need airbrush help plz ::::::

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

Glad to hear you worked it out-and good to hear it is a gravity, those siphon fed ones can be a real pain

John

 

[monica]

hi John oh so lucky i did not get one off them ,lol as i asked the lads for advice before i got my one, and it came with a cheap chineses one so better to wreck that one

than a costly one and once i get better will spend the cash on a good one :rolleyes:

 

[Stevekir]

Hope all goes well Moni.Do not forget to mix the paint. On average it does not need it as the whole thing lays in suspension. Vallejo say roll the bottle on the table stops the bubbles you get when shaking. Also the little top flicks off and you can use a knitting needle (you must have one !) to give a gentle stir (Australian way is left about, anti clockwise, I believe).

We wait in suspension !

Laurie

I have found that some Model Air paint tends to clump in the bottle after a few weeks and this has caused blockages in the AB. I shake all paint very vigorously (but not varnish), helped by an m4 stainless steel nut (they are quite cheap) in each bottle. This stirs the paint up well. I have never had bubbles. Without that I find that some paints (the lighter colours are more visible) can be seen still settled in the bottom of the bottle after only gentle shaking. I would never just roll the bottle as Vallejo advises.

Its amazing what works and doesn't work for different people.

 

[monica]

hello Steve, can always relies on you for good tips hints and advice thank you so much, and that sounds as

a very good idea as i have noticed that looking at the bottle that the paint settles in the bottom and ever with

at lot off shaking I know meant to roll, :rolleyes: that still it dose not mix right, only some colors i have do it,

so next trip to the shops will pickup so and add to each bottle o_O

 

[Laurie]

Found the majority of Model Air is in equal suspension. A few and you can tell those by putting them under a bright light have settled. Turn upside down and those well mixed will show a clear bottom.

Those that need some help. Best way I found is to flick the top off and give a gentle stir with a rod which soon brings them up to speed.

Now using an Iwata Eclipse HP-BS with a .35 needle/nozzle and it seems to take everything thrown at it. Use 30psi. Also gives a superb finish best I have managed yet.

Laurie

 

[Stevekir]

.......

Now using an Iwata Eclipse HP-BS with a .35 needle/nozzle and it seems to take everything thrown at it. Use 30psi. Also gives a superb finish best I have managed yet.

Laurie

Have you given up your Harder and Steenbeck AB? If so, why? I have a H & S Infinity CR Plus, 0.4 mm nozzle, 20 PSI for Vallejo acrylics, and decanted Tamiya spray can lacquer for gloss, and I get good results (although still early days for the lacquer). Very smooth finish.

 

[Laurie]

Well Steve as daft as it my sound I have 2 Harder & Steenbeck and more or less used for the work you have described above.

Being a bit daft at times as stated(Pauline thinks most of the time) and an over whelming desire to try this Iwata stuff after keeping hearing about it being on a par with H & S I bought an HP CS. Not to excited about that one mainly due to the large paint cup which is fixed unlike H & S which as we know are interchangeable. The cup for me got in vision's way. Also a heavy brush.

But I was impressed enough to go further after reading a lot about Iwata and bought the Eclispse HP-BS. The specs were good and turned into reality when I used this brush. It has a small cup not a problem for me as it is easy to fill with the handy Vallejo pots. However the most likable about this brush is it's smallness, light and short in length, a plus, it produces the best results I have had to now. These results are at 150 mm distance and very close in. Being small it is easier to get into odd corners and difficult angles.

Just to add that I would not knock H & S as they are very nice airbrushes. They also have advantages over Iwata. First they have interchangeable cups. They are simple compared to an Iwata which needs a spanner to strip. Easier to clean especially the nozzle. The nozzle on the Iwata is mini size. H & S I could strip completly clean and reassemble in less than 4 minutes. Iwata I clean insitu as it complicated (does clean well in situ so that is a blessing). They also have two simple systems of regulating how far you retract the trigger. FInally for the H & S you can purchase every single part as a replacement. Iwata have a good range of replacments but not the large peices boddy parts etc.

