I stopped by Northern Tools a couple of days ago to buy a Paasche VL set for
the regular price of $69.99. Imagine my surprise when it rang up for $35.00
exactly. I checked the receipt and the SKU was an exact match. :-? Must
be an unadvertised special or something. I stopped and picked up a spare
today for the same price. :-)
Check this price out:
formatting link
actually specify how quiet it is. 69dB Not exactly quiet but it
should be tolerable.
No affiliations, just letting you guys know about the deal I found while
researching small compressors and airbrushes. My wife is the artsy-fartsy
one, I'm just handy with wires and tools. She actually seems more
interested in setting up a layout than I am. Go figure.... Any paint
type/brand recommendations for painting plastic scenery and weathering the
rolling stock? Acrylics seem to be popular for being easy to clean up.
Would enamels or lacquers offer better results?
On 1/18/2008 12:52 PM Anthony Fremont spake thus:
Good choice. You should be happy with that brush for many years to come.
Suggestion: Be super-paranoid and anal about keeping it clean.
Especially when you spray acrylic or other water-based paints.
(Solvent-based paints are much easier to clean up after.) I keep a
bottle of soapy water handy, and IMMEDIATELY after spraying paint run it
through the brush. You'll also need to learn how to disassemble the
brush and clean the parts (the needle and the nozzles). Small price and
worth it.
Thanks, it seems to be fairly popular.
I can do that. ;-)
Any suggestions for a solvent to remove dryed acrylic? Lacquer thinner?
That shouldn't be too hard. I've never been afraid to take things apart.
;-) Thanks for the feedback and advice.
:-)
On 1/18/2008 3:02 PM Anthony Fremont spake thus:
Paint remover (I like to use "green" stuff like Citri-Strip"; let the
parts soak in it, then use hot soapy water. Careful scraping, too.
Better not to let the stuff ever dry. Not even a little bit. I'm
serious; the stuff is murder on airbrushes. (Fortunately, you can buy
replacement parts if need be.)
On 1/18/2008 12:52 PM Anthony Fremont spake thus:
I missed this part of your post before, thought I'd chip in my $0.02.
Major differences betwixt water-based (acrylic, etc.) and solvent-based
(enamel, lacquer, etc.) paints. Plusses and minuses for each.
Water-based:
Advantages:
o Low odor, no dangerous fumes
o Easy to thin (use water)
o Fast drying
o Widely available in non-railroad (i.e., less expensive) paints in lots
of colors
o Gives excellent flat or matte surfaces, which can be coated with any
type of paint
Disadvantages:
o More difficult cleanup, even though only soap & water needed (dries
faster on brushes and in airbrushes)
o May not adhere well to some surfaces, requiring surface prep or priming
o Doesn't lay down as flat as solvent-based paints
Solvent-based:
Advantages:
o Flows more evenly and lays down flatter than water-based
o Better gloss surfaces, if that's what you want
o More durable finish than water-based (in most cases)
o Easier to clean airbrushes; even dried lacquer, for instance, can be
dissolved with solvent
Disadvantages:
o May not be usable directly on plastic without causing damage,
requiring a barrier coat or primer
o Unpleasant or toxic fumes requiring ventilation
o Slower dry time
o Gloss surfaces can't be coated with water-based paints without surface
prep or priming
o Paints getting harder to find, due to environmental regulations
Some notes:
o For models you expect to get handled, enamel or lacquer would be a
better choice than acrylic.
o You may be able to scrounge the good-quality enamels from the back
shelves of a local hobby shop. If these are being phased out by the
store, now would be a good time to buy them and stock up. Don't worry
about them going bad. To give you an idea, I still have a few of those
little teeny-tiny bottles of Testors enamel--remember those? They're so
old that the prices are around 15-25 cents each (ca. 1965). The ones
that haven't dried up are still completely usable.
When I alluded to paints cheaper than "official" model railroad paints,
I was referring to craft paints like Delta Ceramcoat, widely available
at craft store (like Michael's) in lots of colors, much cheaper than
Official Model RR Paints, excellent quality and easy to airbrush. (Need
to be thinned first.)
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I see that allot of people like Castrol
Super Clean (purple stuff) for stripping paint. I don't think that falls
into the "green" category since it is aparently banned in California.
I'm pretty anal about this kinda thing. Do you have any idea what the
Createx airblush cleaner liquid is comprised from? I'm wondering if it is
alcohol based. Do you think that running some Windex thru it would be ok?
On 1/20/2008 9:20 AM Anthony Fremont spake thus:
You can run just about anything through the brush, including strong
solvents like lacquer thinner (acetone) and even paint remover
(thinned). The only things that might harm it would be anything
abrasive, but since even some latex paints are abrasive, I wouldn't
sweat it too much.
