Airbrush vs regular brush

Axel Smith wrote:

I don't have an airbrush, so I paint everything by hand, and it seems to work out fine (so far),

I have seen many master piece of modeling done with hand painting only. But me, an weekend modeler, an airbrush does seem to open options that I cannot accomplish with hand painting. For example, I never managed to learn how to paint large area of gloss paint (cars, aircraft ID strip etc.) completely free of brush stroke. An airbrush allows me to do it well with a fraction of the effort. 

but is an airbrush worth looking into and investing in?

It is definitely yes. Plastic modeling is one of the highest satisfaction per cost hobby, or frustration. For the cost of a few model kits, or one large scale airplane or battleship, the airbrush equipment investment can last a good many years. If you have read through this post, you will see that it is the consensus of many of us.

I don't have a large budget, so i woudn't be able to get a top notch airbrush, but is it worth looking into an airbrush and compressor? Or are they just too much of a hassle, and should I stick to the brush and rattlecan?

You have to be smart in selecting the airbrush, but it does not have to be expensive. I consider my Iwata HP-CS airbrush a top notch selection for modeling. It costed me less than $100, brand new from Hobby Lobby.

You can get an gravity feed, internal mix airbrush for $20-30 from Badger's garage sales area, or an Iwata clone from one of the reliable vendor. It will do everything that Phil_H mentioned in his post earlier on this thread.

With a gravity feed AB, you can get by with a cheaper compressor ($60-80) until you want to invest in a better one. In the July 2008 issue of the FSM, a highly rated BearAir piston compressor is only $120.

I don't have an airbrush, so I paint everything by hand, and it seems to work out fine (so far), but is an airbrush worth looking into and investing in? I don't have a large budget, so i woudn't be able to get a top notch airbrush, but is it worth looking into an airbrush and compressor? Or are they just too much of a hassle, and should I stick to the brush and rattlecan?

PaintsWithBrush wrote:

MikeV, You are certainly right about that observation of the cost of an airbrush set up compared to the amount some people have in the inventories, given the numbers people reveal on threads about that subject. The cost/lifespan is also well true. In my own particular case, it is difficult to gather the one time funds to make the initial purchase (fixed income SSD) coupled with a "never had one in the past" attitude that keeps me personally from buying one.

Totally understandable my friend. Do you have a compressor that would work for an airbrush? 

100LL,
Don't divert your college funds for anything else! You'll have many years to drop money into this hobby AFTER you've taken care of your education. Good luck with your studies.

MikeV,
You are certainly right about that observation of the cost of an airbrush set up compared to the amount some people have in the inventories, given the numbers people reveal on threads about that subject.
The cost/lifespan is also well true. In my own particular case, it is difficult to gather the one time funds to make the initial purchase (fixed income SSD) coupled with a "never had one in the past" attitude that keeps me personally from buying one.

Please, no one take my "hand brush only" (with a little rattlecan action thrown in) for a stance against the airbrush. As stated in the previous posting, I greatly admire the airbrush work I see on this and other forums, as well as the FSM magazine and GSM when it comes out.
I am a firm believer that the way one choses to build/paint/decal/pose their works are, in the end, a matter of pleasing oneself and whatever makes the builder happy, in the end, is all that matters.
Regards, PWB.

No its not the clean up that is a factor at all, although there is more required by using my Badger 150. I just handpaint the interior, the wheels, all the little stuff besides the fuselage. I wish I had enough money to go buy a gravity fed airbrush but my college budget doesnt allow me to haha.

PaintsWithBrush wrote:

I admire the works I see and what an airbrush can do, but not to the point that I would be willing to commit to the expense of all the equipment.

It's not that much money especially when you consider that a good airbrush and compressor will last you basically the rest of your life. Some people on here have 10x that amount in acquired kits alone!

Gus wrote:

I don't see how you can airbursh a 1/35 scale figure...especially the face.

