Hi!

I have recently bought a Badger 105 Patriot and a Badger compressor with anti pulsation tank along with a bunch of Vallejo Model Air colors.

When I started spraying, with paint straight from the bottle, and the psi set around 15, I got an annoying stippling result.

I took my brush and paints to the store where I bought the airbrush and the friendly store clerk instructed me to heavily dilute the paint. This worked really well, but the coverage is of course not very good.

However, I can't stop thinking about the fact that many who airbrush manage to spray Vallejo Model Air straight from the bottle WITHOUT thinning. How is this possible without getting a stippling result?

Thanks!

Hi Ola,

A few things come to my mind:-
(1) Could the paints not properly 'shaken' or mixed?
(2) For painting large area use higher psi and for thin line use lower psi.
(3) Have you tried to push up the pressure up to 20 psi?

Badger might recommend a psi of 10 to 15 but 20 is still okay and the vallejo air should come out better.

Paul

Hi! Thanks for the reply.

I have shaken the paints extremely thoroughly. I've even put an agitator in all of my bottles to ensure that they are being properly mixed.

I get an OK result if I crank the psi up to 35-40 psi, but that does not work with all paints.

You can try slightly diluting the model air with vallejos airbrush thinner. There are a lot of people that do thin model air but it would be less than the ratio of model color. Try 15-30% thinner just to get the flow better.

What thinner did you use?

Most people say to thin it to the consistency of milk but I often found that to be very vague. What I did before is get an old cd and place a drop on one edge and let it slide. Check this out and it should behave the same way (only difference is that youre using a cd rather than an acrylic sheet)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6LVub0j_3Y

Hi Ola,

Really strange situation. Have you tried other brands of paints? There should be a limit on thinning the paint (regardless of the brand). Generally, it should not drip when tested on a vertical plastic card.

Anyway, there are quite a few videos that explain thinning vallejo paints for airbrushing. Hope this help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PM0C4xCu_4


Paul

I have tried Gunze Sangyo, Badger Minitaire, Vallejo Air and Citadel Air.

My friend has the exact same brush and compressor and he has the same results.

We have been using Vallejo's airbrush thinner.

I find that when I drip the paint out of the bottle, it's never as thin as milk. To get a milky consistency I have to thin it. So "straight out of the bottle" and "the consistency of milk" has never added up in my experience.

While Vallejo are generally good paints and I like using them they are a bit more temperamental than other brands of acrylic paint. When I use their Model Air line I add just a bit of the Vallejo brand airbrush thinner (do not use isopropyl alcohol like in Tamiya acrylics). I do not “heavily” dilute Model Air like your shop clerk recommended. Some folks have reported success when adding just a tad of Vallejo paint retarder to the mix in order to reduce drying and thus clogging the airbrush tip. I also keep a Q-tip (cotton bud for my European friends) soaked in Vallejo airbrush cleaner handy and wipe off dried paint from my airbrush tip/nozzle several times during the application. I usually spray (thinned) Vallejo Model Air at about 20 PSI. -Len

All right. Do you get a perfectly smooth pattern, or is it possible to percieve tiny dots at the edges of the pattern?

I found this article when browsing around the web:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~safc/airbrush1.htm

This sums up my experiences I think. My spray pattern is exactly like the one in the middle saying "Paint too Thick".

So my conclusion is then, that the bottles of Vallejo Air that I have bought do not work "straight out of the bottle", as advertised. At least not in a Badger 105 with a "normal" psi (10-45).

Is that a bad conclusion?

Well you could say that it needs a bit of adjustment. Take note, some badger manuals actually recommend shooting at 2bar or 30psi such as the badger 150. There will be slight differences on how you use paint. For example, a lot of people can shoot badger stynylrez straight out of the bottle but I cannot work with it without thinning it a bit on ANY airbrush that I have, even up to .5mm nozzles.

Also the splatter pattern that you mentioned can also happen if you're getting tip dry which is common to Vallejo paints. Simply put, you will need to practice and gain experience on what works and what is comfortable for you.

I, too, have been having problems spraying true acrylics in general.. the whole thing with fast drying and getting a grainy surface and all that. I bought an Iwata Revolution with a 0.5 nozzle (which I recommend for basic single tone base coats).. and I also got a new compressor with a 3 liter tank.. and I'm still experimenting. The important things I've learned are...

# Even within the same brand, not all the colors behave the same.. Some work perfectly from the bottle and some need extra thinning.

# Mix the paint and the thinner VERY well in a small cup first and then pour it into your AB's cup.

# If it works for you when you thin it a lot but gives you weak coverage.. no problem.. just paint the model in several very light coats and you will end up with a great result.

And lastly... don't give up.. keep trying and you'll find the perfect combination that works for your AB and compressor. Just don't watch a certain video and try to do it exactly like the modeler in the video does it. The best advice I heard in a video was that thinning acrylic paint is an art you have to learn through experimenting

Other than that, you'll find a ton of videos on Youtube.. take from them what works for you.

Good luck
Hisham

Thanks guys, I think that's exactly what I needed to hear. I will definitely not give up and I'll keep experimenting with the settings.

Thanks!

Answering your initial question, my opinion is NO: you can not airbrush Vallejo Model Air directly from the bottle.

Form their own brochure:



Note: I am not one of those experts

Ah, interesting! Tanks!

However, I don't think "a few drops" is enough!

model air needs thinning in my experience. They make "airbrush thinner" ...they also make "airbrush cleaner" ..use the right one. Try a pinch of water also. Use windex if you feel brave. DO NOT USE 99% RUBBING ALCOHOL. (this works wonders with Tamiya acrylics but not any Vallejo acrylic products)

You should also think about getting a couple of small bottles of Vallejo paint retarder and airbrush flow improver.. but you only use one drop of these.

A few useful videos.. keep them bookmarked for future reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6LVub0j_3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8k3BJC80IQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoKJUrISnTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqjETcLOIEc

Hisham