need airbrush help plz ::::::

[monica]

hello all ok hear were I,m at , i got out my airbrush today and was trying to give it ago, it

mostly worked but i was getting like big droplets or spots of diffidence sizes, as not all the

time but alot off it when it did work it was good and i could tell,:eek:

and i was using the vallejo gray surface primer, '" but it dose not say air "" ? 70601

at around 30 psi, and I mixed like 12,paint to 8 thinner medium, 70,524

I seamed to of noticed it when and why did i mess with the screw under the bottom below

the cup, i think you should know were i mean :mad: :eek:

this could be silly thing to say but is it that the primer is not air so it did this,?

or I have messed some think up ?

as i wonted to be able to use the german red brown 73.605 surface primer ?

is it that i did not thin it right ?

not air paint ?

any help most welcome and appreciated



ps its not as scarey as i was thinking it would be just mixing and working out that side of

things

 

[monica]

oops forgot to say its ment to be a .3 needle

 

[dubster72]

Sounds to me like your airbrush needs a good clean Moni. Whenever that's happened to me, I strip it down & clear it out which sorts the spattering problem.

Id say your pressure is a little on the high side - I never spray at more than 20 psi, & usually 12-15 for most work.

Hope you get it working ok

Patrick

 

[Ian M]

Sounds like you might have timing issues...

air on paint on...paint off air off....

get that wronge and you will gat splattering...

 

[eddiesolo]

I tend to have a piece of card at each end of the model, I start to spray on the card so any splattering is noticeable before you hit the model, then at the end of the model I have, what I call, my run off card, this means that the AB is still spraying then I shut it off. Just like using a rattle can, it is as Ian points out, a smooth on-just before model-continue along model-then off just after model. 7

Patrick is also correct in regarding pressure, harder for me as I have a smaller set up, no tank with gauge and was getting burbling and splatter-due to too high a pressure, this of course splattered the nozzle with paint and so a clean was required...again and again. I turned down the flow rate and it seemed to work, although I really need a tank and gauge compressor.

Hope you get it sorted Moni, and have fun.

Si

 

[monica]

hi Patrick / Ian thank you both for replying , I have sat and looked at it for 3 mths

ok so firstly drop down the PSI, to about 20,

make sure its all clean , I did notice that the tip was getting dry paint on it, was that because the PSI was to high ?

maybe Ian that value screw thing at the bottom is what you mean as paint on , maybe by screwing it up cuts down on air flow ?

so the paint is ok to use even if not thinned ,thank you both,

 

[monica]

hi Si, thank you , I was doing that starting off the bits and moving it over ,

and as you said the paint was boiling up in the cup as well , so to high PSI ,right

so i will try all the above and with some help from all you lads i think we should get it sorted,:rolleyes: ta

 

[eddiesolo]

the paint was boiling up in the cup as well , so to high PSI ,right

Does sound like to me Moni, I had the same thing, paint all over the cup so by turning the PSI it seemed to work better, although, as I stated, my set up isn't the best.

Si

 

[dubster72]

One further thing to mention Moni - as a rule of thumb, the lower the pressure, the thinner the paint should be. So I'd recommend a 50/50 paint to thinner mixture.

Cheers Patrick

 

[Ian M]

Could I ask what the airbrush is, A picture of it maybe?

Ian M

 

[Doug Hughes]

On the Vallejo primer - I believe they only do one sort of primer, i.e. no special Model Air version. Also, if you're thinning it 12/8 paint/thinner, that might be too thin. I thin the primer something more like 10/1 - just a drop of thinner, which it probably doesn't need in fact. I use the Vallejo Airbrush Thinner rather than the Thinner Medium, but I'm not sure what the difference is and the Vallejo website doesn't help much. 10/1 primer Airbrush Thinner at around 20psi works well for me with .2 or .4 needle.

Don't be discouraged - it's a steep learning curve but well worth it in the end!

 

[monica]

Hi, Si, sounds to me as what you have said so first thing drop it down to about 20 PSI

thank you Patrick shell do was wondering about the mix of what to what,

hears a picture of it no name Chinese one :oops: see that screw thats the one i messed with

hi Doug, i will try all what you said so the thinner I,m use is maybe for the paint , not the air,

darts the shop is closed for a month as well, so may have to get some air thinner on line, or could i use windex instead ?

i did look on the wed site as well and found the same thing, the biggest needle i have is a .3 so i poped that one in

i did find this as well, cheap but the postage bites $ 5.00 for that little bottle http://www.bnamodelworld.com/vallejo/av-ma097

thanks again all for your help much appreciated

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[Laurie]

Moni i would have guessed if I had had that problem that the needle would have dried paint stuck on the end. If not then that plus gelled paint in the nozzle.

The spots which come out is the thinners in the paint slightly loosening the paint then it dries and the cycle continues.

Best thing is to clean the end of the needle looking if possible magnified. Plus soak the nozzle in Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner which will shift anythinh. Tehn rinse well in well warm water. After this hold the nozzle up to the light and you should see a beautifully clean oriface.

