nick-b Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Hi all, As the title says, I love the painting side of RC and would love to learn how to airbrush. Can anyone tell me what kit would be best to buy to start and learn this? There are a few units on ebay, however would prefer to be pointed towards the right gear from people in the know. Thanks Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamiyacowboy Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 expensive airbrush. quality commands a price, the cheapy airbrushes you see for 20-40 quid are ok'ish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I just want tke the time here to thank Tammy for his writeups. Nice advice indeed Coincidentally I too am looking into the world of airbrushing. My main question,. (hope it's ok OP) is:- For Rc shells what is the recommended size of the paint reservoir/ cup? I understand gravity fed is better as you need the room to maneuver inside the shell but I currently have the option of either a 2ml or 7ml cup. What would be better? cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayzie12 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 7ml cup would be better imo. Practice makes perfect as with anything. For compressors have a looks at an AS186. had one for a couple of years now and is still doing well, even fine for painting for an hour or so! As for the airbrushes themselves, generally you get what you pay for. I've always had Iwata's but they are expensive, and Badger seem to get a good rep too although never had one myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamiyacowboy Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) I ran a toploader gun it had a small'ish bowled area with a small lid and hole in it, all gravity feed , i also had adjustable air, more trigger more air, and a flow adjustment. between shooting coats you dont want to overfill your paint holder, if you accidently flick your wrist you soon know about it from the paint leaking everywhere. i decanted my paint into a small food coloring bottle, i would do a half and half paint to thinner. using the small bottle i would fill my brush to 1/4 full , hang a paper up and feed some air through adjust the needle and flow if needed ( ie spray or fine line ) then go about my work. at my side would be my little bottle of pre-mix ready to top up if needed. YOU MUST !!!! Clean your brush after, you can take it apart and clean it, but also fill the paint holder with thinners and blow it through, i used to do two full holders of thinners to help clear out the brush. BADGER to start with guys mayzie hit the nail on the head, they mid ranged brush with good coverage and somewhat noobie proof. JUST DO NOT DROP YOUR BRUSH .... i ruined my first badger when i caved in the tip dropping it onto the floor " argh paint ....... oh NOOOOOOOOO .... thud clank snap" i lost the tip to the needle and mashed the tip end holder and dented the paint res. compressor about 13psi feed to the gun itself, if its a valve regulator and guage to can adjust to your need how much air is sent to the brush. dont forget compressor can run other things, like bike pumps and small air grinding wheels snippers, i ran a small clarke RED compressor, had a res about 2-5lt was ideal for small hobby work . good thing was it auto shut off when it was full, so no constant pump drone. it would kick back in when pressure reached a limit preset via a valve switch. i could spray a full 10th body and the pump would kick in a second time to just top back upto full. i could spray 4 x 1/18th scale bodys on one tank full of air running on a low psi regulator setting ( this is dusting the bodys to give color but minimum race weights). Edited November 24, 2014 by Tamiyacowboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I too am requiring the need for the dark arts, initially for 1/16th purposes. Thanks for the information thus far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 compressor about 13psi feed to the gun itself, if its a valve regulator and guage to can adjust to your need how much air is sent to the brush. in bar? been looking at ebay, after trolling I am finding the afore mentioned compressor AS186 cheap as for brush. would u say 0.2 , 0.3 and a 0.5 mm needle(s) be adequate? or for full shell backing colour would bigger suit. 1:10 max shell size fyi. water based Paints:- Createx seem good, but no idea which are lexan then Fascolor I spose, any others? Thinning:- need special thinner or can suffice with distalled water? Thinning:- do u know the 'din' measure of reccomended thickness in seconds? fascolor appears to be 'spray ready' I'll link my purchase options later on Where's Nick-b ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamiyacowboy Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 yeah those needles are fine to start with. use the .5 first its possible it will be the default needle fitted. psi is what we feed the gun, a regulator will be psi / bar so you can adjust via guage on the compressor. it depends on the paint your atomizing , the air quality ( cold/warm - summer/winter ), your going to notice the airgun gets cold to the hand as the compressed air comes through it, you will also find the compressor gets warm and the res can start to collect water and oil, it happens with compressors so we filter the air coming out to the gun. paints, there are SOOOOOOO many you can use, i went with pactra glass bottle paint and a 1:1 mix of thinner. when you get your paints you will know if its to thick to shoot with, its stodgey when mixed up with a stick, and somewhat balls up and drops off when the stick is removed. you want it to run off the stick nice and smooth leaving a thin coat behind. spraying a thinned paint has its advantage, the thinner evaporates off from the paint, you get a quicker dry time. BUT you need to be careful as running can happen, so we shoot dusting coats like i mentioned above, just a quick blow over and let it dry off, then another blow over, each layer covers the blotching you see and the end product is a fully loaded shell, evenly coated and not a heavy weight. when you hold the shell up to light you should still see its kinda semi transparent you can see your hand shadow through it. Best every trick to learn to paint. the washing line, grab a couple pegs, a sheet of paper, pin it to the washing line and spray away, starting the gun before the paper and only stopping after the paper. Dont flick the wrist but sway the arm along the length ( do this with a normal aircan and you will notice a better paint lay and coverage right away ). same tip above can be used to learn to feather in, where we blend black into gray into white , your going to aim the brush different so only outer spray sprinkles to edging of the paper then your going to do it again but slightly closer and fill in. here you learn to feather in and blend. adjust the tip to give fine line, now your going to draw a line moving the gun tip closer the jet forms a spray line, moving it back gives you a spray spread. its all about practice like most of us guys say, just grab the brush whack up some paper and go to town, shove on some music not thrashy but something to work to. then practice, grab the masking tape and scrap/old shells mask some up on the outside, cut out your own design in the tape, and spray, spray spray, then spray it all white, and start again spray spray spray, each time you use the gun and become more comfy using and holding it the more simple airbrushing is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick-b Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Sorry