Airbrush, Airbrushing, and Compressor Questions

[psecody]

thanks for the reply! Well it's good to hear that that one is a pretty good model haha. I first started looking at the ones without a tank but I've been used to using a big aircompressor that has a 20 gallon tank on it and got used to the peace and quiet of the compressor not always being on so I started looking for one with a tank and the two cylinder was just barely more expensive so I figured why not go ahead and get one I won't have to upgrade for a while. Now if I can ever get the money together to buy it, it seems like the money gods have it out for me haha theres always something happen and I have to spend my emergency reserves… ah but one day

[craiken]

Hello again,

I seem to have run into a problem with a new airbrush I got, a Badget 105 Patriot.
It worked fine out of the box, fell in love with the thing after I felt and saw how it sprayed Tamiya and Alclad (I of course cleaned the cup and ran thinner in between those two paints).
But when I went to take it apart to clean the needle and nozzle then put it back together, it started spitting.

It spits when I let go of the trigger completely (paint and air stops) then I go to press the trigger for air, it spits remnants of the paint from before.
On further inspection, while air and paint are flowing, it visibly builds up on the needle and after taking it apart again, it's somewhat getting into the little paint tip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsGGkF1lsc Here's a video, in case you're wondering what I'm talking about.

The only other things I can see odd with it are:
-The threading between the spray regulator (the front screwing piece) and the head (the second piece the first threads into) is leaking air I think. I put some soapy water and saw some bubbles come up but it's hand tight already. No paint leaks from there however.
-The needle's not exactly centered in the paint tip. As I didn't check the airbrush when it was out of the box, I didn't have a visual as to where it was supposed to be aligned. It seems to edge towards the south west area. Here's a youtube vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jd0DXcJ2mA

Did I do something wrong when I took it apart? Looking for any suggestions to point me in the right direction; I'd loved to get back to using this lovely thing.

Thanks,
Craiken

[Grail]

Do you have a moisture trap connected?

[The Inner Geek]

I didn't read the whole thread, but I did use the search function to no avail.

I wanted to see if anyone had opinions about using a CO2 bottle instead of compressor for airbrushing? I have a friend off the interwebs (in real life!) who swears by his CO2 bottle, but honestly, I don't think he uses his airbrush a ton as he's sculpting for a living now. Quiet and consistent pressure would be nice, but am I missing any major pitfalls?

I'm currently using an old, blue, loud, hunk of compressor with no accurate way to regulate pressure, so anything is going to be a step up. Besides, it's hard to ask for help when people want to know what pressure your shooting at and you have to say, "somewhere between pssss and PSSSSSS".

[MoteOfDust]

So a couple questions:

I spent a a little money at my comic/hobby store on a cheap citadel paintspitter/aircan and some paint for my first model/test model (http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN975548), I figured this was a good, cheap investment to test the waters of gunpla modeling, is there anything anyone knows that would indicate otherwise (something about the airbrush my noobly self wouldn't even know to recognize ).

also

what do I mix with the citadel paint, 91 isopropyl alcohol?

Lastly, since my super pro haxxorz airbrush, is, well, made of plastic and cost me 33 dollars, it is obviously not dual action, so i was just going to use a hair dryer on low and cold to help the paint dry. I figured I would mention this so someone can tell me how dumb of an idea that is before i ruin my model.

Unless it isn't a dumb idea, and is actually quite clever, in which case I feel good about myself.

[Grail]

The Inner Geek and MoteOfDust,
Most of what your asking really depends on how much you are willing to commit to the hobby of your choice. Obviously, the more your are into it, you'll want some at least mid range level equipment to get a nice look. That said, I have seen a prodigy or 2 around here that can pull it off using anything, but most of us aren't that lucky.

I wanted to see if anyone had opinions about using a CO2 bottle instead of compressor for airbrushing?

I would say that it would be like a trajectory profile diagram in practice.      Combined with the inconvenience and price over the long run... I went to the compressor.  I also had a blue 120psi setup way back.. loud as hell and really crazy. Again, if you are serious, a one time small investment can set you up with something night and day different.

what do I mix with the citadel paint, 91 isopropyl alcohol?

 I only mix these with water and I only hand paint with them..
In my opinion through an ab it would be like painting with glue.

i was just going to use a hair dryer on low and cold

Don't see why this would be a problem. In the tutorial section here fichtenfoo actually posts how to airbrush and dry with the brush itself.

something about the airbrush my noobly self wouldn't even know to recognize

It's pretty much all here these days..  
http://fichtenfoo.net/forum/index.php?board=23.0
http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/model-tutorials-and-in-progs/

I highly recommend checking out Hobbylinc for both of you guys if you look for equipment. They have the right prices and a lot of different level tools. http://hobbylinc.com

[The Inner Geek]

what do I mix with the citadel paint, 91 isopropyl alcohol?

Mote,

I've painted quite a bit with Citadel paints using an airbrush. A good primer coat is essential. For the darker colors I usually just thin with water. For light colors, especially yellows, I thin with alcohol. I don't know why it works out that way, but it does. Are there better paints to use with an airbrush? Yep. But if that is what you have, I'd say go with it. Practice on a piece of paper or some scrap plastic. I've painted a lot of sprue! Good luck.

[Jiloo]

Mote,
I'm also beginner in a world of modeling. At the very beginning I've tried some water based paints (Vallejo) in airbrush and I must say that this is not the easiest way to start. Switched to Gunze and have more satisfactory results. I do know that many people use Vallejo with beautiful results but it's not an easy paint for beginner.