Matter of interest Vallejo recommend 20 to 25 PSI. Best needle nozzel with Vallejo I have found to be 3.5 or .4. The Primer has more body than the Model Air so a bit more pressure will not ba amiss. The spots you are getting should not be the pressure. Steve (Stona) sprays at about 35psi from memory with enamels. When he mentioned this I increased up to 30psi for acrylics.

So much is down to the airbrush and the temperature and the paint etc. I would say if your needle size is below .35 I would thin perhaps 25% using Vallejo thinners not water. Two reasons Vallejo thinners has the stickability in it plus It has items to provide better travel through an airbrush.

Matter of interest have you sprayed Vallejo Primer before and did all work as it should.

There is a mine of info on the Vallejo Paint web site. Look for the QA downloads a lot of help there. Also if you have problems email them they have a first class customer service who know what they are talking about. So now back to my model.

Laurie

 

[Ian M]

Well Never seen a screw there before! Wonder what that does. Is it just a drain?

Model Air paints should be air brush ready, so no real need to thin, though many do.

The Main difference between the ordinary thinners and the airbrush thinners is that the airbrush thinners are, erm, thinner. lol The 'ordinary thinners are best for brush painting. If you use air brush thinner to brush paint it will drag the paint up.

Ian M

 

[monica]

hi Laurie, this is the first time using an AB ,and the biggest size needle i have is a .3 ,so i will make sure its all cleaned,and get some off the right

vallejo thinners and maybe as the needle is a bit small ,maybe thin to about 30% to commiserate for the smaller needle ?

and try it at the 2 diffidence PSI,s low and high and see if that dose any good, ?

and i will have a look on there site as well ta,

thank you Ian that screw dose alter the airflow to the paint , so maybe that should be some were in the middle, ? turn all the way up and no airflow

so i real need to get the air thinner and not use the one i have will get on to that and once i have will give it another try but will be a few days ,as i can only get it by mail,

unless i find some one else who sells it or can order in from local hobby shop

thanks again all for your help much appreciated

 

[Laurie]

Using thinners Moni. Put the thinners in the cup first and mix with a brush in the cup. Spray a test to get rid of any unmixed thinners. Also make sure you do not leave the airbrush standing. Best to get the work done as soon as possible to obviate the displeasure of blockages.

Laurie

 

[monica]

well i just ordered air thinner and gray primer, so maybe that will help

but can i still use the vallejo german red/brown surface primer 73.605 with the right thinners ?

ta all

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[Laurie]

That grey primer is a strange one as it is really just grey Vallejo Model Air paint. They tell that tale on their Web site.

It was replaced by their resin primer range but they still retain it in the Air range and now call it base grey.

Yes you are OK Moni near all Vallejo products use the same thinners.

Laurie

 

[monica]

hi Laurie, thank you for that oh boo,:oops: they got me but no problem, as i can add black to it to darken it up and its still useful,

think as yourshelf and Ian said useing the wrong thinners did not help so i should get all this within the next day ,so have a take 2 :eek:

and should get better results with it

cheers

 

[Stevekir]

I, as others have said, use 20 PSI. I use 60ml Grey Acrylic Primer 73.601 - Vallejo. I do not add thinner. To clean the airbrush properly you need Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner (it is water-based). Remove the needle (carefully) and wipe it clean with a wet paper soaked in the cleaner. Remove the nozzle and its aircap and put into a container with the cleaner for 10 minutes. Clean the part of the airbrush body under the colour cup. Use one of those tiny bottle brushes sold for airbrushes, soaked in cleaner, to clean out the passage between the front of the airbrush towards the trigger. Do this several times with fresh cleaner until the brush shows no colour. Use an inter- dental probe (from chemists) soaked in cleaner to brush out the nozzle (carefully). Clean the aircap. Inspect for everything being clean. Re-assemble.

I do all this after every airbrushing session and now hardly have any problems.

I don't understand "the screw under the bottom below the cup". My AB does not have any adjustment like that.

You said "the paint was boiling up in the cup as well". I had that recently and on advice I changed the O-ring on the aircap, which solved the problem. (I was surprised because my AB is quite new. Perhaps I was over-tightrening the nozzle aircap.) But perhaps your higher air pressure might have caused that.

You said "i was getting like big droplets or spots of diffidence sizes, as not all the

time but alot off it". I got this at first, and still get it now and then. I don't know why. To minimise it, after more than 3 minutes of spraying I clean the end of the AB by wiping with a paper towel (or a brush) soaked in cleaner (to prevent a build-up of paint). Be careful of the point of the needle. Also, it seems that some droplets can be formed when the flow starts and stops. Therefore, I start the spray away from the model and then move the AB over it. I keep the flow going always while the AB is painting over the part. When I have finished painting the part, I keep the flow going and move the AB away from the model, and only then do I stop the flow.