crappy regulators

Casey,

What compressor are you using?
If it is a small diaphragm compressor then you may not get more than 20 psi no matter what you do.

Mike

MikeV, it is Badger's 80-2 compressor. You are probably right but why does it read 40 psi before I press the AB trigger.

Casey,

Because at rest the compressor is putting out that much pressure because there is no load. When you hold down the airbrush trigger the compressor is under load and cannot maintain that high of pressure.
To maintain 40 psi you would need a holding tank and possibly a bigger compressor motor.

I would spray between 10-20 psi as that is the best range for finer lines and less overspray.

Mike

thanks for explaining that, it makes sense now. Spraying around 20 psi seems to be what most people do. I have been trying to use Tamiya acrylics lately and I have thinned them to just about every ratio imaginable and It still spatters a little. I figured I needed to up the PSI, which lead to the regulator problems. maybe there is a problem with My AB(badger 150) or possibly I need to try some other type of paint.

Casey,

What do you mean by "spatters a little" when you paint?
How far away are you when you paint?

Mike

Yeah Casey, I got the same problem with my Diaphragm (Badger) Compressor!! Thanks for asking the ??? as I thought it was me!!! LOL I kinda assumed it was like Mike was sayin', and I'm in the market for a quieter one anyways!!!

I just looked at some parts that i had painted the other day using tamiya acrylics. After the paint session i was pretty dissappointed in the outcome. there was a little spatter. Now I just looked at the parts and the finish is almost completely smooth. Is this a characrteristic of Tamiya's paints or did I just luck out.

what i mean by spatter is, it seems like there are specs of paint that spray out. That is probably not a good explanation but I dont really know how to explain it. I have a moisture trap, so I dont think its water coming through the line. I spray about 6 inches from the surface of the model.

Casey those "Spatters" are probably flecks of dried paint. Acrylics are notorious for doing that. They dry so quickly that you will get dried flakes of paint on the airbrush tip and occasionally those flakes will break off and fly along with the paint. The other problem, and related to the same thing, is that the paint could be drying in the the air between the airbrush and the surface of the model.

Several things you can do:
1) Keep your tip clean. When you put the airbrush down wipe the tip with a Q-Tip soaked in solvent or water (my way) or your finger nail (MikeV's way )

2) Add a couple of drops of acrylic retarder to your paint since that will dramatically slow down the drying time.

3) Use a different thinner. I usually use alcohol and that dries much quicker than just water. Try the Tamiya thinner or 50% alcohol / 50% distilled water.

4) Paint a little closer to the surface and/or at a lower pressure.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MusicCity 1) Keep your tip clean. When you put the airbrush down wipe the tip with a Q-Tip soaked in solvent or water (my way) or your finger nail (MikeV's way )

Since he has a Badger 150 I don' t think he can do it my way as the needle is not exposed enough to get to with your fingernails. The Q-tip would be a better idea.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MusicCity 4) Paint a little closer to the surface and/or at a lower pressure.

I think this may be the most important thing in relation to his problem.
While 6" seems fairly close it is actually pretty far away for acrylics through an airbrush.
I would spray at about 3" away and see how that does.

Mike

QUOTE: Since he has a Badger 150 I don' t think he can do it my way as the needle is not exposed enough to get to with your fingernails. The Q-tip would be a better idea.

Depends on how sharp his claws are

QUOTE: I think this may be the most important thing in relation to his problem. While 6" seems fairly close it is actually pretty far away for acrylics through an airbrush. I would spray at about 3" away and see how that does

That's kind of what I was thinking to. I usually spray from 3 - 4"

BTW, something else you might try. I hadn't used PolyScale (acrylic) paint until just a little while ago. I don't think I really like the paint that much, the coverage isn't great and it takes several coats to get it opaqe, but it will spray by just breathing on it and it takes several minutes to dry.

I've got my regulator so far down that the gauge doesn't even register and there is just a whisper of air coming through the airbrush (and my airbrush is a siphon feed Omni 3000!). I was having terrible "Dry Tip" problems at first, but kept dropping the pressure and it kept getting better.

As per the instructions on the bottle, it's thinned with just distilled water and no retarder. The coverage problem could also be because I thinned it a little too much. I need to learn to read the WHOLE paragraph and not just the part that says "Thin with water". I missed the "10% - 15% water" and thinned it about 30%.

Great, thanks guys. Im gonna have to pick up some acrylic retarder. Next AB session I'm gonna paint a little closer and be more aware to keep the tip clean.

Casey,

Also remember that when you spray a line of paint with the airbrush and then stop there will be wet paint still on the tip of the needle.
When you point it at the model again and push down on the trigger, that paint on the needle tip will blow onto the model in little droplets sometimes.
A good habit to get into is spraying straight air through the airbrush after making a pass on the model to clear that needle tip of any paint.
Some people keep the trigger of the airbrush pressed and just move the trigger forward to stop paint flow after a pass over what they are painting, as this will accomplish the same thing. It does take some getting used to though.

Mike

Thanks Mike, I will remember that when I start painting.

lol i found something for ALL aztek users

1. you know those small (white) microbrushes? take off the back, drill ah ole, and you have a small paint reservoir.

2. if you only put in about 1/4'th of a drop, you can spray VERY soft patterns at aobut 3 millimeters.