Setting up my Airbrush

[Spanishdriver]

Hi all,

 

I have a Voilamart AS18-2 dual action airbrush kit. Up to now it has worked faultlessly and I have been able to weather my track and a couple of loco's with reasonable results.

 

Two days ago, I took the plunge and having stripped the old paint off a well worn engine, I decided to start a complete re-paint to enable it to reflect on my era and location.

 

This is where my problems started. 

 

I am using Railmatch acrylic paints and the Railmatch water based thinners at a 50/50 mix.

 

When trying to spray the primer coat, I was getting little to no paint from the airbrush. I could see a little bit of 'crud' withing the cup so decided to take the airbrush apart for a clean with the provided airbrush cleaning kit and fluid. All holes and nozzles were cleaned along with the needle valve.

I re-assembled the airbrush and tried again with similar results and was not getting a good and continuous flow of paint from the nozzle.

 

The compressor and airbrush manuals that came within the package give no advice on cleaning or indeed re-assembling the airbrush but merely give safety advice and part numbers.

 

My question is this. can anyone offer me some advice on the needle setting? For example, is it re-inserted and pushed firmly home within the nozzle and then tightened or is there a margin of 'play' before it is tightened. It is a shame but this isn't covered in the manual. Or is it just trial and error. 

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Cheers

Gary

[brossard]

Acrylic paint tends to dry quickly and I have had sporadic blockages.  Using an acrylic paint retarder is supposed to help.  I got myself a jar of Tamiyas recently, seems to be better.

 

John

[Mick Bonwick]

You have mentioned the name of the compressor (AS 18-2) but not that of the airbrush. Not having an instruction manual is a common problem with budget equipment.

 

Can you provide a photograph of the airbrush assembled and then completely disassembled so that we can see all the parts? There are many causes of 'little to no paint from the airbrush!'

[Quarryscapes]

Acrylics clog up very easily as they dry in the air stream and jam up the nozzle. Thin some more and drop the pressure a little. 

 

WHen reinserting a needle do it gently and whilst twisting it into it's seat, do not push hard as you can distort the seating faces of the nozzle and needle which leads to poor performance. What is the size of needle by the way? 

[Trainshed Terry]

I use acrylic paints by  AV Vallejo for all the military modelling with good results. I always before putting any paint the paint cup, put a small amount of airbrush thinner in a give a spray through just to make sure that there is no residue of the last paint used or even any left over cleaning fluid.

 

I also have the pressure set to about 20psi when spraying

 

I hope that is of help.

 

Terry

[Nile_Griffith]

Agree with Tarnished Terry. I use Vallejo acrylics very successfully, especially their Model Air range which are ready to go straight from the bottle.

 

As for needle set up, I set my own needle so that its just resting in place against the nozzle, no pressure applied, don't think of it as a tap where you are trying to create some water tight pressure tight seal. Compressor wise when spraying acrylics, like Terry I run at 20 psi and this seems to work well for Vallejo paints and primers.

 

If you are mixing your own paints and thinners I'd heartily recommend an acrylic thinner rather than a water mix thinner and if you are particularly worried about paint drying in the nozzle an acrylic retardant will help.

 

Prior to using my airbrushes for the first time I will always "blow" them through with isopropyl alcohol or a dedicated airbrush cleaner first and at a higher pressure than my spraying pressure (maybe 30 or so psi..... but remember to dial back the psi for painting proper!!). Then after blowing through with cleaner, just blow through with clean air for a few moments to make sure the nozzle is nice and dry ready for paint.

 

As said, Acrylics will dry much faster than enamels, so I find it important to have my cleaning regime all prepared and ready next to my workspace, ready to go as soon as I've finished my paint run. As part of that regime I have a spare cup already filled with isopropyl cleaner so that if at any time I feel my airbrush might be clogging, I can turn up the psi on my compressor and swap between paint cups and cleaner then blast the isopropyl through the airbrush into an old jar cleaning out the paint. I also keep an egg cup full of cleaner so that when I finish my paint passes and am ready to clean, the first thing I do is give the nozzle a quick dip and swoosh round in the cleaner....... a bit like cleaning a regular paint brush. The reason I do this is generally the nozzle area is the quickest to dry and giving it a quick rinse as soon as I finish takes a little pressure of me switching between paint and cleaning cups in good time.

