What airbrush do you recommend? (part 1, airbrush)

[electrolove]

I got my very first kit today. A interlocking tower, sooooooo nice [:D]

I really want to paint everything on my layout with airbrush so it's time to learn about that part of the hobby. What airbrush do you guys recommend to paint plastic kits? I want to use water based paint like Floquil Polly Scale. I also want the kits to be flat, no shiny plastics on my layout please...

Thanks in advance.

[TomDiehl]

For your first airbrush, any of the good brands should be sufficient. To learn it, I believe Kalmbach publishes a book on techniques, well worth the money.

For the actual painting, if you're planning on doing any decal work to the buildings or rolling stock, you need to first paint it with a gloss (very smooth) coat, apply the decals, setting solution, then coat with a clear flat coating to kill the gloss. If you try to apply decals to a rough (flat) finish, they will easily get cloudy around the decal film.

[jsoderq]

I don't know about your country, but over here the local colleges often have night classes for very low fees. One of the best ways to get experience is one of these art classes for airbrushing . 3 guys in the old train club did this and they all turned out to be pretty good painters. This is easier than getting a lot of experience on your own.

[electrolove]

Is Testor a good brand? What airbrush would you recommend me to buy? And what is the best, single or double action? I don't even know what that means so please explain.

[csmith9474]

The Paasche H single action brush is a great brush for novices and veterans alike. They are easy to "learn" with and easy to clean and maintain. The design hasn't changed over the years for good reason. It also has nice weight to it. I would not recommend a dual action for anyone without a lot of experience or unless you plan on doing some serious weathering. Basically the difference is that with a single action you adjust the paint/air mixture before you paint. You set the desired flow and start painting. With a dual action you can adjust the paint/air mixture while you are painting using a "slide button" on the airbrush. Great for weathering, but not painting a large surface area or doing a lot of consistent painting, in my opinion. I hope this helps.[:)]

[electrolove]

Is it this one?

QUOTE: Originally posted by csmith9474

The Paasche H single action brush is a great brush for novices and veterans alike. They are easy to "learn" with and easy to clean and maintain. The design hasn't changed over the years for good reason. It also has nice weight to it. I am stating this as my opinion based on my experience and experiences of others.

[Adelie]

I'm a Paasche VL user of 10 years and love it, but any of the good brands will work fine. You can make some plastic kits look not plastic with some paint and weathering. Someday, I will post pictures of my Walthers Lumber Mill which is still not finished. I seem to have this mental block about breaking out the digital camera!.

The weathering on the mill thus far is just several coats of thinned "grime." Even that is enough to make it look not plastic and pretty decent.

[cwclark]

first off...stay away from the testors airbrush..it's a piece of junk....I've found that a Badger single action airbrush works well for everything i do...one thing that is a must is a moisture trap..i have three inline moisture traps..one on a regulator and two paper cartridge types in line before the brush..I use a two gallon compressor that can be purchased at walmart and it does a good job at about 20 -25 PSI...chuck

[csmith9474]

QUOTE: Originally posted by electrolove

Is it this one?

QUOTE: Originally posted by csmith9474

The Paasche H single action brush is a great brush for novices and veterans alike. They are easy to "learn" with and easy to clean and maintain. The design hasn't changed over the years for good reason. It also has nice weight to it. I am stating this as my opinion based on my experience and experiences of others.

You got it! Great brush and it will last you for decades as long as you maintain it well.

[electrolove]

I'm looking forward to some pictures. I also have mental blocks sometimes, my wife says that I have it all the time, hehe

When you say good brands, what brands do you mean? I know nothing about this.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Adelie

I'm a Paasche VL user of 10 years and love it, but any of the good brands will work fine. You can make some plastic kits look not plastic with some paint and weathering. Someday, I will post pictures of my Walthers Lumber Mill which is still not finished. I seem to have this mental block about breaking out the digital camera!.

The weathering on the mill thus far is just several coats of thinned "grime." Even that is enough to make it look not plastic and pretty decent.

[electrolove]

Why is testor not a good brand? What about single or double action, what is the difference?

