I've recently purchased a badger airbrush and compressor,but cant seem to get up the guts to use it.i feel a little intimedated by the whole set up,any one got any tips on how to overcome my phobia?
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if you're not sure about how it all works try spraying on a piece of cardboard rather than the nice model you just built. practice on white paper or scrap cardboard just to get your feet wet then you'll see how it all comes together. this will also give you a chance to practice cleaning the gun out as well. cheers, bd.

Sorry Keith, there's really no other way than just seize the nettle and give it a go! I started off with one of the cheap £3.95 Badger brushes with can propellant many years ago, which was just an area surface coverer, but it was a quantum leap forward in the finish and effects I could get. If you don't want to spoil an expensive kit, try it out on some paper or an old kit that doesn't matter. You don't say what type of paint you intend to use in it, enamel or acrylic. This will dictate how much you need to thin it before use, and will also decide how you clean the brush (white spirit or water). I don't know what sort of settings you have on the compressor, but 30 psi seems to be a good start.

I feel your pain too Keith. I've a few shoe boxes full of kits I'm afraid to paint/wreck. So, I hope you get lots of tips that I can use too. Have a great weekend ! Tom

Keith;

Hi! I, too, started my AB career oh, about 40 years back with one of those Badger-and-can rigs! No kind of detail device, but it served (and still serves, albeit slaved off a compressor, today) well and opened all sorts of finishing doors for me!

When I first bought it, I used Humbrol paints in little tins, and Floquil RR enamels. These were costly. So, to break into the fun, I started by simply blasting water at cardboard and newspaper and stuff, until I had some idea what it might do, and also how I might make it do those things controllably. I confess that my parent's housecats also received some attention when they came up on my bench...! "Ooooh! Gotcha!" After a few water runs, I dried it out (learned the cleaning take-down process), and switched to a few runs with straight paint thinner, to get the feel of handling the non-water chemistry. Stepped over to thinned paint and away I went. Whole thing? One evening went from virgin to first paint layer. Alas, my brush-on finishing days ended! LoL!

Just last year, I started both my kids (middle teens) on the AB- started with the old Badger and water, moved them right on to my much fancier Iwata rigs. They, too, were pretty intimidated by the AB - for about 1 minute. I learned that it needed to be one kid in the booth at a time and only one AB in play at that time... nothing like a powered squirt-gun! The AB is a mini- SuperSoaker!

So, I suggest water first to learn the handling completely safely- you can even hold the AB up and watch the mist and spray patterns from the side as you play- helps learn what happens and how to quickly adjust and control it! Adding food-colouring and spraying white paper is a quick next step, etc.

So. Just put it together, pour in water, and let 'er rip!

Oh, and maybe start looking for a compressor. Those cans are cool but costly and soon enough you'll have loads of fun and need more air!

And do please note that each new type or brand of paint is a whole 'nother experience!

Cheers!

Bob

Hi Keith,

Go here - http://www.howtoairbrush.com

And also buy this book - Osprey Modeling Manual #6 "Airbrush Painting Techniques"

And you're literally all set. Best thing to practice on is an empty plastic milk jug.

The best thing to do is try it. I was like that when I got my airbrush, just give it a go. You won't regret it, the hardest thing I find is mixing the paints to the correct %...

Paul.

HI i can relate . i had a bagder velocity ab and compressor for three years b4 i got the guts to go for it. it was the cleaning that bothered me. i started first shooting just water seeing what it would do and get the feel for it then i went to acrylic by tamiya and testors. then had to break it down and clean it and it really is not that bad after gettin over my fear i have really been at it a lot you just got to go for it you will love it after that

Like some of the others, I agree and suggest to use a test piece first. Whenever I am not sure how a color will look or how a wash might or might not work , I try it out on a piece of plastic or on an old not so expensive test model. I get the jitters every time I paint an airplane. After putting all that detail on the interior , and cleaning up the seams, it is so easy to waste all that time and effort by trashing the outside paint job. You are not alone . Good luck............ ........Al

Keith, if its any consolation to you -- it took me a year before I started to use the AB I bought (having the same reasons that you have cited). Just like what everybody said -- give it a go, try it on test on a test piece. Key is to keep on practicing and learning even after you think you've got one (or several) cool paint job done. Cheers -- Tat

Fear of making mistakes prevents a lot of us from moving forward. I believe if you just start trying to use your airbrush then you will start learning it pretty quickly. One of the things that I do to get a feel for an airbrush/gun is to fill the pot with water and shoot it at large surfaces such as a wall or fence or piece of board. I continue this until I am comfortable with its adjustment characteristics and use what I learned from testing with water to set my baseline. After that it's just a matter of mixing up paint properly and making minor adjustments to the airbrush to compensate for the new mixture of fluids. Just make sure to perform a quick test on scrap of some type before shooting your build with it.

