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I found an excellent air brush on Craigslist for 20 bucks. You can control air pressure and the amount of paint. But since I'm new at this, couple of quick questions:
* What size compressor should I get for just modeling. I've seen ones from 30-100 PSI that look like they'd do the trick.
* What type of thinner should I use in an air brush with either acrylic or oil based paints and how much do you usually thin?
Thanks!
Allen
Allen,
A small 1 gallon air compressor is a perfect size. You'll want an in-line regulator and water trap. Most airbrush painting is done in the 15-20 psi range.
As for thinners. That all depends on the type of paints your using. I use mostly Floquil and Testors paints. For that I use the Testors red can enamel thinner. As for mixtures of paint and thinner, there is no one mixture that works for all paints. Each paint can be a bit thinner or thicker straight out of the bottle. It's really trial and error and a big learning curve.
When it comes to dul-coat and gloss-coat, I use Testors brand. For that I use Testors Lacquer thinner only.
You can thin just about any solvent based hobby paint with Xylene or Xylol from Home Depot or Wal-Mart. I thin Testors, Floquil, and Scalecoat products with it and have never had any problems at all. Most hobby thinners are based on this solvent or a mix of it and Toulene. The paint manufacturers buy this stuff in bulk, and pour it into little bottles which yield large profits.
You can get a quart or a gallon can of Xylene that will last a long time at a fraction of teh cost. Most hobby paints should be started at 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner, and try it out. Some paints can be thinned as much as 50-50, but be careful not to get them too thin. It is a trial & error process as has been said. Try it on some scrap plastic or some old, beater tyco cars from the junk box or the swap meet.
Another quick question: When I try to dull down a car using white waterbased paint, the paint beads up. Is it possible/wise to use water based paint on plastic?
Allen
Make sure the car has been washed with soap and water. Use alcohol or windex to mix with your water based paint. That should clear up the beading problem.
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