airbrushing (1 Viewer)

does anyone have any tips on airbrushing, like could i use acrylic paints, or do i have to use jar paints,(ready mixed).i bought a iwata airbrush awhile ago,it spits and splutters when i use it....

I haven't used one, but I think you'd suffer with clogged jets with acrylics. They dry faster than petrol on a hotplate.

Could be wrong though.

mark richards said:

does anyone have any tips on airbrushing, like could i use acrylic paints, or do i have to use jar paints,(ready mixed).i bought a iwata airbrush awhile ago,it spits and splutters when i use it....

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If you're a carver, it's worth mastering the airbrush. I'm pretty sure the serious US carvers do use acrylics in airbrush , but they use an additive as a flow improver (maybe it retards drying time). Have a look for Jo Sonja's website- he is a likely supplier.

I have a carver in the family and I'm pretty sure that's what he does- and airbrush has gone from being his enemy to being his friend. Especially useful for painting fish carvings...

I use airbrush with Com-Art paints that are already at the right consistency, so there's no messing about! I use it on wood and get good results. The big draw back is it takes ages to clean the knozzle after each colour change, as just the slightest bit of dried paint left will cause spluttering. Also use a specific cleaner as well as water.

Hi Mark,

Probably the first thing to do is to pick up a tutorial DVD like Raphael Schnepf - Airbrush from Scratch which will give you a basic introduction to techniques.

You can spray pretty much any medium (acrylic, enamel, watercolour, gouache) provided you thin it correctly and spray at the appropriate pressure. As a general rule the more thinners you use, the slower the paint dries (greater risk of runs) and the lower the pressure required to spray. Spluttering may occur if the paint is not fully mixed, is too thick or the air pressure is too low.

Iwata is a good airbrush make but you don't say if you are using a compressor or compressed air cartridges to power it - if a compressor then is it a diaphragm model or one with a tank - tankless compressors can give a "pulsed" supply of air which may lead to splutters.

It is vital to keep your airbrush spotlessly clean - this is best achieved by flushing through at the end of each session rather than stripping the airbrush down to its components as this risks damaging seals, etc.

If you let me know what model Iwata you are using, type of compressor and paint then I may be able to give some more detailed insight into the cause of your problems.b

hi karl, I think the problem was my old compresser,(small nail gun type), I bought a new 50L sealy one . I can regulate this one much better., 20psi ? i tried it at . and it seemed to respond better , The airbrush is a hp-sbs eclipse ,do i need an inline filter?I've been useing acrylic paints sometimes, watered down 50 50, and flow improver,.this can be a bit hit and miss. thanks mark..

OK - the HP-SBS is a super little airbrush so provided it's clean then you will get excellent results.

I am guessing that the compressor came with a combined regulator/water trap so there is no need for an inline air filter to prevent moisture build up in the airbrush.

Artists acrlyics (in tubes) thinned with water can be very hit and miss as it is very difficult to remove any fine paint particles that remain in suspension.

I started learning airbrushing using inks onto cartridge paper then moving onto watercolours before liquid acrylics (probably my favourite medium) and onto some of the trickier stuff like artists gouache.

If i were learning now I would probably go straight to something like the Games Workshop acrylic range as these are thinned with water (1 part water to 3 parts paint), spray really well at around 30psi and are cheap too. The airbrush will blow clean with warm water.

Anything else you ned to know then please post some q's

thanks again karl