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airbrushing problems


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Being new to modelling, I have some problems with airbrushing. I have this airbrush set: Revell Basic Set

1. When filling paint into the can and starting to airbrush, the colour starts to bubble a lot and flows over the top of the can.

2. I am not able to spray thin lines; the thinnest I could get is about 1cm broad (even at close range). I just wanted to do some preshading on a F-14, but this totally does not work.

I just assume I am handling things incorrectly, so I would appreciate any help on how to do this properly.

Edited by prophet
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In short.

a) check with water, if the airbrush itself is working correctly. If not, disassemble and re-assemble according to the manual.

B) thin the paint (with water if you are using the Revell Aqua line) to a consistence of milk.

c) although barely possible with that el-cheapo compressor - lower the air pressure as far as possible.

Good luck,

Cheers

Thorsten

BTW. using the search function of this or any other scale model board or even google should give you a gazillion of similar tips and tricks.

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BTW. using the search function of this or any other scale model board or even google should give you a gazillion of similar tips and tricks.

My apologies, I should have done that.

Reading between the lines, would you suggest getting a better airbrush/compressor?

Edited by prophet
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My apologies, I should have done that.

Reading between the lines, would you suggest getting a better airbrush/compressor?

No apologies necessary, it was indeed meant as an additional tip since your problem is pretty common., often discussed and I am pretty sure that there are even videos on youtube available.

Regarding the compressor topic - if money and storage space permits - yes, get something better. Same thing here - often asked question with many articles written and suggestions for every price range.

Cheers

Thorsten

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Cracked, bent or otherwise damaged needles, air nozzles and washers can also cause the same results. As has been suggested, disassemble, thoroughly clean, carefully inspect, then reassemble and test.

The point of using water to test for back pressure is that it's thinner than paint - if water doesn't spray properly, nothing will; there is a problem with the brush (something is dirty, something is loose, or something is damaged). If water DOES spray properly, it means the brush is fine, the problem is with your paint (too thick, contains lumps, etc.)

As for the airbrush set itself... The temptation is always to upgrade, but honestly, pretty much any airbrush can work fine, once you've learned how to use it. If this is your first airbrush, there's a definite learning curve to figuring things out, and having a top-of-the-line, expensive airbrush isn't going to change that. (it may even be worse) Your line thickness could be caused by a few different factors: high air pressure, paint too thick, brush too far from the surface, too much trigger pull/paint flow... or it could be the brush's included needle set is too large, and switching to a finer replacement set-up would help. Most likely, it will be a combination of those things, which is where the learning curve comes in - figuring out how to trouble shoot effectively, so you can pin down what you need to tweak to get the results you want.

A better compressor may help, as it will let you adjust the air pressure more finely, but reading Revell's write-up on the brush, it sounds like it's kind of a closed system, and that the airbrush is designed to be used with THAT compressor, in which case changing things might introduce more headaches. I'd probably suggest sticking with what you've got for a while, read as much as you can about airbrushing to learn some tips and tricks, practice, figure out the basics, and when you've learned your current system's limitations (and need more from your airbrush), THEN look at doing an upgrade. The only way to get good is to practice, and the Revell kit will let you do that.

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