Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Hey ,

Im new to spray painting, and am looking for an airbrush and compressor. Is there anything special that the compressor should have??? I know i need other things like a water seperator, air filter and a regulator. What about airbrushs?? Does anyone recommond any??

I have just been on modelflight and am looking at this airbrush. Paasche EZ Starter Set. What do you guys think?? What airbrush do you recommend??? By the way, i have never sprayed with an airbrush before.
http://www.modelflight.com.au/rc_mod...tarter_set.htm

http://www.modelflight.com.au/accessories_airbrush.htm

Cheers

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Make sure the compressor has a storage tank to smooth out the pressure. Make sure the system can provide enough continuos flow volume (CFM) at the pressure you desire.
If your paints are not water soluable be sure to get sprayer cleaners that won't damage the sprayer parts.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Closest RCU forum I could find was http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_195/tt.htm . They seem to lean toward pianting cars/trucks but a lot of the basics would be the same. Might want to ask there too.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Here's a dynamite link for airbrush:

http://www.airbrush.com

Iwata is the high end. I use Paasche VL and Badger 200NH. Nothing wrong with either of them.
As for the compressor, I use a Porter-Cable with a 6 gallon tank. It will spray everything from airbrush to paint gun to texture. It's never let me down.

Good luck.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Hey garyo1954

The Paasche VL seems a bit cheap but if its good quality and works well, cheap is awesome. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXDD38&P=ML
Would you upgrade your airbrush, or are you happy with what you got??? The reason why im asking, is i might aswell buy the best and have it for life then buy cheaper ones and upgrade.
What about this one?? http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LX8160&P=ML

Also, does the Paasche VL have good coverage for painting base coats on .60 size planes??

Cheers

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

The VL is a very good airbrush but only single action I think. It would be good for a beginner to use. Then later on you could go to a double action type. A dual action gives you more control and I should add if you are committed to learning good technique then you could start with it but keep in mind it is harder to control at first.

The bad news is that it will take you days to paint a base coat on a .60 size plane. The airbrush is made for detail work. The spray isn't much wider than a marker.

If you get the right compressor say a 1-2 horsepower with a 10- 20 gallon tank, then you can use a small auto touch-up gun to do what you want.

Here is another good link.
http://www.howtoairbrush.com/

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

I see the VL is a double action. My mistake.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

I have the VL. and have used it for years. Comes with 3 needles , fine medium and large and is double action. Nice thing about this gun , is being able to change tips and the double action.
Draw back is changing the needles takes time and if your changing color ,cleaning too.
I find I use my fine needle most as I use the gun for mainly fine detail. For lager jobs of laying down a base coat or appling clearcoat , I use a small detail gun. The airbrush is just to small if you have a larger area to cover.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46719
I realize you probably don't have Harbor Freight down there but this is only to show you the type of gun you could use and that they can be had at reasonable prices.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

I agree with Jeff. A good touch up gun is what you need for .60. Just to confirm, the VL is dual action. Although it is recommended for beginners, it is often called a workhorse brush. Nothing wrong with something reliable, easy to use, and maintain.

For the touch up gun Harbor Freight is a good place. And get something that is gravity feed. That adjustable cup on the top makes everything easier. The set cup on the bottom will bump into everything. Bruce posted a good link. Here's another:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...324&pricetype=


I haven't tried the 150 but Badger makes a good airbrush. Definitely buy the best you can afford.

But (hopefully everybody will agree) stay away from the cheap knockoffs on ebay. For every good experience there are a dozen bad ones.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Hey,

So i should get a spray gun for the base coats ect, and then an airbrush for all the small weathering ect. or do you think that just a spray gun will be enough??? Also, what other good brand that are out there for spray guns?? And if im looking for one, what are the things that the gun must have?? Should i get HVLP or non-HVLP??? The one you have recommended me has a 5.3 oz. feed cup. That would be more than enough for base coats, yeh???
Also, do spray guns come in single and double action?? If so, single action will be enough, yeh??

Cheers,
Daniel

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Here’s a link to some automotive paint guns
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...mType=CATEGORY
Binks, DeVilbiss, Iwata, Sharpe, and others make guns that sell for under $100 as well as guns that sell for several hundred.

