What do I need for getting started with airbrush?

[HandsWithLegs]

For Christmas this year I was given a very nice airbrush and a little compressor setup. Only problem is I have no clue how to use it. I'm planning on mostly using citadel and Vallejo paint, maybe a little army painter stuff as well. Currently I don't have any dedicated airbrush paints, just the regular citadel paints for brush, but I've heard there's a way to make those paints work until I get some ones that are made for airbrush. My main question is what am I going to need to learn and use the airbrush effectively? What materials and equipment am I going to need to get in order to paint with the airbrush and to keep it clean and functional? Any other advice you have for a beginner would be helpful as well.

 

[Chaeron]

There’ll be plenty of good tutorials available for how to get started - most likely in text and video form, so I won’t make suggestions on that front!

 

Two of the key things will be an airbrush thinner and a cleaner - both products are available from all good stockists depending on your brand preference, but these are the two types of fluid that’ll enable you to thin your standard paints suitably for the best results, and keep the internals clean when you finish or switch between colours.

 

For me, one of the biggest things was getting comfortable with holding it and just getting used to the trigger and mechanism. Getting to know the airbrush - how it goes together and how to clean it - goes a long way too, and the more familiar you are with it, the better! Practice really makes perfect with this - and it’s a different learning curve, but worth persevering with. Start with basecoats and block colours, and then progress onto detail work - at least, that’s always the aim when one becomes more dexterous with it! *Edit - it’s worth being aware that everyone seems to have a different airbrush and model, so good to be aware that some things may be more specific to your one, although basically all techniques will be transferable - it’ll be how you apply them using the kit you have.

 

It’s a great tool for the hobby - so hope you enjoy it, as it’s very handy once you get used to it :).

[infyrana]

Agree with Chaeron, holding the thing right and practising helps a lot, as does trying not to turn it upside down or tilting it when you lean across the desk lol.  Lots of other things could be recommended, here's a few:

 

- Mask for reducing the paint fumes you breath in (also vent the room/area).  I made a little cardboard wall setup with which to work within on my desk so the paint stays within a confined area.

- Cleaning tools - there's a little brush and fine pointy nozzle reemer set if you look around, other stuff will include cleaner/thinners, paper towels and cotton buds (q-tips?).

- Airflow Improver, Vallejo stock some, I found it helps the paint flow nicely, don't need much, no needed though if you do ok without it.

- Thin your paints, water shouldn't have any issue going through the brush, so if you experience any flow issues, check the paint isn't drying up or too thick.

- Check your pump regularly and follow its instructions, my first used to overheat, leak and give bad airflow, but my new one works wonders and it's a world of difference.

- Patience, practise, cleaning, patience, cleaning and practise :D

 

For all my models before I start doing any normal paints, I like to undercoat with Vallejo primer.  But a word of caution, I find that even after a bit of thinning (maybe I don't thin enough hehe, I'm still learning, but I don't feel that it requires too much thinning as its designed to coat the model not thinly layer it) that it clogs up the brush over time because it dries very quickly - giving me sputtering and reducing paint thru-put to nothing.  If you find yourself having issues, stop and clean the brush, check paint consistency etc and try fresh.

 

Most of all, enjoy the fun, it's a great little gadget, I wish I were good enough to use it more!

[Arkhanist]

Few things.

 

First advice is to check the needle size of your airbrush. Around 0.35mm to 0.5mm is good for spraying models. High end airbrushes can come with a 0.15 or 0.2 mm needle which is a bit small for acrylic paint, it's designed for artist inks and you'll have trouble getting paint thin enough. Most decent airbrushes you can buy a needle/nozzle set to change the size if you need to.

 

The best advice I can give is to get comfortable taking the airbrush apart to clean it - you need to be rigorous about it, most of my early problems with paint not spraying right was I'd missed a spot in cleaning. (in my case, when the nozzle sits in the main body of the airbrush). When you switch colours, flush it through with water until it sprays clear; if it can't spray water cleanly, then it needs an end of session clean. 

 

For an end of session clean you need to flush it with water then airbrush cleaner as best you can (I use nail polish remover with acetone for this as mine has teflon seals - you'll need less aggressive cleaner such as vallejo airbrush cleaner if any seals are rubber). The best disassembly process rather depends on the airbrush. You'll be able to find a disassembly/reassembly video for your particular brush on youtube. Be advised, the needle is SHARP, and delicate, so be careful with it - the tip will bend easily if you drop it!

