I've been modelling for nearly 25 years and only bought an airbrush last year. I have the Paasche HS model which is teh same as the H but with a lock nut on the nozzle to lock paint bottles on with.
I'm still working thinhs out myself but here's what I've found:
1) According to the scant instructions I got, the higher the tip number the thicker the paint. So, the #1 tip would be for inks and watercolours, the #3 for Gouache and the #5 for thinned enamels.
I use Humbrol paints with the #5 but find they need to be at least 50 to 60% thinner or they just don't move.
I wish there was a model paint that was water thinnable, ready to spray straight from the container, and that came in bottles that screwed straight on to the Paasche bottle caps!
2) When turning the cone, the needle is moved in or out of the opening, causing it to open or block to allow more or less paint through. The wideness of the spray cone is caused by how far away from the subject you hold the airbrush.
3) With thinner materials, you should be able to clean it with a quick rins through with solvent (water being yours if that works). As the product becomes thicker or more likely to dry quickly into a hard blockage it becomes necessary to take off the needle & cone assembly and wash them out between colours and after use.
4) Thinning them a little should reduce the chance of clogging but I suggest that if you stop for a break, take off the spray bottle and cap it, and wash through the tip with water (use a spray bottle filled with water or appropriate solvent) until it sprays clear.
5) Use the manufacturers recommended thinner (if that's water then use clean tap water or distilled if you like). The thicker the paint, the more pressure is needed to atomise it and an appropriate tip should be selected. Check out the specs for the unit on the Paasche website
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suggest you stay below the maximum or you will damage the unit. Even if it can handle it, overpressure causes wind erosion of the tips and will blow the work around too.
6) I once saw a great book on model airbrushing by Revell-Monogram but didn't buy it as it was $60. However, if you see it in a library or for cheaper, it would be of great help. The other thing I suggest is find a hobby shop where they use airbrushes and get advice there. Also visit an artist's supply store and look for advice or books. Another source would be college or university bookshops, as they would have them for the graphic design courses or trade schools for their auto detailing courses.
I have been using an "H" for over 30 years and use the #3 tip 90% of the time, I use the #5 when I am working on a very large model such as a 1/16 scale auto and the #1 for fine detail that I don't want to mask out such as some of the German camouflage schemes. I was a lead model tech in a professional shop for 20+ years and the "H" proved to be the most durable and easiest to learn to use and I am still using my first one. I have had it for over 30 years.
Adjust the size of the spray pattern.
Flush it with a mix of alcohol and water for acrylics.
Don't let the paint set for any length of time and close the tip down when not painting.
About 10 - 15psi, distilled water and alcohol (cleaning and thinning).
Disassemble and clean good after each use and DON'T screw the tip down tight, it will spread the end of the tip.
TIP:
For practice use food coloring on cakes, then you can have fun and eat the mistakes.
ALWAYS clean it good after using it.
Keep a supply of q-tips and pipe cleaners handy for cleaning.
Jose, I have been using an H since high school. I have bought other brushes but the H is my first love and usually can handle any project I throw at it. Now I believe the only tip you will ever need is the #3. The #1 is for inks and very thin material while the #5 is for thicker mediums. Most model paint, be it enamel or acrylic, once properly thinned will go through a #3 with no difficulty. I usually thin my paint to the consistency of milk. That is that on a stirring stick the paint will flow smoothly to the end and then drip. Too thin and it runs off the stick immediately. You will have to get a feel for this. I will admit though that I have had acrylics clog the tip. So to clean the brush while in use you should take that big bottle assembly which you got with your kit and fill it with meneral spirit for enamel or windex/windshield washer solvent/acrylic thinner. I have almost never in twenty years used that big bottle for anything else. It really is too big for simple modelling. Anyway when the brush gets bogged down switch out your color with the bottle with thinner and then spray the thinner through the brush. Also dip a q-tip swab in the thinner and very easy stick it onto the tip and gently twist. This cleans off the tip. Also if you have a bad clog you can hold a rag or your finger, when you get experienced, at the tip and block the airflow. This forces the stuff in the brush back into the bottle and is called backflushing. Only backflush into your bottle of thinner and not your color medium. Also you can just get a wet q-tip into the hole where you connect your bottle/color cup and a few twist cleans this area too. Also I think you need to check your air pressure. I cannot believe Humbrol thinned by half or better will not spray. One quick thing to check why your brush wont spray and it is not on the brush. The lids on the bottle caps that go into the airbrush have a small hole. Sometimes the hole gets clogged up and once I bought a bottle that the hole was not cleanly drilled out. So take a round toothpick and ream out the hole. This small hole is absolutely neccessary for an airbrush to function. As far as ready mixed paints. I believe Revell Germany has or had pouches of premixed color that would connect straight to your airbrush. I have never seen those around here and only in an English magazine. I hope my ramblings help a little. Cheers, Max Bryant
"Norman Lever" wrote in message news:bld1vd$nr$ snipped-for-privacy@perki.connect.com.au...
And here's one we all forget - Join a modelling club. Meet new people, insult them, get into fights and (just maybe) learn something new! Oh, hang on, that's OUR club...... Maybe yours will be different :-)
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