modelmaker51 To be perfectly honest, if I were painting those tanks, I would just use some Krylon rattle can paint to paint them. Almond looks like a good color.
To be perfectly honest, if I were painting those tanks, I would just use some Krylon rattle can paint to paint them. Almond looks like a good color.
Jay,
Regarding the tanks....I'm substituting the oil storage tank for a municipal water storage tank. That's where the blue color is derived from. I didn't think to look at the rattle cans for the color I want.
Your in-depth reply is greatly appreciated and I will be printing it out and taking it to my workbench with me for reference while practicing both mixing and spraying.
Thanks again,
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
I just started messing with my airbrush again after a multi year hiatus. Heck. Multi decade...
A couple of tips I got that seem to be working okay, is I'm keeping a big jug of windshield washer fluid handy to provide a good cleaning agent. I've also tried using it in very small quanitities as a thinner, too. It works great for thinning those cheap craft acrylics.
The closest hobby shop to me specializes more in R/C than trains, so the paint selection leans toward the glossy and colorful, although they have a rack of Testors Master Acryl (or something like that) for military models. Fortunately, my current project involves red, white and black (guess what road I'm doing!) so I found what I needed pretty quickly.
For the black roof of the F unit, I used the craft acrylic, thinned with a mixture of acrylic matte medium and windshield washer fluid. It went on unbelievably smoothly! I suppose I was shooting around 35 psi, using a Badger double action.
The white was the most difficult. Even after a bit of thinning, it seemed to go on heavy. This was probably due to being a "Semi Gloss" white... Next time, a little more thinner, and a little less pressure, I think.
The red went on like butter. I took the stock bottle, and again added maybe 4 drops of the washer fluid.
I'll see if I can get some pictures up shortly.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
ef3 yellowjacket The second is that, as a practise, one should always prime plastic. Your buddy said not to? Hey, this isn't going on your buddy's layout, now is it? Listen to me here; I know from whence I cometh!
The second is that, as a practise, one should always prime plastic. Your buddy said not to? Hey, this isn't going on your buddy's layout, now is it? Listen to me here; I know from whence I cometh!
Yellowjacket,
I'm not sure where you got the idea that I wasn't priming before painting. The project was primered and everyone I talked to before starting the project told me to primer first.
Thanks,
Don Z modelmaker51 To be perfectly honest, if I were painting those tanks, I would just use some Krylon rattle can paint to paint them. Almond looks like a good color. Jay, Regarding the tanks....I'm substituting the oil storage tank for a municipal water storage tank. That's where the blue color is derived from. I didn't think to look at the rattle cans for the color I want.
Don't forget about autoparts stores and their auto touch up spray cans. Lots of colors to choose from there.
All I can say is "don't give up." My early airbrush attempts were, well this is a family web site, so I won't go into that. After what seemed like an eternity of reading, watching and experimentating, I can fully say "they'll need to pry my airbrush out of my cold dead hands." Once you get the hang of it, you'll love it!
Dave,
Thanks for the reassurance that things might actually get better over the long run! I'll try to get the hang of this airbrush one of these days....
Well if it hasn't been said already I'll say it now. Don't practice on your models. Use a beer can, soda can, or coffee can to practice. Be patient and try different things. If your brush has an open mixing cup use that and also use an eye dropper to mix the thinner/paint.
Google airbrush training etc and watch video's as well. good free learning available.
Springfield PA
Lest everyone think I'm a total idiot, I did paint about 400 linear feet of rail with my airbrush last year with good results. However, I did use Pollyscale paint that was thinned with distilled water and had none of the troubles I've had in trying to paint using craft acrylics.
Don Z Lest everyone think I'm a total idiot, I did paint about 400 linear feet of rail with my airbrush last year with good results. However, I did use Pollyscale paint that was thinned with distilled water and had none of the troubles I've had in trying to paint using craft acrylics. Don Z.
Don, I only use Pollyscale when painting with water based paints. No way would I try using cheap craft acrylics. I stopped using Badger paint a few years ago, as it did the same thing to me you are experiencing now. Pollyscale seems to be much more forgiving when diluting with water or alcohol. I use water to dilute. Maybe 40 or 50%. Its not an exact science for me.
Man, there sure are a number of opinions expressed here. I'll offer mine FWIW: I used a Badger 200 internal mix single action brush for years painting locomotives and cars. I set pressure for 15-18 psi for thinned acrylics - 70% paint to 30% thinner. I use PolyScale's thinner which is probably blue windshield washer fluid but I've used tap water too. Modelflex I use unthinned right out of the jar. Just to confuse things further, I use 4-8 psi when I am weathering. Just set the paint flow to when you can just see it. I practice/test on cheap plastic car shelss, usually 50 cents at train shows.
I recently bought a Paasche H and am using the #3 tip set for PolyScale, Modelflex, Model Master acrylics as well as their organic solvent paints. BTW, I REALLY like how these paints cover and finish. However, they are $5 for a 1 oz. bottle. Yikes! Anyways, the #3 tip works well if PolySclae is thinned.
