Basic AB technique questions

Yeah, I'd kinda figured that was the case with reading through the AB threads in the past. Still, I figured I'd get some ideas so I could have some stuff to try.

That's the important thing, just don't assume that what people say is the only way to do something.  Try it and if it doesn't work for you then try something else.  Don't be afrad to experiment, that's what paint strippers are for.

By the way- I'm reading your website now. Good stuff! Thanks for putting that up.

You are very welcome.  Hope you can find something there you can use.

MusicCity wrote:

Jon, you'll find that virtually everything about building s, and especially where it pertains to painting and airbrushing, is personal preference.  Ask a dozen people how they hold their bruhs, how they thin their paint, what type of paint they prefer, and you'll get a dozen different answers.  The important thing to remember is that, within reason, none of the answers are right or wrong they are simply the way one person prefers to do something.  Experiment, try different things and ideas that people point out, but above all find out what works best for you.  All that should matter to you is the method that you prefer and the only way to find that is to try things and see what works best for you.

Yeah, I'd kinda figured that was the case with reading through the AB threads in the past. Still, I figured I'd get some ideas so I could have some stuff to try.

By the way- I'm reading your website now. Good stuff! Thanks for putting that up.

Jon, you'll find that virtually everything about building models, and especially where it pertains to painting and airbrushing, is personal preference.  Ask a dozen people how they hold their bruhs, how they thin their paint, what type of paint they prefer, and you'll get a dozen different answers.  The important thing to remember is that, within reason, none of the answers are right or wrong they are simply the way one person prefers to do something.  Experiment, try different things and ideas that people point out, but above all find out what works best for you.  All that should matter to you is the method that you prefer and the only way to find that is to try things and see what works best for you.

Acrylics vs. enamels is just a choice. Some will argue that enamels are easier to paint with, less lift off, less scratching. A lot more cleaning up! I use the rattle can Tamiya (synthetic lacquer based) for primer on most aircraft, then follow that up with Tamiya acrylics. I like acrylics as they are not as smelly and wash up with soap and water. I use Windex to clean out my AB and rinse with distilled water. Ammonia can stain the metal on the AB, and I live in a hard water area and am worried about calcium buildup inside the AB.

Even though I only use acrylics I think they offer more problems than the enamels: Dry Tip (where the paint dries on the needle and clogs the brush), pigment settling in the color cup, stuff like that. On the other hand I find them easier to mix colors with. Our very own MusicCity has a wonderful website full of information on airbrushes, thinning, pressures, problems and a raft of info on acrylic paints. Check it out! His website has saved me on numerous occassions!

Oh- OK. Gotcha. I do that when I mask now for brush painting- just didn't know it was called burnishing.

I actually have a small metal..... object..... that I use for that. I'm not sure what it is, but it has a smooth, rounded curve tip that works great for that.

My wife said it was a "nut picker" but I think we may have had a confusion of terms because.... well, I should recover in a day or two. LOL

(I think it's actually used to pick the meat out of walnut shells.)

Cool. Thanks!

Hi Jon,

Burnishing the tape simply means rubbing the edge of the tape down so that it adheres tightly to the surface, otherwise any paint applied over it will creep under the edge. You need to do this because masking tapes trap air between the tape and the surface.

Try this quick example. Tear off a small strip of masking tape and lay it over a flat dark surface. Now use a hard rounded instrument, say a cap from a ballpoint or even just your fingernail, and rub the surface of the tape. You will see that wherever it has been rubbed, it leaves a darker track, as it has been "sealed" against the surface. It's as simple as that really.  

Yeah- it was the Testor guy.

Glad to know white is the hardest color to AB.... LOL. I had plenty of it, so I figured I'd use it.

One of the biggest problems I had was too much paint..... it would start collecting. I guess that comes with practice and technique. I was trying varying positions.

And I did figure out that it's easier to add more paint to the airplane than it is to take it away. :-)

I'd already brushed the earth tone on the Spit, so I may try that. By burnishing, what do you mean?

Good advice on the primer- one thing I did notice was that the plastic of the kit (dk. blue) did shine through.

Do y'all find enamels or acrylics easier to AB? Or is it just preference, etc?

I bet that was the guy on the Testor's workshop! Use whatever is most comfortable for you to use. I use my forefinger, but I have used my thumb as well, just to try it out. You shouldn't go through a bottle on a 1:72 scale Hellcat, but saying that white is the hardest color to spray!

My suggestion is to use a primer coat of something. Tamiya primer is good, and I've heard lots of people swear by Krylon as well. I use Tamiya AS-12 which is a silver metallic "for airplanes". My thinking is it covers well, the acrylics I use adhere well to it, and if it gets scratched somehow, I'll claim it was a richochet or wear mark!

Airbrushing (which I am NO master at) is one of those things that you learn by doing, and you learn more by doing more. I use plastic milk jugs for practicing on. Just keep at it! My suggestion for your Spitfire is to cover the whole thing in the lighter tone, mask (burnishing the edges of the tape) and spray the darker tone. It's surprising easy! All you need to worry about is even and consistant coverage. Sooner or later you'll be free-handing squiggle camo...

that's probably brett green with his thumb technique on his aztek.  the design is a lil different with a larger body than most airbrushes so it can be gripped that way.  i think the thumb technique allows you to hold at a trigger position a lil more staticly than the index finger, mine hurts after 2 minutes, so you can achieve more uniform lines when doing something like... say panel line preshading and those squiggle camo and outlines of camo jobs.  if you want a nice varying width line, i personally think the fine movements from the index finger can achieve that better than the thumb.  i believe in one of the testor workshop videos he did say that it was simply his prefered method.