Airbrush frustrations - Help!

[Bloodhammer]

Hi,

I recently bought a H&S Ultra gravity fed dual action airbrush and connected it to my compressor but have been getting mixed results. I have my compressor set to cap at 20 psi and have an inline moisture trap and also one on the compressor. I am spraying GW Bleached Bone diluted with water at 1:1. I have tried 1:2 and 1:3 but find that I get the same problem and the paint is more like a wash.

 

So the problem, Im new to airbrushing and dont hope to be amazing any time soon, I would just like to be able to lay a solid basecoat down to practice using the airbrush. When I spray I normally get little to no paint flowing and it is making the process very slow. I have fiddled with air pressure, thinning the paint and fiddling with the brush itself. Sometimes the brush works properly but only for around 5 minutes and then I get no paint coming out. Im hoping someone can tell me what im doing wrong because its driving me nuts! Id like to just get the setup in such a way so that I can get consistent results. I have also tried extensively cleaning the airbrush and the needle is undamaged.

 

Any ideas? Help would be MASSIVELY appreciated!

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

P.S. Would I need a different airgun or components to do fine work from very general basecoating or can one airbrush do everything with careful regulation of air/paint flow? This would be good to know too.

[Red Fury]

Sometimes the brush works properly but only for around 5 minutes and then I get no paint coming out

The paint dries up and accumulates on the tiny bit of exposed needle in the front. Once enough paint builds up it can/will block any more paint from flowing. Just keep a q-tip or soft cloth handy to wipe off the needle, a little rubbing alcohol helps.

 

I just dug out my old airbrush from like 20 years ago and trying to use it to paint models for the first time. I don't have it all dialed in yet but it's getting there. Do you know what size needle and tip you are using? I have found that my smallest tip (.55mm) has the above problem while the two bigger tips (.73 - 1.07mm) have it less and less. But it sounds like the tip is too small to use with the paint without thinning it down to water. Good point, does it spray water just fine? If yes then it is probably just dry paint on the tip and a slightly too small tip/needle setup.

 

Also, I have heard everywhere to use plain old blue windex to thin your paints with. I don't know why, but it works just fine. I've been using it to thin my vellejo paints and haven't had any problems. I haven't tried thinning with alcohol yet which I have heard to use with acrylics as well.

 

Good luck

 

-Fury

[Ail'Slath'Sleresh]

The windex mix is 1:1 windex w/ water From what I've read. Look up awesomepaintjob on YouTube he has the mix in his advance painting airbrushing video.

[winterdyne]

You're getting 'tip dry'. Windex works fairly well, as does alcohol-based car windscreen wash but the most improvement I got was by using acrylic flow improver. Tamiya thinner works quite nicely too, but not notably better than the flow improver, unless you're using Tamiya paints. Which for any large airbrush job, I would.

 

Using foundation Mordian Blue, and Ultramarines Blue I got no tip dry (at all!) in a 2 hour spraying session. Mix was about 3-2 water-paint with 2 or 3 small drops of flow per 5cc of mix.

[Bloodhammer]

Ah I see! So from what you are saying the dry air from the compressor is drying my paint mix before it leaves the airbrush? And the alcohol in the windex will stop this from happening? Im in the UK so will any alcohol based glass cleaner work?

Thanks!

[Red Fury]

Not exactly. The air and paint do not mix in the airbrush, rather the flowing air over the nozzle creates a vacuum that draws the paint from inside the brush. The needle is the stop gate that plugs the hole or draws back to allow the paint to flow past the needle out the nozzle where it mixes with the air outside the brush in the tip.

 

The problem is the needle protrudes past the nozzle into the air, the needle has paint on it and the paint will dry in the air and accumulate until it is thick enough to plug the nozzle opening.

 

APJ uses straight windex for airbrushing at a 1:1 with the paint. He uses water and flow aid at a 10:1 mixed with paint 1:1 for hand painting. Did you see those Tron templars? awsome.

 

So just water and flow aid? I'll try that out next.

 

I saw a guy on youtube who makes his own thinner for acrylics, the recipe was: 1 cup alcohol, 4 cups water, 1 cup auto glass cleaner, 5 drops of glycerin.

Tempting, but were do you find glcerin?

 

-Fury

[ShinyRhino]

I think you can get glycerin at any good drugstore.

 

I was having this exact problem, and I discovered that not only was I getting tip-dry, but I was also not cleaning my airbrush properly. Mine didn't come with an owner's manual, and I had no clue what that little slotted wrench was for.

