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Author Topic: Airbrushing with GW paint.  (Read 7642 times)

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Offline nesbitt_bub1

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Airbrushing with GW paint.
« on: January 16, 2009, 07:29:23 PM »
So i bit the bullet.

After looking at the GW spray gun i decided it was not what i wanted to use so i went and purchased a dual action airbrush with a compressor. I got a good deal for the whole bundle £100 for everything i needed including cleaners.

Now the questions start.

How do the other airbrushers mix there paints. I've been playing with paper atm I'm too scared to go anywhere near a model with it. But when i have played with it it has become apparent that the paint requires some thinning to get it to flow.

I've also encountered a lot of dry tips. Is there anything you can add to your paint to reduce this? I had tried mixing in some klear and running 50/50 with water but is there some miracle chemical that will significantly reduce the drying times of the paint?


And the final question is how do i go about starting on a model. And learning the intricacies of air brushing. There are a good few tutorials on the net, But they mostly cover transparent painting for clear body work on RC cars, or large scale work like motorbike fuel tanks and cars! And there paint mixes appear different because of this. I plan to prime white as most of my models are primed white.... Help and good advice would be appreciated as well as good links relevant to this small scale style technique. Thanks.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2009, 07:30:51 PM by nesbitt_bub1 »

Offline devout

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2009, 03:35:33 PM »
I think the dry tips are unavoidable with GW paint. Really with all acrylic paints. I would recommend using enamel or lacquer for airbrushing. Since they use solvents that will actually disolve them once they're dry the stuff the "dries" on the tip tends to get washed away as you spray. You could try searching for "acrylic retarder" and see what comes up. the difficulty is finding something that slows drying and is also thin enough to spray.

Personally I prime white with Mr. Color 316

I only airbrush for basecoats and on vehicles, and i'm not very good with it, so I don't really have any tips for small scale stuff.

Offline scottdsp748

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2009, 03:56:02 PM »
When using my airbrush (Badger 150) I thin my paints to about the consistency of skim milk.  I've been happy with the results thus far.  My first project was this land raider and the airbrush was used for the Mordian Blue basecoat and the brown and black washes that were used for the initial weathering/shading. 



My third project (no pics of my second but it was just shading on some terrain) was this wave serpent, using the airbrush for the fade from black to blood red, then the highlighting and the rest of the fade was done with a brush. 



The things I've learned so far:  Never underestimate the importance of thinned paint!  Not only does it go on smoother, but with a double action airbrush you will find you have better control of the paint flow.  I've encountered the same thing you have with the dry tips, but it is noticably reduced running very thin paint.  I have ordered some liquitex flow improver and drying retarder to try out in the future, but I think the dry tips are just going to have to be dealt with by a little cleanup now and then.  I cleaned mine out whenever I needed to switch colors and that worked fine.  There's a fine line between thin enough and too thin though, as you want to maintain an even coat and not turn your paint into a wash. 

If you have hard water in your area, I'd recommend thinning your paints with distilled water.  This recommendation applies for paints applied with a regular brush too but makes a bigger difference with an airbrush.

The best thing to do is to try it out, as paper is much more absorbent than a model and isn't going to give nearly the same results.  I was surprised at just how forgiving it was the first time I tried it.  I haven't tried airbrushing over white primer yet, but I think black will be easier to learn with as your colors won't build quite as quickly.  Both of the models in my photos were GW black primed.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

-Scott

« Last Edit: January 30, 2009, 03:58:30 PM by scottdsp748 »

Offline nesbitt_bub1

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2009, 09:23:40 PM »
Thanks for the replies, I was beginning to think this thread had died a death before it had even been looked at.

The dry tips have been sorted for the most part now. I've taken to always having some paper towel handy.

Distilled water oddly enough was suggested to me the other day by the guy that runs the store where i got the airbrush. Apparently this is a hard water area and it will help a lot.

Liquitex is something i have not come across yet. I will seek it out in the local area and see if it helps.

One thing i have noticed is the cleaner i got for the gun has an odd effect on GW paint. It dries it instantly and removes it, But in the nozzle it hardens the paint making the paint flow patchy. At first i thought this was the compresser pulsing and making the paint do odd things. But after doing a detail clean and removing the gunk the brush was working perfectly again. The cleaner is carboflurotetrachlo ride based, it's very similar if not identical to car brake disc cleaner. Apparently all airbrushed will encounter this problem and there are a few tutorials about cleaning the nozzle correctly on the net.

although the cleaner has this problem i think i will continue to use it however as the cleaner completely removes all traces of paint from the body of the brush in a squirt and a wipe. I will just stop fiering it through the gun, There is a mix of windex and simple green that works great for cleaning nozzles on the fly tho so i may have to invest in some of that as well...

Many thanks for the great pics you have posted. I will try to get some of mine up soon so you can seen the test pieces, and the first couple of warwalkers that i decided to base coat with it.

Offline ALshroth

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #4 on: February 1, 2009, 09:10:17 AM »
Vallaijo, badger, airfix and the model car company make specialist airbrush cleaners just for cleaning but thinners should work.

The only tip I can give is NEVER start or stop spraying on the model.
ALWAYS start and stop of the model to prevent excess spots of paint.
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Offline JaPizzy

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #5 on: February 2, 2009, 11:53:21 AM »
I've had success with using windex for thinning gw paints.  Also, liquitex makes an airbrush medium that can be used for thinning them down that should maintain the adhesion of the paint as well.

For cleaning I just use whatever is handy.  Usually windex or soapy water.  Alcohol will get the stubborn parts off with a little rubbing.  Windex is really great for it, but I have heard of people losing the chrome off of the inside of their brushes with it.  I've been using it for over two years now and not encountered any problems at all.  I just rinse out with water after I'm done.

Good tip about he stopping spraying over the model.  With a double action you should always do things in this order, air, move, paint, stop paint, stop moving, then shut off air.  You should also not change directions while spraying paint. 

Cheers

James

Offline Dire Wolf

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #6 on: February 6, 2009, 08:52:49 PM »
Premade the tamiya ACRYLIC thinner works well with vallejo.
Could also try a mix of IPA and water to thin. 'Course IPA does add to the fumes.

Offline GGPiKE3

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Re: Airbrushing with GW paint.
« Reply #7 on: February 7, 2009, 10:27:07 AM »
I run an Iwata airbrush and use mostly GW paints. My buddy, who's been involved in the modeling world for quite sometime, said to thin acrylic paint with 90% isopropyl  alcohol. Works like a charm. The paint dries almost instantly, making quick work of basic basecoating, shading, and highlighting.

 


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