Game changer

wpwar11

One follow up question.  What’s the best practice for oil stains, engine exhaust, etc?  I want to build the effect up slowly with diluted paint.  When I do this the color looks the right consistency but I get splatter on the surface.  When I add more paint to the cup the splatter is gone but the effect is too heavy.  Is this just a matter of practice?

 

I use either a wash or drybrushing.  I find I get better work with the drybrush method and I can make quite small stains with a small brush.  A short or medium length brush is better than a long-hair brush.  Also, drybrushing is a bit hard on the hairs, so once I start using a brush for drybrushing I only us it for that subsequently.

I use a plastic pallet for dry brushing.  I use one of those sample credit cards or discount cards I get so many of in the mail.  They are the same size as credit cards and a glossy plastic.  I dip my brush in the paint bottle and then onto the pallete. I then dip the brush in thinner and into the paint.  If I want super control I thin it a little thinner.  Then I dip the point of the brush into the paint, and paint a little area on the palette. I spread it out so it is like a stain on the pallete.. I quickly clean with a towel the hairs, then pick up some paint from the stained area, which will be drying quickly.  Knowing exactly when to pick up paint from the stained area takes some practice. I then gently brush against the area of the model I wish to stain.  This puts down a very dilute stain, and you can repeat it as needed to get the opaqueness you need.  And moving the brush around in the stained area allows you to modulate how the stain works.  I use this method a lot on exhaust pipes- since the stain is quite transparent you can apply two different colors and because of the dryness when you put it on, it does not mix much.

Thanks Magnet.

I think I’ll do the complete clean after every build also.

I have the same airbrush. I give it a thorough cleaning after each build, in between it's typically just a quick cleaning without disassembly. I did find that lubing the needle per the manufacturer's instructions is a very good thing to do. Mine came with a small tube of lube that I use which should last a very long time considering I use so little of it.

wpwar11

One follow up question.  What’s the best practice for oil stains, engine exhaust, etc?  I want to build the effect up slowly with diluted paint.  When I do this the color looks the right consistency but I get splatter on the surface.  When I add more paint to the cup the splatter is gone but the effect is too heavy.  Is this just a matter of practice?

 

I use artist brushes for most of my weathering effects. Just fwiw. I don't think you will find too many folks here using the airbrush for that, maybe some overall washes. On engines I kind of slobber it on to let it flow naturally then mop up what I don't want before its dry.

One follow up question.  What’s the best practice for oil stains, engine exhaust, etc?  I want to build the effect up slowly with diluted paint.  When I do this the color looks the right consistency but I get splatter on the surface.  When I add more paint to the cup the splatter is gone but the effect is too heavy.  Is this just a matter of practice?

I wipe out the gravity cup as thoroughly as possible, then fill it with LT and backflush, then shoot it dry.

Then I wipe off the tip

I pull the needle and wipe it down.

I clean the bottom of the cup/ body with a soaked Q tip.

Reassemble and shoot a little more LT. I very rarely take it apart.

I do two different types of cleaning. If I am just changing colors, or painting one assembly and I will be using it again in an hour or two, I just do a cleaning with thinner, not a teardown clean.

If I am done with the kit, or will not be airbrushing again that day, then I do the complete teardown and cleaning each part seperately.

For the temporary cleaning I take off the paint bottle (suction feed brush) and backflush the paint out of it by backing off the needle and holding a q-tip over the nozzle.  Then I start running thinner through it until no trace of color comes out, then running some thinner into the brush and put it up with thinner in the bottle.

Congrats,it will take your modeling to the next level,even as a novice.Its the same brush that have.