Airbrush

[kurtvd19]

Wacko:

 

Or do you prefer WackoWolf?  I wish I knew your name.

 

The 350 is by far the easiest airbrush to clean up after it was left dirty.  Simply unscrew the fluid cap and the needle from the body of the brush as these should be the only parts that have any paint in them.  You can soak them in any solvent for a couple of hours and the dried paint should soften up so you can clean it out.  There is a seal in the fluid cap that can be soaked for anything short of a full day w/o any adverse effects but as long as you are careful of the orifice in the fluid cap and the point on the needle you can't hardly hurt this workhorse.

 

I got my first airbrush for Christmas in 1960 - a 350 and it's still going though in my Grandson's hands now.  I have some newer 350's that I use for instructing and I always have to give them a thorough cleaning when the class is over.  I just disassemble the cap and needle, drop them into some cleaner and rinse them off after an hour.  Only part I have ever had to replace on a 350  is the fluid cap when somebody screwed it down too tight onto the needle and flared out the orifice quite nicely - but not if you ever want to use it for spraying again.  For some reason they never do the same thing with any of the other brushes - probably because they look so much more delicate while the 350 looks like it's indestructible.

 

Happy airbrushing,

Kurt

 

 

 

 

[Chasseur]

A close friend of mine went to China for a business trip. He was amazed at all of the knock offs. He bought these fancy purses for wife and daughter that are supposed to resemble $3500 purses here in the west for $300 USD. He was told by a Chinese official you Westerner's have copy-write where as here in China we have the right to copy!

 

Go figure... Jeff

[WackoWolf]

And that is just they way they look at it LOL. My passport is like a road map from going back and forth to china over the last 5 year and I have seen all sorts of stuff that you can buy there. I got a heck of a collection of DVD movies from there most of them Blue-ray and they only cost like 2.25 each, all new titles.

Edited September 11, 2016 by WackoWolf

[CDW]

The heck of it is, they even copy their own people's work, not just those from foreign countries. They are an equal opportunity offender. 

What I have seen is many small companies can't afford to fight it. Even some of the larger companies become worn down trying to fight it. Especially hit hard are high tech gadgets of different sorts, like R/C equipment. 

[bluenose2]

Hello Mike, Les here. Here is my two farthings worth. I have a Paasche VL double action airbrush I have used for years. I know it is a tank, and there are much better units but it is what I am comfortable with. The selection now can be overwhelming. My advise is to purchase a mid price range brush. It will do most of what higher end units will do at less cost. When proficient go for the gold. Any airbrush can lay down a great flat coat. Think armor or aircraft. Gloss paints are the bain of any painter. I know, I spray kitchen cabinets for a living. As to a good compressor. I used a Devilbiss unit for years. Sturdy but would wake the dead when it kicked in. A flooring installer friend of mine suggested I purchase a Makita model AC001 compressor. Super quiet and less than the compressors you see in art stores dedicated for air brushing. So far so good.

[CDW]

For light cleaning between colors, I just flush mine with airbrush cleaning fluid meant for acrylics. Flush it by filling your cup with cleaning fluid and spray it through the airbrush until it comes through clear.

For heavy cleaning, you'll have to disassemble the airbrush and clean it using the same cleaning fluid. It helps a lot if you have a set of cleaning brushes meant for cleaning airbrush.

[GuntherMT]

I recommend using something other than Model Expo paint with an airbrush.  The pigment size in their paint is quite large, and will likely gum up your airbrush a lot and cause spitting and anguish.

 

I'd personally recommend Vallejo Model Air, or some other acrylic designed for airbrushing, or at least a good high quality paint with fine pigment size.

[thibaultron]

Don't use brushes! Here is a talk by the owner of Badger Airbrush. Great info!

 

 

[druxey]

A good inexpensive cleaner for airbrushes is isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). I've used Aztek airbrushes. These have small interchangeable screw-on nozzles with integral needles and are easy to change color and to clean. With all due respect to Badger, Iwata and Paache users (and I've had all these makes in the past - they are all good) I still prefer my Aztek. There are no more bent or damaged needles. But, each to their own.

[CDW]

I mix up a gallon of distilled water, cheap windshield washer fluid, alcohol, and a dash of dish washing detergent, then dispense small portions in a small squirt bottle to everyday use. 

Been using this concoction for years to clean my airbrushes. It's cheap and very effective for acrylics cleanup.

My mix ratio is approx: 2 3/4 quarts : 1 quart : 10 oz : 1 tablespoon 

[CDW]

For the airbrush cleaning fluid "recipe" above, I forgot to add that I give it a squirt of lanolin glycerin as well. The lanolin glycerin acts as a lubricant. 