Keith, practice makes perfect. I started airbrushing a couple of years ago and am still learning new tricks. You really need to practice on an old model to get to know your airbrush. 30psi is a little high. I recomend using 10psi. The lower the psi the less likely you are to flood a model. Also, practice with both a heavy flow and a light flow as you should make use of both. Bite the bullet and tear into a practice piece.

Keith,

You can see you're in good company! Don't worry about it.

Just plug in the ol' compressor, thin down some of your favorite kind of paint, pour it into the paint cup, and press the trigger.

If you have a friend who already airbrushes, gettting someone to demonstrate and show you how to get started is the best way to steepen up your learning curve. Sometimes hobby and craft shops will have airbrushing demonstrations (even if it's for cake decorating or nail salon painting). If you don't know anybody who can give you some one-on-one help, consider looking up and joining a local model building club - IPMS / UK, MAFVA, etc.

(On second thoughts, consider doing that anyways! Heck, if there's no local club, start one.)

Barring that, you just gotta dive in with both feet an give it a shot. Most all of us who learned on our own messed up more than a few of our early projects trying to figure it out. Also, just about everyone develops their own "style" and techniques from experimentation and practice. Develope the habit of writing down your color mixing and thinning / reducing ratios so that when you do hit the "sweet spot" you can go back later and replicate those results.

I would suggest that you stick with one type of paint (enamels, laquers, or acrylics) to get started. Each type of paint has its own quirks. And, although I mostly use acrylics now, I actually found enamels easier to airbrush The ability of the thinner / reducer to re-activate and re-thin skinned and partially dried paint makes them more forgiving of problems with reducing ratios based on humidity and temperature.

So, if you're already using enamels, don't be in too much of a hurry to switch to acrylics. On the other hand, if you're already using acrylics, then stick with that until you get some of the basics figured out.

In the end, follow the advice of the Nike shoe adverts and "Just do it!"

Mike

A big thanks to all of you for all your encouraging comments,its great to know there are a lot of fellow modellers willing to share their tips and best wishes
....well here goes..

Hi Keith. I was in the same boat, just this morning. I had asked the wifey for an airbrush for xmas but, sadly, Santa didn't deliver. So, I bought my own. I took an old Trumpy KV 1 I had built and painted a couple of years ago, gave it a coat of gray primer, and went to town on it. I used some Model Master Russian Armor Green, thinned half-and-half with Humbrol enamel thinner, and it came out great. It was so fun, and so easy, that I let my daughter have a crack at it, too. She loved it.

A couple of points, for the absolute beginner (such as myself). First, ventilation is, uh, important! Crack a window, at the very least. Before I get too much further with airbrushing, I'm definitely going to build myself a painting booth of some kind. In the meantime, a mask is an absolute must. Secondly, cleaning the airbrush is much, much easier than I thought. I sprayed some Iwata airbrush cleaning solution through it, wiped out the paint cup, pulled out the needle and wiped it down, and it was pristine. Took all of 2 minutes. As I understand it, window cleaner works well. For acrylics, water is likely just fine.

Go for it Keith. Its a lot of fun!

If you are using enamels, you need to clean the airbrush with mineral spirits or the paint brand's thinner or cleaner. (Iwata) Medea cleaner or Windex will not actually cut the paint.
(Iwata) Medea airbrush cleaner is designed for water based mediums and acrylics. It's my cleaner of choice for non-alcohol acrylics like Vallejo and Lifecolor.
Windex is the cleaner I use for alcohol acrylics like Tamiya, MM Acryl, and Pollyscale. It is not compatible with Vallejo and Lifecolor - it just coagulates them.
Water will work to clean out any of these acrylics, but not nearly as well as the Medea or Windex. However, never put tap water through your airbrush. It contains chlorine, fluoride, lime, and minerals that will build up in your airbrush and destroy it. Only use distilled water. It's about a dollar a gallon at any grocery store.

Hey Keith,
Great name BTW.
Like others have said--just throw some paint in it and give it a go on some paper or scrap plastic.

After 20+ years of airbrushing I still get butterflies when it is time to airbrush. A mixture of excitement and apprehension. AND, not to scare you, but I still have bad days with it. Some sessions go wonderfully where the end result out did my expectation, some sessions go not-so-well. Luckily almost every mistake can be undone, whether it means stripping paint off a model or just purchasing a new one and starting over.

Read, practice, read some more, and practice, practice, practice...

Keith

thanx guys.all your words of encouragement have been a great confidence booster

Hi Keith,
Like the others have said, bit the bullet and have a go on some card or artists paper that way you can get the feel of the pressure settings and so on.
Don't know what part of the UK your in but you could also look at doing a course like this one (no connection). I was like you a couple of years ago and joined a course which I found to be great.