Yea, there is going to be a long list of "do not want to airbrush". I will start adding to my wheel well, cockpit and canopy mentioned earlier:

1. The rubber rim of the battle tank wheel, form 1/72 to 1/16.

2. The hand tools and cables on a battle tank.

3. The tires, any size, any vehicle.

But I still airbrush 90% of the time after this long list. It is a personal choice. The post is about what you use to do MOST of your paint job. No one ever implies that it is exclusively airbrush. I have seen some beautiful hand painting jobs on the pages of FSM. I admire them, but concluded that they were far beyond my league. The airbrush allows me to get some effect that I did not manage with the paint brush.

The point made here is that airbrush is NOT any more inconvenient than a paint brush to clean in between colors. But you need to invest on a good design to realize the benefit of an airbrush.

The investment on my airbrush and compressor is small compared to the amount I spend on kits in a year. Well, may be not small, but definitely less than. 

I will be very happy if someone who was intimidated by airbrush before gets up the courage to try one after reading Phil_H's post.

 

I don't see how you can airbursh a 1/35 scale figure...especially the face.

PaintsWithBrush wrote:

100LL, you say that you do have an airbrush but choose to paint a majority by hand. I am curious as to why. Is clean up of the airbrush a factor there?

For many years, I used to have a Paasche H airbrush. The painting result was wonderful and it can do many things that I cannot accomplish with a hand brush job. (It was me. Not the paintbrush.) Just like Phil_H said, the cleaning and changing color with the Paasche AB was a real pain in the neck. So I also "choose to paint a majority by hand" (past tense) like 100LL. When I upgraded to an Iwata HP-CS last year, my experience changed just like Phil_H with his Sparmax GF. I echo and fully understand when Phil said:

It makes it much easier to "paint as you go" as you would with a paintbrush and generally makes the overall modelling experience more enjoyable by making the task of painting less intimidating.

A paintbrush is still the only tool for dry brushing, including pick out details in cockpit and wheel well. I also prefer hand paint the canopy frame because masking is messy. Most everything else, I use the airbrush. (Someday, I will try the laser-cut mask too.)

I use both spray can and airbrush for metal finish depending on the color and effect I want. But milage may vary, we would have to experiment and develop the mix of approaches that is best for individuals based on the availability and economics of equipment and supplies.

 

I do not own an airbrush so I hand brush everything, with the exception pointed out by Hans von Hammer regarding the use of rattlecans. I admire the works I see and what an airbrush can do, but not to the point that I would be willing to commit to the expense of all the equipment.
100LL, you say that you do have an airbrush but choose to paint a majority by hand. I am curious as to why. Is clean up of the airbrush a factor there?

Well I've been using a Badger 150 for a while and it really does step up my modeling to the next level I think. And to be honest the cleaning isn't that bad, I think I just got used to it. oh, and that website link is awesome, thanks for posting that.

Hi keilau,

I actually had similar issues with my previous brush (a Badger 200). Whilst more than happy with the results I achieved, a painting session was a major time investment, a big part of which was cleaning every time you switch colours. Often I would just use the colour cup for paint and have a paint jar full of water to flush the brush out (I use acrylics exclusively) But overall, it was a major pain. You had to have everything at a stage where it was ready to receive paint, set up, paint it, clean your airbrush, pack it away and then grumble in frustration when you found the part you forgot to paint (which you invariably do at the end of every painting session ). 

These days, as I mentioned above, it's no great hassle to mix up a tiny amount of paint, drop it in the well and paint when required using my GF (Sparmax) brush. It makes it much easier to "paint as you go" as you would with a paintbrush and generally makes the overall modelling experience more enjoyable by making the task of painting less intimidating.

Now I realise that some people may be limited in what they can do by their setups, eg. propel cans instead of compressors, or by the nature of the airbrush they're using (but even the humble Badger 350 can turn out great results), but even so, there is some scope for variation on the "fancy spray can" mindset, and as I said above, you never know until you try.   

100LL wrote:

So my question I think is personal preferance, but I thought I'd ask anyways. Going through the magazine and looking at the detail on the models is amazing, do the majority of people airbrush every part? I mean, I airbrush the big parts but hand brush the majority of parts on the models I build.

