How much airbrush paint per model?

[duz_]

So again apologies if my search-fu failed

 

Working with my new airbrush again (badger patriot + TC910)

 

Im getting some black base coat on my raven guard models happening. Although I'm wondering if I'm burning through too much paint and if there something wrong with my technique.

 

For example at ~15psi I just burnt through 2ml of Citadel Air black (+3/4 drops vallejo flow improver)on a single stormhawk wing...

Am I coating these things too much? Its hard to tell give my primer is also black... and less and the consistency seems splotchy on the model.

 

Feedback appreciated! I have been watching videos but rarely do they actually show how much paint there using.

[Bung]

You use too much and i think you already know your problem. Instead of spraying black over black try some grey airbrush primer so you can see your progress with the black and dont spray tge same area more than you need.

[Imren]

So assuming you're spraying the black paint as a wide all-covering basecoat over the black primer:

 

If you spray black paint over black undercoat (you do this because you want to change surface texture to paint texture instead of primer texture), you might as well dilute the black paint 1:1 with either alcohol or water. You will still get the same surface texture you're looking for but the diluted black paint layer will be much thinner just enough to change texture without much coverage. Even if the black primer shows through (which you won't see if the black tones are the same) you still get the texture changed which is the reason och painting black over black primer.

 

if you dilute your black paint with water, it will take slightly longer for it to dry, so go lower on pressure (less psi, perhaps around 15-20 psi) and spray farther away with the airbrush. If you want quicker drying time, then dilute with alcohol, and spray at higher pressures (20-30 psi) and slightly closer since alcohol evaporates much quicker and speeds up the drying time compared to the water dilution.

[Bloody Legionnaire]

To do something the size of a wing I would probably use 15-18 drops of paint and I thin my paints at a ration of 3:1 parts paint to thinner. An airbrush is going to make your paint very efficient and you should be able to do more with less. If you're using a black primer already you should only have to give that part 2 over sprays of a thin coating of black. A colored primer in a sense is already a coat of "paint."