Hi Everyone,

I just purchased a Paasche Talon Dual Action Airbrush with a Paasche D3000r Compressor. I'm not posting to see if I made a mistake or the best purchase of my life, but to see how many of you practiced your airbrushing.

Someone mentioned to me to use water and food coloring first to get used to it before trying paint.

What are somethings all of you did?

Thanks!

I used paint,but practiced on old models or cardboard.

First I stuck with one color models,then two toned with a hard mask,like the upper and lower surfaces of an a/c,then eventually some freehand camo patterns.

You need to experiment with mixes and psi to see how it acts

Thanks Anthony,

I see your post on the other forum too! I'm dying to go test it out

As Tony says Mike just practice, and have a play ......but not on your $80 model

Pete

Howdy..

If you want to practice something that is very similar to models. Try this..

If you have a Dollar store of any type near you, go there to the toy aisle and look for some of those cheap 1 dollar plastic toy cars, tanks, aircrat, ect..

Kinda fun for painting practice.. and I didn't bother removing those cheap sticker decals on em.. to much trouble.

Delbert.

Practising on paper or card is a waste of time if you then want to spray plastic. What works on relatively rough and absorbent paper will not work on shiny plastic.

As suggested, practice on cheap plastic toys or similar, to get a feel for how to lay down colour.

As a generally impatient person, i have never really practiced with an airbrush. I started with a Badger 100 then moved to a Badger 350.
I bought the Paasche Talon earlier this year. It is nice, but DO NOT skimp on the cleaning. The tip gets build up fast. And the needle always gets a little build up. Just changing colors can be a PITA.
Be very careful if running Vallejo clears. Make sure you physically stir the bottle, not just shake. I had a bad mix with a Vallejo matte, that formed pretty much a condom in the tip. I ended up cracking the tip trying to get it out. luckily i bought the Talon with the three different size needles and tips.

It will help to establish trigger control . And familiarize yourself with the amount of paint to how much you pull back on the trigger .

Not really. You can lay down far more paint on paper without it running than you can on plastic.

You might be getting fantastic fine lines on paper, but move to plastic and try the same technique (distance, pressure, paint) you will find your previously fine line is now a runny mess.

If you are going to spend time with practice, practice on the material you want to ultimately spray on.

OJT...

I just screwed up a couple of paint jobs as I figured it out. I was only 14 at the time and had no advice or instruction other then the little piece of paper that Badger put in the box.

Really, the learning curve is not that hard to negotiate and the best way to learn is like the Nike commercial - just do it!

However, I do agree with some of the other comments that you should practice on plastic. An absorbent surface like index cards or newspaper will give you a false idea about paint flow, air brush distance, etc.

I've been airbrushing for more than 40 years and I still experiment and practice. A lot of times, I just want to see how some particular color combination or camouflage pattern will look. Other times, when trying a new brand of paint or thinners, a little experimenting is in order.

White plastic milk jugs are pretty good to practice on. Oddly shaped and non-porous plastic with an easy to hold handle.

Wash 'em good, dry them off, and, if you want, use rattle can primer on them first (or just skip the primer if you're spraying lacquer or enamels). When you're done, just throw them away. No investment except the time to wash them out.

Happy modeling!

Thanks everyone for the great ideas! Now where is that Dollar store?

Howdy again

I have one more tip for you and everyone else.

Have you ever been in one of those public rest stops along the Highways, remember all the hotel ads.

They are on card stock around 5 x 12 or so. And typically on very glossy card stock.

I got a small stack of them and I use them for test spraying when I set up my airbursh to paint.. as they are very glossy they act almost like you are spraying plastic...

Delbert...

Good advice going on here.

personally I've found airbrushing is as much about the paint mix as anything else

Use the same brand of thinner and paint, a god send for me was when I bought some retarder. Retarder virtually eliminates build up of paint at the tip.

Oh and don't hold the airbrush too far away otherwise you'll end up with orange peel finish (the paint starts to dry bbefore it gets to the model)

Andy