A paint question

I think that you should not stick to one kind of paint (enamel / acrylic). Learn to use both of them because each has its own advantage or disadvantage. I use enamels on aircraft and ships because, like Foster said, it gives a nice finish (smooth and a little glossy) on the other hand I use acrylics on armoured vehicles because of that matt, grainy look. I like the way acrylics blend together escpecially when painting camouflage schemes. For starters try painting models first that have single colors like WW2 American tanks or Desert schemes. When you get the nack of it then go on to a little more complicated camoflage schemes and so on.

Always use the thinner specifically for that brand and type of paint and you can't go wrong. Always paint in a well ventilated room wether its enamel or acrylic. And clean your airbrush immediately after using it!

My advice would be closer to saltydog's. Nothing is better for practicing than an actual model. However any item can be used. Pick up an old figurine from a garage sale or a cheap, broken toy from a thrift store and they can be used for practice just as well as a model.

Here is where my advice will differ from those above. For the two or three dollars you'll spend, practice with the paint you decide that you are going to use. Whether it's enamels or acrylics, your personal formula for a perfect paint job will differ from someone elses. The differences between acrylic and enamel mixes is the most obvious, but mixes between individual manuafacturer's paints will also differ somewhat. A lot of factors come into play when developing your airbrush paint mix. Air pressure, type of airbrush, brand of paint, type of thinner, altitude above sea level, humidity...the list is sometimes endless (or so it seems).

If you decide to use enamels on your models, why waste the time perfecting an acrylic mix based on cheap acrylic paint that you're never going to actually use. Spend the extra two or three dollars and practice with the paint you'll use. It should only take you one bottle or two before you are happily airbrushing away.

As for me, I use Model Master enamels almost exclusively. I like the way enamels coat the model as well as the final finish. Clean up is more difficult than with acrylics and there is always the hazards associated with fumes and chemicals, but I accept these drawbacks because of the results. Some day I may change to acrylics, but not now.

Robert

my advice is a little different but along the same as tweety's and scott's. whatever paint you use (i found that mm enamels stick better, cover in less coats, and have more color clarity in my opinion), i would go out to wally world or LHS and buy some cheap, cheap models and just slap them together without paying much detail to the build qualities. i picked up a damaged 1/48 scale hasegawa BF 109 at my LHS for less than twenty bucks and found out the only thing wrong with it was the decals so i put it away for a "real" build later. but anyway, i went to wally world and got a P-40 and an F-14 and slapped them together to use as airbrush fodder, also Hobby Lobby has 1/2 off plastic days occasionally and you can hit the jack pot there sometimes. then, when you got those tacked together fairly decent, you can spray so many coats of practice on them until you can no longer see any panel lines and detail. this should give you the knack of painting something 3D because its totally different than spraying a flat piece of something. when spraying a 3D object, you have to work from the recesses out to the outer "easy to get to" places. have fun and it sounds like you have a very nice set up happening!! later.

oh yeah, whatever paint you decide on is gonna usually have to be thinned atleast some so be prepared to thin whatever you buy using the milk rule. i thin my mm enamel starting at 50/50 and add thinner from there according to what i'm doing. this is a thin mixture and it takes a few more coats but the results are fantastically smooth. later.

Music is right.
For practicing, your best bet is to use artist acrylics, cheap and nasty I know, but alot better than splurging buckets of cash on hobby paint only to be wasted on paper.

I also use acrylics exclusively, mainly for the cleaning factor, and secondly fumes.
Enamels are great for modelling as are acrylics, and personal preferance plays a large amount. Some people even use both types regularly.

Like Music said, milky consistency for your paint mix. You will soon know if it's too thick or thin.

And spray till your hearts content.

It is highly advisable to purchase yourself a really cheap and nasty test model.
Quite a few people have one or 2, including myself, just to test out camo or colour mixes, tones and that sort of thing.


Hope this helps

Happy spraying


Sean

For just practicing you can go to any art supply store and get a bottle of acrylic airbrush paint. It's cheaper than model paint, works fine on paper, but doesn't stick to styrene worth a hoot.

As to whether to use acrylic or enamel on your models, that's your choice. There are benefits to both. Enamels generally adhere better and spray better but acrylics don't have the fumes associated with enamels and can be cleaned up with just water. The downside to acrylics is that, as the guy told you, they dry ridiculously fast. They can, in fact, dry in the air between the airbrush and the model surface. I personally spray acrylics almost exclusively. Not having a house full of paint fumes and being able to clean up with water is a big plus to me.

Thin your paint to about the consistency of milk, run your compressor down to about 15 psi, and spray from a few inches away from the surface. If the paint doesn't flow properly it may be too thick. If it's runny or won't cover it's too thin. If the surface is rough and you are using acrylics the paint is probably drying before it gets to the surface. A couple of drops of acrylic retarder, lowering the air pressure, or painting closer to the surface may help.

Regardless of what you use, I'd strongly recommend the use of a respirator. Paint fumes are just plain bad to breathe and a good respirator will be very beneficial in the long run.

Also keep in mind that the only way to learn to use an airbrush properly is lots and lots of practice. Nobody can do that for you, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work well at first.