As to thinning, I use small portion cups and just pour paint in the cup and then add thinner to what looks about right. The only time I get accurate is when I am trying to match an off-shade already-existing painted shell. I did one the other day that called for 10.5 parts dark green, I part yellow, and 1.5 parts white. Lots of sample testing that led up to this final formula. For this kind of work, I bought one hypodermic needle and a bunch of syrings without needles. Using this, you can get very accurate as to a paint mix. Once a syringe gets so you can't see through it, remove the needle and screw it onto another syringe.
Somethig I have learned is that model paints go bad in the bottle; sometimes they are already bad when you bring them home from the hobby shop. The experience I've had is that the paint stops flowing at even the highest with bad paint. Thinning doesn't help. With the exception of organic solvent Model Master, I spray exclusively acrylics, including cheapy Delta Ceramacoat paints. These require a little higher pressure, and you can temporarily remove the paint bottle/cup to use the raw air to "blow away" any runs.
BTW, I have never noticed the difference in quality of paint job whether I spray at 15 psi or 30 psi. At the lower pressure, your compressor air tank lasts longer before turning the compressor back on.
To MRR Sparky...YUP!!!!!!!!!!!! ME too!
MRRSparkyI spray exclusively acrylics, including cheapy Delta Ceramacoat paints.
MRRSparky,
Could you elaborate on prepping the cheapy Ceramcoat paint for use in your airbrush?
Don Z MRRSparkyI spray exclusively acrylics, including cheapy Delta Ceramacoat paints. MRRSparky, Could you elaborate on prepping the cheapy Ceramcoat paint for use in your airbrush? Don Z.
Don-I will say the Delta Ceramacoat is a much better craft paint than the Anita's or Apple Barrel. Seems to have a much finer pigment and covers better. Folk Art brand isn't bad either.
Krylon makes an exclusive " plastic adhesion " paint in a can .... Fusion . I use it for cars and engines ... metal or plastic as a base coat . Even some primers can be scratched off easily . The black satin looks perfect for engines and cars that should end up black and takes that shiney look away without looking like dull primer or using shiney black which makes them look cheap . No sanding .... rubbing ... or priming needed after it's dry ! The weathering powders stick to it great . And if you just want to practice sizes of your airbrush spray ... grab a big sheet of poster board at your local dollar store for 3/ $1.00 and experiment . I wipe my stuff down with alcohol before painting . The airbrush looks better in my opinion for road grime and splash ... if you have a good one rust trails too .
I work as a Airbrush artist specialized in freehand art, and after having read your different stories of airbrushing I can only agree to the fact that there is more than one way to skin this cat . I work almost exclusively with water based paints and more often than not I use my Iwata with a 0.18 mm nozzle, it causes no problems IF the paint is correctly diluted. A problem with most hobby-paints is the varying quality, therefore I have started to use a ready diluted paint called Vallejo Model-Air. A tip is to avoid the side/bottom feed Airbrushes, the benefits of a top feed gun is that you can work with reduced pressure and slightly thicker paints with good results (thicker paint- less runs). Also use the lowest air pressure that still makes a good mist to reduce blowback and excessive area-pollution.
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I was using Delta Ceramacoat to paint a ceramic picture frame for my daughter. She'd dropped it and I'd repaired it with ACC glue. I poured some of the paint into an airbrush bottle and poured some distilled water in. I don't remember exactly but the mix was about 60% paint to 40% water. I started out with somewhat less thinner and didn't like the way it looked.
I used a Badger 200 single internal mix brush at 15-18 psi. It seemed to go on quite nicely. I did find that if I set the brush down at all, even to scratch an itch, I had to shut the needle off. Once, I had to take the needle out and the two nose cone pieces to clean them, but that was only becasue I had to go answer a phone call. This paint will dry very quickly, whether inside an airbrush or on a project.
At this dilution rate, I had to be careful to keep the brush moving or I'd get runs. If that happens, just temporarily remove the paint bottle and just blow raw air at the run to move it around. Doing so will make it disappear. I've had to do this with other acrylics also, but usually only when I am being cheap and using the last of a bottle that really should have been thown out.
I have a shelf full of PollyScale, ModelFlex and Model Masters Acryl paints that I've had for some years, and are still usable, properly thinned. I make a practice of transferring a quantity of whatever paint I am going to use to a measuring cup so I don't keep the paint in the bottle open to the air too long.
When I seal the bottle, I cut a small square of SaranWrap (clear plastic film) and put it between the bottle threads and its cap. It creates a nice seal, but you have to be sure to clean off the bottle seal surface and the threads. That way I never have to use a large set of pliers to get the bottle open. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the follow up answer. I have another question now: I discovered yesterday that the rattle can of primer that I thought was acrylic paint was in fact a standard oil-based automotive primer. Will the acrylic paint work being sprayed on top of that type of primer or was I doomed from the beginning?
Yes, your organic-solvent primer paint will work just fine with an acrylic or latex overcoat. When you spray with the can, be sure to do it with quick light passes. Let one pass dry before doing another one. Let it dry for at least 24 hours before applying the water-base paint. You can tell if an enamel or lacquer paint is dry by putting your nose against the thing you are painting. If you smell anything at all, it is not dry. This works especially well if you don't have a cold with sinuses blocked, or allergies!