Dunno about the majority, but I don't... Most of mine get brush-painted on the interiors, especially the detail work... The exterior parts get airbrushed though... Unless it's a one-color job like a Sherman or Lee... Those jobs get rattle-canned..

Phil_H wrote:

I too, prefer to airbrush as much as I can.  However, the type of airbrush one uses comes into play. I use a gravity feed brush, which allows me to use as little as a few drops of paint effectively, whereas the same amount would get "lost" in the paint path of a siphon feed brush. In the same regard, cleaning (of a GF brush) only takes a quick flush and wipe and the job's done. I find it takes longer to clean a paintbrush (even a 000) properly than it does to clean my airbrush.

Phil_H,

Your post is so well said. A lot of modeler with cheap external mix airbrush do not understand the importance of easy cleaning.

I had a Paasche H for many years and it got the job done fine. But I WAS reluntant to take out the AB because of the aftermath. It all changed when I got an Iwata HP-CS last year. Now, I very much appreciate what you posted. Thank you for the wonderful encouragement to all the modelers.

Phil Flory has a free video at his Promodeller.com site that illustrate your point quite well.

 http://www.promodeller.com/promodellers-tv-show/

Scroll down to see the last show or the "Tuesday 28th April" video at the news page.

 

Great post with several good points by Phil! I probably do 90%+ of painting a model - train or armor - with the airbrush. Mix the gravity feed with thin paint, low air pressure and careful trigger control and you can paint even very small parts.

Phil_H wrote:

I too, prefer to airbrush as much as I can.  However, the type of airbrush one uses comes into play. I use a gravity feed brush, which allows me to use as little as a few drops of paint effectively, whereas the same amount would get "lost" in the paint path of a siphon feed brush. In the same regard, cleaning (of a GF brush) only takes a quick flush and wipe and the job's done. I find it takes longer to clean a paintbrush (even a 000) properly than it does to clean my airbrush. Many people tend to think of an airbrush as a high-tech spray can for doing smooth, even applications of paint to large areas. Yes, it does excel at this task, but if you're only using it in this manner, then you are only utilising a small part of its total range of abilities. Don't box yourself into that mindset, explore your airbrush's abilities - all it will cost you is some time and paint. (And yes, I'm crazy enough to try freehand airbrushing the rubber tyre sections on a 1/72 scale Panzer IV - can almost do it too ) Turn your air pressure down, thin your paint a bit more and get up close and personal, you'll be surprised at what is possible with a little (ok, maybe a lot) of practice.

Well said Phil.

I too, prefer to airbrush as much as I can. 

However, the type of airbrush one uses comes into play. I use a gravity feed brush, which allows me to use as little as a few drops of paint effectively, whereas the same amount would get "lost" in the paint path of a siphon feed brush.

In the same regard, cleaning (of a GF brush) only takes a quick flush and wipe and the job's done. I find it takes longer to clean a paintbrush (even a 000) properly than it does to clean my airbrush.

Many people tend to think of an airbrush as a high-tech spray can for doing smooth, even applications of paint to large areas. Yes, it does excel at this task, but if you're only using it in this manner, then you are only utilising a small part of its total range of abilities.

Don't box yourself into that mindset, explore your airbrush's abilities - all it will cost you is some time and paint. (And yes, I'm crazy enough to try freehand airbrushing the rubber tyre sections on a 1/72 scale Panzer IV - can almost do it too ) Turn your air pressure down, thin your paint a bit more and get up close and personal, you'll be surprised at what is possible with a little (ok, maybe a lot) of practice.

 

I airbrush practically everything.

I prepare all the parts that are say flat black and shoot them all at the same time so that they are done. Then I will repeat with another color that has a lot of parts. After that it's A little color here and there depending on what I missed or something needs touching up.

The only things I hand paint are instrument panel gauges and really small details like that.

You just can't match the airbrushed finish with a paintbrush in my opinion.