About airbrushes.......

[tonyt]

Ok, the guy (Ron, i think his name is) at cruzin' with Rc's inc (my LHS) told me that an airbrush is NOT worth it. he said this because it is too high maintence...having to clean it in-between colors and using too much thiner....ect.

could someone (preferably a professional painter or someone who paints bodies constantly) shed some light onto the topic of me getting an airbrush and painting bodies?? i.e. where do i start? what gun should i get? ect.

Tony T.

[Piggy89373]

Tony, you'll have to make a decision before getting an airbrush. Do you want it to paint stuff regularly or just a one time shot? If you're only going to use it once or maybe twice a year, it's not really worth it. When you add up the costs of the compressor, moisture trap, airbrush, paints, etc., it's not financially feasible when you can do some great looking paint jobs using only rattle cans.

If you're wanting to paint somewhat regularly and do some b!tchn' graphics, an airbrush might be the option you're looking for. There's a versatility you get with an airbrush that just can't be touched by a can.

They are high maintenance, there's no doubt about it. But then again, wives, girlfriends, kids, and pets are high maintenance too. It comes down to how much of a commitment do you want to make. Like all hobbies, it's not cheap, but can bring a lot of enjoyment and a lot of frustration. It's a commitment both financially and in time.

If you're willing to make this commitment, here's two links to give you a good start on what you need:

http://www.cfxpaintworks.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=404

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=223529

[Barry_Scott]

Well I would have to didagree with the guy in the shop. when you are painting anything there is deadtime waiting for one coulour to dry before applying the next. And this is more than enought to clean an air brush.

I paint with faskolour paint which is water bases with a gravity feed iwata airbrush and to change colour is.

Pour back any excess paint into bottle. (cannot do that with a can)
Two shots of window cleaner into the cup.
Couple of seconds of blow back by holding you finger over the end of the airbrush.
Wipe the bowl out with the kitchen towel.
Blow out all the remaining paint and repeat.

Not that difficult. and a minites tops.
The other thing is that you will soon realise that you think ahead and not needlesly change the colur if you do not have to.

As for being more expensive to start with yes, however it is very cheap on paint as a single pot of faskolor can do 3 shells in a single colour were a rattle a will do one.

And the kicker is that if you are good which of course you will be, the work will look fantastic and you can get alot of pride from that and the od commition. which you can put forward to any new projects. In the future.

But have fun and think carefully as it is alot of money to layout to start with but it is rewarding but you cannot build Rome in a day and don't think you can leaarn over night. I would recommend finding a friend and trying theres out and get a bit of a tutorial. As two minutes with my mate saved me hours of frustration as airbrush intructions are not that great. Worst case nipe to the libary and borrow a book.

Here is my first shell that i painting.

http://www.fragger6662000.force9.co.uk/Photos/113-1343_IMG.JPG

And if you go to my site it explains a bit about it. you can find it here.

http://www.fragger6662000.force9.co.uk/

[tonyt]

thanks a LOT guys!

Also, what's easier to use? liquid mask or regular masking tape?? :confused:

Tony T.

[Barry_Scott]

liquid hands down, bobs is the best.

[paulct]

I agree with Barry, liquid has worked well for me (a beginner). Just take your time putting it on, and do SEVERAL coats so it gets thick enough to pull off. Otherwise you will torture yourself trying to rub it off as you can't get a fingernail or knife under it to pull it off in one shot(been there!)

Its called "Bob Diveleys" and hopefully this link works for you:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXC100&P=ML

Paul

[tonyt]

once again, thanks a ton. I won't be purchasing an airbrush anytime soon, so it looks like i'll be sticking to rattle cans and liquid mask. ;)

Thanks again,
Tony T.