[Spanishdriver]

Thank you all for your replies and there is some very useful information within and I have learnt a lot from reading through them. Three airbrushes came with the kit but none of them are named. Hopefully the attached scan will give you the exploded view that you are looking for Mick. 

I have come to the conclusion however that the primer used was extra thick as I have put some normal thinned paint through and it behaves a lot better. The thinner I use is a water based thinner from Railmatch.

Thank you for the tip about the working pressure of 20 psi. I was running at the preset figure of 50 psi so that has now been reduced to the normal 20. There was no mention of this in the manual. I will give it a try this afternoon and report back.

The tip about the needle set up was also very welcome.

 

Thanks again.

[Mick Bonwick]

The parts most likely to give the trouble that you experienced are 3, 4 and 5 - nozzle, O-ring and needle. It is very easy for dried paint to build up inside the nozzle and prevent the needle from seating properly, and if the O-ring is damaged, however slightly, it will prevent the airflow from sucking the paint from the cup. If you aren't already doing it, I strongly recommend the frequent flushing of the airbrush with cleaning fluid (as opposed to thinners) during your painting session.

[Spanishdriver]

I have had a more productive afternoon thanks to you guys. The airbrush seems to be behaving it'self more now. A good clean with a proper cleaning fluid, needle set up properly and more importantly running at 20 psi. 

I now have the yellow ends done on my first total respray and I have two more loco bodies soaking in brake fluid to strip the paint off. It will be interesting to see if I encounter similar issues again when using the primer. I do have a couple of jars of the stuff so may even open another one and see if that is as thick and gloopy.

 

Thank you for the tip about the frequent flushing with cleaning fluid Mick, I have been using thinners in between sprays up until now. I will give it a whirl.

 

We live and learn don't we?

 

Cheers

Gary

[Nile_Griffith]

I have had a more productive afternoon thanks to you guys. The airbrush seems to be behaving it'self more now. A good clean with a proper cleaning fluid, needle set up properly and more importantly running at 20 psi. 

I now have the yellow ends done on my first total respray and I have two more loco bodies soaking in brake fluid to strip the paint off. It will be interesting to see if I encounter similar issues again when using the primer. I do have a couple of jars of the stuff so may even open another one and see if that is as thick and gloopy.

 

Thank you for the tip about the frequent flushing with cleaning fluid Mick, I have been using thinners in between sprays up until now. I will give it a whirl.

 

We live and learn don't we?

 

Cheers

Gary

 

 

Hi Gary!

 

I've recently been using a grey acrylic primer by a company called Stynylrez. In the past I've always used Vallejo's acrylic primer especially as it has always done a great job of not flooding out any of the finer details on a model and their airbrush ready primer is just a doddle to use. However (and no matter how good a product is there always seems to be a however) Acrylic primers generally don't liked being worked (sanded etc) until they are properly cured and that can take up to twenty four hours. The Vallejo primers are no exception and quite honestly there is nowt worse than buggering up your primer coat by getting to eager with any sanding.

 

Any old how. This Stynylrez stuff seems to paint and cover as brilliantly as the Vallejo stuff plus not get to messed up if I need to do a little remedial sanding a couple of hours after painting and like the Vallejo primer it's good to go straight out of the bottle too. Its available in Black, Grey and white, so ideal for most jobs.

 

Hope this helps.

[Chubber]

Hi Gary!

 

I've recently been using a grey acrylic primer by a company called Stynylrez. In the past I've always used Vallejo's acrylic primer especially as it has always done a great job of not flooding out any of the finer details on a model and their airbrush ready primer is just a doddle to use. However (and no matter how good a product is there always seems to be a however) Acrylic primers generally don't liked being worked (sanded etc) until they are properly cured and that can take up to twenty four hours. The Vallejo primers are no exception and quite honestly there is nowt worse than buggering up your primer coat by getting to eager with any sanding.