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

first off...stay away from the testors airbrush..it's a piece of junk....I've found that a Badger single action airbrush works well for everything i do...one thing that is a must is a moisture trap..i have three inline moisture traps..one on a regulator and two paper cartridge types in line before the brush..I use a two gallon compressor that can be purchased at walmart and it does a good job at about 20 -25 PSI...chuck

[nbrodar]

I use a Badger 200, single action. Simple to operate. Does a nice job. For paint I use Polly Scale or Model Master.

Nick Brodar

[cwclark]

the testor brand is cheaply made..the parts wear out after the first few sessions and it can only accept those cans of compressed air which usually run out before the paint job is complete...the difference with a single and double action is the button depression..a single action requires that you press the button down and the paint comes out..a double action has two depression positions for light and heavy paint ..i like the single action because being a klutz the double action takes a lot of coordination to get the button just right...I like the floquil paints the best diluted 1:4 with thinner...I have some pictures of my work with the badger airbrush here at: http://community.webshots.com/user/bayouman1

[electrolove]

Very interesting pictures. I did not know that testor can only accept the cans with compressed air. That sounds expensive.

BTW: I saw your installation of a uncoupling magnet, it's not Kadee, what brand is it?

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

the testor brand is cheaply made..the parts wear out after the first few sessions and it can only accept those cans of compressed air which usually run out before the paint job is complete...the difference with a single and double action is the button depression..a single action requires that you press the button down and the paint comes out..a double action has two depression positions for light and heavy paint ..i like the single action because being a klutz the double action takes a lot of coordination to get the button just right...I like the floquil paints the best diluted 1:4 with thinner...I have some pictures of my work with the badger airbrush here at: http://community.webshots.com/user/bayouman1

[cwclark]

it's a mchenry uncoupling magnet...they seem to be more powerful than the kadees..they come with a metal plate that accelerates the magnetic field...

[electrolove]

Can I use the mchenry uncoupling magnet with kadee couplers as well? The Kadee 308 also have a metal plate, or am I maybe wrong?

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

it's a mchenry uncoupling magnet...they seem to be more powerful than the kadees..they come with a metal plate that accelerates the magnetic field...

[cwclark]

opps..i sent you the wrong website..these are the pictures i wanted you to see of the paint job with the badger single action

primer


first coat


decal work




finally done note the fiber optic headlights..they are really cool!


chuck

[cwclark]

yes it works great....I use only kadee couplers but use mchenry magnets...i like the mchenry's because they are a bit longer than the kadee uncouplers...less room for error if you overshoot it

[electrolove]

Yes, I searched but could not find any paint work, but I found many other cool pictures [:D]

Very nice paintwork, but a little hard to see the details. Do you have bigger versions of the same pictures?

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

opps..i sent you the wrong website..these are the pictures i wanted you to see of the paint job with the badger single action

primer


first coat


decal work




finally done note the fiber optic headlights..they are really cool!


chuck

[cwclark]

click the picture and it will get bigger

[electrolove]

Yes I did that, but it's still a little small to see the details.

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

click the picture and it will get bigger

[cwclark]

the locomotive is a GP 50 that originally had the DRG&W roadname..one thing though...the DRG&W never owned a GP 50 so I was forced to make it a UP ..UP did have a few GP 50's on their roster

[cwclark]

sorry about that..that's as big as they get...i've already deleted them from the camera so better luck next time...

[electrolove]

Ok, no problem, thanks for all your help.

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

sorry about that..that's as big as they get...i've already deleted them from the camera so better luck next time...

[cwclark]

my next airbrush project is going to be two Alco PA 1 A units and a B unit...I'm trying to prototype the SP Sunset passenger train that ran from 1947 to 1963 before Amtrak took over passenger train service...i'm pulling it now with an F-7 A/B unit which was prototype towards the end but the PA's were the best known diesel locomotives to pull the Sunset even though it was once pulled by a steam GS-11 Locomotive.

[CraigN]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

the testor brand is cheaply made..the parts wear out after the first few sessions and it can only accept those cans of compressed air which usually run out before the paint job is complete.

Which airbrush are you referring to?