If your local drug store is like mine, a chain store, you'll probably have to search for a small mom and pop drug store for the lanolin. Big drug store chains don't carry items like that anymore. I guess there's not much call for it. 

 

edit: I was up too late and and had a senior moment stating lanolin. I actually use glycerin. 

[James H]

I use Iwata airbrushes (HP-CH and HP-C+) for my magazine work, powered by an Iwata Smart Jet Pro compressor. All of my paints are thinned 50:50 with Mr Levelling Thinner. Those paints would be Gunze and Tamiya. I also use Mr Paint  http://mrpaint.sk which is pre-thinned and ready for immediate airbrush use.  

 

 

[Jack12477]

Very impressive models and magazine covers, James.

[kurtvd19]

A couple of things:

-  Ron's posting yesterday of the video by Ken Schlotfeldt, Pres. of Badger Airbrush, is a must view by anybody who wants to know how to use and clean an airbrush.  I recommend this video to everybody before they attend the airbrush workshops I do.  As Ken says in the video, what he's showing and telling works for any airbrush. 

 

-  Regarding the use of lanolin in a cleaning solution, I would be very hesitant to use any sort of lubricant in the cleaning solution when my primary paint is acrylic.  It might not be a problem with solvent based paints, but the slightest bit of oil will screw up acrylic paint application big time, and there will be some lanolin left behind after cleaning, to be transferred to the paint.  The only lubricant needed in an airbrush is on the needle and in the trigger area.  The airbrush mfg's have lubricants that will not affect the paint.  Badger's goes by the name "REGDAB Needle Juice"  (note - REGDAB is BADGER spelled backwards).

 

-  This is the formula for the airbrush cleaner I have used for several years.  This is ingredients are what can be purchased from retail sources of what is in the airbrush cleaning solution that Badger Airbrush sells.  I am sure that anything similar to Spic & Span will work.

 

Kurt

 

FOR 1 GALLON OF CLEANER

2 OZ. CLEAR AMMONIA

5 OZ. OF SPIC & SPAN CLEANER

1 GAL. WATER AT 120° F

MIX THOROUGHLY

 

 

[CDW]

1 hour ago, kurtvd19 said:

-  Regarding the use of lanolin in a cleaning solution, I would be very hesitant to use any sort of lubricant in the cleaning solution when my primary paint is acrylic.  It might not be a problem with solvent based paints, but the slightest bit of oil will screw up acrylic paint application big time, and there will be some lanolin left behind after cleaning, to be transferred to the paint.  The only lubricant needed in an airbrush is on the needle and in the trigger area.  The airbrush mfg's have lubricants that will not affect the paint.  Badger's goes by the name "REGDAB Needle Juice"  (note - REGDAB is BADGER spelled backwards).

 

 

Kurt

 

 

FOR 1 GALLON OF CLEANER

2 OZ. CLEAR AMMONIA

5 OZ. OF SPIC & SPAN CLEANER

1 GAL. WATER AT 120° F

MIX THOROUGHLY

 

 

edit: I was up too late and and had a senior moment stating lanolin. I actually use glycerin. 

[thibaultron]

Kurtvd19;

Thanks for the cleaning formula!! I be stopping by the store tomorrow!

 

Where do you give your workshops?

[kurtvd19]

Ron:

Most workshops are held in my shop when local club members - the three Chicago area cubs - meet for Saturday morning hands-on how-to's.  I do Introduction to Airbrushing sessions on behalf of Badger to area clubs - mostly IPMS - but they have sent me as far as Denver.  I have also done these sessions at NRG Symposiums and Conferences.

Kurt

[thibaultron]

Kurt;

The only Spic and Span I can find are liquid spray bottle type cleaners, lemon or citrus scent. Is that the type you use for your cleaner?

[kurtvd19]

Ron:

The "recipe" actually calls for liquid Spic & Span (no flavor specified) - but I have a box of the powder and that's what I have used.  So I would say just use your nose to pick lemon (my choice as I love the smell of lemons) or citrus. 

Kurt

[philo426]

I use a Paasche VL double action airbrush.Durable, easy to clean and parts are easy to find most craft stores like Pat Catans and Michaels have basic parts so if you need parts on a Sunday when the hobby shops are closed it is not a problem.Very efficient way to paint a ships hull.I use a Paasche D-500 compressor and although it is very loud it is rock solid reliable with over 25 years of service with no matinence required.

[Jörgen]

I use Harder & Stenbeck revolution silver line with 0,2 needle. Very good airbrush and very easy to clean. Take any colour and mix it more or less 50%50 and it should work perfect. Or no dilution if Vallejo Model air is used.

 

And to lubricate the needle and triggers the best thing is Iwata Super lube.

