100 replies to this topic

[Mad Mark]

been wanting to try my airbrush I got for Christmas when I was like 13 years old again. Finally got around to it and painted this on probably the worst weather possible for painting outside (cold and rainy). Came out pretty good I dont think Ive used this thing in almost 20 years. cant believe Ive kept it all together and it still works being a super cheapy harbor freight type no name airbrush. found out a lot of this stuff is easier when you arent a dumb kid haha.

[Phil Smith]

That looks great!

 

I first airbrushed in the early '80s and last did it in the early 2K's. I did it a lot for short periods, maybe 4 different times. Over time I ended up with a lot of stuff. And every time I'd unpack it to start air brushing, all my paint would be dried up, and I'd have to buy it all over again. I even had some paint i bought from a local House of Color. There was maybe a pint left in fancy gallon can with a fancy top on it with rubber seals and a pore spout. It even screwed down with thumb screws. The guy gave it to me like that for some reason. And even that dried up! So what's the hope for a small bottle not drying up. None!

 

I wouldn't mind doing what you just did, but I just can't bring myself to go out and buy paint yet again.

[Mad Mark]

That looks great!
 
I first airbrushed in the early '80s and last did it in the early 2K's. I did it a lot for short periods, maybe 4 different times. Over time I ended up with a lot of stuff. And every time I'd unpack it to start air brushing, all my paint would be dried up, and I'd have to buy it all of it all over again. I even had some piant i bought from a local House of Color. It was maybe a pint in fancy gallon can with a fancy top on it with rubber seals and a pore spout. It even screwed down with thumb screws. The guy gave it to me like that for some reason. And even that dried up! So what's the hope for a small bottle not drying up. None!
 
I wouldn't mind doing what you just did, but I just can't bring myself to go out and buy paint yet again.

I used my 1 shot pinstriping paint and half my cans are dried up. between that and everything to set up the brush it’s quite the pain for sure.

[Phil Smith]

I used my 1 shot pinstriping paint and half my cans are dried up. between that and everything to set up the brush it’s quite the pain for sure.

 

I've never heard of that. Is that good for lexan?

[Mad Mark]

I've never heard of that. Is that good for lexan?

its enamel i think you can use it on lexan. i brush painted a body with it that was PETG and it took like two days to dry. i believe this shinoda I just painted is PETG aswell. this paint comes in little metals cans so if you have trouble with paint drying out these really dry out when they don’t seal from crusty dried paint on the lid.

[Samiam]

Drop marbles into the container as you use paint to take up the air.

[Bill from NH]

Try storing your cans & bottles upside down during long periods of unuse.

 

1 Shot paint is what Noose, Jairus, & others use for lettering & painting numbers on bodies.

[Mad Mark]

Heres another I just did. this ones actually tri color with darker green around outside edge.

[Wizard Of Iz]

Looks good!

 

Enamel is good for lettering .... but is prone to flaking out of the inside of the body after a collision or two ... or three.

 

Try Createx for painting the inside.  It's a water-based paint so cleanup is very easy and the paint is low-oder. 

[Mad Mark]

so I’m going to just update this thread. Got a new airbrush and compressor and bunch of new paint. decided to try wicked colors createx and I’m having a hard time with it. doesn’t seem to stick very good even with roughed up surface. i also can’t get white to spray correct without splattering. tried everything like pulled needle back, thinning, turning pressure up, and warming paint.

[Alan Dodson]

Mark, painting with acrylics is a learning experience, especially the Wicked colors. First the surface must be very clean, I use Isopropyl Alcohol with a lint free cloth. The paint should be mixed thicker than lacquer, about the consistency of whole milk. Next the air pressure needs to be 35 to 45 lbs generally but some paints may want even more. Spray light coats and dry them with a hair dryer or heat gun between coats. I usually spray 2 or 3 coats depending on the color and if its going to be backed up or not. The last coat will be clear to seal the paint from oils. Try regular Createx or Ralph Thorne paints in solid colors, You will find them to be easier to spray. I don't have a problem with paint not sticking, but it does scratch pretty easy. I use Createx 4012 thinner. White paint tends to be a thicker than most colors, so try thinning it until it spays evenly. If none of that helps, there may be a problem with your airbrush.

