New to Airbrushing

[amiers]

sorry for some reason i wasn't signed in !!!!!

hi to all, i have just bought a Paasche vl duel action airbrush, and compresser.

i have a few questions to ask of the people who use airbrushes.


1. i have 3 needles and tips they are a #1, #3, #5 whice is the best alround to use? and what do each acheive.


2. i will be usins enamel paints, what is a good guide for mixing?

3. on the airbrush its self it has a " needle ajusting sleeve" what does this do?

4. can i use turps to clean the gun?

5. ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN TELL ME!!!!!!

6. what is best pressure for spraying with the compresser, i have a regulator


thank you in advance for any help

[amiers]

if no one can help does anyone know a website that can?

[Devin]

I've found it's nearly impossible to 'tell' someone how to airbrush. The best way to go about it is experience. What works for me might not work for you.

For your needle tips 1, 3 and 5: those are sizes, but which is the heavy flow and which is low flow? That's something your manual will tell you. The 3, however should be medium, and the best all around. If you're doing up to 1/350th scale ships and 1/48th scale aircraft, you should be able to do most if not all of your painting with that. The fine tip will be for weathering and detailing, the heavy one for, well, heavy application.

Thinning: typical instructions say "to the consistency of 2% milk". For me I usually start out at 3 parts paint to 2 parts thinner and see how it shoots. If you're doing fine detail work at low PSI, then you make it thinner. Some colors spray better thinner than others. Again, this is where you have to practice.

Cleaning the gun: If you're using enamels, then you're probably thinning with mineral spirits? Use that to clean the gun.

Pressure: I usually run in the low 20psi range for spraying. Large surfaces, a bit higher, detail work, down to 10psi.

Those are general guidelines. Get an old model, some of the paint you want to use, and start spraying. I build all of my ships waterline, so the lower hull half becomes my test airbrush piece. The lower hull from my USS Farenholt build has literally over 30 coats of paint on it!

-Devin

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

I am just a beginner in airbrushing too and I have found how important thinning is. Do not thin the paint enough and your airbrush won�t spray a drop of paint. Do it too much and it will release an uneven flow of paint leaving drops of thinner on the surface to be painted and will ruin it. (BTW mine is a CHEAP airbrush). I have got good results when thinning paint (usually Tamiya for airbrushing) until the point when stirring it with a toothpick and raising it over the paint, it will leave drops falling in a not continuous but nearly fashion. Again, Devin is right, and you need to experience.

Cheers.

[amiers]

i use tamiya thinners, but have been told to use white spirt or turps to clean gun.