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Airbrushing for Newby’s.

40K views 61 replies 28 participants last post by  towie964 
#1 ·
Click this Link and download a 28mb paint mask + guide zip file full of tips on modelling, airbrushing, using stickers, paints, and a STACK of paint masks and logos (ie GM, ford, bmw etc) and more.


This is a collection of free files from about 5 different websites


After painting MY LST's body i received a few requests for various info via PM. I thought i'd put it all into one post as we have done with various other topics (including first rc buyers thread)


MY LST's new truck body thread <-- the body i painted for Jim / My LST


I am by no means anwhere near pro at this and still have a hell of a lot to learn also.. i would consider myself a veryexperienced newby (intermediate at best maybe?) You will see examples of my mistakes further down the page.


My equipment is budget price range but i also chose an airbrush which i knew i could get attachments for. This is one of the most important things, even for cheap airbrush kits.


I have not posted any pics of my $79, 2HP 25L air compressor as we have all seen these in just about every auto or bunnings store. These are perfect for airbrushing and cleaning your RC



A good friend in USA has the Badger 350 and as such I had been eyeing it offon tower for a while when i found this $30 airbrush kit at my LHS. I have also since seen it at another LHS without the air canister for $20. The LHStold me they cannot get accessories for it but i knew better



Air canisters are a waste of time and very expensive. Just buy an Air compressor and air comp to airbrush adaptor (it converts the small a/brush hose into a regular click on airline fitting)


Accessories like the colour cup and various air nozzles allow you more flexibility with your spray effect, even for a newby with a single action airbrush like myself.


Aint nothing worse than buying an airbrush and being VERY limited to what you can do. a mate has one which is terrible to use because you cannot change it from the huge jar and his tip blocks up repeatedly with almost no air/paint mixture adjustment.


Easy disassembly for cleaning is also important to Keep that gun spotlessly clean!


Badger 350 Airbrush parts + accessories.








Disassembled for Easy cleaning. you have to keep them spotless or you will get poor finish and a splattery effect caused by blockages.





As seen on tower hobbies, the Badger 350. The only difference is mine says "Airbrush" instead of "Badger" down the handle.





The Colour cup allows you to use smaller amounts of paint, which i find is a perfect amount for a single light coat over the entire body. It saves a lot of paint waste which occurs when you have to 1/4 fill a jar for a stripe. Heck, you need a decent amount of paint in a jar just for the feeder hose(from jar lid to bottom of jar)to be submerged and pickup paint.


Its also quick between colours, just use up the paint, unclip it from the airbrush and flush with water. within 15seconds its ready to go again, unlike jars.


I have to say after owning it for 6mth, it is the one i use most and i would NEVER buy another airbrush unless i could get one of these.. its a must have!


Badger 350 Colour Cup, one of my favourites.











I use the Parma Fas-paints as they are waterbased which makes for easy cleaning and they mix easily. White, black and silver are essentials for backing other light colours (ie: yellow) and for making other colours lighter/darker (ie:add whiteto dark blue if you want a lighter blue paint)


Parma FasPaints





Faskoat is used to protect your paint (seal it) when the job is finished and is also used to apply the fas-glitters (aka metallics). It MUST be used to seal the paint, otherwise nitro,metho + water will eat it off the body very quickly.


FasGlow is mixed with any paint to give a glow in the dark look.





Fas-glitters are mixed with the FasKoat and sprayed onto your body first, then backed in whatever colour you like.. This allows you to have gold glitter on a black body, or any combination (all the different coloured glitters mixed togetherand backed inblack look fantastic!)


FasGlitters/Metallics





No Slip matting, i think its meant for cupboard drawers etc? Ask bunnings for a sample and the peice they give you will last you years!



I laid this on the body, then sprayed faspearl black. removed the matt then sprayed charcoal and it gives a carbon fibre effect. Try the colours the other way around for a different C/F look.. I think a silvery grey?instead of the faspearl black will make it stand out more.








Olfa Circle Cutter ($15-$20) gives a perfect circle for wheel arches and cooling holes. This is much smarter than wobbly hand cut circles.





XXXMain picture glue will apply any printed matter to your body and can be painted over to make it look invisible. It looks a lot like white wood glue that dries clear to me? but what do i know.
Ive seen examples of soldiers (unreal tornament soldier) on a bonnet with a silvery white mist around as if it was rising out of the fog, very smart!


I steal those little avon makeup brushes from the wife to apply the glue, they are perfect size and disposable, and they are extremely cheap.


Ifyou haveit at home, Iwould suggest trying wood glue or school glues with printed pics on a coke bottle as a trial, it might work for you!


XXX Main, Lexan pic glue


Bob Divelys liquid mask, i have to water it down a little bit so it sprays on easily without blocking my gun. Mask up areas not to be mask because overspray of this stuff is hard to see + remove. It dries clear, allowing you to draw your desig outside the body, then follow the lines when cutting the mask on the inside.


