Airbrush help!

willmicik

...any time i try to paint with a very thinned paint, it comes out inconsistent and basically like water...I use tamiya acrylics-thinned with tamiya acrylic thinner... 

As far as your paint goes, you might be thinning it too much.

I use Tamiya acrylics, too, and I use their proprietary thinner.  It was the only way I could get consistent results.  But I thin to about 50-50 thinner-to-paint, no more.  A lot of modelers will say, "so it has the consistency of skim milk", but I drink whole milk, so that image never helped me.  I go more by measuring amounts.  But try that-try cutting back a little on the thinner.

And yeah, a regulator for your compressor, and a double-action brush will make it much easier.  I use a Paasche VL, with a Craftsman 1.5 hp, 125 psi compressor on a 3-gallon tank.  Noisy as hell, but I also run some air tools with it, beside airbrushing.

Hope that helps!

A post-script:  You can also cut Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner.  It will make the flats come out absolutely dead-flat matte.

learmech

Get a Regulator. That will help a lot.

Yep,  Harbor Freight Tools,  maybe about 12 bucks with their 20% coupon.   Also available from big-box hardware stores for more $ and no different quality -- for our application.  Check the connections, compressor outlet,  in & out of regulator, and airbrush hose.   These connections likely 1/8 NPT and/or 1/4 NPT, and can also be had at the hardware store also.   Pick up a roll of Teflon thread seal tape while you're there.   I use a male/female quick disconnect out of the regulator to the hose so I can break it apart easily.    Choice is yours.

For future expansion, consider replacing the gauge with a 30PSI one.   Most regulator gauges are 180 to 200PSI, full scale and can be off as much as 10%.    The lower pressure gauge allows finer tuning of final brush pressure.

willmicik

is the fact that i dont have a regulator and the ability to turn down the air pressure the problem?

I'd suspect so, yes.

A regulator would probably do you more good than a new airbrush or compressor. You can't do the panel-center filtering effect I think you are wanting with any compressor at full bore.

Edit: As an afterthought, if you have a single-action a/b that's not helping either. To do what you want, you need low air pressure and low paint flow. Both quite challenging without a way to regulate air pressure and paint flow.

if it comes out like water like you mentionned, try with less thinner? the consistency of the paint matters with an airbrush, for example too thick and it will clog.

And by god, try first on something else than your model!!!

use something else made out of plastic or an old model you don't care about, once you achieve a result you like, move on to your current build.

cheers.