[MODEL] Airbrush questions
Qrab
my painting. One thing in particular is to speed up painting terrain.
In issue (US WD) 259, there is an article on making some Inquisitor
terrain where an airbrush was used to paint some styro rocks. The
article claims that watered down Bestial Brown was used for the base
coat.
Anybody have experience doing this? If so, what did you use to 'water'
the paint (or would recommend)? Also, what ratio of paint to 'water'
to paint would you recommend. I plan to use cheap craft paints instead
of GWs overpriced product - this shouldn't change anything, should it?
I've borrowed an airbrush from a friend and want to try this out w/o
risk of damaging his equipment.
Thanks.
--
Be seeing you-
Qrab
remove yourhead to reply
Blackheart
wrote:
i've never used an airbrush.. but it stands to reason that they would
have a "thinner" to use for the airbrush.. otherwise I see no reason
for acryllic medium to not work...
i have no idea about ratios for airbrushes tho... owners manuals? i do
believe that GW paints would dry too fast to use in a airbrush...
Qrab
<blackh...@notcomcast.net> wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Sep 2002 21:58:30 GMT, Qrab <qr...@san.rr.yourhead.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Hey, I've been interested in using an airbrush for certain aspects of
> >my painting. One thing in particular is to speed up painting terrain.
> >In issue (US WD) 259, there is an article on making some Inquisitor
> >terrain where an airbrush was used to paint some styro rocks. The
> >article claims that watered down Bestial Brown was used for the base
> >coat.
> >
> >Anybody have experience doing this? If so, what did you use to 'water'
> >the paint (or would recommend)? Also, what ratio of paint to 'water'
> >to paint would you recommend. I plan to use cheap craft paints instead
> >of GWs overpriced product - this shouldn't change anything, should it?
> >
> >I've borrowed an airbrush from a friend and want to try this out w/o
> >risk of damaging his equipment.
> >
>
> i've never used an airbrush.. but it stands to reason that they would
> have a "thinner" to use for the airbrush.. otherwise I see no reason
> for acryllic medium to not work...
Yeah, I've been to some hobby stores & saw the thinner, but I assume
that is for airbrush specific paints. There are airbrush specific
acryllics available, but I figure they are like the Tamiya paints,
i.e. 'different'.
> i have no idea about ratios for airbrushes tho... owners manuals? i do
> believe that GW paints would dry too fast to use in a airbrush...
The owner's manual for the model I'm borrowing (Badger 350) doesn't
mention anything about it (in fact, I was unimpressed by the manual).
The problem w/ GW & other craft paints is that they are too thick to
use straight out of the bottle. Water should do the trick, but how
much is what I want to know.
David Gausebeck
>my painting. One thing in particular is to speed up painting terrain.
>In issue (US WD) 259, there is an article on making some Inquisitor
>terrain where an airbrush was used to paint some styro rocks. The
>article claims that watered down Bestial Brown was used for the base
>coat.
>
>Anybody have experience doing this? If so, what did you use to 'water'
>the paint (or would recommend)? Also, what ratio of paint to 'water'
>to paint would you recommend. I plan to use cheap craft paints instead
>of GWs overpriced product - this shouldn't change anything, should it?
I've done that quite a bit. I generally use my airbrush for
basecoating, with watered down GW paints. I just use tapwater to
dilute them, same as for making a wash. I usually go for somewhere
between 1:1 and 2:1 water:paint. Thicker paint gives you better
coverage, but the viscosity of the paint is a major factor in how well
the airbrush operates, and thinner is better for that.
The basic principle of the airbrush (for mine anyway, I think there
are some other mixing mechanisms) is that it forces air through a thin
ring around a paint nozzle. The high-speed air picks up droplets of
paint from the nozzle and carries them outward. If the paint is too
thick, the air won't be able to pick up droplets, and the spray gets
very spattery or it can clog up completely. When that happens, I just
dilute the paint further and it usually clears right up.
-Dave
Christopher Krigbaum
> the paint (or would recommend)? Also, what ratio of paint to 'water'
> to paint would you recommend. I plan to use cheap craft paints instead
> of GWs overpriced product - this shouldn't change anything, should it?
a good rule of thumb is to water the paint down to about the consistency of
milk. also make sure it is evenly mixed. plain old tap water is fine to use
with acrylics.
--
Chris K
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he said, 'Jim, I knew you'd come.'"
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Situation excellent. I am attacking."
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"
Qrab
gaus...@paypal.com (David Gausebeck) wrote:
<snip advice>
Thanks Dave (and Christopher). I'll give it a try.
John Hwang
>The owner's manual for the model I'm borrowing (Badger
>350) doesn't mention anything about it (in fact, I was
>unimpressed by the manual).
Check the web. :)
>The problem w/ GW & other craft paints is that they are
>too thick to use straight out of the bottle.
I thought the new GW paints were much thinner.
