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Idiot of the month club

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  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: La Crosse, WI
Idiot of the month club
Posted by bud156 on Monday, April 11, 2005 8:46 AM
We should all share those moments when our madula oblongata seperates itself from the rest of our brains. We can all learn from our mistakes! I humbly submit my "Idiot of the month" anecdote.

I tried my brand new airbrush yesterday, first time ever using an airbrush. All was going well. (I did get confused over clockwise and counter clockwise for a few seconds)I was having a great time expermenting and practicing. I was finishing up for dinner, but still had quite a bit of paint left in the cup. I thought.....hmmm, why don't I just spray the paint back in the jar....So I stick the tip in the jar and press the trigger.....I end up with half the jar on my shorts and the other half splattered around a 20 sq. ft. area in my yard. I sat there....stunned that I could be so stupid... I run in the house and tell my fiance that I "made a mistake". It was acrylic so I immidiately ran to the washer and pretreated my shirt and shorts and tossed it all in. It's supposed to rain tonight so I hope the paint comes off our concrete patio.....moral of the story, don't be lazy, do things right the first time. I should have either used the rest in practice, or poured the rest back in the jar (duh). Oh well, live and learn. Big Smile [:D] P.S. the paint came out pretty good
Mike
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Bicester, England
Posted by KJ200 on Monday, April 11, 2005 1:00 PM
Mike you're not the first. to do that ..........

......and I'm hoping I wasn't either!

My dumbest moment, there are a quite a few to choose from, was first time I fired up my Badger 200. This was also the first time that I had used a proper air brush.

I hooked everything up, put a jar of paint on the syphon feed and let rip, or rather didn't.

No paint, just a hissing sound.

Like an idiot I'd forgotten to remove the cap from the front of the A/BDunce [D)]

Karl

Currently on the bench: AZ Models 1/72 Mig 17PF

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: La Crosse, WI
Posted by bud156 on Monday, April 11, 2005 1:34 PM
I did something similar, I was just getting air and then I realized I needed to open up the nozzle(it's a single action) so the whole session was a learning experience!
Mike
  • Member since
    January 2005
Posted by jcheung5150 on Monday, April 11, 2005 9:20 PM
i have also done the old "spray the paint back into the bottle" trick, with similiar results. not to mention the several bottles of paint and decal solution I have accidently tipped over ....

Jimmy Photobucket

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 11, 2005 11:46 PM
I like to do the "cheap rattlecan paint through the straw into the airbrush paintcup" trick. Thing is you have to very gently press the rattlecan. Works most of the time. I had a can of white that went everywhere once though. Very similar to your "spray paint back in the bottle" trick.
  • Member since
    December 2002
Posted by Delbert on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:32 AM
my worst was i dropped a hobby knife while standing up .. landed point down on top of my bare foot.. stabbed in and stuck................. ouch.



  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 5:12 PM
I did the spray it back in the bottle stunt... I am starting to think thats a rite of passage for us modelers LOL.
My best one I can think of at the moment, I am sure Ill have more soon, is I was building hase's quater scale P-38. I had all the sinkers I needed to stuff in the nose so it would sit right... had everything laid out. the model went togtehr beautifully, put a great coat of paint (was the first model after I got my omni 4000 back then) and sat back feeling real proud of myself. Took stock of what I had on the table and saw this little baggy and picked it up. "what the heck is this?" I sked myself and realized I was holding my sinkers. I forgot them!!!
So I thought heck I can handle this I'll drill out some holes in the front of the necelles because the props will cover that up and ran outside to get some fine sand form the kids play area. Mixed it with with glue and made a little cake decorator pouch with a small styrene tip and started squeezing in my sand /white glue weight mixture to feel something plopping on my legs. I looked at saw my mixture running out... I forgot to install the main gear bays.....
I bought a second kit heheh and forgot the wieght in that one too... but remembered the gear bays this time...
Jeff

