shading miniatures with an airbrush

[Admiral-Badruck]

I had to look through them all before I posted them some I had to look at longer than others.

[me_in_japan]

Thinner and cleaner will probably be on the to buy list next.

sometimes when I try to clean it out, and fill the cup with water to blast out of the nozzle, it will make some short bursts of water but then thin out to just air, while the rest of the water just sits in the cup. Is that a tell tale sign of clogging?

yikes! I just re-read that last post of yours.

OK, some advice:

drop what you are doing, and go, nae, RUN to the nearest arty store (Joshin will do), and buy some airbrush cleaner. You have paint all over the internal workings of your airbrush, and its getting drier and harder to remove by the second.

Once you have purchased your cleaner, take it home and fill up a jam jar with it. Disassemble your airbrush completely. That means: needle, main body, button, end cap, nozzle.

immerse them all in the cleaning fluid. Leave em overnight. Be careful not to get the cleaner onto O-rings in the joints, as it will rot em. These are sometimes in the main body of the brush, so have a look for em. Mine doesnt seem to have any, so i can dunk it in cleaner fairly happily (but then mine is a single action brush, and therefore simpler.)

This is way more than you would usually have to do, but you've already left your brush for far too long without cleaning it properly. As badruck says, never put your airbrush away without cleaning it properly. That means cleaning it with airbrush cleaner. Its not optional. Water will not do the job. After painting, spray cleaner through your brush. If you do this every time, you wont get jams and wont have to do a major immersion-clean often, if at all.

From here on in, Id strongly advise against using your airbrush without having cleaner available for afterwards. It'll save you a lot of hassle.


Anyway, as we all said earlier in this thread: Airbrushing is neither quick nor easy. It is in fact, rather frustrating.

Are we having fun yet

Edit: I'll summarise the lengthy waffle above for ease-of-reading, and add 1 more thing:

1) Go to the shops NOW and buy cleaner. It is not an optional extra for airbrushing. You MUST use it EVERY time you paint.

2) Also buy thinner. Tamiya paint (which is thinner than citadel) should be thinned 50:50 for airbrush use. If you do this with water the paint loses all adhesion and will rub off the model, or worse, disappear when you varnish it (see my Havoc squad of nurgle for an example of this. I had highlighted them v. nicely, but when I varnished em, all highlights disappeared. Horrible.)

[Admiral-Badruck]

I know you said that is what had happened to Havocs but I did not realize it was H2O that made the big mess out of them..

[jus]

@ MIJ :wow this mr. hobby cleaner is some　pretty powerful stuff. Kinda smells like off honey. thanks for the tamiya ration, 50:50 eh. How about GW paints do any of you guys use them for air brushing. If so, whats the thinner ratio you use with them. I find GW paints clog up your air brush really quick.

@badruck: You were totally right about tamiya paints its sooo good. I:m switching to them for a bit. Also I tried out vallejo and they work just as good.

I needa get some pictures up of some of the stuff I've been working on heh. So far its I've done a rhino that looks like its been hit with a sack of flour/cocaine, Very careful tinging on a land raider and assorted attepmts at shading/highlighting on a handful of templars...and a relic carrying servitor that turned out somewhat decent.

[Admiral-Badruck]

Really looking froward to seeing your work mate you have got me excited how ever the mind is willing but the flesh is lazy...

[me_in_japan]

I dont really use GW for airbrushing unless Im only doing a wee tiny bit that needs to be in an exact colour. Id stick with Tamiya if I were you. Theres a big range, and they can be mixed to make whatever colour you need. As you say, GW paints clog yer brush something awful. Ive never tried Vallejo, as the Tamiya has been fine. incidentally, I read that Tamiya matt medium is vg for mixing with a tough gloss varnish and spraying on as a nice matt protective finish. Never tried it meself, tho, so use with caution.

and aye: airbrush cleaner = windows open...

[Spevna]

Hello. My name is Spevna. I have a brush.

[Admiral-Badruck]

And it seems you have a normal cellphone and just a PC.... looks like you are not a big enough Duche-bag to hang with the iAirbrush crowd...

[Primarch]

Hello. My name is Spevna. I have a brush.

I would vote for this man! Of course since I am not allowed to vote and since he isn't standing for anything I wont. But I would.

[Admiral-Badruck]

I have a brush too... but my brush is not as good at doing the things my airbrush does... just like I can't check my G-mail account from my landline telephone... there is nothing wrong with an air brush it is just another tool.. in your tool box..