If you’re just doing coats of paint, then masking and spraying large graphics, you can probably just use a spray gun. If you’re doing fine lines, weathering, etc you’ll probably need the airbrush.

If you can meet a painter at a car or motorcycle shop, you can get local recommendations and possibly find a reasonably priced local source. You want to get something that is good quality and is repairable.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

You could consider both or cut stencils. And this depends on the amount and type of details you plan. I'd say get both, but I do a lot of painting on other things too.

The detail gun must have/should have an adjustable pattern, an adjustable paint mixture amount, an adjustment for the amount of air pressure, and an adjustment for the trigger. These are generally standard.

Your coverage is going to depend on several things. Color is just one factor. Red is the hardest color you'll ever paint.

A convention mini detail gun will operate between 20-50 PSI, an airbrush between 20-35 psi, the HVLP is rated between 3-10 psi. There are arguments for both sides, but typically you want a fine atomization of the paint, and it is a general thought the higher pressure blows a finer mist.

Some manufacturers advertise dual action detail/touch-up guns. In most cases, the trigger pull will regulate the amount of paint released. It's basically point and shoot.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

The first spray equipment I bought many years ago was a Paache H type airbrush. I used it to spray dope finishes on CL models. It will spray a pattern about the size of a nickle with model dope. Still have it some 35 or 40 years later and still use it but mostly for model RR projects and plastic display models.

The second airbrush I got was a Paache VL. It will spray dope in a pattern about the size of a quarter. It will also spray thicker liquids than the H type but as someone else said, cleaning or changing colors is a lot more trouble because of all the extra parts. If you don't keep your airbrushes scrupulously clean you will regret it in very short order.

The next gun was a Badger 400-2 detail/touch up gun. It will spray a pattern about 2-1/2 to 3 inches in dia. I love this thing. It was cheap and isn't as fussy about what you put through it. The thing will spray polyurethane varnish straight from the can with out thinning.

The next one was a DeVilbiss JGA. This is a full size proffessional grade automotive gun. It is, as you would expect, excellent but wan't cheap. I think I gave around $200 for it.

The last one was a DeVilbiss touch up/detail gun. Think I gave around $150 for this one. Again, it is professional grade and I have zero complaints.

I have a 25 year old 2 cylinder, 20 gal. tank, 9 CFPM at 40 PSI Sears compressor that rusn on 220 volts. Just put a new motor on it a year or so ago. It's plenty for spray painting.

My opinion? I think you would be better off with an inexpensive detail gun to start off with given that you say you want to spray .60 size planes. Btu then again, I am just a hobbyist and I'm sure there are pro painters on this board who can tell you more than I can.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

One thing to remember is to not put on any more paint than you need. Paint has weight. Contacting a professional is a good idea, just remember to tell him that you don't want a thick coat.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Hey,

I have just purchased the spray gun below. I told the guy that i would be spraying model planes of about 3 square metres about 3 times a year. It was $65AUD which seems a bit cheap. There was a $150AUD gun there but he told me for what im using it for, the $65 one is good enough. I kinda doubt it. When i got home i realized i didnt even have a look at what brand it is. When i had a look, It had no brand, just a model # FR202CG.
What do you guys think??

Cheers

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Odd that it has no markings but it looks like the right thing. The manual says HVLP anyway. You may want to buy a bucket of cheap paint just to practice technique on. Get used to changing settings on the gun and what each does before spraying a plane. You'll still use a little more "actual" paint when ready to set the gun for painting. Seldom do 2 paints spray the same if only because you thinned them different.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Very nice. I don't know what brand it is, but if it feels like it looks, it should last awhile.

RE: Beginner at Spray Painting
 

Hey,

Ive got some primer thats called Urethane Compatible Primer. Its yellow opaque in colour. Now im pretty sure its epoxy based but it doesnt state it is. Here are the following ingredients it contains:
Butyl Acetate
Epoxy Resin
Xylene, Mised Isomers
Strontium Chromate Pigment
Titanium Dioxide Pigment
Cyclohexanone
Crystalline Silica
Ethoxypropionate
Amorphous Silica

Would this primer be ok for RC??? Also, could this primer be used to fill the weave of the fiberglass, or do you have to a filler primer???
When talking about paints, what is 'reducer'??

Now, when you guys paint, do you do it indoors in some kind of spray booth, or do you do it outdoors??

Cheers