Apparently, it's for taking the tiny tip off the nozzle! I finally figured that out, and looked inside the tip. Clogged with paint! I scraped it out with a needle, and it worked like a charm.

I was using a .2mm needle and nozzle, and my Reaper Master Series paints were getting massive tip-dry with the mix that DV8 uses in his Space Wolves airbrushing tutorials. (50/50 Windex/Water, then 5050 Mix/Paint). I just recently picked up a .5mm needle/mozzle kit, so I'm hoping that works better for basecoats and priming.

[Bloodhammer]

The airbrush I use has a 0.2mm needle. Is this too fine for basecoating? Do you normally have a range of needles you interchange? My airbrush comes with a manual of sorts but it is woefully inadequate. Ive only had it a few days and im pretty sure its been cleaned properly so far so im hoping it will be ok.

 

Im in the UK and Windex isnt readily available, are there any other substitutes you can recommend? Id rather not use Tamiya paints, firstly because they are much harder to get hold of where I am and also because most my army is already painted with GW paints and I have loads of them already.

 

I will try spraying plain water when I get home to see if it is due to 'tip-dry' (which is suspect it is now). I will also try a 1:1 mix of water and whatever window cleaner we use at home and then mix that 1:1 with GW paint. Im assuming the rest of my setup is ok as no one has said anything... :wub:

 

Thanks for the continued help!

[ShinyRhino]

Any non-ammonia window cleaner should be fine.

 

.2mm isn't too small for basecoats. It just provides a smaller spray pattern, that can be dialed down for finer lines when needed. I bought my .5mm because I want to blast a bunch of models all at once (or do Rhino parts) much faster.

[Bloodhammer]

What will ammonia do to the airbrush? Just so I know for future reference. I might get a larger .5mm needle too as that is what I would like to do. Id quite like to basecoat entire squads in one go.

 

I have seen some people have a damp cloth in a bowl and they dab the tip of the airbrush in it. Is this to prevent tip-dry and will it not damage the fragile needle?

[Tanhausen]

The tip of the needle bends really easy... but if you are carefull and don't force things, you'd be ok.

 

BTW, I have a .25 AB... simply by changing the needle you have a .5 AB?

[GumbaFish]

I usually keep a paper towel with a bit of airbrush cleaner on it handy while airbrushing and give the tip and nozzle a quick swipe every now and then and that helps to stave off tip dry and accumulation. As far as why you don't want an amonia based window cleaner, I believe it is not so much for the airbrush as it is that you really don't want to be inhaling atomized amonia as amonia is kind of nasty stuff.

[Red Fury]

.2mm is about as tiny as they come. I think that is about the size tip you'd use for glow effects around the eyes of a mini, not for basecoating.

 

I have a Paasche VL with three sizes .55 .73 and 1.07. So far I think the .73 is good for a base coat without taking forever, the 1.07 is a little sloppy. The .55 gives me a spay pattern thinner then a marines arm, good for highlighting but a basecoat will take too long.

 

To change sizes you need the needle, nozzle, and tip all to match.

 

-Fury

 

PS- like I mentioned before, I'm still trying to get my brush dialed in too, If my results seem off to you guys please let me know! Thanks.

[ShinyRhino]

Not only does atomized ammonia not do much good for one's lungs, it eats chrome. My AB is all chromed, so ammonia would destroy it.

[TrentL]

Check your needle size it might be too small and getting clogged easily.

 

I airbrush all the time with various mediums all of them are GW paints are Thicker.

 

I use a 50/50 mix of Water/Windex:Paint.

 

If I'm having a hard time with the paint I try and thin it ot the point where its colored water (testing on a paper towel or a sprue) then I add a bit more paint slowly until I get a consistancy that has the paint sticking. Now given I don't use a gravity fed hopper which makes it easier for me to mix paint.

[Bloodhammer]

I thought id come back to everyone with an update. Ive taken all your advise and its worked. I couldnt find windex so I used whatever ammonia free window cleaner I had and im getting great results! I dont know why the window cleaner works, it just does. Ive used the airbrush on two separate occasions now for around 45 minutes each time and got no tip-dry. Id like to thank everyone who gave me advise as my problem was driving me nuts!

 

To clarify im using a 1:1:2 mix (window cleaner:water:GW normal paint)

 

I have yet to try foundation paints, im sure ill need at-least a 1:1:1 mix though.

 

Thanks again, im hugely grateful!