284 replies to this topic

[Evil Appetite]

I'm the first to believe that there's an airbrush for different jobs and styles out here.

I began thinking that myself when first using Donn's technique with my Badger 200. Great airbrush, I do use it for interior and smaller parts. But using it for wide area coverage on a body..no good. Doesn't have a wide enough spray. I was seeing stripes after the paint dried. The H5 with it's wide tip doesn't do that.

[Evil Appetite]

Mike ,

You need to open it up ! The very tip of the needle is barely visible on mine . I test it first on newspaper to test the pattern , I open it until it spits , then I slowly close it until I'm getting a nice , wide fan .

Thanks! I'll do that tonight!

As for the emails , not a problem ! If I charged $5 for every one I answer , I'd never work another day in my life ! Lol !

Hey man, there's an idea. And a good one too as you've blown all that retirement money hehe

[plowboy]

Since I began using Tamiya laquers,I won't even consider enamels anymore. You just can't beat the drying time. Even spraying right out of the can is effortless. Just a few minutes ago, I sprayed a pair of steel wheels (3 coats),had a smoke, then installed them into the tires. I never could have done that had I even used a flat enamel. On the body, I sprayed the top with Testors one coat laquer one day, the body with Tamiya the next, taped and sprayed scallops on it the next day. If I had used enamel, I would still be waiting for the top to dry.

[MikeMc]

I've got the bodywork almost finished...My test mule is the new 48 sled. Boyd has supplied two jars of pearl green, I have cheep sunglasses and lacquer thinner, My trusty Badger 155 should flow wide enough......I still love my HOK.....But I started out with testors enamels so I can re learn!

And I put lacquers in my dehydrator....so why not enamels!

Edited by MikeMc, 29 November 2011 - 01:41 PM.

[LoneWolf15]

Donn, since you don't mind answering questions (it's your generous spirit, buddy), I wanted to ask you if you had ever experimented with using a mid to high temp lacquer thinner using a good
primer coat underneath just to find out if the

paint will dry faster, etc . . .

Yes sir !

Worked well with the Guards Red , when I applied the clear coat as an experiment , Uh Uh ! It shattered the surface of the red as though it were glass !

A few detractors have questioned the claim of 46 years to develop this method . There isn't much that I haven't done with Lady Trial & Error ! She is an expensive ...... ( insert your own adjective here ) , believe me , she's been with me for years ! Between her and Murphy , I sometimes wonder, which is worse ?

It is always going to be an on going learning experience , I'm just to stubborn and or curious to ever quit ! Lol !

Mike , which life savings are we talking about and in which childhood was it spent ? It's all been worth it and I'm still having a blast with all of this . The fact that I can help others because of my experience is the best thing about it ! No need for anyone else to end up a whack job like me, trying to figure this out !

[Dr. Cranky]

LOL, sooner or later we gonna have to start posting some pictures (eyecandy on this thread!).

[LoneWolf15]

LOL, sooner or later we gonna have to start posting some pictures (eyecandy on this thread!).

For my contribution , can you load the pictures that I sent you of the Charger , Nova , and the Roadster onto your upload and put them up ?

[Dr. Cranky]

I'd have to transfer them, Donn, let me see what I can do.

[Dr. Cranky]

Donn, send them to me again, and I will put them up. I saw them on my iPhone and the last time I synched my phone and computer they got erased. I still have the rail road batch you sent.

Send again, please. I will open up a file of them in my Fotki archives.

[Dave Ambrose]

I'm the first to believe that there's an airbrush for different jobs and styles out here.

Sorry Cranky, I realized that a long time ago. (you're not the only "old guy" around here. )

In my foolish youth, I bought an Iwata Eclipse. I got it on the recommendation of an artist friend, and the workmanship on the brush itself is just top notch. It's really the wrong airbrush for most model work. It awesomely sprays very narrow stripes. But, even with the larger tip, it's not a good match for a lot of model car work. It is just wonderful for stuff like camo and illustration. But getting enough paint on a model required pulling the needle out roughly and inch. So much for double action.

I added a Paasche VL a few years ago, and I'm much happier with it for general purpose work. I get good coverage and a wide spray with the #5 tip and it's now my workhorse airbrush.

[Dr. Cranky]

Dave, I agree with you, which is why it's good to have a variety of airbrushes in the tool box.

[Dr. Cranky]

All right folks, hold on to your britches, here's some work by Donn . . . hope you enjoy . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

Here are a few more . . . the craftsmanship and the attention to detail is insane!

[peter31a]

Ooooh! I like the colour of purple on the 32. Donn, is that a standard Testors colour or is it a custom mix?

[Dr. Cranky]

And something tells me those wheels are buffing metalizers buffed!

[Evil Appetite]

Great work as usual Donn

[59 Impala]

I have used Testor's enamels for a very long time myself. Way back in the early 60's first with a brush and now with an air brush. I do like Donn does with one exception, I use 1:1 Enamel reducer instead of lacquer thinner. The paint dries very quickly using the reducer, about 10 minutes. Fast enough for me to handle the parts. I also reduce the mixture by one third paint and two thirds reducer. This way I can lower the air pressure to 15-18 psi.

Here is a picture of the 53 Ford that I painted with Testor's enamel.

 DSC03672.JPG   501.8K   63 downloads

Dan

[LoneWolf15]

Peter ,

The '32 is done with a custom mix called Jaime's Jam . I then added various shades of related Pearl X powders which I suspended in clear and then mist coated in a continuing rotation . You should see it in the sunlight , it just dances all over the place !

Virgil ,

The wheels on the Charger are the creation of The Mad Machinist , Mr Bob Dudek . Bob has quite a selection of machined aluminum parts for sale , his product is top of the line !

The rims on the Nova are from Terry Kinnear's M.A.S. I am blessed to call both of these guys my friends , they have helped me tremendously over the last few years !

As I stated in an earlier thread that Virgil started , a photo does not do these Pearl X additives justice . The color shifts are so subtle , a camera just doesn't seem to capture them . The Charger is done up in Testors Competition Orange with a Bright Gold Pearl X topcoat mixed in the clear . The Nova has a Violet Pearl X overcoat .

[Michigan Madman]

Hey... is that a '66 Nova that WASN'T raided for its chassis?

[Chief Joseph]

I've had good luck using Donn's method, too. I've learned to not be afraid of putting too much paint on the model-- the more the merrier (just until the gloss kicks in, anyway). I've been using a gravity-fed Iwata Eclipse for most of my modeling for the past few years, but when I decided to do some cars I dusted off my trusty Paasche VL. One thing I need to do is swap the medium nozzle set with the heavy nozzle set; more paint output means less time spent painting and less chance of airborne gunk landing on the wet paint!

Now if I could just get the weather to cooperate...