Airbrush Newbie

[m408]

My kids got tired of my rattle can paint jobs and got me a Paasche VL-SET airbrush with a D-500 compressor for XMAS.

What do I do next?

Is there a thread somewhere that can steer me to what paints? What consistency? Pressure regulators? Filters? Clean up methods? et all?

I know that this is something that I will have to learn, but any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Heck, someday I might end up with a paint job worthy of posting.

[Brendan]

I would recommend for paints that you start with water based acrylics, such as Tamiya. You might also want to try some inexpensive acrylic art paint just to get the feel of how the air brush works. I use Tamiya which I thin with denatured alcohol. Any alcohol above 91% will work. (Do not use rubbing alcohol because it contains oil.) Thin to the consistency of milk.

As for your air compressor, if it is the one that Paasche sells, it is a constant flow compressor when it's running. Which would be about 15 psi. The only thing I would suggest is to get an inline moisture trap. I'll try to get pictures of one up later.

As for cleaning, completely disassemble the airbrush. The valve where the hose is attached will come undone, leave that separate. It does not need to be cleaned. It does have some sensitive rubber o rings that can be damaged by solvents. I use a 3 mm pipe cleaner that can be purchased at any craft store. Clean all the holes with the solvent that matches the paint, such as if it's acrylic, clean it with alcohol or warm soapy water. If it's enamel or lacquer, clean it with lacquer thinner. Wipe down parts.

If you have questions, please contact me. I used to sell these. I've had mine for well over 25 years and have not broken a single part on it. You do wear out needles and cones and you do need to replace the valve periodically.

[Brendan]

I forgot one thing. Your air compressor needs to break in. To do this, do not have your hose and airbrush attached to the air compressor when you first start it. If they are attached, it can stall the compressor out and burn it up. I know people that it has happened to. It takes about 5 to 10 hours of running time for it to break in. The 5 to 10 hours take place over a period of time as you use it. It's not consecutive hours of running. It can be used right off the bat. Just attach the hose and airbrush after starting the compressor. I always have my compressor running before I attach my airbrush when I use that type of compressor.

Hope this helps.

[empirejohnny]

Thanks for the tips. I'm considering an airbrush,(after some forty years of modeling) and need all the help I can get.

[Brendan]

Thanks for the tips. I'm considering an airbrush,(after some forty years of modeling) and need all the help I can get.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about airbrushing. I know more about the Pasche line than others.