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:29 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Delbert

my worst was i dropped a hobby knife while standing up .. landed point down on top of my bare foot.. stabbed in and stuck................. ouch.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
uhgg, I'm sorry 4 u
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:35 PM
mine was when I had open the testors flat black bottle(the ittle kind) and forgot it was open.
I went to grab something and bam! with my elbow, I clocked it and knocked it over.
there was this huge splatter on the wall and a blck smudge on my tan carpet.
lacquer thinner and some white paint took care of it though, but it was a waste of a dollar and a half
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: La Crosse, WI
Posted by bud156 on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 8:02 AM
Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who's done that, I felt like such an idiot. I didn't even tell my fiance, I just said I made a mistake and ran to the basement. I still start laughing when I think about it
Mike
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Thursday, April 14, 2005 7:36 PM
wait.... is that saying something?
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Central USA
Posted by qmiester on Thursday, April 14, 2005 7:58 PM
I once had a some what similiar problem with a bottle of Pactra paint (the big bottle). Was sitting there, idlely shaking the bottle to mix it and thinking about something else. Stopped and took the lid off at which point my wife hollered that I had a phone call. Set the bottle down, SET the lid on top of it (but didn't screw it on) and went to take the phone call. 1/2 hr later came back and says to my self "Now where was I?" followed by "Oh, yea" at which point I grabbed the bottle of paint and tried to shake it vigoursly (sp). Yep, paint and BBs everywhere. And it was a brand new bottle of paint!
Quincy
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:10 PM
BB's?
  • Member since
    August 2004
  • From: Nowhere. (Long Island)
Posted by Tankmaster7 on Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:54 PM
I use plastic droppers to mix my paint thinner ratios. I had an old one and I though it was empty, and BAM!!! Paint everywhere. Luckily not on my model though.
-Tanky Welcome to the United States of America, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, in partnership with Halliburton. Security for your constitutional rights provided by Blackwater International.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 2:22 PM
i've had many experience with knocking over paint bottles with my elbows...i remember one time i was painting something black..i had one of those plastic painting cloths underneath..well, being an idiot, i knocked the black over and it ran all over the plastic sheet..it didnt hit any parts or anything, just covered my working space..so, i just continued using the black paint that fell out and finished the pieces i was doing..the black paint settled into a puddle, so i left it there..when it fully dried, i just peeled it right off..still had some residue but it was easily washed with thinner...idiot stories are great, as long as a model or the builder doesnt get harmed.LOL
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Baton Rouge, LA
Posted by T_Terrific on Friday, April 15, 2005 2:58 PM
Actually I think this is part of a conspiracy between the paint and hardware manufacturers, where they figure after we fumble around and get the "hang of it", suddenly we realize we are nearly out and need to buy more! Whistling [:-^]

Tom Cowboy [C):-)]

Tom TCowboy

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”-Henry Ford

"Except in the fundamentals, think and let think"- J. Wesley

"I am impatient with stupidity, my people have learned to live without it"-Klaatu: "The Day the Earth Stood Still"

"All my men believe in God, they are ordered to"-Adolph Hitler

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Central USA
Posted by qmiester on Friday, April 15, 2005 8:37 PM
jinithith2

yep, BBs. For years I would add a dozen or so BBs to my paint bottles to help with mixing. (i always shake the paint). Since I ended up somehow with a 25lbs of #12 birdshot, that's what I use now (besides, the birdshot doesn't rust in acrylics when I use that paint). Works for me.
Quincy
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Martinez Ga
Posted by commando on Saturday, April 16, 2005 7:25 PM
Thanks for the tip.Whistling [:-^]

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.' -Thomas Jefferson -

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Sunday, April 17, 2005 4:02 PM
wow! that's cool!
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 17, 2005 11:38 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by I-beam

I like to do the "cheap rattlecan paint through the straw into the airbrush paintcup" trick. Thing is you have to very gently press the rattlecan. Works most of the time. I had a can of white that went everywhere once though. Very similar to your "spray paint back in the bottle" trick.

That's ironic that someone else has done this......I'll do that if I can't find the color I want or don't feel like custom blending it........
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 17, 2005 11:43 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by qmiester

jinithith2

yep, BBs. For years I would add a dozen or so BBs to my paint bottles to help with mixing. (i always shake the paint). Since I ended up somehow with a 25lbs of #12 birdshot, that's what I use now (besides, the birdshot doesn't rust in acrylics when I use that paint). Works for me.

I use stainless steel shot that I bought at Gander Mntn. They work especially well for metallics...
  • Member since
    January 2003
Posted by Jeff Herne on Monday, April 18, 2005 12:38 AM
Ok, here's my most embarrassing moment...

