Beginner Airbrush Questions

[jpedersm]

Well I finaly got over the nerv last night and started painting my engine. It was the first time I ever used an airbrush. For the paint I was useing it was an Red acrilic from hobby lobby, I think it was fireart or something like that. I thinned it down with windex. From my eye it looked good. When I started spraying it for the first time there was a pinky fade to it. I thought maybe this was the color, so I went on. After about 5 minutes that pink color trunded more to a red. Is there any reason for this? I learned to a little paint goes a long way. After I was done with the engine I had a decent amount left. I went ahead and started to dudle around the box I was using. After some time I just held it in one spot and sprayed. I seen in a video that the paint might be to thin or not thin enough when you hold it in a spot and little lines pop up. It was doing this so did I thin it to much on not enough yet? Lastly for cleaning the gun I ran some windex through it a couple of times and to verify it was clean took the gun appart. I could not get the rocker asm. seperate from the needle so instead of breaking something I just clean the tip of the needle with water and the rest of the gun. When I was putting it back together this morning I notice I did not remember how far the rocker asm needs to be screwed in. Would anyone know this? And is it alright to clean the gun out with water to afterwards. The link below is the manual for the gun.

http://www.rexart.com/media/paasche_talon_parts_list.PDF

[935k3]

These two videos will help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8CxPpPjU58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5KUxiwvm9w

[jpedersm]

Anything on the pink color at first and when spaying in one place lines forming outwards?

[Harry P.]

Anything on the pink color at first and when spaying in one place lines forming outwards?

Paint too thin.

[CJ1971]

2 things mate...

1- I wouldn't be using a product like Windex to thin paint. It's not meant to be used as such & it will wind up ruining your paint jobs. It's fine to use as a cleaner, followed by a good rinse of warm/hot water.

2- Before posting, please check what you've written. It's pretty hard reading what's not written in English, spelling is incorrect & grammar is quite bad. I don't mean to sound mean, but it's hard for people to help you when they have a hard time understanding what you're trying to say. ??

If you like this hobby & plan on staying in it... Do yourself a favour... Invest in it with quality rather than quantity. Use the correct solvents for the types of paint you're using, buy it in bulk & you'll save in the long run. Sure Windex is cheap... But your paint job will look cheap too ??

[jpedersm]

CJ, Someone in a previous thread told me to watch a video by chapman. I am using what he uses from the paints to thinners. I don't want to stick a decent amount of money into paints right away. I did get two bottle of the wicked paint, becuase the color was not in the fireart paints. But the cost was a huge ammount from 5.99 with the wicked stuff to 1.37 with the stuff I got. After it started to spray red the engine look better then I ever would have done. If you sugest not to use windex what do you sugest using? I am not using the paint by the model section, but the other side of the store.

[DavidChampagne]

Get a box of white plastic spoons and practice on those. There may be some in your kitchen cabinet already.

It sounds like your paint job did ok. I use the cheapest Laquer Thinner I can find to clean my airbrush.

The great thing about an airbrush is that you can adjust it and start with very light coats.

Good luck and keep shooting.

[Harry P.]

CJ, Someone in a previous thread told me to watch a video by chapman. I am using what he uses from the paints to thinners. I don't want to stick a decent amount of money into paints right away. I did get two bottle of the wicked paint, becuase the color was not in the fireart paints. But the cost was a huge ammount from 5.99 with the wicked stuff to 1.37 with the stuff I got. After it started to spray red the engine look better then I ever would have done. If you sugest not to use windex what do you sugest using? I am not using the paint by the model section, but the other side of the store.

Acrylic paint can be thinned with plain old water.

[jpedersm]

Would I need to go a buy some bottle water, I take it harry you never tried our water.

[jpedersm]

Another question to is that there are allot of sites out there telling you how to thin your paint, but is there a site out there that shows you what to much thinner will look like and what not enough will look like? For example has someone posted a video or photos of paint sprayed on a piece of paper and what to thin will look like at to thick also what just right would look like?

[Harry P.]

Would I need to go a buy some bottle water, I take it harry you never tried our water.

If it's safe to drink, it's safe to use to thin paint. The old rule of thumb is to thin paint to the consistency of milk. I would do a simple test of 50/50 paint to water... if too thick, add a drop or two of water... if too thin, add a drop or two of paint. Practice on a sheet of paper until you get the right consistency. It's just a matter of a little trial and error.

[DynoMight]

Another question to is that there are allot of sites out there telling you how to thin your paint, but is there a site out there that shows you what to much thinner will look like and what not enough will look like? For example has someone posted a video or photos of paint sprayed on a piece of paper and what to thin will look like at to thick also what just right would look like?

Not sure about a video but if you spray paint and it spiders- It looks like a spider, and webs out- it is too thin, and you're probably spraying too close to your subject and focusing on one spot too much. Instead of doing a one-over really heavily, give it a mist and then come back and add the layers onto it. If you spray the paint and it splatters and isn't in a consistent spot, it is too thick, you need to add thinner. What I go by is a 4:1 ratio of paint to thinner, depending on how thin the paint already is. If it pours out like water, it is thin enough, but if it is like molasses, add thinner.

If you add too much thinner, you have to go light to avoid runs and drips. Happy airbrushing!

Just right would be a consistent line, no splatters, spiders or runs. Get a few plastic white spoons and practice on those, eventually you'll be able to get a consistent line. Also try different PSI's on your compressor. 20-25 might work for your airbrush, or maybe 30-35 might work as well. What I go by is the thinner the paint, the higher PSI and the thicker the paint the lower the PSI.

Edited August 6, 2014 by DynoMight

[my66s55]

Yes, you can use windex to thin acrylic paint. I just use plain old water. I also use Liquitex air brush medium with the water as it helps the paint. It will take practice to learn your air brush and the application method that will work well for you.

Edited August 6, 2014 by my66s55

[Art Anderson]

Acrylic paint can be thinned with plain old water.

With water-borne acrylic paints (think for example, the old Polly S paints), Windex is one of the old standby thinners that the IPMS types hit on back more than 40yrs ago when Polly S first came out.

The waterborne "craft paints" such as Deco-Art, Apple Barrel, and of course the now-discontinued Polly S line are, in their basic chemical formulae, the same kind of paint as the "latex" waterborne paints people use indoors and on the exterior of houses. The advantage of say, Windex (or other similar glass cleaners) is that it "wets" a hard slick surface such as glass, metal or styrene far better than does plain water.

Art

[Mike Kucaba]

Well... if you use Windex, remember that some versions contain ammonia, BUT if you really want to cheap out why not windshield washer solvent.

I honestly don't understand this cheap out attitude with the paint work on a model.