Let´s talk a little about.......sprayguns

Hi!

I´ve recently started to use 1:1 car sprayguns on my modelling projects, and found that they are excellent with automotive paints(:uhoh:) and it´s pretty easy to get a good result. I´m currently using a 1.5mm nozzle, top fed gun.

At first I was a little afraid of getting a too thick colour layer onto the model. But it actually works great. really nice and crisp paint without those pesky tigerstripes I always get when using the airbrush. Applying basecoats and clear to a 1:24 body have never been easier (or faster).

But as you all know there is always room for improvement so if there are any other 1:1 spraygun users out there, maybe you have some tips or tricks that will make it even easier to get good results.

If so! Let us know!


Cheers!

Emil

:useless:

(ok, ever would a chance to use it :D)

In other words: would you like show us all in picture what is meant for "good"?

The issue is interesting and will be debated if we see results.

Hi Gio!

Sure, I can show you....

Just remember that I´ve just started using it and that I´m just experimenting with techniques and pressures, dryingtimes, viscosity and so on.

On my sample I´ve tried to push the limit a bit and also experiment quite alot. The 360 modena shell was first painted with Tamiya gray and white primer from the can, then this was wetsanded with 4000 micromesh. Then I decanted some TS-38 from the spraycan and shot it onto the body with the spraygun without thinning. At about 20 psi (1 bar).

Then this was smoothed with some 8000 micromesh, cleaned and left to airdry. Then I cleared it with some Zero 1K acrylic clear (Lechler Acrifan?) this was only applied in one coat. And in hindsight that coat was a little too heavy since it made the undercoat crack a little, but that´s why you use a test body right :biggrin:. The body is not sanded or polished after clearing.

There is some texture but not much. Next time I will leave primer and base to dry for longer, use zero products only and apply the clear in 3 coats with ample drying in between and thin the clear down a little. Maybe I´ll even use 2K because that would be so awesome and would defintiely work 10 times better. not having to worry about cracking undercoats and such, but I´m still trying to get over my fear...haha

Well....here´s the pics (sorry but i´m no good at photos!)

First some indoor shots...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0101.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0096-1.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0087.jpg

and then some autumn style outdoor ones...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0089.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0090.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0092-1.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0098.jpg

and some highlights, what happens when you take it too far and apply too much clear...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0095.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0094.jpg

So, that´s all for now! Love to hear your opinions! :biggrin:

Cheers!

Emil

Hello

I also use automotive paints, and the guy that sells them to me is trying to convince me that I should get a spray gun, at least for the clearing.

Can you snap a picture of your gun ?

Cheers

I hve used this method and must say it works great! I use some cheap $30 gun from wal-mart. The paint lays flat and smooth.

Sure, spray guns can be great for automotive paint- it's what they're designed for. But they will take different techniques than using auto paints through an airbrush, and just as much learning and practice. It likely won't really make things easier or better- it's just another way to do it.

Properly reduced, an airbrush will very well spray automotive paints- as dozens of builders here will attest. But a spraygun won't do small scale detail painting like a good airbrush can. So the airbrush is the more flexible tool of the too, at least for scale modeling. If you're going to own/use just one, a good airbrush seems the obvious choice.

Personally I would probably buy a third airbrush before I would buy a spraygun. But I'm pretty happy with how my airbrushes handle auto paint.

A full size Spray gun is a little heavy. The thing to try is a Touchup Gun. They are somewhere between an airbrush and a spray gun. Here is an example:

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/51125414/Air_Touch_Up_Spray_Gun.jpg

While there's no denying your results are impressive, as MPWR pointed out, how much of that is down to your practice and experience I don't know, but surely the whole point of airbrushes is to offer a scaled down version of the real thing.

Aren't airbrushes just meant to be smaller versions of sprayguns used on 1:1's with the added advantages of finer control, necessary for the scales we work at. For instance, one of the benefits I found from moving from cans to airbrushes was that I can easily cover up any burn throughs I had with a small amount of paint blended back into the body. I don't think you could get such fine control over small areas with a spraygun.

I also imagine cleaning a spraygun would be a more costly affair too.

I use a Passche airbrush with fine medium and large nozzles for fine scale but to paint my RC planes I need more volume. In between the airbrush and touch-up size automotive gun is another size called "mini-detail gun". Here is a link to a typical gravity feed design:

http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/MiniGuns.htm

I use it for most of my RC stuff. For the really big stuff like solid color wings with 2 meter+ wingspan I use the touch-up gun 935 mentioned. Using a full-size auto spray gun on a tiny 1/24 scale car body seems pretty crazy but I admit I've never tried it. It seems like even if you got the coat down correctly you would waste 3 times as much paint as a proper size airbrush.

Thanks for all the replys...guys!

I use airbrushes aswell, I just bought the spraygun for a home improvement purpose so I thought. What the heck! let´s try using it on some model shells to see how it works.