not posted, been working and watching airbrushing techniques lol I'm thinking I will be getting the AS186 kit to start with while I learn the basics, then slowly buy myself a nice iwata setup for when I feel I am ready to do some artwork lol Loving the faskolor candy paints, and have been looking at some cool stencils, the options are limitless......... just gotta get xmas out the way first before I can get a compressor past the missus lol Big thanks to all for the info, really helps to have people with knowledge in your corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamiyacowboy Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Sorry not posted, been working and watching airbrushing techniques lol I'm thinking I will be getting the AS186 kit to start with while I learn the basics, then slowly buy myself a nice iwata setup for when I feel I am ready to do some artwork lol Loving the faskolor candy paints, and have been looking at some cool stencils, the options are limitless......... just gotta get xmas out the way first before I can get a compressor past the missus lol Big thanks to all for the info, really helps to have people with knowledge in your corner. If the lady of the house is into health and beauty, the compressor will be an ideal companion for the both of you, the compressor can be used with a secondary airbrush and the lady of the house could learn to spray nails, spray body tan, etc etc. Dentist drills are compressed air powered, so a drill attachment could be a nice little hit to. this would allow for grinding / carving / engraving. Your Very welcome Nick, am glad we could offer up our advice and tips to help you along with your purchase choice and your step into airbrush work Edited November 25, 2014 by Tamiyacowboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick-b Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 We are both into the modified car scene, so I am angling with the idea of airbrushing the plastics on the cars? This would work on both RC and full scale cars as the process is just reversed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Yup. Thinking similar. (rc related) Thoughts on this cheapo combo? As 18 2-c Don't see much use for the other pistol but it's more expensive without it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick-b Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 That looks like a nice kit to start with. I guess its like anything, start with a cheapish set (not too cheap) then as your skill level increases you upgrade your tools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurcyP Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Nice v8 soarer nick. A word on compressors. Get one that will fit your needs but dont spend out unnecessarily as at the end of the day, they all do the same thing. If you get one that has a tank rather than on demand air, it will serve you a lot longer due to the fact as your skill increases, youll start to notice the downsides of on demand compressors that pulse, and it will reflect on your work. i think thats about right, tammi or someone will correct me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) So that one above has no tank? I definitely want a tank, quieter too (hopefully) This one must be the tanked version then? as186 Don't like the 2 bottom fed brushes though Can someone please explain needles and nozzles? can u combine small needle with big nozzle etc for different techniques? Edited November 25, 2014 by Deafty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick-b Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 well spotted purcy, that's my summer toy, Rc goodies for the winter lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurcyP Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 So that one above has no tank? I definitely want a tank, quieter too (hopefully) This one must be the tanked version then? as186 Don't like the 2 bottom fed brushes though Can someone please explain needles and nozzles? can u combine small needle with big nozzle etc for different techniques? tank will be quieter as once it reaches full pressure the compressor will stop itself and then start when the pressure drops below a certain amount. needles and nozzles i cant really help with im afraid. well spotted purcy, that's my summer toy, Rc goodies for the winter lol tis nice, want a soarer myself in either V8 or 1jz not fussed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NITO Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 My old man has a Soarer V8, 200,000 miles and still drives like new. Cracking cars. Great thread this, I've been contemplating an airbrush for quite some time, was looking at Iwata (buy once and all that!). I have a great big compressor in the garage but no filter etc on it and I don't know if its complete overkill for a little airbrush and if I should just get a small quiet compressor. That said once the big comp is up to pressure it would last ages without kicking back in but very loud when it does! Was looking at spray booths, this type; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HSE420-Compact-Spray-Booth-NIB-tg-/361122995469?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item54149b9d0d Join two up together for our RC, anyone used these? Cheers Nito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatboyneil Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Needles and nozzles the simple answer is the smaller they are helps for finer detail I'm using a 0.2mm Gravity feed and it requires a lot less pressure to do the same job as the 0.35 mm one I have a good airbrush will be able to take different size needles and nozzles and some are brand specific here is what matters oh and they have to match 0.2 needle to 0.2 nozzle and so on for a challenge try looking at alclad2 paints they do a good chrome for polycarbonate/lexen and spaz stix do some good colour changing paints with an airbrush the possibilities are endless oh and buy sheets of plastic to practice on buying loads of shells can get expensive also if you mess it up have some dot 4 brake fluid ready it just wiped off the faskolor paints hell even hot water works with most. Also if your cars are nitro don't forget the nitro block it stops the paint stripping off 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatboyneil Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Oh and this is the best beginner setup I got and the cheapest http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=200600974912 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick-b Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Neil thats exactly the one i was looking at getting lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 yeap,. that kit will do,. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatboyneil Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Oh and also don't use fairy liquid to prep your shells it leaves a residue on that the water based airbrush paints don't hide I use actual soap or glass cleaner or Mr muscle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 perhaps ,. cheap but good paint brand knowledge could be forth coming next some have been mentioned but what else is in this worm hole of airbrushing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick-b Posted November 27, 2014 Author Share Posted November 27, 2014 good old fashion soap and water, the non fancy stuff works great for cleaning shells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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