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New modeller, need help


Nathanrobert86

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Good evening,

 

I just bought an Iwata Neo Air. In terms of specs, it's gravity feed, .35mm needle. I'm using the small compressor that comes in the kit, which says 4-15 psi.

 

I have tested it out and done a bit of practise. In terms of operating it, I'm doing alright.


The problem I'm having is with the actual painting. I mainly use testors model master acrylic paints. The instructions that came with the airbrush say you want paint the consistency of skim milk.

 

Well I tried some primer at this consistency, and it seems to be much too thin. The coat is uneven and soupy. Had to wash it off.

 

Tried the Iwata acrylic paint that came with the airbrush, same problem.

 

Am I simply using paint that is too thin? Or should I not be using acrylics, but rather, say, enamels?

 

What consistency should I be aiming for?

 

Also, if I have a watered down paint, is their a way of thickening it?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Nathan.

Edited by Nathanrobert86
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4 minutes ago, Nathanrobert86 said:

Also, if I have a watered down paint, is their a way of thickening it?

 

add more paint, or let some water evaporate.

 

4 minutes ago, Nathanrobert86 said:

I mainly use water-based acrylic paints. The instructions that came with the airbrush say you want paint the consistency of skim milk.

what type of paint?  They are not all the same.  What thinners? Spraying at what pressure, with what size needle?  adding in factors like this will help you get to get better answers or solutions.

 

And what works with one brand does no always work with another (I have been brushing Vallejo, Tamiya and Xtracrylix, and they all behave differently)

Note, there are main types of acrylic,  latex types eg vallejo, xtracrylic, and a 'hotter' types, like Tamiya and Gunze.  

 

Both can be thinned with water and alcohols, but the Tamiya type can be thinned with cellulose thinners, which means they dry harder and faster,  if try cellulose thinners with the latex type they turn to gloop.  I think these are called laquet thinners in the US, so I presume they are in Canada.

 

5 minutes ago, Nathanrobert86 said:

Or should I not be using acrylics, but rather, say, enamels?

this is a personal choice.  

Enamels are tougher,  depends on how you get on with the solvents.   You may want try different types of acrylic. 

 

Having read many threads on here,  it's a very personal choice, what works for one modeller does not for another,  an airbrush is a very impressive tool, but we have plenty of members who use a brush and produce great models.  

 

Note, you can use the edit facilty to edit both your post and it's title,  which works best as a one line question.

 

eg "problems spraying and thinning XXXX paint with Iwata Neo Air"   

change XXXX to your  paint type,    which will make it obvious at glance to members what you are using and the problem.

 

HTH

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Hi Nathan

 

I have the Neo and have used it on a range of paints though not the specific brands you mention. If available for those types try a dedicated thinner or if you can get it perhaps try Ultimate Thinners. It comes with a really handy mixing guide which includes Testors Acrylics and helps you get the best ratio of paint to thinner in a way that takes out some of the guesswork. I'd use that as a starting point then work 'thicker' or 'thinner' with a bit more paint/thinner depending on how the initial ratio works. I use enamels in the form of pre-mixed brands such as Alclad Mil-Spec and AK Xtreme Metals. They're excellent for me but can be quite potent compared to acrylics and I had to invest in an extractor paint booth, face and eye mask combo to tolerate them. Good luck.

Edited by Nocoolname
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If you are using dropper bottles, or pipettes - try some different ratios, as the 'milk' consistency is very difficult to achieve by sight alone.  I'm using Vallejo acrylics, but I tend to work on 2 drops of thinner to 10 drops of paint - I've tried going higher and lower and this seems to be what works for me (that's spraying at about 12-14psi).  Likewise, try a few combos yourself and see what works.

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Its a trial by error system, I use the same a/brush & the paint is good with a milk like consistency. The trick is to do many very light dustings to build up the color and lower PSI around 8-10 for paint that thin. If you change paints the air pressure needs to change. For Tamiya I'm running 16-20 PSI as Ive found it is thick particulate in the paint. Vallejo-air & AMMO by MiG I'm running 12-16 PSI. I also have an Iwata HP-BCS with a .50 needle for large jobs. 

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On 6/11/2020 at 7:53 PM, Nathanrobert86 said:

The problem I'm having is with the actual painting. I mainly use testors model master acrylic paints. The instructions that came with the airbrush say you want paint the consistency of skim milk.

Thinning paints can be tricky and as other have already mentioned it very much depends on the brand and type of paint.

 

i usually pick up a drop of thinned paint and touch it on the side of my airbrush jar (clear jar) and watch how the paint runs down the inside the jar. It should leave a “tail” that is not too opaque and the droplet should run quickly back to the bottom of the jar. Sometimes I just tip the jar a bit and watch how the paint returns on the side of the jar. You will quickly learn how various paint ratios work 

 

Air pressure will make a big difference too. I typically spray Gloss paints and Alclad at 8psi (which is very low pressure but is great for producing a wet look gloss coat) and Tamiya TS paints at about 12psi. Alclad in my experience works best at very low pressure and I can get a close to 80% mirror finish. The other advantage of low pressure is that you are moving a lot less paint and air so runs are less common

On 6/11/2020 at 7:53 PM, Nathanrobert86 said:

Am I simply using paint that is too thin? Or should I not be using acrylics, but rather, say, enamels?

It sounds like the paint is too thin, but do also check your air/paint ratio ie your needle setting so screwing in the needle will reduce the paint flow (air pressure will be the same) but there will be less paint so the air/paint ratio and the spray pattern will smaller so you are less likely to get runs.

 

acrylics or enamels is a personal choice. I use mostly Tamiya TS paint and enamel paints such as Humbrol, Tamiya, Testors  and Xrtra and they all work fine. I simply can not got along with acrylics I just find enamels easier to work with so that’s what I use (plus I have a fantastic spray booth to take care of the fumes etc). Try both and see what works best for you (please do use a good quality booth or mask if using enamel paints) 

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