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

[Art Anderson]

i don't think you have to have an airbrush and use it if you don't want to, but i do think there are things that you can do with it that you cannot with a spray can or by hand brushing. it's a modeling tool, it's your option to use it or not

i masked off the molded in transmission on that Skyline chassis with Silly Putty and sprayed it with Tamiya acrylics through my airbrush. yes the actual "painting" time was maybe 2 minutes at the most and the prep and clean-up took much longer but the end result was well worth it IMO. i also used the same masking and spraying techinique for the gas tank and other details on the chassis as well.

i currently don't spray anything but acrylics through my airbrush. clean-up is not an issue once you get used to doing it.

there is something very convenient about using a spray can and not having any clean-up to do afterwards but that comes at an expense. you don't have to control with a spray can that you do with an airbrush and a lot of times that control is necessary. i think you waste a lot of paint with spray cans too.

Dave, well said!

Art

[brad4321]

I did the opposite. Forever I was scared of the airbrush. Once I got one and learned the nuances, I thought, Wow I can't believe I ever used rattle cans for everything. I still use the cans for a lot of basic stuff. But I love to do jets and planes and tanks and you have to use an airbrush for quality results. I love cars but I almost never do one or finish one because I cannot learn how to get a great gloss finish. So jets and planes and tanks it is.

[Bruno]

I use my airbrush to paint bodies and body parts, and also Alclad, that's about it. The color choice is unlimited with an airbrush, and the finish is way better. The time spent cleaning the airbrush is a lot less than sanding and polishing a spray can paint job. Most of the bodies I spray with my airbrush don't even need to be polished, or just a few dust spots to remove, that's it.

I paint most of the small parts with brushes or spray cans.

[BKcustoms]

I will NEVER stop using my airbrush!! it's my favorite part of building models.

Edited March 12, 2012 by BKcustoms

[LoneWolf15]

When they pry it from my cold , dead , fingers !

Take into consideration what one spends on spray cans over the span of years , the cost is astronomical !

[Mike Kucaba]

I'm certainly not giving any of mine up. One thing I like about the AB is control.You know those high spots you sometimes buff thru on a RC paint job, you can dial down the pressure on the AB and shoot a little more color and clear to build up these areas,and how you gonna put a decent amount of paint in the underside of a '59 Chevy rear fin.

[Longbox55]

I'm not giving up mine, either. While I'll freely admit to using spray cans, particularly for priming (Duplicolor) and I do like the laquers from Tamiya and Testrors, plus some OEM colors in Perfect Match, I would never give p the freedom of color choice and finish quality in finish I can get from from an airbrush.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Longbox55

[Dr. Cranky]

I still rattle can some things like primer and certain flakes, but a builder without access to an airbrush is a bit limited only to certain types of paint jobs. Graphics are very hard to do on a model without an airbrush, unless you just do decals all the time.

I don't know, I feel the airbrush offers a great deal more control and possibility to paint jobs. That's just my opinion, of course, I know builders who get lots of great results using the rattle can.

[Darin Bastedo]

You can have my airbrush when you pry it out of my cold dead hands. I love it!

[Jantrix]

I'll say this. I've been rattle canning it for a long time. And I've been more of less satisfied with my results. But someday I want to really get creative with graphics and other effects. No one has ever been able to show me how get those effects that Cranky and Lownslow lay down, with a rattle can. So someday I'm gonna have to break out my airbrush and really LEARN how to use it.

[Pete J.]

After reviewing most of the comments, I find an interesting thread here. It seems that the discussion in many cases focuses on "either/or" as if you do one to the exclusion of the other. I wonder why? An airbrush and a rattle can are tools. Just as a carpenter who buys a nail gun does not throw away his hammer, the same is true of the modeler and rattle cans and airbrushes. Yes, they both apply paint, but they do so differantly and each has specific jobs that they do better than others. Learning how and when to use each is very much a personal journey for the individual. I have three air brushes that I use all the time. I also have boxes full of rattle cans that get equal billing. Here is how I brake down the basics:

Air brush

Pro -

supurb control of paint pattern(width and density of paint)

infinite mix of paints

controled direction

great at getting into tight places

can use with any type of paint or ink

Con-

Clean out

short term cost

compressor noise(depends on compressor)

storage space with compressor

easily damages

Rattle can -

Pro-

Quick deployment

Ease of use

low cost short term

Con-

No spray pattern control

limited colors

limited density control

occational differances in paint color can to can

only availible in small batches.

So, pick your poison. They are one of hundreds of tools that I use for the hobby. Each time I find something new, that does a job better, I get it. That doesn't mean that I throw the old tool away as it still has situations that it works better in.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Pete J.

[Junkman]

Actually you do have pattern control with rattle cans too, to an extend. You can buy all kinds of nozzles intended for graffiti artists at art supply shops.

[martinfan5]

I am going to get myself an A/B, but it wont replace me using rattle cans, I want to be able to use colors on builds that are not in a can. But other then that. I am not going to limit myself to just one or the other.