 

Some you take the aircap and nozzle off first, then loosen the nut holding the needle and pull the needle forward; others you take off the rear handle and take the needle out the back first, then unscrew the nozzle last. As long as you've mostly flushed paint out it doesn't matter which way round you do it. Then I use kitchen paper towel wetted with cleaner to clean the cup, the main body, wipe the needle, and the outside of the nozzle and aircap. I then use a q-tip soaked in cleaner to get into all the nooks where paint flows. Finally, I use an inter-dental toothbrush (little disposable sticks) to clean the inside of the nozzle and the channel where the needle goes towards the nozzle. If I have the time, I add a little 'regdab' airbrush lube to the screw threads; it helps keep it airtight when screwed back together; it's optional though. I also use a little lube on the needle itself.

 

This used to take me about 15 minutes, I'm now down to about 2 or 3. When you're done putting it back together, check the needle slides in and out of the nozzle cleanly - when pulled back with the trigger you should see a gap round the needle, and when forward there should be no gap. If the trigger action isn't smooth, you can add a little lube to the base of the trigger.

 

You can also do a test spray of water to check it's right. If it won't spray water easily after cleaning, you've missed a spot or put it back together wrong, or there's damage. 95% of the time you've got a problem spraying water, it just needs cleaning somewhere in the paint path.

 

The next biggest advice is to ALWAYS do air before paint, and ALWAYS keep the air on briefly after paint. This took me ages to learn as muscle memory, but it drastically reduced clogs and splatter. This means you press the trigger down for air, then pull it back for the amount of spray you want, then forward while still pressed down, and only then lift off to stop the air. Stopping air and paint at the same time caused a lot of extra paint build up on the needle tip till I learned not to do that (i.e. a little paint splatter when you first put on the air). You will get clogs with acrylic somewhat anyway, as paint dries on the needle - it will happen, and paint will stop spraying properly. You can clean these with a q-tip soaked in cleaner, just rub gently on the needle tip and move the needle in and out (without air) to get it into the tip of the nozzle. Then blast a quick strong burst of paint onto scrap paper to blow out any lumps.

 

For general colour spraying, you want to dilute it down to about skimmed milk - i.e. about the same consistency as a heavy wash. Each paint is different, so there's no fixed ratio of thinner to paint that works, but it can be around 50-50 for brush paints. I use vallejo airbrush thinner, mostly. Airbrush paints save time as they need little or no extra thinner, but good quality brush paints work just as well when properly thinned. It does take a lot of practise to get used to thinning it just-so, so don't get discouraged when some paints just won't spray right. Just keep trying, and some colours, like white, are much harder than others.

 

It's basically a ratio between air pressure and thickness of the paint. Higher air pressure lets you spray a thicker paint, but also means you get more paint on the model. If the paint is too thin, i.e. it spiders and runs everywhere, you can lower the air pressure to get it under control. Here's a video on getting the right consistency & pressure.

 

 

You can also use a drop of flow improver into the paint to help it spray easier. Too much will mean your paint won't 'stick' to the model though, so I use it mainly on paints that should be thin enough but still won't spray easily.

 

It's also worth just experimenting with doing dots/circles on scrap paper - and vary the distance from airbrush from paper. This is handy for learning trigger control. You can do the same when priming and basecoating, as you want to cover the whole mini anyway, so you can experiment with coverage while you're doing it.

 

I'm a fan of badger stynylrez primer these days, I find it superior to vallejo primer, but vallejo primer is still decent; though it does dry (and thus clog) very quickly for me, which is one reason I switched to stynylrez. Stynylrez white is the only white I have that doesn't suck to airbrush.

[Rik Lightstar]

Great advice from all these guys, the only things I'd really add are:

 

1- Disposable Shot Glasses, I use these to mix my paints and thin them.

2- A paintbrush with a decent point, some nail polish remover, and some kitchen roll. Using these you can correct tiny bits of overspray very quickly.

3- A hair dryer. Use this to dry a coat of paint quickly so you can move on to the next stage.

 

Rik