airbrush tips for a noob.

[A21-29]

Hi gang,after some tips ,advice on the use of airbrushing.I have only done one model with an AB and i think i got lucky as it came out very well for a first effort,BUT i used a whole bottle of alclad aluminum to do the one model(1/32 mirage).surly that is not normal? how many models on average should one be able to paint with the one bottle? did i have my air pressure up way too high(no idea what it was on).as you all know alclad is not cheap,well its not cheap for aussies so i would not be keen to use my AB too much if it does take that much paint. HELP PLEASE.

[RichardL]

I think your air pressure is too high (blowing most of the paint pigments into the air instead of the model ) and you lay down the paint too thick. Alclad should be sprayed at 12-15 psi 2-3 inches away from the model in multiple light coats. Don't try for complete coverage after the first coat. If you haven't done so, go over this link: How-To-Use Alclad II

[wdw]

When talking air pressure for an airbrush, the most relevant factor is whether you have a gravity feed paint cup that sits on top of the airbrush or an airbrush that sucks up the paint from the bottle underneath. A gravity feed airbrush requires substantially lower air pressure. So talking about air pressure without knowing what type of airbrush you have can be quite misleading and cause you problems.

[RichardL]

Alclad's own airbrushes are siphon feed, so 15-16 psi should be sufficient: Alclad II Accurate Airbrush Set and Alclad II Precision Airbrush Set

By the way, Alclad bottles attach directly and perfectly to Alclad airbrushes with the included bottle adapter.

[thegoodsgt]

From my experience with Alclad, yes, I do seem to use more of it than other paints. I think the reason is that we don't thin it like we do Model Master, Tamiya, etc. So one bottle for a 1/32 airplane seems about right.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

[denstore]

Alclad's own airbrushes are siphon feed, so 15-16 psi should be sufficient: Alclad II Accurate Airbrush Set and Alclad II Precision Airbrush Set

By the way, Alclad bottles attach directly and perfectly to Alclad airbrushes with the included bottle adapter.

Their own looks to be either rebranded Badger or copies of Badger 200 single action airbrushes. Don't know if that says anything about the best way of application.

[Kei Lau]

Their own looks to be either rebranded Badger or copies of Badger 200 single action airbrushes. Don't know if that says anything about the best way of application.

Yes, The Alclad Accurate is the Badger 200 NH and the Alclad Precision is the Badger 200 Old Style. No sure why they pick these models?

In order to minimize paint waste, particularly with the very thin Alclad, I suspect that a finer nozzle system such as the Badger Krome may work better. Leser airbrush will have more overspray, thus waste more paint.

[RichardL]

You never know, these Badger clones might turn out to be a great and convenient way to apply Alclad II.

[A21-29]

sorry,i should have mentioned i have a paasche starter kit that sucks the paint up from a jar attached to the underside.

so the general consensus is that it is normal to use a bottle per 1/32 model?

[galileo1]

You never know, these Badger clones might turn out to be a great and convenient way to apply Alclad II.

They do sure recommend a single-action (siphon-feed) airbrush in their own videos:

Video Instructions

Perhaps this is indeed the best way to apply Alclads??

Rob

Edited April 21, 2014 by TOPGUN

[Joel_W]

I'm still using a Paasche 1H single action airbrush after nearly 40 years (I've replaced the original gun once). I shoot Alcads @ 10-12 psi, and the black enamel primer at 12-15 psi using the #3 tip/needle/cone setup. I've yet to try the #1 setup, but since the Alcad's are so thin, I'm going to give it a try. It should work out well, as they're designed for airbrushing watercolors.

Based on painting 1/48 scale aircraft, a full jar to cover a 1/32 scale aircraft seems about right.

Joel

[Joel_W]

I'm still using a Paasche H single action airbrush after more then 40 years. I've replaced the original gun once, as it just wore out. I use the standard #3 setup, but plan on trying the #1 tip/needle/cone setup since it's designed for watercolors, and all we're only looking for a misting spray pattern. I set my compressor to 12-15 psi for both the black enamel, or the Gray primer. I decrease the psi to 10-12 to shoot the actual metallic colors.

Joel

[balls47]

I've had a lot of luck spraying Alclad with a Paasche Talon. You can drop the pressure, set the amount of spray, get in close, and save a lot of paint. It just takes several light coats and the magic will happen.

[Kei Lau]

You never know, these Badger clones might turn out to be a great and convenient way to apply Alclad II.

Those are genuine Badger airbrushes rebranded for Alclad, not a cheap clone. The old style Badger 200 would be very good for sparying metallic, but the New Head one? I am not sure.

I do not use Alclad. Still have some leftover of Hawkeye's Talon Acrylic metallic. It is a generic statement that reducing overspray will save paint.

[Sebastian Haff]

I had a lot of trouble getting the hang of Alclad II. For me, the trick is low air pressure, like 8psi, and getting in close. Almost like you're pouring the paint on rather than spraying it, if that makes sense. Also, it's so thin, I would imagine you'd need close to a full bottle on a 32nd. One other thing is that Alclad II can be buffed after it dries to bring out the shine. I use an Iwata HP-C and Smart Jet compressor.

[RichardL]

For me, Alclad II sprays easily and beautifully at 14 psi through my Iwata Revolution CR, multiple light coats. I spray it like I spray other paints. Zero issues.

[ThatJeffGuy]

They do sure recommend a single-action (siphon-feed) airbrush in their own videos:

Video Instructions

Perhaps this is indeed the best way to apply Alclads??

Rob

I highlighted 'own' above because these videos are all (uncredited?) excerpts from Floyd Werner's 2nd MasterClass Modelling DVD on the subject.