So it depends on your whim and what you are after. Now to Ebay to dispose of 2 of the four brushes before my wife discovers I am genuinley as daft as a brush !

Laurie

PS. After reading Steve(Stona) use of an airbrush I have gone to 30psi although probably for small bits I will experiment with a lower PSI.

 

[john i am]

I use 25psi works every time for me it's all down to the individual and what you feel comfortable with and of course the equipment used iwata tr2 for me and vallejo model air paint thinned at 5:1 paint thinner ratio I have found to my experience higher end airbrushes work better than cheap ones as I have about 5 cheap ones sitting in a draw somewhere collecting dust and the iwata tr2 on my bench that I use all the time expensive item but well worth it in the end when I think about all that frustrating waste of time I spent in the beginning and money on the cheap ones so if and when you can I recommend a good quality airbrush to anyone .

 

[monica]

hello, Laurie,Steve,John

I find that if you turn them upside down for abit let the paint run down and then they seam to mix a little better,

or your way pop off the cap and give a stir,and as Steve said put a nut in as well a good idea,

and all the rest is good info as well ,just save up and buy a better type of AB, and not mess with the cheap ones to much

 

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

This thread is very interesting for me as I am an new to airbrushes. Thanks everyone!

John

 

[Stevekir]

This thread is very interesting for me as I am an new to airbrushes. Thanks everyone!John

Good. That's exactly the main thing we are here for.

 

[monica]

it has been very interesting and a lot off very hardly and good advice hints and tips has come from it

thank you all

John your in Melb like me , do you use Vallejo paints and if so were do you get yours from please ?

 

[BarryW]

Hi Monica

Lots and lots of good advice on here but I thought I would add my own input.

The Vallejo Primers (not the Model Air you first used) do indeed have slightly more body than the Air paint but I nevertheless find it best sprayed neat at 20-25psi or at the most thinned 10% with Vallejo thinner. I have used it with a .2 needle with a little more than a 10% thinning but I mostly now use a 0.4 needle unthinned. I would think 10% would be sufficient for your 0.35 needle.

Acryilics do dry on the nozzle and you need to stop and give it a bit of a clean off during sessions. The thinner does have some retarder in it which helps with that. You can add a small drop of retarder to the cup as well if the drying becomes a big issue for you.

Atmospheric conditions affect all of this so at the end of the day what works for one of us will not work for you. Practise is the key, be persistent and it will pay off, you will find the right mix of pressure/thinning etc for you but it does take time. Stay with it - it really is worth all the effort.

I use Vallejo all the time as they are easier to get to grips with and make a good basis for spraying even unthinned. Consequently with them there is a smaller variable as far as thinning is concerned.

 

[monica]

hi Barry thank you for stopping by, the lads have real helped a lot and I do appreciate,any advice and help,is always welcome, only way to lean :D

i do wont to be able to use the vallejo surface primer, like the 70.605 and 70.601, which both ,do not say air ?, :oops:

but with thinning i can use in a AB ?, and I, may be a bit naff with using % and better understand a ratio, of like 5 to 1 as the 5 being paint the 1 being thinner,shows my age lol o_O

and once it get it all sorted right in my head then buy the 60 or 120 ml off the primer as the 17 ml wont go that far,

so what dose the windex real do just thins it and make the paint flow better or do it act like a retarder which i need to get as well ?

 

[BarryW]

hi Barry thank you for stopping by, the lads have real helped a lot and I do appreciate,any advice and help,is always welcome, only way to lean :D i do wont to be able to use the vallejo surface primer, like the 70.605 and 70.601, which both ,do not say air ?, :oops:

but with thinning i can use in a AB ?, and I, may be a bit naff with using % and better understand a ratio, of like 5 to 1 as the 5 being paint the 1 being thinner,shows my age lol o_O

and once it get it all sorted right in my head then buy the 60 or 120 ml off the primer as the 17 ml wont go that far,

so what dose the windex real do just thins it and make the paint flow better or do it act like a retarder which i need to get as well ?

