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first time with airbrush


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For small amounts of paint, disposable plastic tattoo ink cups can also be used and just thrown away.
https://www.amazon.com/1000-Tattoo-Ink-Cups-Large/dp/B07L9SPWT3/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Tattoo+ink+cups&qid=1615825569&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNjNMNkFVNVJPQ0cxJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzQ1NDY3MjNIQkVRR0dWMDlMWSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDgzMjE5MzkyUDgxWVNXSExLTyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

If that appears wasteful to you, the wax melting spoons are perhaps the best alternative. I use both types for mixing depending how environmentally concerned I am at painting time

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16 hours ago, FalconFan24 said:

Hi Dimi

 

First off, welcome to the forums. As far as your situation: for 1/72 kits, I recommend using the mixture I shared and thinning the paint to about 60/40 or 50/50 (paint/thinner) at about 15 psi. Use the back flush technique to see get everything mixed and see how it flows. It should look like blowing bubbles in chocolate milk. Normally for airbrushing something like 1/72, you will need to get closer to the model than 1/48. To get really good precise control you might even need to remove the needle protector on your airbrush.

 

I am working on a video on how to airbrush vallejo paints, please stand by for that and hopefully it will help.


Thanks for the reply. In fact,  i made your mix last night and waiting for two new models to arrive to test it. So far i was practicing on three cheap ($3 each) 1/72 planes just to simulate the situation. Only thing i am not sure i did correct was the retarder proportion which i wasn't able to measure in drops since it was a gel and was dropping out in a consecutive thin line.

A video would be very very very helpful so i cant wait for it ! Make sure you ping newbies like me when it becomes available.

 

So far with a ratio of:

7-3-1 (colour, thinner, improver), 12 psi and 0.3 needle i noticed that my paint ends up on the surface like desert sand. Tiny little spots. I have uploaded a video where i test this on a paper just in case you guys can observe something wrong and let me know if this is what i am supposed to expect.

Many people proposed to me to ditch Vallejo Air and head for Lacquer / Enamels or Gunze/Tamiya acrylics but my room is very small and i would need a mask and a spray booth (which i cant afford right now)
 

 

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30 minutes ago, dimi said:

7-3-1 (colour, thinner, improver), 12 psi and 0.3 needle i noticed that my paint ends up on the surface like desert sand.

 

Try bumping your psi up to 15.  I just made a short video myself right after seeing your video:  Vallejo Model Air Test

 

I don't have a tripod, so I held the camera with one hand while spraying with the other hand.  The Model Air was airbrushed straight from the bottle at 15 psi with a 0.2 needle.  The finish is as smooth as silk.

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11 minutes ago, RichardL said:

 

Try bumping your psi up to 15.  I just made a short video myself right after seeing your video:  Vallejo Model Air Test

 

I don't have a tripod, so I held the camera with one hand while spraying with the other hand.  The Model Air was airbrushed straight from the bottle at 15 psi with a 0.2 needle.  The finish is as smooth as silk.


For some reason the video is not loading.
You mean you used the VMA without any thinners or anything? Just straight out of the bottle with a 0.2 needle?

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Yes, I used the VMA without any thinners or anything else added.  Just straight out of the bottle.  Can your computer play mp4 videos?  What if you right-click on my video link and save it locally to your computer?

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7 minutes ago, RichardL said:

Yes, I used the VMA without any thinners or anything else added.  Just straight out of the bottle.  Can your computer play mp4 videos?  What if you right-click on my video link and save it locally to your computer?


I opened the link with a different browser and it worked. Thats nowhere near with what i get and funny thing is that you are using even more thin needle compare to mine. Will try again with colour straight out of the bottle and see if i can get same results as yours.

p.s is that a common white paper you are spraying on?

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Dimi

Based what I see, it is not spraying well because it is not thinned enough. Thin the paint more try 50/50 paint to your thinner mixture. When you airbrush at low air pressure your paint needs to be thinned much more. It should go on wet, when you airbrush. And unless you are doing molting camo, you don't need to go that low air pressure. Stay around the 18psi range.  Also, don't spray on cloth (it looks some sort of light cloth like material). Use either scrap plastic kit or white sheet of paper to test. Cloth like material absorbs the paint and might hide how grainy it really looks.

 

As far as the drop size for the retarder, just guesstimate the drop size. It's not an exact science on that one.

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8 hours ago, FalconFan24 said:

Dimi

Based what I see, it is not spraying well because it is not thinned enough. Thin the paint more try 50/50 paint to your thinner mixture. When you airbrush at low air pressure your paint needs to be thinned much more. It should go on wet, when you airbrush. And unless you are doing molting camo, you don't need to go that low air pressure. Stay around the 18psi range.  Also, don't spray on cloth (it looks some sort of light cloth like material). Use either scrap plastic kit or white sheet of paper to test. Cloth like material absorbs the paint and might hide how grainy it really looks.

 

As far as the drop size for the retarder, just guesstimate the drop size. It's not an exact science on that one.


Your feedback is much appreciated. These tips  ("it should go on wet") for a beginner are very helpful since you have a point of reference.

The surface on the video is not a cloth; its actually a common A4 paper page for printers.

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I've been mixing my paints in the little glass. I found it in some stuff that my wife and/or daughter wanted to throw away. I saved it, as it looked useful.

 

It's real easy to clean out.

 

 

img%5D

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

Edited by dogsbody
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20 hours ago, dogsbody said:

I've been mixing my paints in the little glass. I found it in some stuff that my wife and/or daughter wanted to throw away. I saved it, as it looked useful.

 

It's real easy to clean out.

