Nitrogen & airbushing?

given that Nitrogen is a dry inert gas, it will cause the paint to dry while spraying more than using air, but it should be possible to use it. May just need to fine tune the pressure a little more?
I think it will be more profound in acrylic as the carrier medium is more aqueas

Remember that too high of pressure and too thin of a paint mixture can cause spatter and premature dry-alation! ;-)

I can't think of any reason off the top of my head for why nitrogen would cause paint to dry faster than CO2 (or air, for that matter). You should be good to go with it.

Just remember to chain the tank up so it can't fall. Also keep adequate ventilation so that the N2 doesn't displace all the air you'll need to breathe.

I've been using nitrogen for several years now, and I haven't had any of the problems you outlined. I probably did have to make a few adjustments to paint/thinner ratios and PSI, but nothing major. I use all kinds of paints, too: enamels, acrylics, inks, and lacquers. No problems.

I love working with nitrogen -- I bought my regulator and the tank's from a welding-supply store. I drop off the old one and they swap it for a full one on the spot. It takes about 10 minutes and costs around $20.

Matthew Usher @ FineScale Modeler magazine

Ok, thankyou all very much!! Thats all i needed to know, now I hope the acrylics I just bought to replace my enamels for ABing do better for me.
Nice setup Matthew, reminds me of ...Oh, yeah, mine! I did the same thing as you did, LOL, cept mine's only a few months old, I don't know very much 'bout ABing, but i'm trying!!
Well, now to go learn about the acrylics

Be good all, & have FUN,
Bill

P.s. here is mine.

Hey Bill-because you're new to acrylics (and pardon me if you know this) don't get suckered into "acrylic brush cleaner"-use Windex. Ammonia breaks down plastic-which acrylic and latex paints are composed of. PS-when you need to clean brushes after a household paint project use Windex too.

Hi Trowlfazz. Man, you read my mind, I was going to start another post asking bout the thinner for acrylics, there are a hundred posts and a thousand sites about this but seems like everyone has their own "secret formula". When I was buying the acrylics today at the best hobby store in SE Texas, I picked up a bottle of Gunze thinner (I bought all Gunze acrylics) and he took it from me and said to use distilled water or Windex! He could have made another 7 or so dollars! So you are right! OK big guy, Windex it is!! I suppose it is 50/50 mix? I also got a little bottle of retards, no, just kidding, they wouldn't all fit in there! Seriously though, I got a bottle of acrylic retarding agent, is that any good? I got it cuz some of the sites I read mentioned it, said it would make it flow smoother and keep it from drying so fast. what do you think?
Well, I guess I better go try it out, this so cool, looking forward to not having the mess and fumes, and a really easy and quick clean-up!!! Actually the biggest thing I am hoping for is that I can turn down the pressure and get in really close for those really fine and tiny lines WITHOUT the "spatter"!!!Plz, plz, plz!

Thx alot Trowlfazz!,

Bill

Bill-retarder does slow the drying process but increases tranparency. I would use Windex at full strength though to clean your AB-even soak the parts. Me, I prefer the toxicity of enamels. I love the smell of thinner in the morning.

Bill - I use acrylics I would say 96% of the time... almost 100% when through the airbrush. The retarder will work good and make for less tip dry and a smoother coat of paint. I also recommend needle lube to help with the tip dry monster... it's about $3.50 and the bottle lasts forever. You can get it from www.squadron.com and www.greatmodels.com. Do a search for regdab and medea super lube. It should show up under one or the other.

QUOTE: Originally posted by trowlfazz Bill-retarder does slow the drying process but increases tranparency. I would use Windex at full strength though to clean your AB-even soak the parts. Me, I prefer the toxicity of enamels. I love the smell of thinner in the morning.

It has that...oh I don't know... it's almost intoxicating smell about it.
You can't really say you've accomplished anything unless your scraping Testers flat yellow off your scin three days after you last used it, this water washable stuff is for girlies(jk)
Only acrylic I've used is the Tamiya flat black, so I'd welcome the devil in for lunch before I use the stuff again.

