New To Airbrushing

[jd2870]

Hi All – Brand new here and looking for some airbrushing advice. Been building models for decades but have avoided airbrushing until recently. I needed to apply a whitewash for a winter camo scheme and there was no rattle can, hand brush or other option that seemed to work, so I broke out the Badger 150 that I bought about 15 years ago but never opened and attached it to my pancake compressor (rigged w/ moisture trap) and played around with it and liked the results (considering that it's supposed to look uneven and slapdash, it was the perfect training wheels project). My current project is a 1:48 Hasegawa BF-109 G. Used a rattle can of Tamiya spray for the light blue and started the upper surfaces with Mission's RLM 74 and 75. I masked it up the way I would have using rattle cans and it came out great, but I am now running up against the limits of my skillset with the mottling.

Masking just doesn't give the diffuse feathering I'm looking for, so now I'm back to trying to do this freehand. My attempts at getting those ¼" or so mottles on test surfaces have been hit or miss. I have adjusted the pressure to as low as will give me a consistent flow (a bit below 20 psi) and think I have it thinned just right, but am wondering if I just need more practice or if I am just running up against the limits of my airbrush or some other technical issue. I have been looking for information on just how fine an area you can reasonably get with a Badger 150 and the fine needle, but I haven't been able to locate that.

Some other side notes are that I have hit the light blue, which had a semi-gloss finish, with a dull coat which seems to improve adhesion and lessens splattering. As well, I have just learned that I probably need Mission's polyurethane additive to at least harden up the finish, but am not sure is if this is a game changer for spraying.

Any advice, whether on practice or my set up would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Jim62]

Hi All – Brand new here and looking for some airbrushing advice. Been building models for decades but have avoided airbrushing until recently. I needed to apply a whitewash for a winter camo scheme and there was no rattle can, hand brush or other option that seemed to work, so I broke out the Badger 150 that I bought about 15 years ago but never opened and attached it to my pancake compressor (rigged w/ moisture trap) and played around with it and liked the results (considering that it's supposed to look uneven and slapdash, it was the perfect training wheels project). My current project is a 1:48 Hasegawa BF-109 G. Used a rattle can of Tamiya spray for the light blue and started the upper surfaces with Mission's RLM 74 and 75. I masked it up the way I would have using rattle cans and it came out great, but I am now running up against the limits of my skillset with the mottling.

Masking just doesn't give the diffuse feathering I'm looking for, so now I'm back to trying to do this freehand. My attempts at getting those ¼" or so mottles on test surfaces have been hit or miss. I have adjusted the pressure to as low as will give me a consistent flow (a bit below 20 psi) and think I have it thinned just right, but am wondering if I just need more practice or if I am just running up against the limits of my airbrush or some other technical issue. I have been looking for information on just how fine an area you can reasonably get with a Badger 150 and the fine needle, but I haven't been able to locate that.

Some other side notes are that I have hit the light blue, which had a semi-gloss finish, with a dull coat which seems to improve adhesion and lessens splattering. As well, I have just learned that I probably need Mission's polyurethane additive to at least harden up the finish, but am not sure is if this is a game changer for spraying.

Any advice, whether on practice or my set up would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Practice is important. You can practice on anything to get yourself the right touch to accomplish mottling. I'm not familiar with using Badger brushes but have heard good things about them. Welcome to the airbrush world, once you get the hang of it you'll likely forget about rattle cans. You can get the hang of trigger control, how much to thin, and what air pressure you need by practicing spraying dots and lines. I practice on the inside of model box lids. Try a 2 to 1 paint to thinner and then a 1 to 1 paint to thinner and see what that does for you. Most people say thin it to the point it looks like skim milk. To me that's to open ended as not everyone is the same and we see things differently so I just do ratios until I find the one that works best for my needs. Good luck, you'll get more advice so go practice and check back. Youtube is great if you want some visual input This is a review I have not watched it myself.

 

[the Baron]

...Masking just doesn't give the diffuse feathering I'm looking for, so now I'm back to trying to do this freehand. My attempts at getting those ¼" or so mottles on test surfaces have been hit or miss. I have adjusted the pressure to as low as will give me a consistent flow (a bit below 20 psi) and think I have it thinned just right, but am wondering if I just need more practice or if I am just running up against the limits of my airbrush or some other technical issue. I have been looking for information on just how fine an area you can reasonably get with a Badger 150 and the fine needle, but I haven't been able to locate that....

Welcome to the Herd!

Yeah, mastering airbrushing takes practice, but you'll pick it up.