 

Jörgen

[James H]

35 minutes ago, Passer said:

I use Harder & Stenbeck revolution silver line with 0,2 needle. Very good airbrush and very easy to clean. Take any colour and mix it more or less 50%50 and it should work perfect. Or no dilution if Vallejo Model air is used.

 

And to lubricate the needle and triggers the best thing is Iwata Super lube.

 

Jörgen

Very good advice, all round. This is my way of working for thinning and lubing my Iwata.

[Jörgen]

Thank you James. I have learned it on Flory Models  And i also use MRP paints and Mr leveling thinner. Works perfect.

[thibaultron]

Kurt;

Tried your cleaner recipe. Works very well, thanks!

[vossiewulf]

On 8/8/2016 at 2:26 PM, cdogg said:

here is a picture of a 1/72 Bf109 that I finished last October with the Master starter kit.

 

 

Bf-109G-6?

[kurtvd19]

Airbrushes are kind of a personal fit.  I had a Paasche VL double action brush long ago and after many attempts to use it sold it.  Just couldn't use it.  Some time later at a club meeting I was able to try a Badger 155 Anthem and I could spray with it right away - I fell in love with it.  Turned out that it's the difference - for me - of the fat barreled VL and the thinner barreled Badger.  The VL just wasn't comfortable but the 155 was.  I have found that when doing demos for Badger I never demo the Creschendo 175 model because of it's fat barrel.  I have big hands, prefer a fat pen but prefer a thin airbrush.  To each his own.

 

The comments below, while showing Badger brushes, are true regardless of brand of airbrush - as long as we talk name brand brushes.  Not copies or the "$9.99 Professional" brushes we see advertised.

 

Some have stated their preferred brushes and I will do the same.  For the modeler who doesn't regularly use an airbrush a single action brush is the easiest to use and puts the paint onto the model just fine.  Once they are adjusted for the paint and pressure being used it's just a matter of pushing down on the trigger and painting.  The 200-20 shown below is my go-to single action brush (everybody makes a similar unit) and in my opinion is perfectly adequate for most occasional users.

 

The airbrush I use 90% of the time is the 360.  It is a double action brush with both gravity and suction feeds - the front end from the black band forward - revolves 360 degrees - thus the name.  As shown it's in the gravity feed position with the color cup on top, but rotate the front end 180 degrees and the bottles plug into the throat of the color cup.  The advantage of the 360 is that for a small amount of painting the paint can be put into the color cup by an eye dropper.  This is great for doing some detail work or painting a few small parts.  With the front end rotated and a bottle plugged into the color cup, larger pieces can be painted.  This is a good double action brush for the modeler who uses an air brush often enough to work with a double action brush.  Smaller models / pieces can best be painted with a double action brush if the user is skilled enough.

 

If you do 1/700 models a detail brush is the choice.   This type of brush has a narrow angle of paint stream and is not meant as a general use air brush.  Trying to paint the hull of a 1/72 scale submarine is not a job for the detail brush.  The Patriot 105 Extreme is a new brush aimed at the modeler doing very fine work.  I use this brush often but for ship modelers it is a second not a primary unit.  It is designed to paint a line as narrow as a pencil line but only about a maximum of about 1/4" to 3/8" wide. 

 

The next is a brush that I rarely use and it's being shown here as more of a trophy than as a tool.  It is actually gold plated!  It is one of about 12 that Badger made for presentation to staff or friends.  This is the last one they ever assembled (better late than never) and I was able to watch the technician assemble it and then accepted it from Badger's President.

 

One thing people always ask is "what is the best airbrush?"   My answer is there isn't a best airbrush.  However, the best airbrush for anybody is the one they are comfortable using and does the job for them.  At our local IPMS chapter one of the members works for Iwata.  When people ask him about airbrushes he talks about Iwatas.  When they ask me I talk about Badgers.  When somebody stands up during a meeting and asks a general airbrush question we both get equal time to give our opinions.  The points that we both always mention is that the best airbrush is the one you are comfortable with and that all name brand airbrushes when compared by type - single action and double action - lay down paint the same way.  I think that the proficiency of the user is much more responsible for the quality of the paint job as the name brand brushes are all very good.  Buying a Badger or an Iwata is not going to guarantee a good paint job if the user doesn't practice or have any skill.  In the hands of a skilled operator the equipment is secondary - but also very personal. 

 

Kurt    

 

 

 

 

[TomShipModel]

Ron,

 

Thank you for posting the video.  I haven't use an airbrush at all up to now but I do have two.  At some point I will give it a try.  I wish that I had seen this video before I got the air brushes because I had no idea what I have and why they would work or not.  Now I do have the guidance that I need, and chances are the airbrushes that I have might not be the right fit.  Anyway, this video is a must for anyone who is even thinking about using an air brush.