jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Well, I Airbrushed today. I took a scraped Tomcat and painted it REd and Blue, don't ask why, lol. Firt off - I bought a regulator but where it connects to the compressor it swivels. When I turned on the compressor and adjusted the psi, it would stay at zero, unless I pushed it in and up, but I'd have to hold it there. When I did that, it would go to about 20 psi, then when I would spray it would drop down to 0 psi, but I wouldnt feel a pressure change on my wrist . . . Anyway, I tried using it with the regulator. Most of the blue paint was painted using the regulator. For some reason, the blue doesn't look right. I think I may have added to much thinner. Maybe like a 5:1 ration - lol. Well here are the pics (theres quite a few - sorry [Edit - they're below - my carless mistake.] Thanks. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul T Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Can`t see a bloody thing...you being some kind of wise guy? :P Paul T ( I`ll be the smart *** around here ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 1: Looks watery doesn't it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 2: One wing painted, almost like a tie dyed effect! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 3: Second coat on the tail - looks again - to watery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 4: First LIGHT coat on the stabilizer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 5: 2nd coat on stabilizer, watery again! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 6: At the end of the day - I think I got the red down . I think the ratio here was more like 3:1 or 2:1. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Whhops . Heres the pic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 7: Lookin good ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Pic 8: Last pic for now For the red, here is what I did. I sprayed about 2 or 3 LIGHT coats. I first sprayed a coat on one wing, then went to the next wing. When I was done with that wing, I went right to the first wing again. I'm not sure If I did it too fast or not. I also, while doing the light coats, As I sprayed, some parts were darker than others, and vise versa, but on my past coat, I tried to blend them in. Thanks for the help, and any tips are appreciated, but take it easy, this is my first time John. Pics of regulator comming up... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FJ55Mike Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 What type of paint were you using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dimsh2000 Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 It looks good. The first coat of the blue is supposed to look that way, so on the second coat it looks better. The red is great too! What airbrush was this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Hey the red looks quite good. If your paint was too watery, then instead of having a "splotchy" look, you would have runs down your model, drips going everywhere. Nope, if you are making any mistake, it looks like the paint may be drying before it hits the surface. How far away from the surface of the plane is the tip of your airbrush? What kind of paint are you using. Acrylics and enamels behave differently. If I would hazard a guess, I would say you are using acrylics. Am I correct? Just keep on experimenting with distances and light coats. You will get the hang of it. As a rule of thumb, the paint should be thinned to the consistency of milk. I like to make it approx. 50% thinner (I generally use Isopropyl alcohol with acrylics) and 50% paint. I find this works well going with several light coats. Hope this helps, good luck! Jamie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Paasche H Airbrush Testors ENAMEL (good try Jamie ) Hmm, as far as distance - I was about, maybe 4-6 inches away. Thanks for the help. Keep it comming!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeV Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Jnick, I don't know what thinner you used but I would go with a ratio of 2:1 paint to thinner and try that first as that seems to work best for me. You made need to go to 1:1 but I never have. I use some inexpensive eye droppers from the drugstore to measure the paint. Try that mixture at anywhere from 10-20 psi and see how it does. The red you did looks better than the blue. Was the red a closer ratio than the blue? Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul T Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 John, The red doesn`t look too bad there Tiger (probably sound like your dad) This is what I do,and it seems to work for me..and you know what,I`m still learning. I mix my paint (enamels of course,non of that sissy acrylic stuff)almost half &half,I don`t measure anymore ,too confusing.I also mix with lacquer thinner(a hint I got from MoFo,MickFick aka Mike) works great ,makes that paint stick like snot,and dries nice and quick.Now the only problem is ,it`s quite toxic,so an exhausted booth or chem. paint mask or both should always be used. When the paint is that thin ,it requires less pressure /PSI ,I use 10 psi avg. sometimes as little as 2-3 psi. It`s kind of too bad you must paint in the garage,as I trust you must hurry because of cold ,which could affect your paint job