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abandoning the airbrush and going back to the can? anyone?


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I would be interested in hearing how many car builders here have switched from airbrusing back to using the good ole can??

When i got started in this and after having bought all my airbrushing equipment, i remember reading about a hobbiest who said that airbrushing was taking the fun out of the hobby and went back to using spray cans. He said his can builds were just as good as his airbrush builds and put the fun back in.

I'm starting to see what he meant - airbrushing to me can be a bit of a pain. for me it's a bit messy and having to clean everything is a major hasslle and because of this I find my self sometimes procrastinating my painting -

Anyone feel the same? also would love to see some can only paint jobs.

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What you said is one of the reason's why I have not gone to using an airbrush, I was talking about this last month at my club meeting, and you cant just go out and shoot some paint. I like being able to do that, and times, that all I have time for. I do wnat to get a airbrush, but I wont be using to replace the cans, my reason is to use vehicle color match paints, I have a few builds that the paint I want to use is only made for A/B.

So for now, I will not be replacing cans with an A/B anytime soon.

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I am kind of in the same boat John. I got my first airbrush 35 years ago (cheapy Badger that got ruined by not cleaning it) and have a Paasche H and a brand new Aztek ( a freebie from Scale Auto) that I have yet to use to paint any models with. I have had an air compressor since 1996 and "one of these days I will set up a spray station" has been my motto!

I have both of Donn Yost's videos, have met him in person and discussed his methods and am committed to trying the airbrush way but have not had time to do it correctly.

I grew up spray bombing my cars with rattle cans and still buy them regularly and have to make the leap to the airbrush or sell off the equipment!

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Airbrushing can be boring sometimes, which is why I make what I call "painting day". I gather up all parts to be painted and paint them. I wait until I have enough parts to actually make it worthwhile to airbrush.

Thats a good point, the way I paint sometimes, I could paint off an all day one day, and that would be a pain using an A/B. Or I will paint off an on during the week when I have a free moment during the day, say when the baby is napping, but using an A/b would not let me do that, I think it would make it more work then fun , and slow down the building process, and I dont want that, I by kits to build, not to look at the box's :lol:

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I am kind of in the same boat John. I got my first airbrush 35 years ago (cheapy Badger that got ruined by not cleaning it) and have a Paasche H and a brand new Aztek ( a freebie from Scale Auto) that I have yet to use to paint any models with. I have had an air compressor since 1996 and "one of these days I will set up a spray station" has been my motto!

I have both of Donn Yost's videos, have met him in person and discussed his methods and am committed to trying the airbrush way but have not had time to do it correctly.

I grew up spray bombing my cars with rattle cans and still buy them regularly and have to make the leap to the airbrush or sell off the equipment!

I see using an A/B as a compliment to the spray can, not to replace it .

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to me it all depends on the build

the choice between airbrush and rattle can is the same as the choice between cragars or steelies, which one fits this build best?

i can do a good job with a rattle can and i can do a better job with an airbrush

but lests be honoust, not every build "requires" a airbrush paintjob

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all great points and one thing i have found out is that the paint cost can vs airbrush is about the same. i always thought it would be less using the airbrush. the can is just so much easier and i got really proficient using it - it's like second nature to me - i never quite get the feel of an airbrush and with the cable connected etc. i feel restricted. running out of paint using an airbrush is a major pain in the ass.

also i like stock builds - flames, hot rods etc. don't do much for me, so that usually means for me anyway that i'm painting just one body color vs. two tones etc.

Edited by foxbat426
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I like the ease of poping the top off a rattle can and pushing the trigger. I use a lot of factory ( mopar ) colors so, a little warm water and well shaken, I think they lay flat,thin and smooth. About the only time I use my airbrush is to spray metallic looking finishes on wheels, intakes and valve covers and such, crank the air up and hold it back a little. Looks just like cast aluminum or cast iron. But, that's what's been working for me.

Edited by moparmagiclives
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You make a good point John. Airbrush has created a huge learning curve for me. Can be a bit expensive to get into also. I used to take parts into basement and spray away with cans and come back upstairs and play. Airbrush setup required "station" to spray in. Booth was also required for this "station". The good part of this is building and painting in same room now which is nice. I do use both airbrush and cans depending on parts being painted. Problems have been encountered with airbrush but I will continue to mess with it. It has kind of become a challenge to improve my skills. Someday you may find all my airbrushing equipment on CraigsList Kansas City but for now I will keep trying. Just one more quick note: Alclad products seem to work well for me with airbrush.

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Everyone's a little different, so you really have to think about what you build I think. I pretty much only do cars from '87 and up and have a nice time with a warmed up can. Also I've got into using DupliColor Perfect match for manufacture specific colors and that's helped my color variety. Just good prep and post work and you can do well for yourself via cans.

