weathering buildings, freight cars and locomotives
painting clouds on a background.
Are there any “airbursh pros” out there that could share provide some guidance for what type(s) of airbrushed I will need. I see that there are single action and dual action, internal and external mix. Visiting Badger’s web site and viewing their online catalogue only confused me more.
I dont have an airbrush yet, but if you do a search on the forum under air brush, there are several discussions on type, best, etc. Hope this help. I expect you will get as many different answers are there are brands, and types
Weathering cars and locos requires a good quality double action brush like a Paasch or similar.
I’ve got a Paasch single action model H and even with the finest tip, it’s still too much paint to do good quality weathering. Works great for everything else though.
I got my first airbrush when I was 12 years old – a single-action Paasche H1 – admist a bit of consternation from both my mother and the guy behind the counter at the hobby store that this was a bit pricey for a kid who would most likely be soon out of the modelling hobby.
That was 33 years ago. I still use that H1 to this day. Last year, I bought a Paasche double-action airbrush as well.
I like 'em both. And I’m glad I didn’t buy a cheap airbrush!
I’m not the one to advise on type of airbrush to buy; I’ve only used a cheap Badger (with Propel cans no less) and have nothing to compare to.
Because I tend to brush paint where feasible, and limit my airbrushing to situations where it is clearly indicated, your purposes for the use of an airbrush are particularly puzzling. Each use you cite is often (but not always) done by hand and brush instead of an airbrush.
You mention wood ties, so I’m wondering if your track is handlaid (almost all commercial track comes with plastic ties to simulate wood). If you do hand lay your track, it is easier to brush the rust color on the rail prior to spiking or fastening it. Wood ties are either stained prior to placing or stained in place prior to fastening the rail down. Even if weathering flex track, using washes and thinned paint with a brush results in (to my eye) more realistic variations in color than an airbrush provides. And there is no overspray to deal with.
While the airbrush is great for a light uniform dust coating along the bottom of a car, it is not particularly useful for the various rust, dirt, water, and spill streaks that run down a car or building.
Clouds can be done equally successfully by brush or airbrush.
Where an airbrush is worth it’s weight in gold (to me) is putting base colors on locomotives, cars, and buildings. The airbrush provides an even, thin, uniform coat which is the base for any weathering or lettering efforts.
I’ll second the recommendation about not going cheap. Like many other things in this hobby, consider this an investment and not simply an expense or something with limited use. As to manufacturers, thats kind of like Ford v. Chevy, some like Paasche others will swear by Badger. Both are good reputable makes that will yield excellent results in the hands of a knowledgeable user.
My recommendation would be to go with a good single action, internal mix airbrush. Choose one that uses a paint bottle instead of just a cup. This will allow you to have a larger paint supply, avoid frequent refills. Also, avoid using the propel cans, they start to freeze and lose pressure after just a short period of use. Get a compressor with a resevoir tank, air regulator, filter and moisture trap.
I’ll disagree with Fred, there is a great deal of weathering that can be done only with an airbrush and not with a brush. Consider an airbrush as another tool in your arsenal.
I own two air brushes, a single action badger that i use for large areas and big jobs where a lot of paint over a broad area is needed, and a paashe double action for more intricate work like rail and rolling stock weathering.
If you want a good setup, a good double action air brush will work great, you’ll also need a good air regulator with a moisture trap, some in-line paper cartidges to trap any excess moisture that you don’t want to get in the paint, and at least a 2 gallon resevoir tank air compressor.
Both the badger and the paashe air brushes work great, but i prefer the paashe air brush over the badger because of the double action feature. Although the double action air brush takes a bit more practice to learn how to use because you control both air and the amount of paint used, it still out preforms the single action by a long shot.
Ok this is how I started off with buying airbrushes. My first airbrush was a testers single action back in the early 90’s all I did was painted Muscle car models. So then I got into Model railroading and got into custom painting locomotives. So I got a cheap no badge Badger double action through ebay as an added bonus it came with a single action no name badger which was great. Well I used that for many months andyrs till 2 yrs ago I thought I lost the whole nozzle assembly and bought a Badger Athem double action and love it. Well I did find the nozzle part to my other no name badger. But I loved that airbrush to. All I have to say is buy a double action and you will be happy weather it be Badger or Paasche. I have Paasche’s Spray booth tho.
First check out localy what brands are parts are available for the major brands, ordering a seal and waiting can take a bit of time. I lean on the side of the double action airbrush, I personaly feel one can do a lot more with effects, and the learning curve is not that much more then a single. Second and most importent, after you purchase a good quality brush and air compressor read the manual and practice, practice and get the effects, cones, blocking and other tips from your manual (a quality air brush has a how to manual) then go after the oldest scrap model. What happens is that some get in over his head on a project with a single action brush, without even reading a manual or practicing with it, make a mess of the project, then state a double action airbrush has too much of a learning curve, about and hour or so is all that is needed to realy get into some trick effects. Mine is a D/A with three tips, fine, med, and course, wont get into what brand is best, its really a matter of technique and practice. Then your second job will show the results of how well you cleaned it from the previous job…LOL …I would do more research and go back to MFG web pages, they make since afer a while…my 1/2 cent…John
Hi Ray, you might wanna check out airbrush city.com. I got my airbrush from there months ago and it works great. I use it for all of my weathering. It has the same options as the BIG name airbrushes, alot cheaper price wise. Also look into getting a gravity feed gun. Makes the cleaning alot eaiser and you don’t have the paint sitting on the bottom of the airbrush cup. As the other guys say, get a dual action as well.
