Getting started with Airbrushing

As promised here is my post on my experience starting out airbrushing.

After doing my research I figured out that I wanted the following configuration:
-Gravity fed dual action airbrush
-Compressor with air tank

I ended up investing a bit and purchased an Iwata HP-CH. Not that I have much by way of other airbrushes to compare it to, I am very impressed with the quality of construction. The thing looks and feels like it could last forever.

Iwata HP-CH

By way of compressor I cheeped out and purchased a no name one off ebay that met my criteria. I really regret this decision. It does the job perfectly...except the pressure regulator is rubbish. The problem is the pressure regulator is pretty much either full on or full off with no ability to select intermediate pressures. The net result is that i had to purchase an additional regulator and an extra hose and introduced a leak into the system.

On leaks the bigger 1/4" BSP fittings seem to leak air a lot more than the r 1/8" BSP fittings so where possible i would recommend buying equipment that uses the smaller fittings. I picked up some Teflon (plumbers) tape from super cheap auto for $1 and that has reduced the air leaks very substantially but I haven't eliminated them totally yet. I'm going to grab a water gun and spray down all the connections till i find the bubbles then use some more tape and maybe some duct-tape or hot glue to try and plug the last few gaps.

Another thing I got at the same time was an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner ($50 off ebay again...look at the wattage and frequency) off the recommendation of a few blogs. This is amazing for cleaning out the airbrush parts (never ever soak the whole thing according to everything I have read) and I have also used to clean paint out of the runnel of my paint brushes as well as help strip paint from metal models. I fill it with regular windex and run it for a few three minute cycles and that seems to annihilate paint.

Windex is your friend. I have been through a few bottles of both the original windex glass (the blue one...don't get the ammonium free variety) and the clear windex surface and glass. I have noticed no appreciable difference between the two.

As far as the rest of set up goes, the following are necessary IMHO:

Table-Top Cleaning Station

• Respirator (protect your lungs, I hear you need them for something important)
• Cleaning cloth (to wipe down the brush without leaving particles on it and dry off parts after cleaning)
• Cotton swabs (cleaning out the airbrush cup and needle cap)
• Toothpicks (dislodging dried paint at the bottom of the paint cup, mixing paint in the cup, mounting parts to spray on)
• Moist towlet (clean external body of brush, wipe needle when disassembling)
• Sponge (to absorb fluids used when cleaning airbrush)
• Airbrush Cleaning station (somewhere for the thinner, cleaning liquid to go when cleaning out the brush by spraying through cleaner)
• Airbrush cleaner (use for the same brand as the paint your using or just use windex)
• Airbrush cleaning brush (for cleaning out the bits that dont disassemble)
• Moisture trap (removes water and oil from the compressed air before it gets to the brush)
• Airbrush Lubricant (keep the parts working properly. Also coat the needle to prevent paint build up

Left to right: Needle cap, Nozzle cap, Nozzle, airbrush body

Some other incredibly useful things are:

• Dropper bottles (for storing paints and cleaning fluids in)
• Disposable pipettes (for mixing paints. Try and get ones with measuring markings so you can measure out ratios)
• Quick Disconnect (allows you to disconnect the airbrush from the hose without having to unscrew it)
• Disposable gloves (keep your hands clean from paint and the oils on your fingers away from what you are painting)
• Foam (to stick the other end of the toothpicks in when your using them to hold parts)
• Masking tape (to protect areas you dont want covered. Dont cheap out, get the decent stuff from an arts supply store because it comes off without taking your paint with it or leaving a residue)
• Black/White cardboard (testing paint consistency on)
• Drop-sheet (protect your work area from over-spray or spills)
• Tupperware containers or small storage containers (keep everything organized. Also put models inside when drying/in between coats so that dust doesn't settle on them)
• Proper lighting
• Notebook (write down everything you try, every ratio you mix and every pressure you spray at and the results)
• Marking pen (label bottles etc)

Quick Disconnect

As you can see there is a bit of a theme of requiring a lot of cleaning products. You need to keep the airbrush clean, its possible that I am overdoing it but I would rather clean too often than not enough. In a future post I will go through some of the cleaning procedures since there are a few nifty tricks that I have picked up. Also I didnt mention It above buy I purchased a large bottle of filtered demineralised water (also from super cheap auto) and use that instead of tap water.

Once I have a working camera I will also post some pictures of my set up. In a future post I will go in depth on what I have learnt about paints and pressures.

Feel free to post any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.