need ultimate painting and airbrush help

Laquer - most toxic, most smell, most "bite". Will eat some plastics. Think fingernail polish. Best and hardest gloss finish available.

Enamel - my personal fav. Petroleum based, good "bite", strong smell, but not bad, IMO. Requires litle or no surface prep to use, very easy to mask. Flexible - so gloss finishes may be a bit soft. Come in a wide variety of color choices - most extensively used model aircraft paint, I'd wager.

Acrylic - my least fav. Water based, non-toxic, least smell. Poor "bite" if you don't prep your surface right. Least flexible - can crack and peel if your surface prep isn't compatible. May pull up with masking tape.

The rule of thumb for thinning any paint for airbrushing is to thin to the consistancy of milk, though with gloss colors I personally thin them a bit more. I prefer to use the same thinner as the brand of paint, but that's strictly a personal choice.

As for when to use what - that's strictly up to you, and if the color you need is available in the formulation you want it in. Personally, I only use clear acrylics, and then only for small details. I also wouldn't shoot acrylics though an airbush I'd use for enamels, and vice versa.

As for moving up to your first higher quality airbrush - I highly recommend the Badger line - a 200 if you prefer single action, or a 150 if you prefer dual action. I own two 200s and a 150, but my primary airbrush is still the same Badger 200 I've used since I was a teenager, if you're wondering about durability and not spending more money later.

And as with anything, practice fosters near-perfection.

Click here:

Follow links to Ted Holowchuk's modeling tips. Ted passed away in 2002, but he's still the paint guru.

---- Stephen

You can do a lot worse than an Iwata Revolution. Mine was about £90 and it does everything I could want it to do. A reasonable compressor is a must, so budget for that if you don't already posess one.

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My favorite is also enamel. Rufus' post was fine- I'll only say one more thing- drying time. Enamel is the slowest, both lacquer and acrylic dry much faster. If you use an airbrush this can be a problem. Lacquer and especially acrylics dry so fast you must clean the airbrush immediately after using. I have had a brush get clogged when I answered the phone a couple of times while air brushing. By the time I got back to brush it was already clogged. Friends who do airbrush acrylics say I should be using retarder. Enamel gives me more time to leisurely clean the brush.

One other thing- the slower drying means I can get a good gloss easier with enamel than acrylics. Not a problem for matt finishes, but for something like a car where you want the gloss, I find it easier with enamel.

wow, great help guys. On the air compressor, my father actually bought one a long time ago, it's still out there in the garage, I think it's a Craftsman. I wonder would that be compatible for an Iwata, Paasche or Badgers? I would have to go dig it out to get the model of it.

great link as well Stephen, good read.

If it has a tank, all you'll need is possibly a regulator and/or the proper fittings to attach the delivery tube. Air is air.

Or - you could pick up a portable air tank and rig it for your airbrush to use in your model room, and use the larger compressor simply to fill it. That's a nice setup, actually.

I use an old Craftsman. You may need a better, more sensitive regulator but those are not that sensitive.

I keep my compressor in the garage. I have a T-fitting, one side for air supply in garage, other goes into a pipe that runs to my basement workbench. I have the airbrush regulator and a moisture trap on the end of the pipe, with an adapter that then feeds the airbrush. That way I can adjust pressure right from my modeling bench. I use different pressures for gloss and matt paints.

If you think a 45.oo airbrush, (passhe) is expensive then stick with the 15$ one. I know about tight money i am in that same boat but I would buy a single action passhe brush this comes with 3 needle sets. fine (1), Medium (3), and heavy (5) air.tube and connector for can air. You can get it through Bear Air out of California. I have won nummerious trophys will it.

Dan

I use acrylics exclusively and get excellent results. No surface prep, no pull-up after masking, good resilience. I limit myself to Tamiya and Model Master; PollyScale gives me fits. I've found the key to happy painting is proper airbrush pressure and properly thinned paint. I use the paint manufacturers' thinner without fail; lots of folks have success with other media, but I never did. It was trial and error for several years until everything "clicked", but I was probably just slow.

BTW, I use a Paasche VL.

-- david

DONT FORGET THE WATER TRAP!!!

...unless you live in the desert.

I wonder how much that would really matter. Possibly not much as when the temperature goes down (air conditioning) with the same moisture in the air then the relative humidity goes back up causing the same "spit on you model" effect.

Tom