Thin line airbrushing

[Boett43]

Just getting into airbrushing baits and i need some help on making thin lines i attach what the company calls there smallest tip attachment it just comes out alot thinner and it spits alot? anyhelp...

[fourbizz]

what paint are you using and are you thinning it?

[BIG M]

My friend you have entered the world of pain in the butt airbrushing.

It could be your brush, paint too thin or paint too thick, psi is too high or too low. You going to have to play around with thinning paint and adjusting pressure to find a combo that works for the brush you are using.  The paint may need to have extender mixed with it to slow down the tip drying.

If the needle and tip are bigger than .35mm you can't spray a very thin line.

Practice, practice, and practice some more on a box or something. Freehand painting is not the easiest thing to get the hang of.

[Boett43]

im using wildlife colors from WASCO they are really thin as they come soo maybe its the too thin problem? How do i figure out how to adjust the psi on my air compressor it dosent really explain it in the manual its like a 70$ compressor soo im not sure if it even works?

Hey Big M if i email you a picture  some of my first couple of crankbaits do you think you could tell me some rights and wrongs?

[fourbizz]

does your compressor not have a regulator? if not you can pick up a regulator/water trap combo on ebay for like 13 bucks. when I spray ultra fine lines, i thin my createx down to the thickness of milk and run  10PSI. a good combination for my paint/gun/ and me.

[Boett43]

Yeah it dose...where on that would it be? and do you know the reason why the airbrush barley sprays the paint after i switch out the different size tips??

[BIG M]

First go to Home Depot and get another regulator and a moisture trap add trap to the air outlet and then the regulator, you can control the psi. Get an in-line moisture trap and add to the hose. The air cannot be too dry.

Wildlife colors are nice and thin but some of the colors like to tip dry very quickley. You need to get some extender and follow the directions to use. I shoot wildlife colors also but for thin lines I shoot the paint at 10 psi also.

What brand of brush are you using?

You can post the pic right here on this thread and fourbizz, ernel, dampeoples and others will give you all the help we can. Don't be afraid to show your early work, I've been painting baits for close to 5yrs and I'm still not as good as I hope to be.

[fourbizz]

Thanks Big M, but you guys are the experts. Im just fumbling my way along still, LOL.

[ernel]

My only advice is to remember that once you change tips, you are in a since using a different brush. All the outer components are the same, but all the internal parts for the fluid flow are different. This being said, you are going to need to make changes to air pressure, needle movement, and paint viscosity.

If you are using a siphon feed brush, it will be harder to do any really fine lines. Siphon feeds require more air to move the paint into the brush. Due to the increased airpressure, you can't get as fine of a line as with a gravity feed brush.

You may need to look into filtering your paint before spraying if you are using a extremly fine tip. Small dried pigmants that flow through your larger needle and tip will clog in a smaller tip sometimes. This can cause the spitting you described. I use a .30 on my Iwata and only have to filter a few of my cheaper paints and some of my older paints that have started seperating in the bottle.

The last thing is to make sure that everything is in good working order. The slightest bend in a needle tip can cause improper paint flow, or having to use more air than is normal. The finer the tip the cleaner it must be and stay in order to work properly.

Eric

[Boett43]

what do you all find is the best way to clean the tip?? i try spraying water through the gun when im done to get everything out?

PS- how do i post pics haha sorry...