New to airbrushing

[sadoldgit]

Hi Guys,

I am new to airbrushing and would value any help and tips you could give me. I normally use brushes but thought I would try airbrushing on a couple of old models.

Also what type of spray booths do you suggest, I've done some research on the internet but it is mind boggling,any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards, Ray

[DavidJC]

There are a couple of threads relating to airbrushing on here, but I think they key thing is to practice practice practice. You are quite right to practice on some old models, better yet some new but cheap ones even if they're poor quality, just so long as you get the feel for airbrushing. Throw them together and practice practice practice.

 

You need to find what works for you with thinning and air pressures and distance from model, all of which are inter-dependent. As I've said elsewhere, I have found different colours from the same manufacturer need different levels of thinning. There's no simple solution, sadly. It's too easy to over thin, but it's also too easy to mistake over thinning for too high an air pressure. It is also too easy to mistake lack of thinning for too low an air pressure… get the balance right and you will have a first class finish on your models.

 

I don't have an electric spray booth, an extractor type, but I do use a face mask and surgical type gloves. The gloves came from the pound shop, the face mask whilst cheap and cheerful, is a bit more substantial. For my levels of airbrushing I didn't think a spray booth wholly necessary. If you get your ratios and everything right there isn't a great deal of overspray, although I suppose ideally I should have one. I do have a large plastic dust sheet which I make into an impromptu spray booth in the spare bedroom. It cost £1 and is large and as thin as it is, more than adequate. At the end of the session, which is never very long for me, I simply allow the overspray, if any, to dry, and scrunch it up, stuff it in a small cardboard box and reuse it as much as I can.

 

What I would say is though, get an air compressor. For a few cans of air you just might as well get a cheap and cheerful compressor. As cheap as it was, around £70, mine still has a regulator knob and a it suits my needs more than adequately.

 

I was always a brush painter and even though I say so myself I didn't get bad results. But a good airbrush finish? No comparison. Once you have cracked it, you will never look back. Sadly there are no simple solutions, it really is a case of practice practice practice.

 

It probably doesn't but I hope it helps.

[sadoldgit]

There are a couple of threads relating to airbrushing on here, but I think they key thing is to practice practice practice. You are quite right to practice on some old models, better yet some new but cheap ones even if they're poor quality, just so long as you get the feel for airbrushing. Throw them together and practice practice practice.

 

You need to find what works for you with thinning and air pressures and distance from model, all of which are inter-dependent. As I've said elsewhere, I have found different colours from the same manufacturer need different levels of thinning. There's no simple solution, sadly. It's too easy to over thin, but it's also too easy to mistake over thinning for too high an air pressure. It is also too easy to mistake lack of thinning for too low an air pressure… get the balance right and you will have a first class finish on your models.

 

I don't have an electric spray booth, an extractor type, but I do use a face mask and surgical type gloves. The gloves came from the pound shop, the face mask whilst cheap and cheerful, is a bit more substantial. For my levels of airbrushing I didn't think a spray booth wholly necessary. If you get your ratios and everything right there isn't a great deal of overspray, although I suppose ideally I should have one. I do have a large plastic dust sheet which I make into an impromptu spray booth in the spare bedroom. It cost £1 and is large and as thin as it is, more than adequate. At the end of the session, which is never very long for me, I simply allow the overspray, if any, to dry, and scrunch it up, stuff it in a small cardboard box and reuse it as much as I can.

 

What I would say is though, get an air compressor. For a few cans of air you just might as well get a cheap and cheerful compressor. As cheap as it was, around £70, mine still has a regulator knob and a it suits my needs more than adequately.

 

I was always a brush painter and even though I say so myself I didn't get bad results. But a good airbrush finish? No comparison. Once you have cracked it, you will never look back. Sadly there are no simple solutions, it really is a case of practice practice practice.

 

It probably doesn't but I hope it helps.

 

[sadoldgit]

Thanks David,

That's sound advice, I have a compressor that I got off the internet for around £65, it also has a regulator knob so it will be a case of lots of practice. I build my models in my workshop and usually paint in small doses,so perhaps the exspense of an electric booth is not worth the exspense, but I will invest in a good mask and some gloves. Thanks for your advice much appreciated.

Regards