hey all....
well, Im excited....bought my first REAL airbrush the other day. Probably not the best but itll do me for awhile. Its a paasche vl set. Done a few tests with it already and am happy. I think i need to do one of 2 things though....

-work on my thinning more or
-lower the pressure of my compressor

i made the mistake of buying from my local "hobby" shop a cheap compressor. Im only just realising how cheap it is. I supose bad customer service is seen all over the world but i have to say that ive had the last straw here in western australia. Anyway the compressor doesnt have a regulator on it (an optional extra apparently) so im not too sure what its output is. I suspect its too high as the edges of my spay are splattered. Im not geting the soft edge look thats classic for airbrushes.....instead my edges are a series of very visible splattered dots. Ive experimented with different paint mixes and get the same result.

Im also wondering how fine a detail should i expect with a airbrush like the paasche vl double action??? Or any other brush for that matter. Maybe im wrong but i have this vision of being to paint lines and areas just a couple of milimetres in daimeter.

Just wanted to say to any Australians (or any other people around the world) that if your looking for an alternative to buying kits, tools, anything hobby related give these guys a try. I just got delivered a tamiya kubelwagen 1/16 (yippeee) in no time compared to my local hobby shop (and better priced). heres their link....

http://www.frontlinehobbies.com/index.php3

take care all...
powerlogik

Great ! That one is better than my Badger 150.

Congrats on the new set up! The very first thing I would purchase next in a regulator/moisture trap!!! Can't stress it enough. I don't know too much about the Paasche vl (actually nothing) but I can say that you should be able to expect lines close to a few mm in size.
Since you said you got the "set" I would assume that you recieved the medium tip and needle with it. You can get a "heavy" and a "fine" tip and needle set for it too. That will give you the full range of spray capabilities with it. They should'nt cost more than a few dollars for each set.
If the outside of the lines is splattering it's pressure is too high. A regulator will fix that. It's tough to say what to thin your paint to w/o a regulator. So hurry up and get one.
Good luck, and have fun. :-)

YES regulator and moisture trap are a must with a compressor

Matt

thanks guys for the help.
the paasche vl set i bought has three tips ranging from the finest up to medium and then one for heavier paints and larger suface aplications. With the small needle and tip i can spray a small line but its just splattered. The average coberage is about 4mm in diametre with the edges still a problem. Regulator it is then....next paycheque.

for now im working on the tamiya 1/16th kubelwagon. Looks like a great set for all those into armoured cars. Must admit the scale is great....easy on the eyes.

hmmm maybe the big tamiya tiger displey model next....shhhh dont tell the missus

powerlogik

haha.. thats dead funny :-)

Same country, same airbrush and same problem (!!) :-)

I got an even cheaper VL set and had to buy the fine tip as extra. Got myself a compressor the other day - also without anything useful

I am waiting for an adapter at the moment to be able to connect my VL properly, more than likely I will have to buy this regulator + moisture trap as well.

My compressor builds up to 45 psi at the moment.. bit hefty!

Keep me posted how you go powerlogik

ahh.. I buy my stuff from frontline too ..not the airbrush setup though

hey maxpain....
good to see im in the same boat with someone....welcome aboard.

if the adapter your talking about is to connect your airbrush to your compressor (i had this problem) you can get them fom alot of automotive shops.....for example i needed a 1/4 to 1/4 inch adapter (simple brass fitting) . but on the compressor the connectioon was much smaller. May save you a bit of time if your waiting on an ordered part.

just incase its the same problem....

:) powerlogik