Freehand camo HELP

[Bsutton]

I just purchased a new airbrush (Iwata Eclipse HP-CS). I have been practicing but am unable to get a "clean" freehand paint line. I always get little bits of over spray. I have adjusted the paint, the air pressure from my compressor, the angle of painting but noting seems to get a clean line. I was getting a fairly good line from my old Passche and expected better results from my new Iwata. I figure it must be something I am doing wrong. Please HELP!!!

Thanks,

Barry

[galileo1]

Try thinning your paint a little more than usual. Drop your pressure and get closer. What paint are you using, btw? I can get pretty clean lines with my eclipse using Tamiya and Gunze acrylics. I am not able to with Vallejo or LifeColor, no matter what I do.

Rob

[scotthldr]

Thin your paint to the consistency of skimmed milk and drop your spraying pressure to 8-10psi. Spray from about 25mm/1" from the model surface

[habu2]

You may need a different needle/tip combo - what's on it now?

[dsahling]

try adjusting the thinner/paint ratio, then play around with different pressure settings and closeness to the model until you get what you're looking for.

[dsahling]

Freehand will always have overspray too, gives it a realistic finish, if its too much go over it with the color its against to 'trim' it down, then go back with the camo color. Freehand is tough to master but once youve got the hang of it you'll never go back. Masking is for pussies :)

[Bsutton]

Thanks for all the feedback. So, a bit thinner paint and lower pressure. I'll try it. As for the paint, I was using both Tamiya and Model Master acrylics. The tip/needle combo is the one that came with the AB. Guessing patience and more practice could solve most of the issues LOL.

[Netz]

Freehand will always have overspray too, gives it a realistic finish, if its too much go over it with the color its against to 'trim' it down, then go back with the camo color. Freehand is tough to master but once youve got the hang of it you'll never go back. Masking is for pussies :)/>

Why is thinning paint always compared to skimmed milk???

Does anyone really know the consistency differences of milk?

[billw]

:thumbsup:/>

Why is thinning paint always compared to skimmed milk???

Does anyone really know the consistency differences of milk?

I've never had clue about that either. I thin my paint (enamels) & put a small drop on the tip of my finger. When the paint bleeds into the ridges of my finger print, it's thin enough & I spray it. May be a weird way to judge it, but it works for my setup.

BW

[habu2]

Does anyone really know the consistency differences of milk?

Spoiled milk is usually thicker and sometimes lumpy. ^_^

That's all I got...

[scotthldr]

Well everyone has their own way to gauge on how to thin paint for their own spraying needs, and to thin it until it has the consistency of skimmed milk is mine. It's what I was told years ago and it has always worked well for me.

[DutyCat]

Dupe. Delete post.

Edited August 5, 2014 by DutyCat

[DutyCat]

Dupe. Delete post.

Edited August 5, 2014 by DutyCat

[DutyCat]

Freehand will always have overspray too, gives it a realistic finish, if its too much go over it with the color its against to 'trim' it down, then go back with the camo color. Freehand is tough to master but once youve got the hang of it you'll never go back. Masking is for pussies

[toadwbg]

Watch your environment also. Acrylics have problems in cooler temps and high humidity oe even too dry conditions.

Check your airbrush tips with a magnifying glass for nicks and dents.

[Jennings]

I use the TLAR method. Put some paint in the cup. Squirt in some thinner until it "that looks about right" (TLAR). If it's too thick when you test spray, add some more thinner. If it's too thin, add some more paint.

Also, don't necessarily take the "lower pressure is better" axiom as gospel for doing freehand camouflage. Try going with a really high pressure like 30-35psi and see what happens. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Jennings

[Rex]

TLAR is easiest, as Jennings says.

One combination of the TLAR and 2% milk ideas is to use the side of the paint mixing jar, or a Tamiya stir stick

if your paint glops up onto the side of the jar, it is too thick, if it runs off really fast down into the bottom with the rest of the paint, it is too thin. A correctly thinned paint will Paint the inside of the jar and slowly slip down into the bottom.

With the Tamiya stir stick, that is stainless steel, when it stays on the flat sides of the stirring end, but you can see the edges of the steel, you have the paint thinned just right. try it, if it is too thick, it sticks to the edges of the tool in addition to the flat sides

(people say 2% milk because it really is thicker than water, but thinner than whole milk,,,,,,,but, the truth is if you thin your paint to the same as Whole Milk, things will still work just fine)

[Dmanton300]

Also, don't necessarily take the "lower pressure is better" axiom as gospel for doing freehand camouflage. Try going with a really high pressure like 30-35psi and see what happens. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

THIS! Absolutely this! One thing I have noticed is that the low pressure/thin paint works for traditional enamels, but it can be very different with modern acrylics and lacquers, where very often I find a higher pressure and slightly thicker paint gets a much better freehanded edge. In fact, sometimes I find myself using a higher pressure for the outlines, and actually DROPPING the pressure to fill the camo in, which is roughly 150% counter-intuitive, and yet. . .

[Pep]

I use my Iwata eclipse with tamiya paint thinned 1 to 2 with tamiya thinner.

20 psi give or take.

you will always have some over-spray but here is a trick you can use to hide it.

say you are doing green tan camo.

after you are finished painting the camo give the model a light mist with the darker color.

you are effectively overspreading the entire model. any mistakes will be hidden and the color will not change that much.

Here is a 1/72 mustang done with this technique.

[Netz]

Also, don't necessarily take the "lower pressure is better" axiom as gospel for doing freehand camouflage. Try going with a really high pressure like 30-35psi and see what happens. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

I agree also, I never go low, always higher, I find at low pressure there is much more splatter then the higher pressures.

Curt

[TonyA]

Since you have Tamiya paints I'd stay with that for the freehand camo. Thin Acryl too much and it runs like water, Tamiya doesn't do that. At least not with denatured alcohol as the thinner. With Tamiya, you could fill a bottle with alcohol and then add enough paint to color it and spray away. It still gives good coverage. And I use low pressure in a fine tip brush. In airbrushing the general rule is to spray straight on. With freehand camo learning to tip your brush slightly so you're aiming back into the patch/area you're painting will decrease the overspray on the outside edge a little. Just don't go to far and spray beyond on the other side. And while this makes for a good bit more work, if you're doing a multicolor pattern with small patches of color on a small subject try then shoot your base color with Tamiya and then overcoat with Testors Glosscote. Then go to your next color and spray all those areas. Now you can use Windex or other window cleaner with a small paint brush to clean up the edges where needed without affecting the color beneath. Then shoot another coat of Glosscote and go on with the next color. Repeat till finished. Yes, you will end up with a sharper edge where you've cleaned up but you can touch that up with the airbrush if needed. A couple years ago I built a 1/72 scale M60 tank with MERDC camo and was having a tough time with the edges and overspray. That's when I came up with the above method and managed to finish without going insane. Also, learn to get very close to your subject. To the point that your needle tip is almost dragging.

Anyway, that's how I do it.

Tony