I own an Aztek which is made by testors. I hook it up to my compressor with the supplied adapter. I have used it numerous times and I like it.

One of the things that I like best about it is how easy it is to clean, alot easier than the badger I also own.

[cwclark]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CraigN

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

the testor brand is cheaply made..the parts wear out after the first few sessions and it can only accept those cans of compressed air which usually run out before the paint job is complete.

Which airbrush are you referring to?

I own an Aztek which is made by testors. I hook it up to my compressor with the supplied adapter. I have used it numerous times and I like it.

One of the things that I like best about it is how easy it is to clean, alot easier than the badger I also own.

the only testors airbrush i've seen was the one in the toy car model section of walmart ..it was a plastic cheesy airbrush which I noticed would only accept the pressurized cans ...others have varified that they purchased one and it was not a good airbrush at all...that's why i didn't buy it...chuck

[Adelie]

Electro, the ones I see most often used by people who seem to airbrush a lot are Paasche, Aztec and Badger. I'm probably forgetting somebody, but one of those should make you happy.

I've been happy with the Paasche VL because it has lasted 10 years (and is still in service), the design is comfortable for me (fits in my mitts well), it does everything I need and I can get parts for it when I wear something out. I suspect Badger and Aztec users can probably make the same claims.

I've gotten pretty decent at controlling the double action mechanism, so I lean that way.

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by electrolove

I got my very first kit today. A interlocking tower, sooooooo nice [:D]

I really want to paint everything on my layout with airbrush so it's time to learn about that part of the hobby. What airbrush do you guys recommend to paint plastic kits? I want to use water based paint like Floquil Polly Scale. I also want the kits to be flat, no shiny plastics on my layout please...

Thanks in advance.

You can't go wrong with the Paasche H airbrush as long as you keep it clean.. The functional difference, (with Paasche) single and double action airbrushes is with Single, you pu***he trigger, and adjust the paint flow at the nozzle. With a double, you have a needle that you move in and out using the trigger. For both, you can get interchangeable tips, #1, #3, and #5, #1 being the smallest opening and #5 being the largest..

If you are going with this brand name, I would suggest the H to start with. Learn how to use and control it and it'll probably serve you a lifetime. If you want to step up to a V series (double action, works much like an auto painters spray gun) later, you'll at least have some idea of how they work.

I wouldn't waste one penny on those cans of air. WAY overpriced and won't last your paint job whatever it is. In fact, I wouldn't waste the money on an airbrush compressor either.. Instead, Go to Sears or someplace like that (or even mail order) and get one of those $99 compressors that has a tank. When spraying paint, it isn't about PSI, it's about air volume. The more capacity, the better. If you don't have enough volume your airbrush will spit and sputter paint instead of spraying it..

Personally, I don't like the PollyS paints for spraying because I find they tend to clog the airbrush. I don't like the badger paint for the same reason. Floquil, thinner based, is the only thing I'll spray (occasionally scalecoat as well).. I usually go 50/50 and spray with about 30-40 psi (make sure your detail parts are on there good).


A few tips when you get started.. Airbrushes work for the most part as a siphon feed. Air is required and you'll notice on top of the jar cap there is a little hole. Keep it clean. I don't care what else is happening, unless it's life threatening, NEVER let paint dry inside the airbrush. Have a supply of pipe cleaners on hand, they are great for cleaning things up when you are done. Lastly, experiment a lot before spraying paint on a prize model..


Almost forgot.. Make sure you have a water trap too.. Water in the air line is DEATH to a paint job..

That's about it for now, Good luck,
Jeff
[8D]

[Paul3]

I would avoid all solvent-based paints (like Floquil) if you don't have an decent air mask (and I'm not talking about a cloth one, I'm talking about a rubber one). Those particulates are just not good for your lungs. Even when using water-based paints, you should have some kind of mask and a paint booth. If you can smell it, it can effect your health down the road, and not in a positive way.

As for paint, I like Badger's Model Flex. It's pre-mixed for air brushes, and dries glossy for decal application. They also have more New Haven RR colors. I do like Polly Scale's flat, gloss, and satin finishes more than Badger's.

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************