Monica - I would strongly recommend using both the Vallejo airbrush thinner and their own retarder. Windex, not available here in the UK as far as I know, is OK for cleaning the airbrush I understand but I would not thin with it. I know the primers do not say Air but they are OK unthinned in the a/b, though as I said you might want to thin it about - well one part thinner to 9 paint. Best thing is to try it all out and experiment. I agree about the size of bottles, I get the 200ml larger ones as they give better value and I actually have 4 different primer colours that I use.

 

[monica]

hi Barry thank you , i will do that next time I order get the bigger bottles and some retarder as i need it ,but keep forgetting to get it :rolleyes:,

any think in a undercoat other than white is good for me, real like the german red oxide must get hold off that one ,

as you said just have a play about and work out what suits me but that with the just primmer dose get confusing, :rolleyes:

 

[Stevekir]

......

and I, may be a bit naff with using % and better understand a ratio, of like 5 to 1 as the 5 being paint the 1 being thinner,shows my age lol

Yes, it can be confusing. The paint or primer specification I understand is 9 + 1 paint/thinner. This means 9 drops paint + 1 drop thinner. As 9 + 1 in maths is 10 (= all of what ends up in your cup), you get 1/10th thinner, otherwise known as 10% thinner (that is, 10% of the total gloop you put in the cup is thinner.)

Or 8 + 2 paint/thinner This means 8 drops paint + 2 drops thinner. As 8 + 2 =10, you get 2/10th thinner, otherwise known as 20% thinner (that is, 20% of the total gloop you put in the cup is thinner.)

7 + 3 paint/thinner gives 30% thinner. 6 + 4 gives 40% thinner. Etc.

Therefore when someone advises 30% thinner, this I think means 7 drops paint plus 3 drops thinner.

Most people need more than 10 drops of paint in their cup. So 9 + 1 paint thinner is the same as 18 + 2, 27 + 3, 36 + 4 and so on.

Some people reverse the order of paint/thinner to thinner/paint. So 9 +1 paint/thinner becomes 1 + 9 thinner/paint.

I assume that the “5 to 1" that you mention means 5 + 1 (paint/thinner) as above.

I have seen “1 in 10 thinner/paint”. This seems to mean 1 drop of thinner in a total of 10 thinned gloop in the cup. With only a low level of thinning there is not much difference between “1 in 10 thinner/paint” and “1 + 9 thinner/paint, but at higher levels (3 in 10) there is a big difference.

What do others think and use for thinning? (This seems to have become a very full dissertation on the subject!)

ACtually, I don't dilute Vallejo paint or primer. (I have a 0.4 mm nozzle).

 

[monica]

hi Steve,thank you so much, that dose explain it well and what i was thing, with the ratio ,

and you have layed it out very well and also think,it helps me, but others as well :rolleyes:

well i think you have said it all with the needle size the smaller the needle more thinner , maybe not the rule with a top end AB, but with a cheap one ,yes

it is very interesting on how others do use and mix there paints as well, as the PSI used,with the diffidence needle,sizes

 

[Laurie]

Must admit Steve I put say 100% paint then 20% thinners and call it thinned 20% ie 20% of the paint bulk.

Rather like adding VAT at 20% on the original cost of the item.

In the end you just have a feel for what you are doing. Just like cricket you know when you are out !

Laurie

 

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

I get them from a shop called Metro hobbies in Box Hill. $4 each. The guys are friendly down there and give great advice.

John

it has been very interesting and a lot off very hardly and good advice hints and tips has come from itthank you all

John your in Melb like me , do you use Vallejo paints and if so were do you get yours from please ?