 

Any old how. This Stynylrez stuff seems to paint and cover as brilliantly as the Vallejo stuff plus not get to messed up if I need to do a little remedial sanding a couple of hours after painting and like the Vallejo primer it's good to go straight out of the bottle too. Its available in Black, Grey and white, so ideal for most jobs.

 

Hope this helps.

Concur heartily. Wonderful stuff, and covers perfectly with Vallejo paints diluted to full milk consistency.

You can sand confidently within 30 minutes of undercoating without any peeling etc.

Doug

Edited June 11, 2017 by Chubber

[tractor_37260]

Hi all,

 

I have a Voilamart AS18-2 dual action airbrush kit. Up to now it has worked faultlessly and I have been able to weather my track and a couple of loco's with reasonable results.

 

Two days ago, I took the plunge and having stripped the old paint off a well worn engine, I decided to start a complete re-paint to enable it to reflect on my era and location.

 

This is where my problems started. 

 

I am using Railmatch acrylic paints and the Railmatch water based thinners at a 50/50 mix.

 

When trying to spray the primer coat, I was getting little to no paint from the airbrush. I could see a little bit of 'crud' withing the cup so decided to take the airbrush apart for a clean with the provided airbrush cleaning kit and fluid. All holes and nozzles were cleaned along with the needle valve.

I re-assembled the airbrush and tried again with similar results and was not getting a good and continuous flow of paint from the nozzle.

 

The compressor and airbrush manuals that came within the package give no advice on cleaning or indeed re-assembling the airbrush but merely give safety advice and part numbers.

 

My question is this. can anyone offer me some advice on the needle setting? For example, is it re-inserted and pushed firmly home within the nozzle and then tightened or is there a margin of 'play' before it is tightened. It is a shame but this isn't covered in the manual. Or is it just trial and error. 

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Cheers

Gary

 

If your not already doing so, it's always a good idea to mix/thin the paint in a separate glass jar etc and then add it to the airbrush cup, especially if using Acrylics.

[Spanishdriver]

I have just ordered some Vallejo primer. I will give it a try when it arrives. I have finished the respray of my first loco and using the Railmatch paints I had no issues but when I tried to use the Railmatch primer again on another loco, I encountered the same problems. 

​I thinned the primer right down to a water consistency and still had issues. It seems that the primer is clogging up the airbrush irregardless of the viscosity. Normal paint has no issues. It will be interesting to find out how I get on with the  Vallejo primer.

 

Nile_Griffith said it can be used straight out of the bottle but Chubber said dilute to a milky consistency. I suppose it depends on the airbrush used and personal preference.

 

I always mix paint prior to putting into the airbrush cap and every so often put my finger over the nozzle and mix the paint again with the bubbles produced during spraying.

 

Anyway cheers again for all advice and once my primer arrives will report back.

 

Gary 

Edited June 13, 2017 by Spanishdriver

[Mick Bonwick]

 

I always mix paint prior to putting into the airbrush cap and every so often put my finger over the nozzle and mix the paint again with the bubbles produced during spraying.

 

 

 

 

Backwashing is usually used during the cleaning cycle to remove any small particles that could be clogging the nozzle by blowing them back into the cup, where they can easily be cleaned out. If any such particles are left in the cup and you continue to spray normally, they will just be sent back to block the nozzle again.

 

I admire your perseverance.

[Quarryscapes]

I have just ordered some Vallejo primer. I will give it a try when it arrives. I have finished the respray of my first loco and using the Railmatch paints I had no issues but when I tried to use the Railmatch primer again on another loco, I encountered the same problems. 

​I thinned the primer right down to a water consistency and still had issues. It seems that the primer is clogging up the airbrush irregardless of the viscosity. Normal paint has no issues. It will be interesting to find out how I get on with the  Vallejo primer.

 

Nile_Griffith said it can be used straight out of the bottle but Chubber said dilute to a milky consistency. I suppose it depends on the airbrush used and personal preference.