 

Chris

 

I just use this kind of thing

RS PRO Borosilicate Glass 50ml Beaker | RS Components (rs-online.com)

When Im trying to mix up paint to do a trailer or truck I really dont want to be messing about with thimble sized cups and bowls of any kind. They just dont hold enough paint

 

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@dimi, I just found a great beginner video --  The Most Important Airbrush Beginner Tip

I just learned why I'm creating those splatters everytime I start a stroke : )     And yes, you guys are right -- you need to press down fully on the trigger at all times on double action airbrushes.

 

Edit:  I just watched the Flory Models video and I take that back.  He mentions about some airbrushes where airflow can be controlled by how much you press down on the trigger.

 

Edited by crackerjazz
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@crackerjazz Yes i also saw that video a couple of days ago and it did help however the best instructional which really was an "eye opener" was the 3 part videos (2 hours each) by florymodels. I was amazed by the guy and the way he explained things and shows tips and ways to understand whats wrong. The best thing i managed to get from his videos is "you should NOT care at what PSI number you are spraying". You should just listen to your airbrush and look at how your paint looks and then adjust accordingly.  He just uses the valve of the "hot-swap" plug on his airbrush to set the right pressure.

I learned a lot but still need at least +20 hours airbrushing to get the  basics. This is my second time i am going through those videos


Videos i am referring:

 

 

ps. I am so jealous of his Infiity AB

Edited by dimi
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The H&S Infinity is a very nice airbrush.  However, I don't see the need to use the rear quick-fix/trigger lock because I can always control the paint flow with the trigger itself.  Thus that feature is one more extra thing to worry about.  The new H&S Evolution CRplus is just as nice and doesn't cost as much.

 

Some points the Flory video posted above:

  • (18:40) Yup, Iwata air control valve is either full on or full off as stated in my previous post above
  • (19:30) I can also change the air flow on my H&S Evolution CRplus by how much I press down on the trigger
  • (41:38) Model Air can be sprayed straight from the bottle without thinning as stated above unless you are spraying very close to the surface of the model
  • (1:09:50) and (1:23:50) I guess he didn't know about Tamiya extra small triangular cotton swabs, which fit inside the H&S nozzle perfectly for cleaning:

cleaning_hs_nozzle.jpg.09df01288ded720f05f132d83ab7e117.jpg

Edited by RichardL
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2 hours ago, RichardL said:

 

  • (19:30) I can also change the air flow on my H&S Evolution CRplus by how much I press down on the trigger

 

Does the trigger  have a longer downward travel?  And is it really easier to make fine lines on your Evolution CRplus?

Edited by crackerjazz
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3 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

Does the trigger  have a longer downward travel?  And is it really easier to make fine lines on your Evolution CRplus?

 

Yes, the trigger has a slightly longer downward travel.  It is easy to make fine lines on my Evolution CRplus.  I posted a link to my video doing it in a post above using Model Air straight out of the bottle.

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Nice, thanks! My ever growing list of modeling tools to buy just got longer by one line. They should make this feature standard on all double-action airbrushes : )  One other feature that I think should be common to all airbrushes but which I've found only on Mr Hobby ones so far is where you unscrew the nozzle crown by a millimeter or so and it creates bubbles inside the body and cup when you press down on the trigger for a really  thorough cleaning after use. And you can control the strength of air by how much you unscrew.

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4 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

One other feature that I think should be common to all airbrushes but which I've found only on Mr Hobby ones so far is where you unscrew the nozzle crown by a millimeter or so and it creates bubbles inside the body and cup when you press down on the trigger for a really  thorough cleaning after use.

 

The Harder & Steenbeck airbrushes have this same feature.

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On 3/20/2021 at 12:58 AM, dimi said:

@crackerjazz

The best thing i managed to get from his videos is "you should NOT care at what PSI number you are spraying". You should just listen to your airbrush and look at how your paint looks and then adjust accordingly.  He just uses the valve of the "hot-swap" plug on his airbrush to set the right pressure.
 

 

That is exactly what you should do. The actual number, say 15psi means nothing. Your regulator might not be properly calibrated for a start, and even if the 15psi indication is exactly the same all other variables might not be the same either.

 

As to the MAC valve Phil uses. At the time he made the video he didnt actually know what it is and what it really does. He tells you to use it as a regulator, which it isnt. A MAC valve will lower the pressure but it will also speed up the paint, which is what a regulator doesnt do, it will lower the speed of the paint and the pressure drops.

 

Might not be important for 99% of people but it is a difference that is worth remembering as you learn more about your airbrush and how to use it. Dont forget the most complicated use modellers have for airbrush is mottle effects, which is a basic idea in other disciplines of use.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi guys i need your help once again.

So i am building this F-15 just to train my self and get familiar with Airbrushing and i noticed today a very weird texture when i sprayed the model (photos bellow). Is this caused from the paint or there was dirt/dust/e.t.c on the model. Anyone seen this effect before?

 

prob3.jpg

prob2.jpg

prob1.jpg

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1 minute ago, dimi said:

Hi guys i need your help once again.

So i am building this F-15 just to train my self and get familiar with Airbrushing and i noticed today a very weird texture when i sprayed the model (photos bellow). Is this caused from the paint or there was dirt/dust/e.t.c on the model. Anyone seen this effect before?

 

prob3.jpg

prob2.jpg

prob1.jpg

First question is when did it happen?  While brushing would be a huge clue.  Could be paint drying before it hits the surface but looks like dust/lint too.  I always use a fan brush or heavy, soft 1 inch brush to dust off my models between coats and ive started making dust covers out of the plastic sprue bags.  Still have the occasional dust bunny but not as much.  Also, wiping with coffee filters instead of paper towels helps.  

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