[Mad Mark]

Mark, painting with acrylics is a learning experience, especially the Wicked colors. First the surface must be very clean, I use Isopropyl Alcohol with a lint free cloth. The paint should be mixed thicker than lacquer, about the consistency of whole milk. Next the air pressure needs to be 35 to 45 lbs generally but some paints may want even more. Spray light coats and dry them with a hair dryer or heat gun between coats. I usually spray 2 or 3 coats depending on the color and if its going to be backed up or not. The last coat will be clear to seal the paint from oils. Try regular Createx or Ralph Thorne paints in solid colors, You will find them to be easier to spray. I don't have a problem with paint not sticking, but it does scratch pretty easy. I use Createx 4012 thinner. White paint tends to be a thicker than most colors, so try thinning it until it spays evenly. If none of that helps, there may be a problem with your airbrush.

Good tips thanks! i tried reducing with the 4012 with some colors it works others doesn’t seem to help. i have a brand new iwata eclipse and Iwata compressor with moisture separator. I totally clean the brush too and needle after few minutes of spraying. I’m spraying at around 20 psi and but experimenting while painting. i for sure had some contamination that ruined my last paint job from mask residue or greasy finger prints. i cleaned the body really good with dish soap and scuffed the inside. I’ll try alcohol on next couple see how it turns out. Also some of the bodies I’m painting might be PETG if that makes any difference. I’d really like to be able to use the white for fogging but can’t when there’s big chunks of paint coming out.

[Mad Mark]

Heres my latest botched job. some contamination at front edge of windshield in black fogging.

[olescratch]

  Are you going to post this in the Thingie thread you started?

[Bill from NH]

It looks nice in the photo. There used to be a "body wash" sold for taking off paint smudges. I think it was a combination of acetone & something else.

[Mad Mark]

Have some more clear bodies on the way. might try some suggestions like drying between each light coat and maybe get some regular createx non wicked colors. still not sure what to do with the white besides straining it or heavily reduce it.

[Wizard Of Iz]

so I’m going to just update this thread. Got a new airbrush and compressor and bunch of new paint. decided to try wicked colors createx and I’m having a hard time with it. doesn’t seem to stick very good even with roughed up surface. i also can’t get white to spray correct without splattering. tried everything like pulled needle back, thinning, turning pressure up, and warming paint.

 

Your work is paying off. Those look good.  I've been painting my own bodies for a long time and am still learning.  I don't have the patience nor the attention to detail that my friend, Eddie Stilley, has ... but I do okay.

 

What size tip are you using?  That will factor into how much you need to thin the paint.

 

I definitely advocate drying between coats.  I usually use just air (or the cool setting) and not the heat setting on the hair dryer.  You never know exactly what a body was pulled from and some bodies will distort with heat.

 

On my Paasche ... the only time I get any splattering is if there's an air leak somewhere.  It usually means I didn't get the head completely tight to the body of the airbrush.  Once I snug it up ... no more splattering. 

 

I mostly use the regular Createx Airbrush colors ... but have used their Wicked line with equal success.  I like the Createx 4011 Reducer  -- which is the reducer Createx now recommends for Airbrush Colors and Wicked Colors -- and thin till the paint is about the consistency of skim milk.  And ,,, I seem to get better results when I mix and/or reduce the paint in a separate jar and not directly in the paint cup.  

 

Parma used to offer a product in their Faskolor line called Fashine Body Wash & Wax that was excellent for removing overspray ... or even removing all of the paint from a body with some work and patience.  As my last bottle was running out, I mixed some GooGone in with it and it seems to work quite well.

[Bill from NH]

If you're using a double action airbrush, you can dry between coats with your airbrush. Just press the button down, but not back, to have it spray only room temperature air. You might be able to do the same thing with a single action airbrush if you can cut your paint supply off from reaching the tip.

[Mad Mark]

Your work is paying off. Those look good.  I've been painting my own bodies for a long time and am still learning.  I don't have the patience nor the attention to detail that my friend, Eddie Stilley, has ... but I do okay.
 
What size tip are you using?  That will factor into how much you need to thin the paint.
 
I definitely advocate drying between coats.  I usually use just air (or the cool setting) and not the heat setting on the hair dryer.  You never know exactly what a body was pulled from and some bodies will distort with heat.
 
On my Paasche ... the only time I get any splattering is if there's an air leak somewhere.  It usually means I didn't get the head completely tight to the body of the airbrush.  Once I snug it up ... no more splattering. 
 