 

I always mix paint prior to putting into the airbrush cap and every so often put my finger over the nozzle and mix the paint again with the bubbles produced during spraying.

 

Anyway cheers again for all advice and once my primer arrives will report back.

 

Gary 

 

It'll still clog unless thinned, 0.3mm tip & needle is too small for primers really. (and if you have the 0.2 installed it's too small for any paint!) If you can get a 0.5mm replacement it will spray a lot better, but won't be particularly delicate for weathering (And still I wouldn't recommend using neat primer through it, it does work just about but it's a poor finish IMO). 

[Spanishdriver]

The biggest tip and needle that I have is 3.5mm which may explain my problems. That is very a interesting point.

 

I have however finished spraying my first loco. Old paint completely stripped and primed (to the best of my ability!!) and then given it's top coats.

I am reasonably satisfied with the results. I used an old loco that will not be used much anyway to experiment on. Transfers applied it just needs some weathering. The chassis has been given a coat of frame dirt.

I will be using this as a practice piece. I have two further loco's on the go so we will see how they pan out too.

 

I have also fitted lights which enhance the new 50008. See attached.

 

Cheers

Gary

 

 

 

 

[Chubber]

I have just ordered some Vallejo primer. I will give it a try when it arrives. I have finished the respray of my first loco and using the Railmatch paints I had no issues but when I tried to use the Railmatch primer again on another loco, I encountered the same problems. 

​I thinned the primer right down to a water consistency and still had issues. It seems that the primer is clogging up the airbrush irregardless of the viscosity. Normal paint has no issues. It will be interesting to find out how I get on with the  Vallejo primer.

 

Nile_Griffith said it can be used straight out of the bottle but Chubber said dilute to a milky consistency. I suppose it depends on the airbrush used and personal preference.

 

I always mix paint prior to putting into the airbrush cap and every so often put my finger over the nozzle and mix the paint again with the bubbles produced during spraying.

 

Anyway cheers again for all advice and once my primer arrives will report back.

 

Gary 

 

I meant, the Stylenrise [sp.?] Ultimate primer goes on neat, the Vallejo sprayed on top goes on at milky consistency.

 

Doug

[Spanishdriver]

Thanks Doug for clarifying, I was a bit confused.

 

Cheers 

[Nile_Griffith]

Just to clarify a bit, please find a photo of my............... liquids of choice........ Ha Ha Ha!

 

Now from my own experience I've had no problem airbrushing either the Stynylrez or Vallejo primers straight from the bottle, now thats not to say I have the final word on such things but I'm happy to report no problems (unless I've caused them). I have a couple of different airbrushes, an Iawata TR Revolution (one of those trigger ones) and a Clarke (yes I did say Clarke) cheap dual action airbrush kit that I bought from Machine Mart for 25 knicker........ and I have to say for straight forward primer work, its very good and it came with a good selection of cups and jars.

 

I've also included in the photo one of my favourite Vallejo products, the airbrush cleaner for acrylic paints, worth every penny.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

[Mick Bonwick]

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

Only if I'm lying down . . . . .

 

 

[LongRail]

You want to use 20psi as a maximum a bit less would be better the key is to the correct viscosity of the diluted paint the best guide I was given us that it should the consistency of skimmed milk don't worry about the ratio as various paint require different percentages of thinners.

Best to use the same make thinners as the paint.

I strip and clean my airbrush after every session to keep,it clean. The use an airbrush lubricant when reassembling

[Spanishdriver]

Thanks Nile-Griffith and LongRail for that latest info. I am really learning a lot more now - you are never too old to learn!

 

I have persisted in my spraying  and have almost finished my latest project that I thought you may like to see.

 

The first pic is the original Lima Class 31 and the second pic is the newly resprayed and renumbered Class 31. It is also my first attempt and heavy weathering to create an old work horse for the goods around my layout. I am reasonably satisfied with the results and have yet to fit the hand rails. New lighting has also been installed. Sorry about the state of my photography.