Airbrush help

My Badger getting better at the skill, when I got it the first modle I tried it on was the Warthog but tath model was already spay painted with the spay can, the after affect was good but some tight spot on the model (like under the missiles and engine) weren't painted, before I could paint it again the bottle was out of pain. Waited till I got the teh airbrush but here the thing, it just made the paint got thicker yet the olive green was lighter in brigthness (spay can was Tamiya olive green, airbrush used Testo's olive green with some paint tinner to make the paint less thick). The model doesn't look as great as it was, it look like someone trow a paint can the the plane. I keep paint it over and over but it just seem to get worst, waht's worst is some paint is removing the first layer of paint off the model. This is why I needed help, any advise (I'll seen pictures of after and before paint for additionnal help).

Another model that I started to paint on the sailboat Bluenose, I was painting the bottom of the ship (below the water line) bright red, but instead of behing too thick, it became too thin, smear and lines of paint were made everywhere and the paint isn't bright at all not made how much I paint it. Don't know whats the matter with it so does anyone has any ideas. (I'll post photos soon)

Fortunatly not all the models are doing terribule, Yesterday I decided to paint some old model I did (first model aircrafts I did) some are 10 years old, Three F-14 and Two F-15 all 1/72 scale. They were painted with unaccurate painting on them like balk, blue, green and red. Mask there windows and painted them all with a light ghost grey. The result was much better that my other models and was a complete succest, the only diffrence I did was painted them in a Cardboard box so that my work space is clean.

Still practicing before moving on to better models but give some hints on the Warthog and the Bluenose, btu any more andvise will help.

Thanks for everything.

Here's my article

 

T-rex wrote:

Ya, its just it seems so easy but the result is never as good as it seems, I sopost you need to give the ferrari to a excellent driver not a newbie, thanks anyways, I'll keep praticing. Also I want to be good to make my other model look good (or at least better). Any other advise and trick on airbrush will help.

If you can give us a bit more detail about what you think is going wrong (eg. the paint is rough, too much overspray/spatter etc) or perhaps even show us a photo or two of the results you're currently getting, it would make it easier to suggest solutions.

One thing that I did learn when I first started learning to use an airbrush is that things happen very quickly. You can end up with a lot of paint in a small area in a  very short time.

My first few attempts were little more than trying to use the airbrush in the same manner as one would a spray can. That is, to open up the nozzle and try to cover as much as possible as quickly as possible. (I have since learned better )

I think at the moment the biggest problem you have is that you are probably using propellant cans for air. This means that you have very little control over your air pressure, so your ability to do fine lines and clean soft edges and other "detail" work is rather limited. This means that you will need to learn some new techniques to overcome these limitations (eg. look up soft masking) I know you've only just got your airbrush, so I'm not going to suggest you go out and buy a compressor.

For now, the only real advice is practice, and patience...

If you got a Badger 350, you should of got a manual with it. There are some basic skill building exercises in the booklet. Also, get an old model and try some techniques out on it.

Andy 

Ya, its just it seems so easy but the result is never as good as it seems, I sopost you need to give the ferrari to a excellent driver not a newbie, thanks anyways, I'll keep praticing.

Also I want to be good to make my other model look good (or at least better).

Any other advise and trick on airbrush will help.

T-rex, you can't expect to be as good as the guys who have been airbrushing for decades after trying it just once.  It could take years of practice to become sufficient with an airbrush.

Airbrushing is just as much about the user as it is the tool.  You can't expect to be an excellent driver just because someone gave you a Ferrari.  Just take some time practicing on scrap material until you understand the finer points of the tool.

For what it's worth, I've been airbrushing for 4 years and I'm still discovering new tricks and techniques.

-Fred

 

Thanks Don

What I mean is the warthog is't as great in appearence as all the other great models in the forum (that all you experts do) they use aibrush but mine isn't doing a swell job, I'll send a pictures of the after and before of the warthog. other models like the sail boat Blue nose isn't good neither, same result as hand brushing. What are some techniques or useful tips thta you can all give me on airbrush.

It takes a lot of practice before you can develop your own personal technique.  Paper is porous, so the ink doesn't just stay where it lands.  Example - take a regular piece of paper and hold the tip of a magic marker on it for 5 seconds.  You'll notice that it doesn't just make a small mark where you touched the paper - the ink starts to spread out from the original point of contact; the paper's weave provides barely-visible channels for the ink to travel along.  It's been recommended that new airbrush users practice on cardboard (if youhappen to have a sheet of metal that might be even better, since most cardboard will suffer from the same effects as paper, to some extent) for awhile until they become familiar with how the airbrush works, how fast the paint comes out, etc.  As far as the other model is concerned, it could be any number of things - maybe even just the angle at which you were holding the airbrush.  Without seeing what you mean by the other model 'not looking as good as it's supposed to be', it is impossible to say what the problem was.

By the way -  - and congratulations on the awesome gift!

Uh oh got a problem, was testing my new airbrush (yahoo I got a Badger 350 with air tank) on my Warthhog but then I realise that I have already Spay paint it, now it looks worst than ever, (well not as bad as before but still not pretty) what can I do to make it better and why is the airbrush result on paper ( and on another model the Bluenose) dosen't look as good as its suppost to be.

I'll help with what I know.....which is not a whole lot!

1. You will need: Airbrush, air source (compressor or canned air), braided air hose, paint jars (3 0r 4) to start. Additional tips (for fine detail) and accessories can come later when you get used to the brush.

2. The best type is purely up to the user. I have a single and a double action. I prefer the double because of the detail capability and paint control. Single action would be good to learn on for a while. There is not a considerable price difference between the two.

3. The brush designs are pretty simple and effective. If you get one with a manual, it will diagram it's operation better than I can.

4. Techniques may include weathering, mottle (Luftwaffe), soft camo patterns, preshading, postshading, highlighting and basepainting (overall finish) to name a few. You can learn more about each on this forum as you go.

5. Airbrushes can be used for any modeling type.  I consider an airbrush to be an essential tool for modeling. They are a good tool and investment.

Check this website out. www.dixieart.com. They have a goos selection at good prices. They also explain what application each brush is designed for. Let us know what you get.

Andy