Airbrush Tips Please

[Phill Dyson]

Yes I will have blow the cobwebs off it  :-[ , I will have to get a descent budget compressor though as I only have one of those air cans which I'm told aren't up to much  :scratch:

Any recommendations for compressors ?

Phill  :wave:

 

[ceejaydee]

Phil - I bought my compressor from Eileen's; I went for the budget version with the 3 litre tank so it isn't constantly running - list is £110 but I had a deal as I bought an airbrush at the same time.
If you have the space you could probably go for one from Machine Mart or similar and get a more powerful version for similar money.

westernfan - the crane is looking good - one of my favourite models from childhood.

 

[westernfan]

my setup was a gift so i didnt choose the brand its the expo compressor and brush it retails at just under the 100 mark  it only got a .3 litre tank so a much smaller tank than yours ceejaydee,  but due to the fact that i dont trust the gauge readout i cant recommend the expo

re the hornby hand crane .i remember seeing as a child, the tri-ang set, a jinty ,crane, single bolster wagon,and a clerestory brake . they can be made into a nice model .

 

[westernfan]

i got some more acrylic paints today including some tamiya aluminium , got some milk tankers to spray.So is it possible to mix up batches of thinned acrylic spray paint placed  in air tight pots for later use , a week or so , apologies for being duh in advance .

 

[28ten]

Yes, it will keep for while.

 

[Phill Dyson]

Hi ,
I have revived this thread as I have decided to get to grips with my airbrush in the next few months . So my first step will be to buy a reasonable compressor, from what I have read I'm better off getting one with a separate air tank ? I am wanting to get one that is OK for weathering in particular, but will be used for resprays & scenic work too. I have been looking on the net & I appear to be spoiled for choice at around £100 or under, so I would be gratful for your help & advice in making the right choice
Here are a selection of some of the compressors I have been looking at, but I am very much open to ideas

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...rush+compressors&sprefix=airbrush+compressors

http://www.expotools.com/

Cheers Phill

 

[Old Buffer]

Hi Phill,
I got mine from RDG tools, there were 2 air brushes and the compressor had a built in storage cylinder with air pressure valve, they are on ebay.
Alan

 

[ceejaydee]

Mine is the AS-186; 3rd one down on the Amazon list.

 

[Phill Dyson]

Mine is the AS-186; 3rd one down on the Amazon list.

That one caught my eye Chris, it seems good value.........are you happy with it?

 

[ceejaydee]

That one caught my eye Chris, it seems good value.........are you happy with it?

Phil,
Whilst I've only played around practised with the airbrush so far and haven't used it in anger so to speak I am happy with the way the compressor is very quiet and given the size of the air reservoir isn't constantly running.

 

[adrian]

I have a jun-air unit and can recommend them, secondhand on ebay should be in your price range, they are well built machines and should hold it's value. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110804424623

The compressor pump is sunk in an oil bath so it's very quiet, in fact the fridge makes more noise than these units. It has a good range on the pressure regulator and an ample sized reservoir tank.

 

[Rob Pulham]

I have had my second real g with my airbrush in the last few days. The first was when I put the first coat on the A3 tender which must have been about 12 months ago and I put a 2nd coat on last week.







This didn't turn out to bad so I had a go at the loco



This side also turned out not too bad, then it all went south.





I managed to get a load of runs in this side.

I have also put a first coat on the cab too which also doesn't look too bad so far.



The paint is Railmatch Acrylic Doncaster green and as advised earlier in the thread and elsewhere, the consistency of milk.

I have sorted out the fine wet and dry now I just need to get on with it.

 

[28ten]

What preassure are you using? the sagging tends to suggest either paint too thin, too much pressure, or too close or a combination of the three. boilers are one of the harder things to paint, baked bean cans are quite good practice If you want to strip it use Fairy Powerspray and leave it in a bog for half an hour and scrub

 

[BrushType4]

I'm no expert in this, but I get what you are seeing when I spray too close or too much. Less is more I find.

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi Rob,

when I've had results like this (more often than not) I leave the itm for at least three days to harden off and then use wet & dry -wrapped over a lolly stick/coffee stirrer or the like in combination with a glassfibre brush, then a wash over with thinners and apply a new coat over the entire piece, not just the 'repaired' patch. - Best of luck.

cheers

Mike

 

[Rob Pulham]

What preassure are you using? the sagging tends to suggest either paint too thin, too much pressure, or too close or a combination of the three. boilers are one of the harder things to paint, baked bean cans are quite good practice If you want to strip it use Fairy Powerspray and leave it in a bog for half an hour and scrub

Hi Cynric, I think that you have hit the nail on the head with all counts - when I did the original coat 12 months ago I carefully measured the paint and de-ionsed water (I find much like distilled it makes great thinners for acrylic). having completely forgotten all that until your posting DoH!!!! I just blobbed some in and let it down.

Then when I had an issue with it not spraying as I felt it should, I increased the pressure.

I have by coincidence just had delivered some disposable pipettes and measuring pots as recommended by you some time ago in another posting. Although if I am honest, one part of my brain said order them and the other part still hadn't made the connection to accurate measuring until your post above.

Thanks Mike.
Fortunately it is only the first coat and you have described exactly what I had in mind - it's reassuring to know that I was on the right lines. It has sat for quite few days now so I plan to have a go tonight. I will post updates as I go forward.

 

[28ten]

I tend to do Railmatch at about 25psi, using their own thinners.
It is worth spending a couple of evenings practicing with old models and you can strip it back with the fairy.
For black try either Life colour or Tamiya , the Alclad varnishes are very good and ready thinned

 

[Steph Dale]

I tend to do Railmatch at about 25psi, using their own thinners.
It is worth spending a couple of evenings practicing with old models and you can strip it back with the fairy.
For black try either Life colour or Tamiya , the Alclad varnishes are very good and ready thinned

And if you can't find a paint stripping fairy, screenwash will do the trick better. For faster (i.e. nearly instant!) results IPA (isopropyl-alcohol/isopropanol) works too - it's available for peanuts from Maplin.

Steph

 

[28ten]

And if you can't find a paint stripping fairy, screenwash will do the trick better. For faster (i.e. nearly instant!) results IPA (isopropyl-alcohol/isopropanol) works too - it's available for peanuts from Maplin.

Steph

I found that IPA isnt as good as Fairy Powerspray, but that might just be me

 

[Phill Dyson]

And if you can't find a paint stripping fairy, screenwash will do the trick better. For faster (i.e. nearly instant!) results IPA (isopropyl-alcohol/isopropanol) works too - it's available for peanuts from Maplin.

Steph

Will any type of screenwash do Steph or does it need to have certain ingredients?