I mostly use the regular Createx Airbrush colors ... but have used their Wicked line with equal success.  I like the Createx 4011 Reducer  -- which is the reducer Createx now recommends for Airbrush Colors and Wicked Colors -- and thin till the paint is about the consistency of skim milk.  And ,,, I seem to get better results when I mix and/or reduce the paint in a separate jar and not directly in the paint cup.  
 
Parma used to offer a product in their Faskolor line called Fashine Body Wash & Wax that was excellent for removing overspray ... or even removing all of the paint from a body with some work and patience.  As my last bottle was running out, I mixed some GooGone in with it and it seems to work quite well.

it’s a iwata eclipse which is fine to medium spray pattern and it actually has almost too big of a spray pattern for 1/24 scale so I don’t think my needle is too small. my biggest problem is the white. I’ll get a little sputtering with some other colors sometimes but that might be the tip starting to get clogged. I was painting quite a few 1:1 race car bodies the past few years so I got pretty good at diagnosing paint gun problems. also I washed out messed up paint before drying in the sink on a previous body like three times before I got it how I liked it. also I was mixing reducer in a little wax paper shot glass cup pretty thoroughly in all kinds of ratios. i also read somewhere that the wicked colors have some oil base to them and they aren’t completely water based? i noticed it acts kind of weird and globs together instead of getting diluted when cleaning out with water.

[Mad Mark]

If you're using a double action airbrush, you can dry between coats with your airbrush. Just press the button down, but not back, to have it spray only room temperature air. You might be able to do the same thing with a single action airbrush if you can cut your paint supply off from reaching the tip.

That’s a good idea! I’m going to do that!

[Bill Breck]

it’s a iwata eclipse which is fine to medium spray pattern and it actually has almost too big of a spray pattern for 1/24 scale so I don’t think my needle is too small. 

 

I bought a Eclipse last year and replaced the nozzle/needle with a .5 set. This combo works better with the Createx metallic/pearl paints that I use and it enables me to spray at 20 PSI with better control of the paint flow.

 

I also recommend using the Createx 4011 reducer and mixing the paint in a separate mixing cup. If you mix paint directly in the airbrush color cup a small amount of the unreduced paint can get into the tip and possibly clog it unless you pour the reducer in the cup before the paint.

[Mad Mark]

So painted a few other bodies since last post and still having trouble but the very last body I just painted is the best one yet. paint went on good and it seemed to dry really fast and seems pretty tough. what I noticed on previous test bodies was serious paint contamination on what I thought would have been a clean bodies after just washing in the sink with soap. This last one I wiped the inside with the 4012 reducer to remove any soap film that might be left. i also thinned as Little as possible and did light coats while letting dry inbetween. seemed to do the trick. also I think I need to strain my white paint or the bottle is old or something can think why just that color what splatter. Im going to buy some paint strainer things and see what happens because its hard not using white.

Hard to tell in pics but I tried to match the factory style fogging.

[Mark Onofri]

I'm guessing that the Harbor freight air brush is a dual action POS? I bought one in 05? and, after the first use, never used it again. If money is not a object, get a Binks. Billnh will tell you, it's hard to get anything better. If you just want to shoot a couple a two tree bodies, buy a Pachee(?) For<=$20. I was amazed at how much easier shooting acrylics became. Laqour, however, melted the tiny O-ring in the nozzle assembly.
As far as acrilic paint adhesion, I've found that if it is reduced to much wich, usually,is needed to get this gelatinous glop to atomize,it looses it's bonding quality. Also, if they make a thinner/ reducer for the type of acrilic paint your using, use it. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that water is ok. It isn't.
Judging ( punt intended),by the looks of the green and white car, I think it's safe to say that you're on the right track. 👍

[Bill from NH]

Mark O., I bought my Binks in 1970, it's single action, but no longer made. I think Badger bought them out about 20 yrs. ago. It served me well for years spraying solvent-based paints, About 2005 I switched to using all acrylics & bought a Paasche & an Aztek, both double action & made in the US.  I liked the Aztek so well, that I've never used the Paasche. If I was in the market for a new airbrush I'd spend some time looking at YouTube videos. There have been numerous videos made on low-cost airbrushes. Most Aztek brushes & their parts are no longer available after Rustoleum bought out Testors.

[Mark Onofri]

Thanks Billnh, time flies when your building slot cars.
I know one thing for sure, the next air brush will be a down draft. 🤔 Down feed. Must have been thinking about carbs. I'm not totally sold on the dual action. I don't "free style" any of my paint schemes. Seems like just another adjustment that will use up my custom mixed paint getting the pattern right before I can shoot the body.