Author Topic: Air brush priming?  (Read 4489 times)

DarkSpade

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Air brush priming?
« on: 01 September 2014, 09:13:26 »
Can you prime a mini with an air brush?  I'm sure I can just spray a solid color, but what about actual primer?

Trying to find an alternative to aerosol priming. Between long winters and humid summers I probably get less than a few weeks total of decent weather for aerosol primers.   I generally end up priming a bunch of minis in one shot during this limited time.  Problem is that I'm usually doing this long before I figure out what color I want to paint the minis.  Or worse, I get a mini built that I really want to paint and have to wait several months to do it. I know there's brush on primer, but I'd rather get the total coverage of a spray.
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abou

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #1 on: 01 September 2014, 09:31:49 »
I've switched to airbrush priming. It's a joy. You can take a brush-on primer and thin it, but I feel the results are mixed.

I highly, highly recommend Vallejo Model Air primer. I have two bottles of grey and it works wonderfully. No need to dilute; use as is.

DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #2 on: 01 September 2014, 09:44:39 »
Oooooo there's a premade primer!?  This is sounding like a better and better idea.   Might be time to see if the air pump I've had for 10 years now works.   :D
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SteelWarrior

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #3 on: 01 September 2014, 11:46:27 »
Yea bud, haha. 



Great stuff this is.  Shoots fine out of an airbrush straight from the bottle, though I usually up the PSI a bit for this stuff (around 20-25 and just be careful not to hold down the trigger for too long in any one area lol), but ive also mixed it with a tiny bit of airbrush thinner before and it sprays even better (though over thinning this stuff = horrible lol, splatters like mad).

Also make sure to clean your brush very well after spraying it as this stuff tends to turn into a "film" fairly quickly and it will plug the crap out of your needle lol.


Be warned:  Youll never touch a spray can again after using this stuff even once.....
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #4 on: 01 September 2014, 11:55:39 »
Would I be pushing my luck hoping for an air brush friendly dull coat sealer?
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Lorcan Nagle

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #5 on: 01 September 2014, 13:52:07 »
I've seen Vallejo varnishes in the Model Air line, but I've not tried them myself.
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #6 on: 01 September 2014, 14:26:55 »
I knew there was a reason I've been hauling that air pump with every time I moved.  {>{>
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SteelWarrior

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #7 on: 01 September 2014, 19:05:12 »
Yes sir.  Ive used both the Air specific sealants and the generic "game color" line matt/gloss varnish.  Both spray fine.  For the regular stuff I would say put the PSI up and watch the needle dry, its hard to see it happen as well but youll get a "wisp" at the end of the needle, pretty good sign that you need to spray some cleaner.  Also good to note that the "air" specific branded stuff is 100% colorless, which makes it hard to see where its being sprayed and how heavy.  The "generic" stuff has a slight pink tone to it.

Both work wonders though, and becuase its so fast and easy, I recommend a gloss coat before washes, and just hit it with a matt coat after it dries, and carry on painting.

Oh and as an added bonus, ive never had the frosting issue with the airbrush either.
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #8 on: 01 September 2014, 19:16:38 »
Should I be able to find this stuff at places that sell the airbrush kits(like hobby lobby, hobby town, Michael), or are online retailers my best bet?
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SteelWarrior

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #9 on: 01 September 2014, 20:34:49 »
Should I be able to find this stuff at places that sell the airbrush kits(like hobby lobby, hobby town, Michael), or are online retailers my best bet?

Should be able to but in my country your stuck going online.
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Ratboy

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #10 on: 02 September 2014, 08:11:33 »
Should I be able to find this stuff at places that sell the airbrush kits(like hobby lobby, hobby town, Michael), or are online retailers my best bet?


Most FLGS can order Vallejo paints. The primers are popular and there is a chance they will be out of stock at whichever distributor(s) they use.


Badger also makes a line of Airbrush primers. They come in bottles from 50ml all the way up to 1 liter. The Badger miniatures paint brand is called "Minitaire". Most FLGS can also get these.



