I used my Iwata AB today for the first time, on my Tamiya willys MB 1/35 scale.

on the whole it didn't come out that bad but I seem to have dark patches ? I guess these are areas where I have more paint although I thought I was quite even in applying the paint.

Any tips on avoiding this? and also what pressure is best for general spraying with tamiya Acrylics.

I thinned the paint 50/50 with Tamiya thinners

Regards

A J

It probably was an accumulation of paint. Just keep the brush moving smoothly across your subject. You might try adding another coat to blend it in.
In general, 15 PSI is the recommended pressure for an airbrush.

50/50 reduction for acrylics is way too high. Acrylics (water based) paints require considerably less reduction than solvent based enamels. Not only will you lose hiding power it will also be difficult for the pigment to stay in suspension. I generally do not reduce Tamiya acrylics for AB but I like to spray at around 40psi to get a fine particle size. When I do reduce I only reduce at a rate of 10-20% and cut back the air to 25psi.

Hope this helps.

Most acrylics I've used were thinned 70/30 MAX but i've done 30/70 on some enamels..... Go figure

A J

One other tip on getting uniform coverage on large areas. Spray the first coat overlapping each pass. Then spay a second coat 90 degrees to the first creating a grid. This helps cover any light areas in the first coat.

Don

Well thanks to you guys I now have a perfect paint job on my willys MB

After reading what you guys said I decided to go and try again this time without thining down the Tamiya Acrylic, and I have to say it worked a treat no trouble at all

I have heard so many people having trouble with their AB and acrylics, I think this is why I went so mad on the thinners! One thing is for sure I had no troubles with my Iwata

Thanks again for the help guys much appreciated!

AJ the biggest secret to airbrushing........
practice..... practice..... practice.......

Practice on a few old models.....
Practice on some illustration board....

I still spray a little on a illustration/cardboard kind of like a little warm up before spraying the model. Kind of like getting the feel back, the fluid motion of depressing and pulling back the trigger smoothly. Especially if I haven't airbrushed in a while.
This also allows you to spot any problems, crappy spray etc, before ruining the model.

Thanks for the Advice much appreciated!
I think I am slowly getting the hang of it I think I could benefit from getting some sort of book on modelling, kind of a how to build from start to finish with different approaches you can take.
Any must have books anyone could recomend would be appreciated.

I have a Tamiya - German Panther Med. Tank Scale: 1/35 arriviving today so that will be my next target so to speak...but only once I have finished my willys MB as I dont want to get into the habbit of unfinished kits lying around all over the place.

Regards

A J

A J,

One thing to keep in mind,.... you will be bombarded with different techniques as you grow with your airbrush, and you must realize that one persons opinion is just that. Experiment with different techniques at first, and eventually you will find that yours is just a variation on a multitude of others.... The one cool thing about this site, is that you can click on the 'my photos' icon below the author of the replies you get, to see if the technique given to you, is one that you want to emulate.

Regarding the thinner ratio for Tamiya, and for that matter, any acrylic paint, you are not limited to what Don specified,.... his claim that a 50/50 ratio is too high is correct if you want to paint the model in one coat of paint. If you experiment with higher thinner ratios, say 60-80% thinner, then you can develop, what is called post shading. Basically, it's a thin coat of paint over a previous one applied in layers, slowly building up the colour to break up the monotony of the underlying coat of paint.....

The point here, is that you will discover plenty of techniques that will enhance your model's looks. Your best bet is to stick with out of box builds at first, and like you stated, work on one model at a time,....

best of luck,
Frank

AJ
Ditto those two... most excellent advice.
Practice and trying new techniques, key to mastering any new tool. Plenty of valuable feedback here too.

Good Luck,
N E O

That air brush is a favorite among figure painters - based on what I have read - I dont use an Iwata-make sure you thin the paint well and keep your water trap cleaned - water vapor builds up fast and can ruin a paint job. Good luck with it. As far as air pressure I use a lot of different pressures based on what I'm painting and my mood anywhere from 10 psi to 45 psi.

Try using a thinner mix at higher pressure. For acrylic paint, I usually use 1/3 color, 2/3 thinner and spray at 30-40 psi. I use an Iwata CM, but the person who taught me this used a single action, external mix airbrush. It seems to be good advice regardless of the brush.

For filters I thin even further, about 1:10 color to thinner.

Hope this helps.

Wow mate, please let me know how you get on with this! :-) :-) :-) :-)

I used to think this way too!

"Meanwhile back at the ranch"...