as well (warm plastic from house ,cools off while painting,then back into warm house ,could maybe cause probs...you know,cold beer in warm glass...condensation,although you probably should not be drinking....that will be my job) You could also practice on cardboard,to see what happens as you experiment.Just minutes ago,I was spraying various shades of Alclad to create burn marks,by experimenting ,I found that using 2-3 psi I could slowly make fine,gradually dark lines. You will see by just messing around with your airbrush ,you will find what works ,as well of course with all the ARC people to help. Nice and slow baby....easy does her :lol: Well back to some masking (Uhggg) and painting. Paul T -sorry for the long *** answer slugger :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FJ55Mike Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 That looks like gloss blue, which is much harder to spray than flat. For glosses, try misting on a very light coat for the first coat, just enough to lightly tint the plastic. then, on the next coat, spray it a little heavier. this will help with the puddling, especially around the panel lines. for MM enamels, I use laquer thinner 1:1, maybe a little more for gloss colors. the laquer thinner is a lot better than MM thinner, in my opinion. as far as your regulator goes, it sounds like the quick disconnect fittings don't match. THere are several different types and sizes, and some are incompatible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 Thanks for the tip. oday I used MM's thinner. I did just get Floquil thinner though. Is that equivlent to laquer thinner (please say yes - hehe). I'll be back in the 'rage painting. Maybe I'll reprime the plane first, and start from scratch. Though I have to say, clean up was messy, long, and hard. What should I do to clean up? For instance, The bottles the paint get sprayed from, should they be crystal clear after you clean them? How do you clean the tubes that run down the cap (where the paint comes up)? I appreciate the help. Yes. The red, I believe was a bit thicker than the blue. I'll start using droppers to measure from now on. Thanks all. John P.S - Paul, you can do all of the drinking, as I don't :lol: As far as the regulator, doh, I'm about to go and take pics in a coiuple of hours (company over). Sorry for the delay ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul T Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Well John , I gots to hit the hay ,up early in the morning (work) AND it`s Monday (right on) Well at least I got the F-100 painted....geeze ,only took 3 weeks :lol: I`ll check here tomorrow Paul T Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Paasche H AirbrushTestors ENAMEL (good try Jamie :lol: ) Hmm, as far as distance - I was about, maybe 4-6 inches away. Thanks for the help. Keep it comming!! Weeeelll, it was a good guess anyway! Try getting in a little closer with ye olde airbrush. That should give you a smoother/wetter coat. Also follow the other tips the guys have given. They make sense Ciao, tutti fungi. Jamie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FJ55Mike Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 oday I used MM's thinner. I did just get Floquil thinner though. Is that equivlent to laquer thinner (please say yes - hehe).I'll be back in the 'rage painting. Maybe I'll reprime the plane first, and start from scratch. Though I have to say, clean up was messy, long, and hard. What should I do to clean up? For instance, The bottles the paint get sprayed from, should they be crystal clear after you clean them? How do you clean the tubes that run down the cap (where the paint comes up)? Laquer thinner is the answer to all your problems It is cheap, it works better than anything else, and it's perfect for cleanup. On my badger, I usually wipe out the color cup with some thinner, then spray 2 or three color cups of thinner through, backflushing occasionally. Then, if it's still not clean, Especially after I spray red (notoriously hard to clean up), I will take off the nozzle and clean that out. Floquil thinner is similar to laquer thinner, but do yourself a favor and buy the laquer thinner. It's like $8 USD per gallon. compare that with the cost of MM or Floquil thinner. Also, If you have a little metal color cup, that's a lot easier to clean than a jar, and 90% of the time, you'll be using little enough paint that you won't need the glass jar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnick Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 Thanks for the tips. Where can I get laquer thinner? Thanks. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FJ55Mike Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Any hardware store should have it, also lots of automotive stores have it too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MickeyThickey Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Especially after I spray red (notoriously hard to clean up), When you're cleaning up after spraying red, it helps to spray through some blue. The two will mix to produce purple, which is less of a problem if it mixes with other paints, and easier to clean out. Can't recall where I read the suggestion (HS?), but it works amazingly well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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