I hadn't airbrushed in a long time, then I tried to use a new double action AB (Not a well known brand - Spraymaster) and I had a hell of a time getting the paint out even when heavily thinned.. so, I reverted to my old Badger 350 single action just to try it out.. and I got the following results. Has anyone had any problems similar to this? Is the problem with my AB's or with my paints do you think? I have little experience with airbrushing, so I can't tell what the problem is

By the way, this is Vallejo grey primer.. tried it out of the bottle... thinned it a little with Vallejo thinner.. thinned it heavily.. nothing seems to work!





I'd appreciate any advice.. thank you
Hisham

Dont thin your primer. Try the primer again at about 25 to 30 psi with no thinner and see. If the primer is old it could be separating. Been having the same issue with mine.

I have had this happen on some of my models. did you wash the model first?

Yes, I did wash it. That's what's driving me crazy.. it's that I've done everything I'm supposed to do as per all the articles I've read and the videos I've watched.. but nothing is working. The only thing left is the paints.. and they are kind of old.. so, the only thing I can do is order new paints.. and wait a month to get them before I can try again

Hisham

What pressure are you spraying at? If you've thinned the paints down you should be spraying at a lower pressure. It almost looks like you're putting so much of the thinned primer on the surface that it's pooling up. May also have to do with the surface tension, might want to give it a lil Windex or Ox Gal as a flow aid.

This may be a silly question, but is the Valejo primer meant to be airbrushed? For instance the regular Valejo paints do not airbrush well at all, however the "Model Air" Valejo paints are made to airbrush.

If all else fails, switch primers.

One problem is that I have no air regulator.. just a small compressor.. plus, my dual action AB broke, and I'm now using my old Badger 350 single action

As for Vallejo's primer, all the videos I've seen on using it show it being airbrushed and thinned with Vallejo thinner.. sometimes with other thinners, but they do airbrush it

I'm guessing it's the dilution, I'm just not getting right.. because I tried the same paints with a brush and they worked fine on figures?!!

Here's another try with Tamiya paint thinned with their thinner straight onto the washed plastic, with no primer



Hisham

Hey Hisham,

Had similar problems when thinning with IPA. The paint was partially dry mid-air, on the way to the model. What I did was to add a drop of tap water which would work as a retarder.

Hope this would help!
Cristian

So when you say that you have no air regulator you mean that you can only spray at the given pressure you get from your compressor? Do you know what pressure the compressor has?

That's right, Johan.. no gauge either.. I have no idea what the pressure is. This was the only compressor I could find here. Problem with ordering online is some stores don't ship such items to Egypt.. and the ones that do ship.. I have to pay something like $150 to ship am $80 compressor.. just not practical.

Anyway, if you notice my other thread.. I'm thinking of just stopping this "fight" with the AB and just using brushes.. probably easier all around

Hisham

I did and thought it was a shame you should have to stop airbrushing due to problems with equipment!

My guess to what's causing your problem is that the pressure is too high, causing the paint to dry up partially before hitting the surface. A micro regulator-valve
(for example: http://www.grexusa.com/grexairbrush/products.php5?id=G-MAC.B) connected to the airhose before the AB would probably do it. Not sure what the availability of those are in Egypt though. These are not airbrush specific so potentially you could bring your AB and hose to a hardware store or similar and see what they can do

Hi Hisham,
Apart from high pressure, I would say you are releasing too much paint. If your airbrush is double action, try to push the trigger back only a bit, and paint slowly layer after layer until it is covered. And try first without thinning that much the primer.

Play also with the distance between your model and the airbrush nozzle.

Anyway I have found that, while Vallejo Primer is fine, Ammo has been easier for me to work with -directly from the bottle.

Hope this helps!

Carlos

Well, had a little free time, so I thought I'd give it another try. I used my Badger 350 single action and Tamiya paint thinned with alcohol and water. In the first pic I painted over Tamiya spray can primer.. In the second pic I painted on bare plastic.. Do you think there is any progress at all? Does the paint look a littler smoother and finer.. or am I just imagining it?





Any hope at all?
Hisham

As our brethren have stated, your problem is psi. I can see it easily, as I did not have a regulator until recently. My compressor was running nearly 50psi through my brush. I encountered the exact same problem, with some paints. Model Master enamels sprayed well. I highly recommend investing in a regulator.

Thanks, Matt.. I'm already looking for online stores where I can get one shipped here.. hope that solves the problem

Hisham