new to airbrushing

1. 60/40 paint to thinner usually is a good starting point. but it depends on the color, brand of paint, and your airbrush. thats something you have to tweak yourself and jot it down or remember it.

2. Yes. i thin beyond 50/50 many times for different weathering. tamiya smoke is a wonderful color for all sorts of effects. try that one for exhaust stains, machine gun stains, and panel line shading, also good for the shadow effect.

3. i like to use tamiya Buff for desert dust, and leather, wood, and other colors look good for dust too. leather and wood are mm enamels. i usually thin them about 40/60 paint to thinner, pressure is about 12psi, and i'm about 3-6 inches from the surface of the subject and dust it lightly and build up the effect you want. later.

Yup, I can't add anything to what Chris said. I like my paint pretty thin, even though I have to use a few more coats to get coverage. I feel like it ends up being better that way. Just remember to go slowly and experiment some. In no time at all you'll have a good technique that works for you and you'll be knocking us out with great paint jobs!

do you need a special compresser? or will a car tire inflater one work?

QUOTE: do you need a special compresser? or will a car tire inflater one work?

If you mean one of those 12 volt emergency inflators I seriously doubt that it will work. The ones I've seen do not have very much volume at all and they pulsate terribly. In addition they will probably get pretty hot in a little while.

If you mean a full-fledged general-purpose compressor, yes, that will work just fine. You'll need a regulator to control the pressure, and a moisture trap is highly recommended.

thanks for all the help so far. how much money is a modeling compressure?

I have testors mini blue with an added moisture trap/regulator and it works very well. The compressor probably can be found for about $100 on the high end and the regulator like I have was about $70

if it were me, i'd check out home depot or lowe's for a 2hp compressor with about a 5 gallon tank (unless the compressor has to be inside with you and your family). for the price, modelling specific compressors are way expensive for the limited amount of tasks you can do with them. unless you need a super silent compressor, check at sears or somewhere and get a "real" compressor. put it out under the garage or storage shed, bury or run a hose from the compressor to your hobby room and put a quick disconnect on it, then let it rip. later.

QUOTE: if it were me, i'd check out home depot or lowe's for a 2hp compressor with about a 5 gallon tank (unless the compressor has to be inside with you and your family).

- Unless you can get a real good deal on a hobby-type compressor or just need one that is very quiet. Mine is a Porter-Cable I got a Lowes a long time ago. It will run upt to about 140 psi so I can use it for a lot of other things.

$100 is alot, i'm in canada so $100 us in about $150 canadian i'll keep an eye out for cheap ones.

If your in Canada, watch Canadian Tire's weekly flyer. About every 6 weeks they have a small compressor for sale. Last time it was a small compressor with a 2 gallon tank and regulator for $98 CDN. All you would need to add is a moisture trap and your all set.