New to airbrushing

Discuss custom painting, artwork and airbrushing



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PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:53 pm
Hello, I am hoping I can find a few answers here. I want to try my hand at airbrushing a motorcycle. I have a few questions about best practices. Thank you if you can help me.

#1. What is the recommended PSI for different uses such as recommended PSI for fine line
#2. What is the max recommended PSI that should ever be used?
#3. For auto work what is the recommended paint type? Could I get a few different
suggestions on brands?
#4. What airbrush tip sizes are a must in your automotive tool bag?
#5. What types of materials should I always have in stock such as thinners and cleaners?
Also could you recommend a few brands?

Thank you for the help. I am not trying to blow a small fortune doing this. Price is a factor for me. I am not expecting a professional job my first time around I have never touched an airbrush in my life. This is just something I want to try my hand at. I have always been artistic and I am pretty handy with a tattoo machine so I figured why not this. I am going to play with a motor cycle I purchased as a project. Thanks again and have a great day!!!!



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PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:14 pm
I always used an Iwata gravity fed with a .035 needle for airbrushing RC car bodies and helmets etc. Pressure is gonna depend on material used. Reduced laquer or BC/CC is gonna flow better than straight water based paint like Pactra for rc bodies. It takes a lot of experimentation and practice with an airbrush. There are a lot of instructional videos on youtube. Airbrushing is really a lot more "feel" than shooting a basecoat on a car. The trigger is typically very fine and requires a sensitive finger. Ive used House of Kolor, Kustom Kolor, Pactra and a couple other.

To get started try the Iwata. Good all around airbrush and you can buy replacement parts at Hobby Lobby. They run a 40% off one item coupon on their website all the time, bring it up on your smartphone at the register and get a steep discount. For larger coverage areas they also make a .050 bottle fed brush but I always found it much more difficult to clean.



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PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:58 am
Thanks for the reply I wish I would have seen this earlier. I ended up buying a "starter" kit off of amazon which I linked below. I am sure it's not the best. hopefully its decent enough to get the hang of it. I also purchased the paint below. Not planning on using it on anything important just to practice with.

Question do most paints come with instructions on if you should cut it with thinner or is it just something you will learn over time?

Paint
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045 ... UTF8&psc=1

airbrush kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T ... UTF8&psc=1



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PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 5:21 pm
There is a water based reducer but I cant remember who makes it. Look on some of the RC airbrushing forums. Somebody made a mix of windex and alcohol as a reducer and it helped it dry faster. Its been soooo long since Ive airbrushed a body that I cant remember the exact ratio.

Edit: Its made by Createx I believe....it can be bought at Hobby Lobby also.



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PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 6:58 am
Master Airbrush stuff... machining tollerances and manufacturing quality control is poor. You can get a good one that will work fine for years or you can get a crap one that leaks, spits, and sputters right out of the box. Roll of the dice.

I don't know anything about that paint. Should be fine for practice.

I use standard automotive paints with my airbrushes... primers, epoxy, base coat colors, base coat clear (binder), and 2K clear. They have specialized airbrush paint for automotive applications... Createx Auto Air, and the like. I have not tried any of them.

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