no noise.

Airbrush: Go with the Badger. I prefer dual action, but single action brushes are easier on maintenance and also provide great performance.

Hope this helps!

9

But how small of a stripe can you paint with them airbrushes?

It is very easy for me to get down and paint a strip of wood along the bottom of a atlas reefer with a brush and a steady hand.

10

The most important thing I can add here is buy or build yourself a paint booth with a vent. Mine is simplicty itself. It sits on a small roll around cart that I built, has 3 sides of simple plywood with hinges at each corner, a plywood top cut out for an old bathroom vent fan with light (you NEVER have enough light), and a short piece of dryer vent hose. When I want to use it, I roll it over in front of the dryer, disconnect the outside vent hose from the dryer at a Vent Saver mounted on the wall, and connect the hose from the booth using an old peanut can for a coupling.

For a compressor, Sears has a small one for about $90.00 that comes with a regulator and can also drive small air tools, so it’s a multi use tool. I got mine a couple years ago and never looked back to the aerosol type cans. The ones made by the air brush companies are expensive and ironically don’t work as well as a unit with a tank. These will give you a pulsing air supply because they’re a diaphram type pump.

Probably the MOST important item I can tell you. If you use a solvent based paint like Floquil or Testor’s enamel, WEAR AN AIR PURIFYING RESPIRATOR. This is the type that seals over the mouth and nose and has one or two can shaped filters sticking out from the front. This is actually the same principle as the military gas mask. Simple rule of thumb: if you can smell the fumes, you’re inhaling them. These paints, I use the Floquil myself, can give a fantastic finish, but use a hazardous chemical as a carrier. Protect yourself, they are hazardous, but the hazards can be controlled with the proper precautions.

PS, the reason I use the Floquil brand is the finish. The paint leaves an extremely thin film that does cover well without obscuring the details.

11

Airbrushing isn’t really for painting small details like trim and stripes–they are for adding a clean, streak-free coat to a large area, or providing overall light coatings to a large area, or creating unique weathering or scenery effects.

12

[2c]Just my two cents FWIW, based on experience and personal preferences:

I still use the solvent-based paints - Scalecoat II is my favorite. If your paint booth and mask are in good working order, you shouldn’t have any problem with fumes.

I hate the acrylics, like Model-Flex, with a passion, but that’s just me. I don’t get as dependable results as I get with the Scalecoat, the shelf-life is much shorter, they clog the airbrush more often, I definitely don’t think they clean up easier, and they’re a bear to strip completely if you want to start over. And if you ever let them dry in the airbrush, you’ll be sorry. I only use acrylics for weathering, or if there is a color I can’t get in a solvent-based paint and haven’t had any luck trying to mix & match it myself. Polly Scale is probably the best of the bunch IMNSHO if you want to go that way.

My favorite airbrush is an old Badger 200 I’ve had for about 15 years. Double-actions are nice for subtle weathering effects, but if you’re just painting rolling stock and locos, a single-action will do just fine, and might be a better choice for a rookie painter…you can always move up to a dbl-action later if you want. Either way, always be sure to clean your airbru***horoughly, inside and out, at the end of a day’s painting, and it should last you a long time.

Buy an air compressor with a reservoir tank and a regulator built in - places like Home Depot, Lowes, Sears et al have a nice selection, and you can probably get a good one for around $100. Don’t waste your time with the smaller Badger hobby-type compressors, they’re junk.

Regardless of whether you have a paint-booth, or what type of paint you’re using, absolutely the most important thing is to get a double-cartridge respirator mask, and WEAR IT - your lungs will thank you for it later in life.

13

I use a Badger single action air brush connected to a 2 gal air compressor i got at wal mart for about $65.00…I also use an inline moisture trap type regulator set at 20#'s and an inline paper cartridge moisture filter…you don’t want any water in the paint…the paints i use are Floquil railroad paints diluted 75% paint and 25% thinner and for weathering, I’ll dilute the paint even further…i have used poly S paints but like the Floquil paints better…and just like the spray cans, you’ll need a mask so it doesn’t get in your lungs and before you know it there are only 3 functional brain cells left…I usually paint with the work in a big cardboard box so the paint doesn’t go everywhere and paint with the door to the room open and a fan ventilating the building…air brush painting is pretty easy once you get the proper paint setting on the air brush and pressure regulation of the gun…chuck