Always allow this stuff to dry overnight, as you need a nice thick coat for it to peel easily.





Bob Dively liquid mask


Edited by: Oblivion
 
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#29 ·
dame69 said:
Hey can u use automotive acrylic thinners and paints on the clear shell?
yes you can(tamiya and pactra spray cans arethinners/solvent based remember!!!).... but only a product such asDupont which has a thinning ratio of 4:1 for the most of their basecoats, products such as PPG or Protec are no good due to their high thinning ratio..... around 1:1, what the thinners does to the lexan? it actually dries it out and after a period of time the body will become brittle and shatter........ paint flaking is due to not prepping the body correctly. Basically stick to your water based colors such as faskolor or createx/auto air... hope this helps
 
#32 ·
Oblivion

how is that done with the paints????

does the hot air machine thingy just thin them out or do these paints actually change to temperature (whilst they are still wet)


thanxs

P.S. they are some sick colours good find there!!!
 
#33 ·
the vid where the body changes colour is not wet, its some sort of special paint and he is waving a $10 hair dryer over the bodies (same hair dryer i use to dry my bodies after painting)


not sure what sort of paints they are but ya gotta love how quickly they change colour when the body gets heated..


i'd imagine on a nitro around the engine + exhaust would change colour
 
#34 ·
I've found Automotive thinners to be fine, but must use with caution. The thinners are stronger and bite more, thus bubble-ing the lexing. Apply light coats and you'll be fine.


The thiners is not what chips off, as thinners evaporate from the paint, the type of paint is what the problem really is. If using automive paint (which I do having fair bit from when I use to be an automotive painter) add a bit of flex- additive and it will be fine.


Ever seen a car with paint flaking of the plastice bumper bar, that's either not washing therelease agentof the car or not add the flex-additive....
 
#35 ·
hey what brand masking tape is good? I had been using the tamiya (orange) masking tapes, but my stockpile is running low, and i have 4 bodies waiting to be painted. are there any decent alternatives that's easily obtainable and cheap?
 
#38 ·
I just bought my $20 airbrush and the fine edge 3M masking tape from Bunnings, however I now need an air compressor but don't have any room for those big 2.5HP atom bombs. They have the small 12V/23 Amp ones that run off the car battery from Supercheap (30% off at the moment) but I don't know if they are junk. Any other options?
 
#39 ·
you will need some sort of storage tank or you will get a pulsing effect from the compressor chugging away.

i have seen other air comp's with a smaller tank, its like a little camping size gas bottle a bit bigger than a jerry can.
 
#41 ·
Ended up getting a Eagle Red 2HP air compressor with a 24L tank on the weekend. On special for $69 at Bunnings at the moment. Unfortunately doesnt come with any attachments but I scored a pretty good air blower trigger nozzle from the $10 bin at Repco. Need the recoil hose for the blower and I'm wondering if I'll need a moisture trap for the airbrush.
 
#42 ·
you might want to try it on some lexan offcut first. from what i've heard, cheap compressors are no good for airbrushing, because the oil is mixed into the air when the compressor does it's thing...
 
#46 ·
Ok, so I finally get this cheap bloody compressor running after a stack of problems and wasted money (wish I just spent the extra on a decent blower with accessories) and I've bought this inline moisture trap today but there's no instructions on which direction to fit it. Can anyone tell using the photo which direction the air goes through this thing?



thanks
 
#48 ·
That is correct.

You mount it with the blue end to the top and the air comes out the botton (silver end).
Note: it also has a valve to drain the moisture.... kinda like a tyre valve.

Make sure you mount it as discribed and check if it has a max pressure rating or you will blow it to kingdom come.
 
#49 ·
Thanks. All working but I'm still plagued with frustrating leaks.

I didn't know about any max pressure for the moisture trap but I'm relieved it didn't explode.

Masked the body last night for painting this weekend :)
 
#51 ·
I did but i've still got leaks. I think it's mostly due to the cheap quality recoil hose that has dodgy fittings.

And I can't for some reason get a good seal on the air gun.
 
#53 ·
Hose joins, right where the PVC hose connects to the female socket. if I push the hose further into the fitting it opens the valve like when u let down a tyre. It's a SuperCheap hose that came in a kit including other garbage quality accessories. The airbrush hose and kit is fine though which is the important thing at this stage.
 
#55 ·
Paolo's Tip no.1
- Paint your pinstripes first if you are using liquid mask. Makes peeling the liquid mask a lot easier

Peeling fine pinstripes after a few coats of paint is not fun. Check out this hyper 9 shell I did below. I made extra fine pinstripes on the flames for a better scale look but peeling them after a few coats of paint would be near impossible. I always try to peel the pinstripes first. That included the window trims. so on the shell below, chrome was the first paint I sprayed which was also backed with black.







 
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