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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #11 on: 03 September 2014, 12:43:20 »
I've seen Vallejo varnishes in the Model Air line, but I've not tried them myself.

The matt varnish is somewhat difficult to clean from the airbrush. However, it is, and by a long shot, the best matt varnish in the market. To the point that it turned some metal joints of a Stag into just grey joints.
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #12 on: 11 September 2014, 11:21:28 »
To the point that it turned some metal joints of a Stag into just grey joints.

How do you fix that then?
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #13 on: 11 September 2014, 16:54:22 »
Found the primer today so I picked up a cheap $25 airbrush kit.  It's far from top of the line, but when the next step up is over $100, it'll do.  The results are still drying, but I'm thinking something went wrong with the process.  Maybe I'm just impatient, but it felt like it was taking a long time before anything came out of the nozzle.  By the time I finally got it coming out I think I had over thinned the paint.   #P  As it looks now, it'll take another coat before I've got what I'm used to seeing from the spray can.  Not sure about how well the pump itself works compared to a new one.  There is a bit of air coming out near where I attach the hose(not from the hose connection), but I did a dry test run and the air still felt like it was coming out of the air brush with a pretty good amount of force.

Any tips?
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Lorcan Nagle

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #14 on: 11 September 2014, 17:28:38 »
did you get a single or dual action airbrush? 
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #15 on: 11 September 2014, 17:51:04 »
did you get a single or dual action airbrush?

Cardboard backing says it's single action.

It had an adjustable nozzle, but despite what the back of the cardboard said adjusting it one way or the other seemed to do nothing.
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SteelWarrior

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #16 on: 11 September 2014, 20:38:22 »
Single action is less then ideal.  Tip dry can happen prettttty damn quick on airbrushes.  I would keep a few q-tips handy, dip them in whatever your using to clean your airbrush, and when you notice nothing much is coming out, carefully swipe the sides of the needle without applying pressure and see if that helps. Alot of really handy youtube tutorials on getting started as well :D
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Ratboy

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #17 on: 11 September 2014, 21:32:58 »
Found the primer today so I picked up a cheap $25 airbrush kit.


If the primer is meant to go through an airbrush already, do not thin it more.
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #18 on: 12 September 2014, 16:21:08 »
This is not going well at all. 

Earlier I decided to try out the grey primer.  It's WAY too light of a grey to be useful for what I need so I added some black to darken it up.  And then some more black.  And some more.  and some more...  I swear there's some kind of portal in that paint jar because paint/primer ratio had to have been close to 50/50 but the grey wasn't getting any darker.    Eventually I gave up and tried another test run.   I got nothing.  This was a pretty thin black, but it's not labeled as airbrush ready so I added some thinner.  Still nothing.  Cleaned the tip with a Q-tip several times but still nothing.   Eventually gave up and cleaned everything. Cleaner ran through just fine.

Worried that maybe my compressor just isn't up to snuff, I ran to the hobby store and got a can of propellent.  Figured it that works then I know my compressor is bad.   Tried out a straight run of the white primer but nothing came out despite the can of air seemingly having a higher PSI.  Trying to clean off the tip still didn't help.  Went to clean up again, but this time the cleaner wasn't passing through at all.  Switched back to the compressor and some cleaner finally started passing through.

I already know I'm dealing with inferior equipment, but all the trouble I'm having is making me hesitant to take the plunge.  The cheapest duel action airbrush they have is $90 and air pumps start around $150.
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Lorcan Nagle

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #19 on: 12 September 2014, 16:48:59 »
I used a cheap as all hell Badger single action airbrush for years before upgraing to a dual action recently.  Looks like this:



And I found the part I had to clean the most was the nozzle coming out of the paint pot, especially when I was thinning paint myself.  Rather than use a cotton bud/Q-Tip, I'd take the part out, remove the little tube, and then use a sewing needle to push any gunk out. 
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SteelWarrior

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #20 on: 12 September 2014, 21:27:43 »
This is not going well at all. 