But I've gotten very good results cleaning just by having that hot soapy
water at hand and running it through the brush *immediately* after
spraying latex or acrylics, followed with a fresh-water rinse (plus
disassembly every 2nd or 3rd use).
Ok, that's good to know. I want to get an "air eraser" too. I can think of
plenty of uses for this stuff in my other hobbies.
So you are saying that you put the gun away for days after a clean/rinse,
and only disassemble it every other use or so? I really don't mind taking
it all apart each time I use it.
Latex huh....that sounds interesting. I would have thought it too thick and
not ground fine enough. Do you get good results?
On 1/21/2008 7:50 AM Anthony Fremont spake thus:
Same as any other paint.
It's a fond modeler's myth that model paint is somehow ground so much
finer than "regular" paint. 'Taint so; all pigments are ground to the
same micron size.
Best thing is to try different paints and see how they work.
I shoot laquers and enamels, but. . .
My friend, who airbrushes professionally, uses a 50-50 mixture of
denatured alcohol and Windex(tm) to clean her airbrush. She says it even
removes dried acrylic. I wouldn't want to test that hypotheses.
I find that pipe cleaners and Q-tips are handy to have when cleaning my
airbrush.
You might also consider a CO2 or SCUBA tank as an air source. They're
completely silent and last a long time.
Cheers,
Dave Ambrose
Dave -
Would you askyour friend what kind of denatured alcohol she uses,
i.e. 70%,
91 %, 00% etc. Is itth same stuff that can be bought over the counter at
the local pharmacy o is it an industrial strength type produt which she
mixes with the Windex?
Thank you.
On Jan 18, 11:36=EF=BF=BDpm, David Nebenzahl wrote:=
With some of todays new acrylics and other water based paints , these
may not be advantages anymore. There are additives to improve the flow
of acrylic, just as there are additives to give that "wet look shine",
just as there are hardners/ catylists that crosslink the acrylic
binders with the pigments to produce what is in effect a monolithic
coating. Which can be much more durable than lacquers (which are prone
to marking, scratches, cracking etc - great if you want that aged
vintage quitar look) and solvent enamels. And I guess it's one's
perspective on what it means by easier to clean... it may be easier to
clean the "airbrush" with solvent, but it's a pain in the butt to
clean up the rest of the mess the solvent & paint makes, not to
mention it may not be easy to dispose of solvent soaked rags/ paper
towels etc...
In any case as long as you buy a good airbrush and take care of it,
it should last a long time. I finally had to buy a new brush at work
last year after the one I bought back in 1977 from Sears (I think it
was made by Badger) broke. We bought a Pasche, but it just doesn't
have the control as the old one. :(
BTW... heres my tip when taking a brush apart & cleaning it... DO NOT
DO IT OVER A SINK as you are apt to lose some of those little internal
parts that WILL at some point fall out of your hands... can you say
down the drain?
Doug
I have painted locos with auto lacquer since the early 60s and models I own
that were painted some 45 years ago show no sign of aging or cracking and
if surface is properly prepared and lacquer primer & finish coat properly
applied, using a quality (expensive - over $20 a gallon) thinner, they
scratch no easier than enamels or such acrylics as Tamiya.
On 1/29/2008 4:43 AM snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net spake thus:
Lacquer is definitely good, durable stuff; however, it requires more
care in spraying than enamels, and even more than acrylics. Its solvent
(lacquer thinner, acetone, etc.) is much more volatile than enamel paint
thinner, so it dries much more quickly, requiring more skill in spraying
to avoid things like "orange peel", runs, sags, etc. (I know this from
my experience spraying musical instruments, like guitars, with lacquer,
which is the preferred finish.)
Not sure the quality of the thinner really makes that much difference,
so long as one uses the proper thinner for the lacquer one's shooting.
(Doesn't hurt, of course.)
Since I am about to get my first airbrush delivered (an Aztek A470), I would
like to find a good air source first.
I am leaning towards a cheap (non-quiet) 24 liters compressor , 2 HP motor,
1500 Watts, max.pressure 115 psi, two air hoses, variable exit pressure (I
think) at 65 Euros.
If I manage to persuade my parents to get such a beast, I think this (with
the addition of a oil/water trap) should be more than enough for airbrush
working.
Here is a photo:
formatting link
you have a better idea about an air source, tell me.
I heard very good things about car paint used for model painting (very
scratch-resistant and extremely fine pigments), but since I am a newbie on
airbrushing, I guess I will start experimenting with acrylics first (I have
heard very good things about the Vallejo and Lifecolor paint series, your
impressions?)
Cheers,
N.Fotis
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.