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First airbrush


Lostpanther

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Hi guys
Totally new to this forum so this is my first post. 
Im a brush painter and am really happy with the quality im getting so far. Although now i have a project planned which will require an airbrush.
I need to create a gradiant and feel i need an airbrush for the task.
As this will be my first adventure into airbrushing I thought id start at entry level.
I wondred if anyone could take a perk at these airbrush sets i found ebay and tell me if theyd run tamiya and vallejo acrylics through them.
 
 
Or this
 
 
Thanks for any replies 
 
Regards
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The first one is the lowest I would go. It doesn't give any details on the airbrushes. They should be able to cope with those paints as long as you use the correct thinning and cleaning routine.  It all depends what you are expecting achieve with this set.... are you looking for overall paint schemes, fine detail painting or somewhere in between?

 

Paul

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That first set looks like the set I bought, though I got it for £20 less from a nail art vendor!  It works fine, though I found cleaning out the side cup airbrush  a faff so bought a ten quid gravity feed, which gives great finish.  I sprayed Tamiya, Humbrol Xtracylics and W&N varnish with no issues.

People say get one with a tank but I don't notice any problems, the long feed line may damp out any pulsing.

As I'm pleased with the finish I may get a fancier airbrush, now that I understand it's a case of clean, clean, clean and thin, thin, thin.

HTH

Cheers 

Will 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nice to find this thread...

 

I have just started using my first airbrush!  After 40 years of stick painting, I find I want the technique that AB can give me--camo, etc...

 

Some things I have found.  1) Tamiya paints work very well as long as they are thinned enough--like 2% milk.  2) Regardless what anyone says, Vallejo non-air paints are not so hot, even if thinned properly.  They clog, clog, clog.  I think it has to do with the fineness of the pigments.  

 

Also...painting that smooth, even camouflage?  That is much harder than I thought.  Lots of finesse.

 

Any tips from the experts would be most welcome!

 

On 7/21/2017 at 9:13 AM, malpaso said:

I understand it's a case of clean, clean, clean and thin, thin, thin.

No doubt, brother!

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Sorry to butt into your thread, Lostpanther, but...

2 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said:

Vallejo non-air paints are not so hot, even if thinned properly.  They clog, clog, clog.

John, if you mean Model Color, I can only surmise that you used too fine a nozzle or tried it when the weather out there was just too warm. I routinely spray thinned MC (with retarder and either purified water or Airbrush Thinner) and they spray well through an Iwata .35mm. Not quite as smoothly as Model Air or Premium, but I would not expect so. They need a bit more pressure. I'm hardly an old hand at airbrushing, so if I can do it, it must be doable.

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I found PSI very difficult to get my head around initially because what many Youtubers and article writers usually recommend seemed too high for me. I spray MC at just under 20 on my gauge and MA around 14-18. Anything above that, I reserve for polyurethane primer. Have a look on YT for what Phil Flory says about judging by ear because it's a good point, I think. I got to know when it sounds right or wrong, and it seems to go hand in hand with problems like spitting. But generally, I have very little trouble with MC.

Edited by Ade H
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Mind you, someone once pointed out to me that the gap between .3 and .35mm sounds small, but is actually quite significant in percentage. I nearly chose that size of Iwata.

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Ha!  I checked the needle in the gun this morning thinking I would change from the .3mm that is there to something else...the .3mm is not the needle in there!  According to the bit of handbook it is a .5mm.  So I have now replaced it with a .3mm needle supplied with the gun.  We shall see.  The other supplied needle is a .8mm.  I assume that would be for wide expanses of things...?

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Sorry for not replying, John. I had not seen your last posted comment. I would guess that the .8mm would be specifically for painting car bodywork, or possibly watering your garden. ;) Seriously though, I don't think that I've seen an airbrush (being marketed at modellers) with anything larger than .6mm. Also, .3-.8mm seems like a huge range for one airbrush?

 

But I can't advise any more specifically than saying that anything along the lines of, for example, a .35mm Iwata or .4mm Harder & Steenbeck is supposed to be able to spray correctly thinned modelling acrylics and most poly primers (which are thicker). That's what the people who sell them will tell you and my experience thus far corresponds. Perhaps you can find some advice on the manufacturer's website, or from the retailer.

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