PSI

[hooterville75]

How do you determine what amount of air pressure you should be spraying at ? Also being a rookie, Im assuming I have things right but tell me if this procedure I used is wrong?

I have a Craftsman 125 lbs air compressor. I plugged it in and left it fill up with air till it shut off. I then turned the regulator until the air pressure gauge dropped to 20 PSI. I then used it as needed allowing the compressor to run when it needed too. Is that the way you regulate the PSI ?

What do you mean find the psi that makes the paint "atomize" ? How do you know if the paint is atomizing ?

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

That is about right.

The amount of PSI is usually determined by how you are painting, ie: are you doing base coats, or fine camo.

For the most part 20psi is about right, but if you were doing say the mottling on the side of a Bf-109, you would thin your paint out more, and drop your air pressure down so you can get in close to do the fine work.

How do you know your paint is atomizing correctly....you will get a nice fine spray pattern, as opposed to paint spitting, or huge fogs of paint like you would see out of a spray can. Also if your paint is drying in the air between the airbrush and the model, it will leave a rough surface...and can sometimes be a sign your air pressure is too high (the air is causing the paint to dry before it hits the model), but some of this can be controlled by what you are using to thin the paint with, which is why it is always advised to use the thinner designed to be used with the paint, IE: if you are using Tamiya, you should use their thinner, using Vallejo, use their thinner.

There are umpteen different types of concoctions out there that people use to thin their paints, but nothing works as good as using the thinner from the company that you paint is from, that was formulated to work with the paint specifically.

Beyond that...practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute than practice with the airbrush to learn new skills and get more proficient at it.