Regarding masking and feathered edges, a technique to achieve that is the put down your masking material-I use Tamiya tape-and then use a toothpick the lift the edge of the tape. When you spray, hold the brush at a 90-degree angle to the edge, and you'll get a soft edge where the tape is lifted. Another technique is to us a layer of tape under the mask, and whose edges do not extend to the edge of the top mask. Spray the same way as with the lifted edge. And a third technique is to use putty to make ropes along the edge of the pattern, and spray at a slight angle away from the edge. That will give you a soft edge.

For mottling, I've used a makeshift template from a 3x5 note card with some irregular holes punched in it. I hold that above the surface, and then spray over it. I shoot with about 15 psi for that. That's a tip that goes all the way back to the old Revell modeling club newsletter, from when I was a kid. When I have done mottling free-hand, I've shot around 15 to 18 psi, and just a matter of hitting the trigger with a light touch to put down the blotch color.

 

[Pantherman]

Hi All – Brand new here and looking for some airbrushing advice. Been building models for decades but have avoided airbrushing until recently. I needed to apply a whitewash for a winter camo scheme and there was no rattle can, hand brush or other option that seemed to work, so I broke out the Badger 150 that I bought about 15 years ago but never opened and attached it to my pancake compressor (rigged w/ moisture trap) and played around with it and liked the results (considering that it's supposed to look uneven and slapdash, it was the perfect training wheels project). My current project is a 1:48 Hasegawa BF-109 G. Used a rattle can of Tamiya spray for the light blue and started the upper surfaces with Mission's RLM 74 and 75. I masked it up the way I would have using rattle cans and it came out great, but I am now running up against the limits of my skillset with the mottling.

Masking just doesn't give the diffuse feathering I'm looking for, so now I'm back to trying to do this freehand. My attempts at getting those ¼" or so mottles on test surfaces have been hit or miss. I have adjusted the pressure to as low as will give me a consistent flow (a bit below 20 psi) and think I have it thinned just right, but am wondering if I just need more practice or if I am just running up against the limits of my airbrush or some other technical issue. I have been looking for information on just how fine an area you can reasonably get with a Badger 150 and the fine needle, but I haven't been able to locate that.

Some other side notes are that I have hit the light blue, which had a semi-gloss finish, with a dull coat which seems to improve adhesion and lessens splattering. As well, I have just learned that I probably need Mission's polyurethane additive to at least harden up the finish, but am not sure is if this is a game changer for spraying.

Any advice, whether on practice or my set up would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to the forum. Practice is the way to go. I have been using a cheap airbrush for about a year now and learning all the time.
Pantherman

 

[jd2870]

Welcome to the forum. Practice is the way to go. I have been using a cheap airbrush for about a year now and learning all the time.
Pantherman

Thanks!

 

[jd2870]

Welcome to the Herd!

Yeah, mastering airbrushing takes practice, but you'll pick it up.

Regarding masking and feathered edges, a technique to achieve that is the put down your masking material-I use Tamiya tape-and then use a toothpick the lift the edge of the tape. When you spray, hold the brush at a 90-degree angle to the edge, and you'll get a soft edge where the tape is lifted. Another technique is to us a layer of tape under the mask, and whose edges do not extend to the edge of the top mask. Spray the same way as with the lifted edge. And a third technique is to use putty to make ropes along the edge of the pattern, and spray at a slight angle away from the edge. That will give you a soft edge.

For mottling, I've used a makeshift template from a 3x5 note card with some irregular holes punched in it. I hold that above the surface, and then spray over it. I shoot with about 15 psi for that. That's a tip that goes all the way back to the old Revell modeling club newsletter, from when I was a kid. When I have done mottling free-hand, I've shot around 15 to 18 psi, and just a matter of hitting the trigger with a light touch to put down the blotch color.

Thanks for the tip! I usually roll some blue tack to try to get tight feathering, but I'm definitely going to give this a shot

 

[jd2870]

Practice is important. You can practice on anything to get yourself the right touch to accomplish mottling. I'm not familiar with using Badger brushes but have heard good things about them. Welcome to the airbrush world, once you get the hang of it you'll likely forget about rattle cans. You can get the hang of trigger control, how much to thin, and what air pressure you need by practicing spraying dots and lines. I practice on the inside of model box lids. Try a 2 to 1 paint to thinner and then a 1 to 1 paint to thinner and see what that does for you. Most people say thin it to the point it looks like skim milk. To me that's to open ended as not everyone is the same and we see things differently so I just do ratios until I find the one that works best for my needs. Good luck, you'll get more advice so go practice and check back. Youtube is great if you want some visual input This is a review I have not watched it myself.

Thanks for the link and tips!

 

[Jim62]

Thanks for the link and tips!

You are welcome