airbrushing tips

Hey commorragh,

I just got myself a started airbrushing kit, and I was wondering what paints do people use to most to work with miniatures. I been practicing with liquid acrylics. but they dont seem to stick much to the miniatures. Also, how do you stop the airbrush from making bubbles? is it because of paint consistency or PSI level?

-I use P3, GW, Reaper, and Valejo paints. Basically any acrylic will work if thinned properly.

-As to the sticking problem: are your models primed? (Sounds like a silly question, but airbrushed paint won't stick to plastic/metal) It may also be that you are thinning the paint too much. I use a 1:1 mixture of paint and thinner. I use Testor's Universal Acrylic thinner, but all of my friends(that airbrush much better than I do BTW) just use regular Windex.

-As to the bubbles: Where are they bubbles showing up? On the surface being sprayed? I use a Testors Aztek and used to get bubbles around the attachable nozzle if I over-tightened it or did not a have a good sealed fit. Another answer may be that you have moisture in your line. A compressor with a moisture trap is a must, but may not work well if you have the condenser mounted close to the compressor as it heats up the air and draws the moisture out. I live on the coast of California less than a mile from the ocean and have a huge problem with moisture on foggy days.

-For the PSI question: I spray at anywhere between 15-20PSI. I find it depends on which nozzle I am using(other airbrushes have needle adjustments).

What airbrush setup/compressor setup do you have? We may be able to answer questions better for you if you can share this information. I would suggest also going to Youtube and checking out the hundreds of tutorials that they have. There really are excellent videos there that will teach you everything that you need to know.

Hope this helps.
ESE

Thanks evil Space elves,
Yeah, it was primed, i think my paint was too thinned down.
The bubbles show up right at the nozzle making it a bubble machine, cool for painting art, not so much for minis, and yes i use the Aztec you recommended in another thread, the 430 i think its the model. It came with a small compressor. good deal, and good stuff.
Yeah, i checked out some videos already, good tips, but i was wondering about just any additional tips in regards to painting GW pieces.
I guess i will play around with it a bit with my tau army before trying on my DE haha.

Heres the link the the one i got off a friend
http://www.amazon.com/AZTEK-Airbrush-A4709W-Testors-Compressor/dp/B001VJ5X9M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1344289945&sr=8-5&keywords=aztek+airbrush

Same thing, just without the dvds.

I would suspect that it is paint that is over-thinned. What are you thinning it with?

I bought a liquid Acrylic off an arts and crafts store, Golden brand, said to be for airbrushing. Works great on paper, not on models. Next try im going to thin down my own acrylics and hopefully it will work., thanks for the help though.
Soon my raiders,ravagers and scourges should be ready to rock the tabletop with style.

Ghosttrain23 wrote:

I
Soon my raiders,ravagers and scourges should be ready to rock the tabletop with style.

AWESOME

well... I use water for thinning (de-mineralized or distille or whatever it's called) and it does the job.
if you have bubbles at the end of the nozzle it seems that you have probably one of the following problems:
- too thin paint
- too low air pressure (check you compressor valve - can you adjust air pressure level?)
- parts of dry paint or some dust in paint container that block the nozzle (do you disassemble and clean thoroughly your airbrush after EVERY painting session?)
- a broken washer or loose screws or anything that makes the airbrush non-hermetic - disassemble, check washer, assemble again

I can't say more without seeing the effect of painting. In order to diagnose I'd ask you to try to make a thin, straight line of paint with your airbrush as it is now on a blank piece of paper. I'd have to see wether it "spits" paint dots or wether the paint "runs away" (a bit like a spider-web effect). In first case - the paint is too thick and/or there is some clogging in the nozzle. In second case the paint is too thin.

In both cases you will have to try to adjust the air pressure.

And use GW/P3/Reaper/Vallejo paints.

Thanks Wilku, I was able to fix my problem through some practice and use of different nozzles.
and after a good round of youtube tutorials I now find myself doing more painting for fun than actual painting models. hahaha Is just too fun.

Which of the nozzles were you using/are using now?

After yesterday evening airbrushing session I have one tip to share:
- never use old paints. While they're still good for painting with a brush (I still have some of those six-sided GW paints and they are still great) they are totally useless for airbrush - small, invisible chunks of dried paint are very likely and they spoil the fun and cause paint splashes :/

I was using the grey nozzle, said to be multi-purpose for medium coverage, and switch it to a black nozzle said to be for acrylics and medium coverage. The black one works great, no problems at all. and with the double action trigger I have no problem getting the right amount of paint in the right spot.

And nice, ill keep away from old paints, even though i dont use GW paints for airbrushing.