(Funny) Airbrush Newbie Mistakes

I was fortunate, while in college I was a commercial art major. This allowed me to get the chance to use an airbrush. Unfortunately due to class size and the specific lesson plan, I was allowed to "learn" all I wanted/could .......in 1 week.

Now fast forward to my re-entry to model building (45 years later) the second and third tools I bought was an airbrush and compressor.  So with my "vast prior experience" I confidently  hooked everything up, pulged in the plug and filled up the paint cup. READY to Shoot some Paint!   Pulled down and back on the trigger... And...and....and Splatt/Sploot !

It was at this ignominious juncture I remembered the small knurled knob on the back end - sometimes needed a small adjustment or two the get the brush set up right; just not while holding the trigger fully down.....sigh.  After the hour or so of cleaning up the afore mentioned splatt/sploot  from the bench and the tools laying about.  I was now able to adjust the spray and got out the current project (being collage trained I shouldn't need to practice futher!)  

Taking aim at my masterpiece  (or poor inoffensive little model my wife called it ) I let fly with the paint. As luck would have it I was able to coat the model completely on the top, sides, front and back....Great! Job! ..........Sooo, How am I gonna paint the bottom?  

I Know,  I'll get a toothpick and slip it into this hole and pick up the whole thing---Yea.  

After the toothpick broke and I turned the painted top back over from the bench. I decided to leave it all to dry.   Dry It did, though the thickness of the paint, may have caused it to take all week long- I didn't know for sure- but was suspicious.

Since then I have slowly learned:  thin the paint, spray light coats,  figure out before hand how the hold the model both during and after the spraying , keep the airbrush a constant distance from the model and start and stop the spray pattern both before the model and after the model.  

Being trained in college almost 50 years ago and never touching an airbrush again until my return to modeling certainly made a major difference in my skill set...But I was able to overcome all of that after awhile.

Ah the glue is dry, have to return to my model now

To the OP:

1. Make sure the needle chucking nut is tight.  Otherwise, pulling back the trigger won't move the needle back.  The Eclipse HP-CS is the most user friendly AB I've ever used.  Once everything's set up correctly, you won't have more problems.

2. Make sure the nozzle cap is tight.

3. Buy food dyes at a grocery store, heavily dilute them with water and practice airbrushing.  The beauty of this practice method is that (1) you won't clog your AB even if you practice for one hour and (2) you can clean your AB with water.  Although tap water works well, I'd use distilled water to prevent a potential mineral build-up inside the AB.  I always rinse my Iwata ABs with distilled water.  It's cheap and one bottle lasts for years.  

4. When you take out the nozzle for cleaning, be very careful.  The Eclipse nozzle is not screwed in and it can fall to the floor easily.  I accidentally dropped my nozzle after my 1st practice session with my HP-CS and damaged it.

I do have one tip that might help.

Get something to strain the paint if you use paint cups, and/or get the Badger in jar paint strainer if you ever use siphon feed jars.

For paint cups, I found a small strainer intended for the one cup coffee makers (for using grounds instead of liquid)  Devise a handle for the Badger strainer and it could work for paint cups, also.

I also have a small "tea strainer",,,,,,,,think tiny all metal fishnet tool.

TarnShip

I started with the Badger Basic Spray gun and replacement cans of Propel. You thinned your paint, turned on the "air knob" on the top of the can, and turned the knurled front of the "airbrush".

Tip it any way you want to, etc,,,,,,you just hoped that you had enough pressure before the can frosted over to get one whole coat of thick paint onto a model.

I did that for a pretty long time,,,,,,then got a compressor, a Badger 200, and the add-on color cup.

First time I used it, I thinned out an almost full color cup of Lt Gull Gray paint, turned the air compressor on, and dialed a HUGE amount of air pressure.

Yep, pretty much the same story here, though I started with a basic Humbrol "airbrush" which was more or less the equivalent of the Badger 250, and air cans. Worked my way up through a Badger 350 and air cans then a spare tyre and tyre adaptor (pump it up, spray a few seconds, pump it up some more, repeat... I think I actually wore out a foot pump that way)

As Rex said above, when you use an air source which is essentially non-adjustable, things happen very quickly, with limited control. The first time when you dial down the pressure on a compressor, it all clicks into place and you get that "yeah, this is what it's all about" revelation.

As to the current problem, if the paint was old, it may be laden with larger particulates which can block an airbrush in an instant. Open the paint jar and see if there's a build up of chunks around the rim. Shaking the bottle tends to dislodge these into the paint and they won't break down. They actually create seed points in the paint which encourages the paint to start curing in the jar.

Another possibility is that the paint simply hasn't been reduced enough. Tamiya acrylics can actually be thinned quite heavily and still cover. I'm talking about 75-80% thinner (ie 1 part paint to 3-4 parts thinner)

Lastly, I'd recommend getting a feel for your airbrush by painting scrap plastic, packaging material or anything other than an actual model so that you know how it's going to behave before working on a "live" build.

We all have to start somewhere, good luck..  

I started with the Badger Basic Spray gun and replacement cans of Propel. You thinned your paint, turned on the "air knob" on the top of the can, and turned the knurled front of the "airbrush".

Tip it any way you want to, etc,,,,,,you just hoped that you had enough pressure before the can frosted over to get one whole coat of thick paint onto a model.

I did that for a pretty long time,,,,,,then got a compressor, a Badger 200, and the add-on color cup.

First time I used it, I thinned out an almost full color cup of Lt Gull Gray paint, turned the air compressor on, and dialed a HUGE amount of air pressure.

It was foggy, like someone was painting a 1/1 scale car in that room,,,,right up until I forgot myself and angled the brush to "get that spot",,,,,,,,yup, the color cups don't come with lids, lol

I *think* I have unlearned all of my bad habits from those Spray Gun days,,,,,,,,,at least I hope so.

Learning takes some time,,,,,,but, you have good equipment there,,,,you will only have to learn it once.

Rex

You'll learn sooner or later.  I started airbrushing 2 years ago.  I bought an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and a Smart Jet, but didn't have courage to use a double action AB.  So I bought a Paasche H single action external mix siphon-fed AB.  I made a ton of (stupid) mistakes (I even accidentally sprayed a paint to my face!).  I got nervous before every painting session.  

Last year, I finally got the courage to try my HP-CS.  In my first session with it, I poured paint all over the place because I turned the AB sideways, forgetting that I was using a gravity feed AB!  It took a ton of fabric cleaner to restore my carpet to its original color.    

My mistakes and errors have helped me airbrush better.  Although I'm no expert at airbrushing, I have no problem using my Iwata HP-B+ w/ a .2 mm nozzle nowadays and airbrushing has become my favorite part of modeling.  You'll get better at airbrushing!