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I bought my first airbrush as a package...single action airbrush, hose, and compressor. I tried it a few times, but quickly found out that you spend more time setting up and cleaning than actually getting anything else done. I recently bought a new double action airbrush and I use that more than I ever used the single, but...still, all major painting is still out of a can. The airbrush is mainly used for metalizers, because the paint looks better and more realistic than brushed. I aquired yet another airbrush after my dad passed away a few months ago. He never used it and it's still brand new in the box. That makes three. Maybe in the future I'll airbrush more models, especially if I try graphics. We'll see.

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Everyone's a little different, so you really have to think about what you build I think. I pretty much only do cars from '87 and up and have a nice time with a warmed up can. Also I've got into using DupliColor Perfect match for manufacture specific colors and that's helped my color variety. Just good prep and post work and you can do well for yourself via cans.

Most of my last builds have been done with DupliColor paints. I usually build pretty close to factory and those paints and colors are great.
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I am so glad to see that other builders feel like me about air brushes. I'd love to have the skill with one that I see exhibited here and other places but I just can't get to learning all the fiddly stuff and doing the cleanup. I feel like I have perfected my rattle can skills over the past 50+ years to where I get the results I want for most things. Thank God for polishing materials and a lot of patience (at least I used to have patience). That said, I wish I could do weathering and "raced" finishes. I think that takes air brush skills.

I periodically set up my paint box and shoot several cars over a week or so. That probably comes more from laziness in not wanting to set up and take down my box and dust free prep area(s). I have managed to get color, and in some cases clearcoat, on at least 10 different projects....but I can't get around to laying the decals or doing the final polishing so I can get them done. I get 'em out, look at them with great intentions for a few days, then put them back. Sigh :(

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I can't get a decent finish out of a rattle can despite following all the things you're supposed to do. Every time I paint a body with a rattle can it looks like the surface of the moon. With an airbrush on the other hand I get nice smooth finish with just a little polishing needed. Rattle cans are made to be decanted into airbush bottles. :lol:

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Model Building (whatever scale) is a personal experience that does not have to measure up to anyone's expectations but that of the Builder.

If a Rattlecan does a good enough job to fulfill your requirements for your Model then so be it.

Personally, having used Rattlecans as child, I was amazed at the quality of my paintjobs when I first moved up to a simple Paasche H about 13 years ago.

Then I was even more delighted when I moved up from that Paasche H to a simple double-action Badger 155 Anthem.

The move from the Paasche H to the 155 Badger Anthem was itself a quantum leap in painting my projects.

Then, again, adding AirBrushes like the Iwata HP Series and the Eclipse Series along with the Badger LG 100 to my arsenal of guns showed me how superior they are in delivering fine atomization for a choice paintjob.

Using the original Paasche H AirBrush and the #3 Tip I laid down Primer, Basecoats, Colorcoats, Candies and Clears, all with Pearl Powder Additives.

But, the better Guns all offered a greater ease for producing slick clean results.

Breaking downany of these Guns for a full cleaning only takes 2 or 3 minutes so "convenience" never drove me back to the RattleCan.

I normally find ways to build in more steps to each new project in an effort to produce results that I demand, so, the 2 or 3 minutes of thoroughly cleaning my Guns has never been something I thought of as a hassle.

The ability to mix my own Colors, Candies and Clears gives me complete control over any job.

The 1/64 Scale which I do most of my work with have deeply recessed areas that require the use of an AirBrush for complete coverage.

Cranking my Gun down to a low psi allows me to go in and thoroughly and evenly paint door, trunk and hood jams.

I use nothing but House Of Kolor paints.

I have been sponsored by HOK to produce outdoor BuildOffs, Convention Seminars and Product Giveaways.

For me a good AirBrush with House Of Kolor Paints is the only way to go.

I paint most of my work using 20 psi but also work anywhere from 10 psi to 35 psi depending on the piece I'm painting.

Good paintjobs can be done with cheap Guns and poor paintjobs can be shot with expensive Guns, but the AirBrush give you complete control as opposed to air blasting out of a RattleCan.

CadillacPat

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I still use both can and AB. Most of my automotive subjects get 'rattlecanned'. I use an airbrush for my military subjects, aircraft and armor and sometimes for detail work on my auto subjects. different subjects sometimes require different techniques...

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Like may here, I use both and it is very situational. By that I mean that it depends upon what I am doing. I use a lot of differant metalizers and all of the ones I know of need to be shot through an airbrush. Also, I do a fair amount of large scale stuff and have an Awata Baby 50 which is sized between an airbrush and a touchup gun. It lays out a very wide(for a model) pattern that does a great job on 1:12 scale bodies. Rattle cans are very convenient for doing a single or a couple of pieces and they do just fine for such things a engine parts that are semigloss black. For small highly detailed pieces, you just can't beat a good airbrush. I have two Tamiya's for those jobs and the occational fade paint job. Getting into tight places is there forte. Stuff rattle cans just can't do. There is a place in my builds for both and each does somthing that the other can't. "A man just has to know his limits."

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