Airbrush and compressor deals

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: 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