Morning all, OK, you got me in a corner, I also liked the smell of the enamels, here is the thing though, I have only been building and painting models for not very long, while my skill in building has greatly improved ( i now have more model than glue to put on the shelf) my skill? HA-HA,, with the AB leaves something to be desired (leaves something else too but I can't say that here) in truth it has improved some but I am stuck on a plateau that leads to nowhere, I was using a Badger Crescendo, using MM AB thinner, but.. was using lacquer thinner to clean it, due to some site or sites I had read, ALOT cheaper than using the MM thinner, well I got to be faily good on anything an inch wide and bigger but wouldn't and couldn't do any mottling or lines smaller than that inch W/O "spattering" and/or little "pools"? where it just shot out more or less by itself[:0]! At the time I was using Co2 and had a lot of "sputtering" and water droplets mixed in, no moisture trap was available at the welding supply at the time so changed to Ni (shows my ignorance about modeling that I never thought to go to a art store to get a MT, thought the only place was at a welding supply that sold gauges and tanks) this improved the aforementioned negatives, and just recently I had a new friend on this forum that E-mailed me a walkthrough on ABing techniques, got the MT just bacause it has a gauge that allows me to fine tune the air to 1 psi if i want, or less! So now I understand (sorta) how to get to like sooo close to the surface using very little air to do the fine lines, but I think I ruined the seals in the Badger with the lacquer thinner, not sure though, cause I went to art supply and was told the Crescendo just can't do that sorta thing, it's too big and being a bottom feeder requires alot of pressure to "suck" up the air and then I want to turn down the air to do fine lines also?[:0], it is a T-shirt AB I was told, anyway I was told that a Iwata Eclipse is what I needed, so, I got it and I have to admit it is darn nice, I can do those fine lines at like 2 psi, but no matter what I didi I got spatter or pools depending on the paint/thinner ratio, I was told acrylics would pretty much solve that prob, so... now I have those! Is anyone laffing or crying yet??? I have already done both, And this was supposed to be a nice cheap little hobby to relax with!!! Then one day I ran across this site called FSM and it had pictures!! And, a forum! This is what happens when I start seeing what you pros do, I am completely dissatisfied with my builds and painting so... it leads to this. Anyway, I have only done a little bit with the acrylics but in my opinion the results are very satisfying, i will know alot more later, (have to go get more air now). Well, now you pretty much know my sad story, and I just know you were holding your breath and turning purple to hear all this. But I want to thank each and everyone of you that took the time to answer me and help me out, I know that one day it is going to all come together on the ABing and I will produce something much better looking than what my dog left out in the yard this morning. Well, i'm off to get some air then I am going to do the cammo on my Tiger that I spent so much time Zimmering. Once again, thankyou guys!

Be good and have FUN,
Bill

I use hardware-store lacquer thinner to clean my airbrush, no matter what kind of paint I'm using. As soon as I finish painting, I blow the thinner through it, then disassemble it and wipe away any remaining paint or thinner. It does a great job (inexpensively) but I never let the parts "soak" in it very long.

The Badger is a great airbrush (I have several, including the Crescendo). But you'll probably find that there's not "one" airbrush that'll do it all, no matter how much you spend. Different brushes are good for different things. I usually use one for large areas, another one for fine-pattern camouflage, and yet another for high-volume lacquers. The best setup really depends on what you want to do.

Your best bet? Ask around here on the forum -- you'll get lots of good advice!

Matt Usher @ FineScale Modeler

Bill,

I'm a Bill, too! Why is it there are always lots of Bills and never enough money to pay 'em all? LOL

Don't despair, you are on the right track with the AB. It just takes some practice. Okay, it takes LOTS of practice. But it will come. Keep your head up and soldier on!

If you are getting spattering when trying to paint fine detail try a touch more thinner, if it is spiderwebbing try less thinner or pressure. One technique you can try is using a higher pressure but less flow of paint to get the fine detail down. With the HP-Cs having as small of a tip as it does it might be the key for you. What works for one person sometimes doesn't work for another.

And ditto on one airbrush can't do everything 100% of the time. I have a Crescendo as well, I use it for broad coverage especially with acrylics, then switch over to my Iwata HP-CR for close in and detail work...

Good luck to you and don't give up... one day it will just "snap" and you'll get it! Then you can go on to getting the next skill with your AB learned..

Hi all, just got my air, bout the only problem with this system is that my tank full weighs in at 'bout 200 pounds, but I got a 2-wheeler, just cumbersome to get in & out of the van.
Matt, Thankyou, that means I was doin' right, and, that my Crescendo is still good! I actually was cleaning it like you said, and never did let anything "soak", I also was getting the lacquer thinner because of cost. Now, I have one for full coverage and one for fine details, "most excellent", thanx again Matt, IF you hadn't mentioned your thinner I would have just sent it to the factory for no reason. Oh, And I do use your "forum", any and all improvements I have made are due to the experts in here!!
Bgrigg(Bill) LOL, yeah, I keep telling my wife to make more money to pay her "BILL"(hope she isn't looking over my shoulder, she isn't is she??)
But seriously, thankyou for the boost, don't mind LOTS of practice, ABing is actually alot of fun as long as I know it is just me messin' up, I can adjust my fine tuning.
Tom, you are certainly right about what works for one might not work for another. What I am doing is assimilating everything I read and try using diff variations till I hit that "snap" you mentioned, until last night I was as "gunshy" as a French poodle on a South Texas boar hunt! When i held the AB up close to the model I would slooowly depress and pull back on that trigger and take soo long that I would start shaking, just knowing that it was going to spit out, it was so funny even I would start to laugh at myself! Anyway that's past now, All that is left is to practice!!
OK, now it is time to put all ya'll have told me to good use, i'm off to the paint booth, don't worry, I will post a pix when I am done so I can get some "constructive" critism from whoever wants to take a look, just be sure and wear rose colored glasses or a welding mask depending on your stomach's sensitivity.

Ya'll have a good day and remember, this is just a relaxing hobby,
I crack myself up!
Cya,
Bill