[Monty]

Allow me to quote myself from a similar thread back in 2010:

I gravitated to airbrushes years ago because I had too many projects ruined by Testors rattle cans. After hours of body prep, I would follow the litany of prescribed rituals required for getting a new can of paint ready to use (shaking the can, heating it in warm water, etc). Then, depending on the whims of the model gods, the notorious Testors nozzles would usually do one of the following:

A ) ejaculate viscous globs of paint in a pattern that only Jackson Pollock could appreciate

B ) allow a trickle of runny paint to spurt out 1/2 inch from the can. To get a proper visual of this, imagine trying to stop a bout of dysentery by cutting a cork from top to bottom and only inserting one half.

C ) spray some paint in a usable manner. I can't recall if this ever actually happened on any of my projects, but a few of my friends say they had some success, and they don't lie very often.

Unlike a lot of you, I couldn't seem to manage varying the pressure on rattle cans. (Mist coats? Ha!) To me, using rattle cans was the virtual equivalent of trying to do calligraphy with a charred log. I'll take the "extra effort" of the airbrush any day.

[MachinistMark]

ill never go back to the can never ever never

ditto.

can only for interior/suspension/engine stuff.

[SuperStockAndy]

I personally only use my airbrush for painting bodies, everything else is sprayed.

[jbwelda]

i am just now getting an idea of what i can do with an A/B. i just shot the frame to a 1/25 scale motorcycle and it was total fun and turned out very nice. it was great to be able to go up and down little tubes like this is and lay down a nice gloss but thin coat of paint. versus a spray can where you would just have to stand back and hope for the best and get way too much paint on it trying to get into those little corners.

and i have done a couple of minor spray jobs with the A/B so far and they have turned out well. most have been dull tone finishes so thats easy but a couple of attempts at spraying testors gloss colors have come out pretty impressive as well.

that said, tamiya spray cans really do make a nice comparison to the A/B, their nozzle is the exact opposite of the testors described above. so i think i will never really give them up for the brush. a tool for every job and all that. but to get right into corners and tight spots and not flood them with paint is a very nice feeling.

[zaina]

I just ruined a paint job using testors from a can. Don't know why I tried it again but know I remember why I never use spray cans anymore...except for small parts. I for the last two years have been using a sata mini jet touch up gun with eurathane automotive paints. Not saying I will never use rattle can again but definitely will not use it often

[The Creative Explorer]

I never go back. Working with the AB is so much quicker, better and cheaper, that i can not find any arguement to use a rattlecan.

[jaymcminn]

I'll swap off between the two. If I'm doing a solid color on the body, I'll tend to use a spray can. I'll also use the Testors Wet Look Clear straight from the can. For graphics and for detail work, I almost always use the airbrush.

[Ron Hamilton]

I have used both, and like anything else, it depends on what I am trying to achieve. In using the airbrush, the range of colors available from the various paint vendors are phenominal, whereas, if you use hobby paints, and an occaisonal can of Duplicolor like me, you are limited. I am a replica stock builder, and I have stockpiled various factory colors for future projects. Testors, and Tamiya has made a gallant attempt to cater to the Replica Stock Car builder, but their paint does not compare with the product available from the likes of Model Car World, Scale Finishes, et. al., when it comes to appearance. When I started to do this Chrysler 300, I was going to do it as a Replica Stock. When I shot the Testors' Lacquer on it, the flakes were so big, that I either had to strip it, or build it as a street machine.

When I painted the '64 Chrysler with Tamiya Silver, the finish blushed terribly, even after multiple coats of clear. Fortunately, the finish came to life after polishing.

I shot this Olds442 with Model Car World 1966 GM Fawn. The paint sprayed out of my airbrush smoothly, and without drama.

To each his own I guess. I like both, and everything will depend on what I am trying to achieve.

The Bonneville was shot from the can.

[JHDrew]

I have quite a collection of Tamiya rattle cans but I only use them in two ways

Decanted in an airbrush cup

Or a squirt on a pallet to brush paint

I'm not the best at painting but I know enough to not use a can

It's kind of like watering your house plants with the garden hose

Nuf said

[jbwelda]

> but I know enough to not use a can

when it comes to tamiya, you are incorrect.

[martinfan5]

there seems to be a lot of Testors bashing here and i want to mention that thier lacquer lines IMO are awesome. i also really like and use quite a bit of the Metalizer spray cans from them as well.

as far as the enamel spray cans, i have NO love for those at all, but the lacquer line is great. once the Tamiya lacquer sprays become more readily available again i'll be using more of those too.

I love Model Master lacquer line, I like using them more then I do Tamiya paint at times, I wish that the color line was larger. Model Master lacquer goes on smooth for the most part, well some of the colors do. I have also agree with Dave about the enamels, I wont touch testor's enamels with a 10ft pole, well least not for any body painting, even the Model Master side enamels are bad.

[PARTSMARTY]

I AGREE WITH RON HAMILTONS REPLY.IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.I'LL VERY DEPENDING ON WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO.