Just attempted my first airbrush spray. Wasted paint and air. Any advice ?

[Guest]

I finally plucked up the courage to attempt spraying for the first time ever with my air brush. I think i mixed up too much water with the paint as the paint didnt seem to take to the plastic.

The air propell can feels alot more empty than before. I feel that i have wasted paint and air for nothing.

Can anyone offer any advice as i feel very disheartend and reluctant to try again.

Thank you in advance

[Guest]

What kind of airbrush?

[Guest]

Its a Toolzone mini airbrush kit. One i got off ebay.

[Guest]

Think if you could give some detail it would help to get to the problem.

Type of acrylic & also the manufacturer. The airbrush you are using type & manufacturer. Also what mix of paint to water.

Did you wash and/or wet & dry the plastic as this gives a much better adherence for the paint to the plastic.

Not used the canned air but have read many times that they are not satisfactory. If you are going to continue with airbrushing you need to invest in a compressor. I use one which cost about £50 & it gives excellent results. You will also if you continue with canned air soon reach £50 with a lot of empty cans for it.

Sorry to sound pessimistic but it is best to know as it will only bring more frustration.

By the way if you look at Flory Model site he has a number of demo films about airbrushing which make a good start.

Laurie

[Guest]

Thanks very much for the reply. The acrilic paint is from the airfix kit. the air brush is a cheap on from ebay. The mix of water was about 50-50 which i think is one of the places i went wrong. I washed all the parts on warm soapy water, but i didnt wet and dry them. I did consider buying a compressor insted of cans but i want to be sure that im going to stcik with the hobby before i invest in one.

I feel that i might be out of my depth with all this but everyone has to start somewhere.

[stona]

Small consolation but we've all done it.

There are two things you can do to the kit to prevent this. One is to give the plastic a wash in soapy water and maybe a wipe with alcohol,Meths will do if you've got some under the stairs. This will remove any residual mold release agents which are chemicals used to prevent the plastic sticking to the inside of the mold. They will also stop paint sticking to the plastic!

Secondly I think you need to prime plastic for most acrylic model paints. I prime for ALL model paints. Nip up to Halfords and get a spray can of 'Halfords Plastic Primer'. I suggest the grey one as it is the best all purpose background colour. This you can mist on to the plastic,be careful not to flood the plastic.

It is very difficult to explain how much you need to thin your paint. All paints and airbrush set ups are different. You will often hear that the paint should be thinned to the consistency of semi skimmed milk which is a good starting point. You can also try dragging the paint up the side of the paint cup with a cocktail stick. You want the paint to flow back down leaving a coat on the side of the cup. There really is no substitute for a bit of trial and error. Plastic milk containers make an ideal test bed and are a lot cheaper than models.

You may not get total coverage with one coat either. It is better to mist on two or three coats than attempt to get good coverage with one heavier coat.

Good luck!

Steve

[Ian M]

You say that the paint did not appear to 'stick' to the plastic. This would suggest that the model is in need of a bath. Tepid water with a few drops of washing up liquid. Kits often need washing to remove the release agent used in the production process.

It is also a good idea to prime the bare plastic. Not every does so up to you.

If you have thinned the paint to much this will not help either. Regardless of how clean the subject is.

Spraying is a maze of balance. Thin paint=low air pressure or you will just blow it around.

I know you think its impossible at the moment, but trust me one day it will all fall into place.

Now about these air cans: waste of good money. If you do not want to get a compressor until you are sure you need one, How about an old car wheel and tire. These can often be got for a couple of quid. Ask for a tyre/wheel that is not road worthy. Some people will say just buy an innertube. OK but you will get more pressure into a tyre. The only other thing you will need is a car tyre adapter.

Get the wheel pumped up and you are off. Free air for small money.

Have a read through the threads on here regarding painting and you will find loads of tips covering all kinds of problems.

Find some plastic Junk to practice on. almost every thing you buy these days has some form of plastic packaging. Its good for practice as its 3 dimensional and not just a flat card.

Ian M

[Guest]

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice and support guys. Its really appriciated. It doesnt help that theres a few stressful things going off at home at then moment and moneys tight for me and my wife.

Model painting was supposed to be abit of a release but with the problems ive come across its making me even more stressed. I will attempt to try again maybe later on today.

[spanner570]

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice and support guys. Its really appriciated. It doesnt help that theres a few stressful things going off at home at then moment and moneys tight for me and my wife. Model painting was supposed to be abit of a release but with the problems ive come across its making me even more stressed. I will attempt to try again maybe later on today.

It seems to me Spitfire that you might just have enough going on at the minute without worrying about airbrushes, so why not take a step back and quietly have a read at the excellent advise freely given on here, ask questions about a/b's, then decide what you want to do?

Don't forget you can still build and paint your models, but until you decide what is best for you, use a brush.....Totally stress free and costs next to 'nowt!lol

Cheers,

Ron

[Guest]

You might be right Ron. If i do somthing io like to do it properly. I may take up your advice on just using the brush for now. Many thanks

[Guest]

In addition to the above excellent advice I recommend you ditch the supplied airfix acrylics, they are terrible. Ok for brushing I guess.

I know it's not ideal as it means investing in some paints but as you build a selection they last a while.

[stona]

In addition to the above excellent advice I recommend you ditch the supplied airfix acrylics, they are terrible. Ok for brushing I guess.

It's awful stuff. It doesn't brush very well either. Some of you may remember myself and Nigel Julian building a couple of Airfix starter kits over a festival week-end a while ago so I speak from experience!

Here's the old thread if you want a giggle.

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/under-construction/13534-al-fresco-model-building.html

Cheers

Steve

[Dave W]

Those paints you get with the Airfix kits are not the best quality either.Better to invest in some Tamiya,Vallejo or Humbrol paints.

[Guest]

Spitfire I took up modeling as a relaxation to slow me down as I tend to do everything on the run without stops or intervals.

Amazing modeling has done that for me ie slowed me down not only while modeling but taught me that other things can be more enjoyable at a slower speed. I had to slow down with the modeling as I was not achieving the finish. Also found like you, only took it up a year ago, that there is a lot to learn and many frustrations but every now & then I walked away when things were not going well. I came back later & found things worked out OK.

So as has been said slow up & just take small bite sizes to progress as otherwise the benefits are wasted. If you look at the latest Lancaster model by Ian Lanc he uses hand brushes for painting & the finish is superb.

Laurie

[Guest]

This problem is simple to solve, as some have already stated Airfix paint is hopeless in the airbrush

Do yourself a favour & try some ModelAir paint, you won't believe the difference