Earlier I decided to try out the grey primer.  It's WAY too light of a grey to be useful for what I need so I added some black to darken it up.  And then some more black.  And some more.  and some more...  I swear there's some kind of portal in that paint jar because paint/primer ratio had to have been close to 50/50 but the grey wasn't getting any darker.    Eventually I gave up and tried another test run.   I got nothing.  This was a pretty thin black, but it's not labeled as airbrush ready so I added some thinner.  Still nothing.  Cleaned the tip with a Q-tip several times but still nothing.   Eventually gave up and cleaned everything. Cleaner ran through just fine.

Worried that maybe my compressor just isn't up to snuff, I ran to the hobby store and got a can of propellent.  Figured it that works then I know my compressor is bad.   Tried out a straight run of the white primer but nothing came out despite the can of air seemingly having a higher PSI.  Trying to clean off the tip still didn't help.  Went to clean up again, but this time the cleaner wasn't passing through at all.  Switched back to the compressor and some cleaner finally started passing through.

I already know I'm dealing with inferior equipment, but all the trouble I'm having is making me hesitant to take the plunge.  The cheapest duel action airbrush they have is $90 and air pumps start around $150.

I can appreciate not wanting to take the dive just to test it out...But using what you are at the moment isnt really going to sell you on spending the cash either.  The first 3 sessions I used my Badger Krome I had many issues, but the results I DID get, were amazing and it was enough to keep me at it.  I would say find a used setup, or check around locally to see if someone has one they can let you try (or even pay for a cheap demo session with a local painter), and go that route.  Worse case scenario the resale values arent horrible by any means....
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DarkSpade

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #21 on: 13 September 2014, 14:02:31 »
Continued testing continues to produce hit and miss results, but when it does work, I like what I'm seeing.

I checked micro-mark and they've got a double action for $50 and an air compressor for $100($85 if I buy 3 ::)).  They also sell a pressure regulator/moisture trap.  How important is one of those?
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Ratboy

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #22 on: 14 September 2014, 00:52:42 »
Check out Harbor Freight. the have a decent airbrush compressor for a reasonable amount.
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Mwenski

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #23 on: 18 September 2014, 18:11:15 »
Check out badger's website and look in the garage sale section. They had a dual action airbrush (left hand or right hand, creatively designated rh and lh) for $35. The right hand model has a rotatable side cup mounted on the right side, so you can easily see your work, as well as paint straight down.  Your air supply will be  an issue. One cheap way to go is to get a five gallon air tank, fill it with a loud compressor and then use a regulator to control the pressure at the brush. A water trap would be a good idea in this case.

As an alternative, you could buy a quiet aircompressor from Amazon with a tank for 90 or so, or try building one of these
http://www.schnauzerfaceminis.com/dir/showthread.php?tid=478


Tcp global has a good site describing their products and kits, and they sell through Amazon.

If you're working out the technique you should practice on cardboard, trying to make consistent dots and even lines.
I found "airbrushtutor" and schnauzerfaceminis set of videos on youtube to be very helpful, but by there are many great videos available.
 
On the topic of priming through an airbrush, it works great on my badger patriot 105 airbrush, and on the very cheap dual action air brush that tcp global sent with my compressor. You just have to clean the airbrush immediately since the primer, a special paint designed to adhere very well to metal, will be trying to adhere to the insides of your airbrush, especially the nozzle and needle tip.

Edit: just saw this forum post that would provide an air supply on the very cheap, if you're interested in a low budget alternate air source that is refillable.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/530799.page

« Last Edit: 18 September 2014, 19:21:51 by Mwenski »

wolfspider

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Re: Air brush priming?
« Reply #24 on: 21 September 2014, 12:04:56 »
The matt varnish is somewhat difficult to clean from the airbrush. However, it is, and by a long shot, the best matt varnish in the market. To the point that it turned some metal joints of a Stag into just grey joints.
I used this to clean my clean brushes up after using varnish.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G42NPO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001G42NPO&linkCode=as2&tag=awesomepaintj-20
it does a great job.
 
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