Buying My First Airbrush (or Compressor) Questions.

[Dave G.]

On 3/29/2023 at 11:45 AM, Merkur XR4Ti said:

I am struggling with MCW enamels lately and am wondering why. I have a Paasche Millennium double action with a side feed, and I usually don't have trouble with lacquers or Tamiya paints using it. But with these MCW enamels I can't seem to get them thinned enough to flow smoothly through the airbrush. Either I thin it 25-30% and it comes out dry, or I thin it 40-50% and it comes out far too thin. And with metallics I can't seen to keep the metallic particles suspended properly.

 

Is there an airbrush you guys might suggest instead? Should I spend the $$$ and get a Grex trigger action airbrush?

Any enamels I use ( not too many these days, after 5 decades of using them have gone more acrylic) I thin with hardware store lacquer thinner, pretty close to 50-50. I doubt it's your airbrush. Metallics are known to have the metal flecks sink, so you need to keep them agitated, this is one place where bottom feed or a cap for top feed is helpful. Even in 1/1 we had to keep swirling the cup to have the metallics stay suspended. You get a feel for that in due time.

[Bill Eh?]

I finally finished cleaning up and refurbishing the three Iwata HP-SBs that I purchased used. The top brush pictured, that I chose to keep, has a needle packing conversion to the new style, a new nozzle, and a new colour cup. The other two brushes were deemed 2nd and 3rd best based on a visual evaluation of the components.

[Bill Eh?]

The needle/nozzle set arrived from Gaahleri Airbrush. They are for the GHAD-68 AB that I purchased earlier this year.

[Bugatti Fan]

Mercur I am responding to an old thread here and you might well have got your problem sorted.

The MCW enamels you are having trouble with. Assuming that your airbrush is clean and you have thinned the paint correctly as far as you can see, maybe upping the nozzle and needle size on the airbrush might help to make your paint flow better. It sounds like the viscosity being thicker might be due to that particular paint having pigments a bit larger than the others.

[Big John]

At the moment you can get some new /old Paasche VL double action airbrushes, full kits on the-bay for really good prices.  I prefer the double action brush since it has more control and the action is closer to my full size guns.  Be meticulous in your cleaning and it will last a lifetime.  If you are going for larger models, 1/8 scale I would go with a small touch-up gun Binks or Devilbiss.