[Darkmessiah]

i mainly use GW and Vallejo model colours when am airbrushing, I find the (old) GW paints actually quite forgiving in comparison to others, like above you can use just water with them, although I like to mix in some tamiya thinner, above 60/40. the vallejos are a right pain in the back side because its base is so elastic it can clog the airbrush up quite often. am gunna be looking on vallejo air paints as a possible replacement.

[The Inner Geek]

Tried search, but I'm not sure my keywords were effective.

I just got a iwata hp-c airbrush and compressor with tank. I sprayed some tamiya gloss black thinned 1:1 on some parts I wanted to be metallic and it worked great! I practiced some fine lines on a piece of cardboard and was very happy with the ability to do so.

Then I tried to spray some Tamiya chrome silver. This time I actually wanted to get some fine lines so I thinned it a little more than 1:1 and turned the pressure down to around 10psi. When I press the AB button down I get airflow as expected. When I start to pull the button back I get nothing until about halfway back, then I get a lot of paint.. splat. So I thinned a little more... same thing. So I tossed out the paint, cleaned the AB and tried again. Same thing except sometimes I can pull the button back slowly and paint never starts to come out. Then on the next pull it will.

At one point I had this paint thinned to about 2.5:1 thinner to paint. I also tried turning the pressure up to 20-24psi. Same result... pull back button and no paint... no paint... no paint... splat! Once the paint starts coming out, it continues to come out at a high rate as long as I hold the button back.

Any suggestions? I'm reasonably sure this is user error. They say practice makes perfect... it also makes frustration and a mess in the sink.

[Grail]

Did you get a moisture trap? Sounds like the symptoms of moisture in the line.
It definitely isn't your brush. I have used that one before and it's nice action. You can have a similar problem if you mix paint too thin as well.

Could even be the compressor depending on how it runs.
If there is no spare tank, and the compressor was really cheap, you can get uneven air flow.
I would probably say moisture off the top of my head though.

PS.
Tamiya metal is really a weird paint I find. I don't put it through my brushes much anymore.( and I use mostly Tamiya paint )
For metals I use other paints and save the tamiya metals for highlights and detail stuff. Many will disagree about the way it flows, but it is also way out of scale most of the time too.

[The Inner Geek]

Did you get a moisture trap? Sounds like the symptoms of moisture in the line.
It definitely isn't your brush. I have used that one before and it's nice action. You can have a similar problem if you mix paint too thin as well.

If there is no spare tank, and the compressor was really cheap, you can get uneven air flow.
I would probably say moisture off the top of my head though.

PS.
Tamiya metal is really a weird paint I find. I don't put it through my brushes much anymore.( and I use mostly Tamiya paint )
For metals I use other paints and save the tamiya metals for highlights and detail stuff. Many will disagree about the way it flows, but it is also way out of scale most of the time too.

Thanks for the reply, Grail.

Yes, the compressor came with a moisture trap and has a tank. It's actually the TC-20T from TCP Global. The whole setup has been run exactly as much as stated above. About 10 minutes for some gloss black, and then a half hour or so working on the metallic. Maybe I did over-thin? I'm kind of paranoid about running paint through too thick and clogging something up.

I appreciate the heads up on the Tamiya metals too. Right now I'm working on building my skill with the AB. If a couple of kits look any better than they would have out of box, that's a bonus!. Long term goal is to practice with the Tamiya (easy to get hold of) then move on to laquer as I like the results I see here on the forums when people use laquer paints.

[Jiloo]

You don't have to wait to switch to laquers. I've started with Vallejo and don't like working with them. It cloges my nozzle oto often.
Then I switched to Gunze H. But it was to soft for me. Often leave fingerprints on paint during assembling. It need to dry longer.
Then I started with Gunze C. It is perfect for me. Dries quicly, flows very nice in a AB. Have no problem at all with them. Now I using mostly Gunze C and Gaia paints.
Of course when I need softer paint I'm switching to H. And also have some others for different purpouses - Tamiya enamels, Vallejo for hand brushing.
Never used Tamiya, and heard many good opinions about them. Just bought two colors recently and will test them to use on one model.
Don't be affraid of laquers. They're realy good and easy to use paints.

[Groze]

While researching what to purchase for my first airbrush, I found a website that goes in to far more detail than you could ever while reviewing some common airbrushes, and has quite a lot of information to offer on airbrushing in general. I would strongly recommend reading the material on this site before you go and drop 100$ on your first airbrush, as I have not yet seen a more rigorous test of airbrush craftsmanship.

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/home

Now, as far as a beginning set, I'm thinking about the following:

Airbrush:
Either the Badger 105 Patriot or the Badger 155 Anthem, although I'm favoring the 105 because I've heard that that it's better to use the gravity fed system when I'm working with small amounts of paints and finer models. I intend to use both an in-line air filter and an pressure regulator/air filter combo.

Compressor:
Right now I'm considering the TC-20T, as it seems to be the cheapest air compressor with important features such as an air tank, heat shut off valve, and air on demand. However I'm worried about noise issues, since I'm hoping that I'll be able to operate it on my apartment's balcony. I live in the city, so I'm hoping that it's noise will just be drowned out by everything else but I'm not sure. My other concerns are that it's going to fail quickly, since it's not really made by a name brand airbrushing company. Does anyone have experience or suggestions in regards to this? Finally, is it necessary for me to have a tank for painting MG/PG kits and the occasional WH40K Titan? I've heard that the regularized pressure is a big improvement, but I don't have enough experience to determine whether this will really make a difference for the beginner.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=ABD+TC-20T

Any comments/criticism/advice on my setup?

(Also, my first post, I've lurked this site for what seems like years getting tips for building my WH40K models, I figured it was about time for me to nut up and do some gunpla)