discussion airbrush exercises

[Guest]

so for the first time i put mine together and had a little play just on some scrap paper, was a bit worried id be hopeless with it but it seemed reasonably ok to use, are there any exercises to do to gain technique and confidence ??

 

[yak face]

As they say practice makes perfect Alan , so youre doing the best thing which is just having a go . Try using plastic milk cartons though as the hard surface is more like the surface of a model , the paper will soak up some of the paint so wont be as realistic . This will help you to get the feel of how much paint you can lay down without it running or spidering . Paper is however very useful for testing the spray pattern and colour ,I have a cheap A4 pad at the side of my extractor booth which i always spray a little of the paint mix on before i commit to spraying it on the model . Any problems like not being mixed enough or not spraying correctly will be shown up at this point and can be remedied before its too late ! Cheers tony

 

[Steve Jones]

There are a few practice videos on You Tube

 

[BattleshipBob]

Use plain paper, practice spraying different size dots. Spell your name, spray a line, thin at one end then increase the thickness at the other, see the effects as you move the brush closer and further away from the paper, do the same with the air pressure, good old practice and more of it.

I also use graph paper, practice spraying a dot on the cross lines, then spray along the lines to join the dots. Before i spray i write my name and spray onto a old ship model.

Hope this helps

Bob

 

[Tim Marlow]

Children’s colouring books also work to improve control. If you can colour between the lines you will improve your motor skills. I would go for a mixture of all these ideas, a few minutes at a time, to build up brush control. It also helps to think of it as a brush, not a spray gun......

 

[Peter Gillson]

Alan
As others have said practice is essential, there is no short cut. However there are some key things to understand and practice.

A few years ago I had an article published in Military Modelling, unfortunately I do not have any of the photos anymore but here are photos of the three pages. Not sure how readable they will be but here goes ...




Peter

 

[Tim Marlow]

Ignore me, do what Peter says, that’s a fantastic article.....

 

[stillp]

It also helps to think of it as a brush, not a spray gun......

I keep having to remind myself of that.

Pete

 

[Bortig the Viking]

Hi, not sure if it's on the right thread, but seeing the photos made me wonder, I have a moisture trap on the compressor outlet but have seen alot of pictures with airbrushes with them at the airbrush end, I only need one, is this right.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Mark

I remember seeing that Phil Castle had a moisture trap at the compresser end and if it is good enough for him ...

Peter

 

[Guest]

Alan
As others have said practice is essential, there is no short cut. However there are some key things to understand and practice.

A few years ago I had an article published in Military Modelling, unfortunately I do not have any of the photos anymore but here are photos of the three pages. Not sure how readable they will be but here goes ...




Peter

Peter.
Would be good to have this reprinted if possible, a great help to all .
Refresher course coming on I feel .
John .

 

[Guest]

Hi, not sure if it's on the right thread, but seeing the photos made me wonder, I have a moisture trap on the compressor outlet but have seen alot of pictures with airbrushes with them at the airbrush end, I only need one, is this right.

I'm an airbrush newbie but I can't imagine it would make a lot of difference with the tiny amounts of air running through an airbrush system, unless you are in a very humid climate. In my world of full size spray guns it does make a big difference though, and the water trap should be as far from the compressor as possible.

The reasoning behind this is the temperature of the air. When you're compressing 20, 30, 40+ CFM the air leaving the compressor or tank will be hot. In this state it can hold a huge amount of water as vapour, which will simply pass straight through a trap, only to condense out as actual moisture further down the line as it cools. For this reason many large compressors include a refrigerated dryer, which cools the air down to a few degrees C, condensing out that moisture before it gets into the air system.

Without such a dryer, another way is to have a decent length of pipework before your trap, allowing the air to cool so that the trap can actually do it's job and collect that condensate. My big compressor at home runs through 5M of pipe before the trap, and the amount of water it collects proves its effectiveness. A large bodyshop would place their traps at the end of a decent run of (preferably metal) pipework.

But like I say, that's all probably overkill for an airbrush system working at less than 1 CFM. If you aren't getting water coming through your airbrush then I wouldn't worry.

 

[Jon Heptonstall]

I could do with reading Peter's MM article too. Any one remember the front cover of the mag?
Thinking of taking the plunge into the world of air brushing!
Jon.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Jon It was August 2017.

I have found my photos and the Word text so over the weekend I will either turn it into a Word/pdf or post the photos and text as a separate blog

Peter

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Andy, at certain times of year I can get quite a lot of moisture in the trap on my compressor. Never had a problem with moisture in the air line, but I certainly wouldn’t be without it. I’ve actually set my compressor under the bench and set to run at maximum pressure. I have a filter regulator fitted at the business end that I then use to adjust pressure in use. It is overkill, but makes adjustment possible without having to bend down and ferret around under the bench....

 

[Jon Heptonstall]

Thanks Peter. I've got that stashed away somewhere.
Jon.

 

[Guest]

Tim, I'm just waiting for a 1/8-1/4 reducer then I'll be running something very similar.

I already have a filter regulator on my bench that my big (too noisy!) compressor ran to. Once the reducer is here I can put a quick disconnect on the airbrush compressor and swap my piping system between the two of them, depending what I'm up to.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Hi Guys

I have just reproduced the article in a pdf and create a blog for the pdf under the 'techniques' heading for future reference. here is the pdf also.

Peter

 

[colin m]

Hi Guys

I have just reproduced the article in a pdf and create a blog for the pdf under the 'techniques' heading for future reference. here is the pdf also.

Peter

Thanks for taking time to create that file. Even old hands at AB's might find that useful.