My old airbrush was acting up, a Badger 150...I was shooting acrylics and must have had the paint too thick, because the brush stopped spraying...

So...I turn up the air pressure thinking it'll push whatever is clogging the brush out.

Of course, I had to look at the tip of the brush when I hit the trigger, and I was right, it did clean the brush out. I got a full face of paint...Fortunately, I wear glasses, so there was cause for eye concerns...

There, I confessed...

Jeff
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: La Crosse, WI
Posted by bud156 on Monday, April 18, 2005 8:22 AM
That totally beats what I did! Big Smile [:D] It took me a few showers to get the paint off my leg, how long did it take to get off your face? I hope not too long, otherwise you might get wierd looks in public. That reminds me, one time I had a little suction cup type toy, well, I had to stick it to my forhead, I ended up with a huge blotch of red in a perfect cirlce right between my eyes. I gave myself a hickie. We were going down to the harbor in Duluth, MN because the U.S.S. Des Moines was there for tours. It was hot out and I was the only one wearing a winter hat. Black Eye [B)]
Mike
  • Member since
    January 2003
Posted by Jeff Herne on Monday, April 18, 2005 9:30 AM
It was no big deal Mike, I get strange looks in public anyway!!! :-)

Another trick that I've had backfire (literally) on me is one I learned from the old days of spraying automotive paint...

If the airbrush clogs up, you close off the end of the brush and hit the air...since the tip is closed off (usually with a paper towel), the air is forced back into the brushmoving whatever is clogging the brush back into the paint cup. This is handy if you're almost done or doing a small part, since you can generally spray for a few more minutes before it inevitably clogs again. Kinda like trying to drink a strawberry milkshake through a straw.

Anyway, I hit the air a bit too much, and got the same effect as blowing the paint into the bottle. Nice splatter effects can be achieved on yourself, the model, or anyone standing within a 5 foot radius. :-)

Jeff
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:18 PM
ooo that happned to me recently in my ab business Jeff. Was sprayin a Tee and it stopped all a sudden. Well I was in a hurry because I quoted a way too short of a time to finish so I grabbed my old Tee towl and stuck it on the front and pulled the rigger, alot further then I meant too. 65 psi went back through the HB-BCS and into the color jar and found its only way out... the vent hole.... while I was looking down at it..... at 65 psi.... Aqua flow silkin black.....white walls and ceiling.... biege carpet... panic
Jeff
  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: SETX. USA
Posted by tho9900 on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:25 AM
ok mine was when using Alclad black lacquer primer recently... had it in the metal cup on my Anthem, was all ready to spray and decided to check the PSI again, leaned over to look at the gauge, I somehow tilted the airbrush in my hand and it ran out of the cup straight down my leg and onto the carpet...

At least I am putting wood floors in soon, so the carpet isn't an issue... and have decided linoleum in the corner I model in is a good idea now... was thinking about tile...
---Tom--- O' brave new world, That has such people in it!
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 2:00 PM
this happened a day ago. I was working on my mousetrap car and the scribing bit wasn't turning (or the dremel itself was not turning I should say) and when I punched the battery back in place, I was holding the bit (I don't know why). took a chunk out of my left thumb and index finger.
It hurts when I play my violin
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 24, 2005 2:04 PM
I've had a similar incident with lids stuck on paint jars. I was trying to get the lid off one of my white primers with a pair of channel-locks. When it come off it did so in a fashion where it jerked in my hand. I was expecting this too and I was holding the bottle down in my spray booth, but it still went all over my pants, the floor and my forearms........>_<
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 4:54 PM
was it at least white primer???/ not like hot pink or something right Big Smile [:D]
  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Nashville, TN
Posted by Cudamav on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 12:25 PM
HAHA! these are great... a few weeks ago, I had an experience close to what Big Boater did. I had a jar of paint that was new but I couldnt get the lid off, so I decided to grab a robogrip and get it off. Well I must have put a wee bit too much pressure on it because I busted the bottle and blew Olive Drab across half of my office as well as cut my hand on the glass. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadnt just gotten home from work and was still in my work clothes :/ Luckily, the wife wasn't home, so I had time to clean it up. She did wonder where the cut came from, so I had to come clean a few hours later :(
~Jason "Not all who wander are lost"
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