Suggestions for Air Brushing

[smd030]

Thanks. I knew I had seen something about it but could not remember where it was...

 

[MOON]

There's not a hole lot of info on airbrushing. I do know that if your spraying acetone make sure your in a well ventilated area , were a mask and stay away from a open flame. I'm sure everyone would appreciate anything you may learn. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Thatoneguy978]

Yeah I'm very interested in your findings. Anyone with any information on that would be greatly appreciated. I love trying new techniques. Btw, what did you get for an airbrush kit and where did you get it? Oh, how much too?

 

[smd030]

I got a gravity feed airbrush kit from amazon. I spent 100 on it with the cleaning brushes and quick connect thing. Btw DO NOT GET THE QUIVK CONNECTOR THAT THEY RECOMMEND. It leaks badly...

 

[bigmanbailye]

dudes, I have a thread on airbrushing. type "airbrushing" in the thread search and look for bigmanbailye. I spell it all out. I have done several airbrushing including a darth yoda I am still currently working on. It is pretty cool.

the disc I have as an avitar I airbrushed 3 colors in the middle by the cross

 

[MOON]

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11234&highlight=airbrushing
how soon I forget, as I lear into space.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I checked out that thread. Very informative. I went to respond to it, but apparently its too old to post anything. That's happened to me a few times lately, really annoying. :thmbdown: So I guess we'll have to post anything new learned about airbrushing here.

Here's what I was gonna post on that thread:

Thanks for redirecting me to this thread, and for all the exact info. I like exact. I'll def give this a shot when I get an airbrush. Could you let me know where you got your airbrush, what type and for how much? And would you recommend that brand/type?

Also, I noticed you said make sure you do this outside (good advice), but in the pic you took theres snow outside. Did you airbrush this out in the snow? Just asking cuz I live in MN, and considering it snowed over a foot today and its gonna get way below freezing tonight, I don't see myself doing this outside any time soon...

 

[bigmanbailye]

I sprayed in my garage or if that is too cold I'll use the basement. As for type of airbrush, if you really want to get good and do some cool things, spend the extra money on a good dual action airbrush. The one I have is a $5 badger (good brand) single action that I got on e-bay. It does the job fine, but if I want different thicknesses and gradients in my lines you really need to control both the air-flow AND the paint flow. Single action guns only control paint flow, and the air is all on or all off, and thus your airbrush stroke is limited even if you adjust the strength (amount of paint/dye) coming out.

It is also essential, in my opinion, to have a good air source. I used to use C02 from a can but the pressure changes. The can will get really cold and drop in pressure. If you already have bought cans of air, spray with the can sitting in some hot water. That will make a big difference, but still not perfect. What I use now is a mini 1 gal air compressor. This is NOT the $200 model air compressors that they try and sell you with your air gun, but rather a generic compressor used for pneumatic tools like a roof nailer. Given my small tank size (and I am talking about the compressor >:| ) I don't have to worry about moisture building up in the tank and ruining my spray. I just make sure to drain the tank before and after use and I have never had a problem.

Hope this helps. I am still experimenting with dye mixtures. I am going to start playing around with the liquid rit after Christmas to see if there is a better way still out there.

 

[bigmanbailye]

After re-reading the old airbrushing thread I would like to make some changes and added info.

Mixture: 2/3 acetone, 1/3 dish soap, mix well and let sit for 5 min. there was no real change between 5 and 20 min wait time.

Filtration: acetone doesn't do a good job of completely dissolving all the rit powder contents, especially that salt rocks put in there. That is also why you have to stir well and let sit for 5 minutes. So if I want 0 clogs or 0% chance of have a small pebble shoot out and ruin a spray, I will filter the acetone/rit mixture through a coffee filter and then add the soap. I don't like doing this though because the coffee filter absorbs a tone of the acetone/rit mixture in the process, and when you are only working with 1/2 a shot glass worth of medium, that is a waste and totally annoying if you end up short on your spray job!! Vinegar, on the other hand, does an awesome job of dissolving EVERYTHING and QUICKLY. The down side, it beeds and puddles like water, even when mixed with acetone. I found out the the vinegar and acetone basically cancel each other out as a base and acid so you basically end up with water when mixed. This is why I will experiment with liquid rit because I hate filtering the mixture.

I hope to post a video about spray techniques and basically my whole process since this seems to be an upcoming popular method. Other please experiment and post as well. This is why I love this dgcr community.

 

[mashnut]

I merged the two threads so we can have all the info in one place.

 

[agent_peebody]

that seems logical.

yet i still feel repressed by you, mashnut

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I merged the two threads so we can have all the info in one place.

Thats awesome. I didn't even know you could do that. such a noob...

 

[Thatoneguy978]

Awesome, great idea merging them. Thanks. And I've read somewhere about airbrushing for cars and such that they use bigger compressors with a filter on the airhose to remove moisture from getting to the paint. I was wondering if anyone knows if that is an option since I have a couple of larger air compressors at my disposal. I know its overkill but i don't want to have to buy another air source if I really don't need one.

 

[bigmanbailye]

yes, they make filters that attach to your air gun hose as well as a reducer to connect the air-gun to larger compressors. Another note, you will need a regulator on your compressor so outgoing air does not go past 50 psi. Anything higher than that will blow the hose of your air-gun out or worse, ruin your airbrush

 

[Thatoneguy978]

Awesome, thanks. That should work perfect since my compressor has a regulator right on it. Is the reducer for the hose itself? Or what is that for?

 

[bigmanbailye]

Most pneumatic tools use a larger connector size than your airbrush. I don't know the sizes exactly but say all your tool extensions use a 1/2 connectors and your airbrush uses 1/4 inch connectors. If you tried to connect your airbrush hose to your air compressor hose it wouldn't fit without some type of conversion peace called a reducer.

 

[smd030]

So I'm having some real issues getting the dye to get in the disc. I have been using liquid dye and I'm not sure if it makes a difference.

 

[MOON]

Are you using acetone with it ? or are you introducing some sort of heat?

 

[smd030]

I have been using acetone, hand soap, and liquid rit dye. I may need to just try the powder dye. It may also be the fact that I'm trying to use the dark brown dye and in the past the brown dye don't work all to hot....

 

[MOON]

Are you using the hand soap just to thicken it up so you can spray or can you elimenate it all together?