As other have mentioned - Do no go cheap. That said, I have a Badger 200(internal mix) that I bought in 1968! Lots of tips/needles have been replaced over the years due to dropping the the airbrush(my fault). You do not need a dual action airbrush to do weathering, but most internal mix models will do much better with the low air pressure used for weathering(less splatter). And go get a good air supply as well - Propel cans are expensive and loose pressure as they are used(they freeze up at room temp).
They have a airbrush with a trigger instead of the push button like most double action airbrushs have. And they have accessories like bottles in add on kits. I picked one up at a train show a few years ago and am very happy with it. What ever you do invest in a good one and you won,t be sorry.
Ray, so far no one has asked what kind of paint you plan to use. I think that is a key question. The old model railroad standard, Floquil, vs Acrylic, ie Polly Scale or Model Flex? The airbrush needs differ for these different kinds of paints.
I have 4 airbrushes. A Pashaa H-1 an external mix, a Badger 200 which is an internal mix, and a Badger Anthem 55, and an Iwata Revolution. The last two are internal mix dual action. All four are excellent airbrushes, in their own right. But each functions differently and handles paint differently, and different paints affect how the air brush functions.
Back to the qustion what kind of paint? Acrylic paint is thicker than lacquers, so you need either the largest tip or a needle designed for acrylics. The Anthem 55 and Iwata were designed with Acrylics in mind, the needle taper is different as well as the nozzle. I have had to purchase extra parts for both the H-1 and the 200 to shoot acrylic paint, and if I switch paints I have to switch needles and nozzels. I never touch the H-1 or 200 anymore.
As you plan to do weathering, I suggest a dual action airbrush. Once you learn techniques the dual action will give you far better control and effects. For model railroading use I think a brush that uses a bottle is better, for the larger quanities of paint we tend to use. IF possible visit a few hobby shops and craft stores (ie Hobby Lobby or equivalent), or a few friends. Hold various air brushes as if using one, and get a sense of the feel and balance. I know Badger sells weighted tail pieces for their airbrushes, which can change the feel and balance. Are you right or left handed? That might make a difference with a side cup airbrush, like the Testors.
I have heard the Testor brushes can be a problem, because you can not fully dissemble them for cleaning. And they are plastic, so some paints are not 100% compatible. Having said that I have a friend who loves his Testor airbrush, and he has shot a wide variety of model paints with it with no problems.
I too agree with the others ,You must buy one of the higher priced brushes. I bought a couple of those “REAL CHEAP” ones from Harbor Freight, believe me a waste of money, they are great for fogging on a bunch of paint on a big surface that is all. I have an old Badger 150 it works ok for bigger things no smaller than 3/8 of an inch, checked into tips to do smaller lines too much money for parts. I bought a Paasche VL set from HobbyLobby when they ran a 40% off weekly special coupon. I spent about ten bucks more than I would have to pay to get the tips to make the Badger spray fine lines, and the Passche comes with all the tips needed for small lines up to about two inches plus it comes with a little book of instructions that make it easy to learn how to use. Also stay away from the propel cans, definitely buy a good quailty air compressor with filtering and regulators. You can’t beat the quality of a good airbrush, it will give you something to be proud of. But this is just my two cents worth also
I used a cheap no-name single-action external-mix unit with basic compressor (no tank, no nothing) for half a century. Then a presentation by Badger at the national convention in Detroit this summer inspired me to buy their top-of-the-line outfit with all accessories. It has changed my life!
I like Badger’s paint because it is of the right viscosity to spray right out of the bottle and is water-based; no health- or fire-hazard and clean-up takes half a minute: run some water through the nozzle followed by an eyedropperfull of their “cleaner” (Windex may work as well) and you’re done.
I used to reluctantly fire up the old spray outfit because of the time and mess required to clean up. Now I leave the Badger on my workbench and plugged in. Need to touch up a model or the track or the backdrop? Put a few drops in the cup and go. Bigger job? Screw it onto a bottle of paint and go.
Buy a quality double-action internal-mix outfit and have fun!
This is the most significant piece of advice you’ve been given. And once you’ve cleaned it, clean it again, just to be sure.
I use a double action VL Paasche, have done for many years now. Don’t care much for the Badgers, but then again didn’t invest much time persevering with one either. Many years ago had a beaut d/a internal mix, full stainless body, designed primarily for photo retouching, traded it for a bottle of whiskey - such is life.