The result is what you see above, after some practising of course :)

For smaller details and medium sized objects I use my 0,3mm and 0,5 mm airbrushes. And also for bodyshell painting. I´ll probably stick to them for the most part in the future.

The reason for creating this thread in the first place was to show that it´s possible to use a 1:1 gun with some practise on your modelling projects as a complementary tool to use in conjunction with your airbrushes when applying primer, basecoat or clear onto model bodyshells in 1/24 or 1/12 without much trouble. As many might have one lying around after working on their 1:1 ride or after doing some home improvement like me.

I also wanted too see if this was common practice to use these guns in modelling or if it was just me who had tried using them. Judging from your responses it seems that it is´nt very common.

Enough about tools! Now lets get back to modelling! :iceslolan

@slash...I´ll post a picture later on...


Cheers!

Emil

yes, das_auto, what you meant for "good" is good to me also :D

yes, das_auto, what you meant for "good" is good to me also :biggrin:

Thanks Gio, good to hear buddy!

Hello

I also use automotive paints, and the guy that sells them to me is trying to convince me that I should get a spray gun, at least for the clearing.

Can you snap a picture of your gun ?

Cheers


Here you go slash! I put a Tamiya can next to it for size reference. It´s a pretty big gun. But easy to use.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm158/nr1forme/PICT0102.jpg

Cheers!

Emil

How much more paint do you waste by using the spray gun compared to an airbrush. It just seems that you would need to put more paint in the spray gun then the airbrush to get it to work properly. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Imagine that! An automotive paint store guy wants to sell SS a spray gun. I wonder why? Maybe he wants to sell more paint, do 'ya think?

Painting 1/24 models, I don't see how you're going to avoid filling the room with huge amounts of overspray. I pay about $7 per oz. for automotive urethane. Even though I thin it with 3 parts reducer, I don't want to coat the whole world with it!

With decent ventilation and wearing a respirator, I can use my airbrush in a workroom inside my house. If I used a full-size spray gun for long, the walls would soon be coated with overspray and I'd be exiled to the garage. On the other hand, with an airbrush set at 20 psi, a good proportion of the paint goes right onto the model - and nobody complains.

I personally can't see any advantage to a full-size sprayer. The idea is to get a smooth, even coat of paint. An airbrush will accomplish that perfectly well.

Hi Guys!

How much more paint do you waste by using the spray gun compared to an airbrushNot much more than when you use a spraycan for painting a shell. I like to use very reduced paint and work at low pressures.
I also like to mix my paint in a separate container and then pour it into the cup.

To get 100% opaque colour coverage on a medium sized car body using the spraygun you´ll probably need about 20-30 ml of paint-thinners mix. That is about 1/10 of the paintcup of the paintgun. When using Zero primer I thin it about 70/30 primer-thinners.

Then I shoot the mix at a very low 8-10 psi. I squeeze the trigger VERY carefully and hold the nozzle of the paint gun at about 3-4 inches from the body. I try to go over the body 3-4 times lightly. Which in most cases have given me a good result.


Painting 1/24 models, I don't see how you're going to avoid filling the room with huge amounts of overspray.The overspray is actually not that bad. It´s similar to that of a spraycan. Because the paint atomizing is heavier then that of an airbrush most of the overspray seem to fall to the floor like a fine powder instead of like when overspraying heavily with an airbrush create a heavy fog that goes everywhere.

But. I would definately NOT recommend using a gun like this when painting in living areas, even with a booth. It would clog your filters fast, it would also be a hassle to clean properly indoors. I spray i my garage with the doors open and you see on the floor after a number of painting sessions where you have been painting. :D

And also remember guys, I´m NOT saying that a spraygun like this is better then an airbrush for everything. And that you should buy one of these guns instead of one. An airbrush is a wonderful tool and if your gonna buy anykind of spraying device, get one (or several) of those first before considering anything else.

I bought my paintgun for another DIY purpose as many others may have done and got the idea to try it on a bodyshell I had lying around just to see if it would work. I was at the time trying to spray a body with red and no matter how careful I was I got the dreaded "tigerstripes" (which is another word for lighter and darker spots in the colour due to uneven paint coverage, for those that did´nt know:)). So I figured that I´d use the big gun to test as the spraying pattern is of these guns is big enough not give stripes. It worked pretty good so I figured that it was something that maybe many others used. I was a little curious and that`s the reason for starting this thread.

Please don´t get cross with me for being a little curious :)

Cheers!

Emil

Sorry if I sounded cross. I didn't intend to. I think it's cool that you experimented with a different approach and told us about it. Thanks!

BTW, I don't use spray cans in the house, either. And I only use the airbrush with the indoor door closed and an exterior door open! Maybe I don't paint enough; there's no obvious overspray on stuff in my work area.

Ddms