>Water should do the trick, but how
>much is what I want to know.
Thin to the consistency of milk. More or less. This partly depends on your
setup.
Be sure to spray clear with lacquer thinner when you're done. Cleanup is the
only downside to an airbrush.
--
--- John Hwang "JohnHw...@cs.com.no.com"
\-|-/
| A.K.D. F.E.M.C.
| Horned Blood Cross Terror LED Speed Jagd Destiny
David Gausebeck
>only downside to an airbrush.
I just clean mine by running water through it, and then work
everything loose again the next time I want to use it.
It doesn't seem to have any long-term side-effects, but I have gotten
to know the inside of my airbrush pretty well :)
-Dave
pat
I've tried to use my airbrush, but even with the paint thinned down, I
find that acrylics dry out too quickly, clogging the nozzle. Do you
have this problem?
Pat
David Gausebeck
>> are some other mixing mechanisms) is that it forces air through a thin
>> ring around a paint nozzle. The high-speed air picks up droplets of
>> paint from the nozzle and carries them outward. If the paint is too
>> thick, the air won't be able to pick up droplets, and the spray gets
>> very spattery or it can clog up completely. When that happens, I just
>> dilute the paint further and it usually clears right up.
>
>I've tried to use my airbrush, but even with the paint thinned down, I
>find that acrylics dry out too quickly, clogging the nozzle. Do you
>have this problem?
A little bit, but not enough that it's a problem. When I'm painting,
occasionally I'll stop to scrape some congealed/dried paint off of the
nozzle, but most of the time it doesn't come up. Of course, I use the
largest nozzle that came with the airbrush, since I'm only using it
for basecoating. It might be a more serious issue with smaller
nozzles.
The biggest problem I have between uses of the airbrush (after
everything has had a long time to dry) is that the needle that slides
back and forth to open and close the paint nozzle gets stuck. To fix
that, I partially disassemble the airbrush so that I can get a good
grip on the needle/rod and force it through its range of motion
several times to break everything free.
I haven't had anything like that happen while the airbrush is in use,
though.
-Dave
Andy
> Hey, I've been interested in using an airbrush for certain aspects of
> my painting. One thing in particular is to speed up painting terrain.
> In issue (US WD) 259, there is an article on making some Inquisitor
> terrain where an airbrush was used to paint some styro rocks. The
> article claims that watered down Bestial Brown was used for the base
> coat.
>
> Anybody have experience doing this?
Yep.
> If so, what did you use to 'water'
> the paint (or would recommend)? Also, what ratio of paint to 'water'
> to paint would you recommend. I plan to use cheap craft paints instead
> of GWs overpriced product - this shouldn't change anything, should it?
Maybe more coats.
Don't use straight water.
Car screen wash is the thing to use, or isopropyl alcohol and water.
Depends on the paint, but try in the order of 1:1 paint to wash.
But, IMO air brushing terrain is not a good idea.
I recommend emulsion paints and house brushes.
The sort of stuff you paint your house walls with... well.. except
possibly not in those sort of colours.
These are cheap and a couple of coats will make terrain much more
robust.
You can damp brush lighter colour on for highlights and wash over with
acrylics if you want.
David Rhode
> the paint (or would recommend)? Also, what ratio of paint to 'water'
> to paint would you recommend. I plan to use cheap craft paints instead
> of GWs overpriced product - this shouldn't change anything, should it?
I have used GW paints with an airbrush, and found that rubbing alcohol
worked quite well as a thinner in a roughly 50% mixture.
HOWEVER
Do not use rubbing alcohol as a thinner with craft paints. Alcohol
causes what I'm going to call a 'clotting' effect, apparently
precipitating the acrylic out of the medium and turning it into
rubbery goo. That would not be good for an airbrush. I have only
noticed this with Applebarrel paints, and have not tried alcohol with
other brands such as Folkart or Delta Ceramcoat, so this may not hold
true across the board.
I believe that some craft paint producers offer airbrush thinner
mediums in their lines, and I know that Liquitex does. These should
be available in places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby.
In lieu of that, you could try distilled water and a drop of some
surface-tension reducing agent, maybe something like Future, Windex,
etc.
Malcolm McDowall
I think a very good use for an airbrush would be in painting vehicles,
especially the larger, armoured ones. These are really just the same as
1/35th scale models, which if you buy a modelling magazine (see earlier
threads about Military Modelling) is where you'll see them used most.
As for use; my comments would echo those in the string - thin with a
suitable medium (water/isopropyl alcohol mix) to consistency like milk.
I've used airbrushes (and mini sprayguns) to paint tanks and aircraft
models, but only with Humbrol enamels, though the principles would be the
same.
Try it out a few times before going at an expensive model and make sure
you've got something effective to clean out the airbrush. Clean it out
immediately after you've used it. If you don't, you'll have to strip it
apart and clean it with neat thinners.