Piggybacking off this to give you my top tip for preventing 90% of (my) stoppages: an old toothbrush head mounted within easy reach when airbrushing. I've glued mine to the holder I use for my brush. I have the bristles pointing straight up, and then I dribble a little water or alcohol on. Whenever I feel a clog/dried tip starting, i just rub the airbrush through the toothbrush. Sometimes I do it preventatively as well, sort of like rinsing a regular brush. Having the toothbrush head glued in place makes it incredibly easy to do, and I don't even have to empty out the airbrush cup first. It obviously won't do anything for issues inside the airbrush, but it has solved almost all my issues during regular use. I hope my explanation makes sense, it felt awkward without showing pictures.
A normal video for a normal level painter. Good stuff, thanks for keeping the mistakes in. More of this painters journey stuff please. Will help ease everyone’s journey down that hobby trumpet and hopefully prevent anyone from getting stuck in it never to return. I to the warp of the hobby trumpet. Do you want to live forever?
It's good to know you're not the only one with such problems. I definitely can relate, been there done that and more (like setting too high PSI to basically tear off previous layers of paint).
Its very refreshing watching a video of someone showing their trial and error with airbrushing. I have had an airbrush that my wife got me for Christmas for over a year and have never used it because I am (like you) intimidated by the tool. Thanks for giving me some confidence to just go for it and see what happens no matter the results!
Try not to start with your paint in the pot first. It's good practice to go thinners/flow improvers first. Run them through for one or two small bursts and then add paints. This essentially lubes your needle a bit prior to spraying your paint. Makes cleaning easier too.
FWIW for stoppages, I saw a great tip on Airbrush Asylum, which is (for a dual action airbrush) to keep the airbrush air on at all times rather than doing short bursts. Short bursts makes it more likely to clog because when you cut off the air suddenly whatever paint is going through the mechanism dries half way out, so you're looking to reduce the number of times you cut off the airflow in a painting session
There are different ways to avoid this, Vince says to avoid blowing air through the airbrush unless there is also coming paint out because the airflow will dry any paint left on the needle. It has served me well, and I don´t have a lot of clogs, and a quetip on hand with airbrush cleaner on it to wipe the needle makes them even less frustrating.
The main thing is to keep it on until after the paint has stopped. So if you continue painting it goes on full blast. If you stop just make sure that the paint is out before stopping the airflow. It takes some getting used to.
Most painting tutorial channels are showing only their quality work/skills. Its wonderful to see someone fail. Failure is the only way to improve and its so so much more valuable to novices just learning how to paint. Kudos to you sir.
Airbrushing is significantly more difficult than a lot of hobby youtubers seem to suggest so thanks for making this. The end result was great and I'd love to see future attempts.
Varnishes are normally like an acrylic base resin and they take a long time to harden properly, it's not the microsol melting your paint but probably the varnish when it was still soft. Hope that helps in future :)
@@thepaintingphase inks tend to be fairly fragile, and i absolutely always regret rushing the ink>varnish>decal process. microsol is also acidic, and it will do a number on acrylic paint if it's not properly cured and you disturb it
I've had this issue as well, LOVE my AK paints but occasionally they turn into like a sticky/stringy goo when I do anything on top of them.@@lukeeaton2364
@matthewmacdougall3198 Absolutely agree. Microsol is totally unnecessary anyway. Just float decals in warm water with a TINY drop of Fairy Liquid. I do this in a shot glass. Themightybrush taught me this method, it's never gone wrong for me.
There's no true failure in mini painting. You either nail it 100% (which is never the case even if you're Richard Gray) or you learn and grow. Every mini painted is progress which can sometimes feel infinitesimal but progress nonetheless!
Thanks for sharing your experiences with airbrushing. I've recently got into mini painting and also jumped on with an airbrush and this is more in line with my own experiences than a lot of the other tutorials online. Sharing your frustrations is an affirmation that mistakes happen but to keep pressing on and trying new things.
I was wincing abit when you started this video but was super stoked to see you finally achieve a super sweet looking miniature instead of giving up. I would encourage you to turn to resources like Vince Venturella for best practices regarding airbrushing. A few tweaks to the way you load your cup, maximum duration of paint in cup dwell time, and quick rinse practices will basically resolve 99% of the issues you had in this video. Glad to see you guys branching out!!
@@thepaintingphaseVince has a couple excellent videos on airbrushing. I use his formula for thinner/flow improver and use similar ratios and very rarely get any clogging. I'm using a H&S Evolution.
@@thepaintingphase Strongly recommend Vince's video on quickly cleaning an airbrush, it made my workflow so much better and I really enjoy airbrushing now:) Marco frisoni also has some brilliant videos about airbrushing, especially for inks/thin paints (air on the entire time, short bursts of paint) - I think they would help you a lot!
Well done Pat. It's very brave to film yourself doing the most important bit of the hobby that no one talks about - by which I mean failing better. It's something that not even the "big boys" have the stones to do and it's really refreshing. Plus the end result was absolutely banging. I hope you were pleased enough to keep on going because a squad just like that would look fantastic.
Thank you for this video. An honest view of the first airbrushing attempts helps a lot! Now I can say 'I' am not scared of airbrushing - I am part of a community, and 'we' are all scared together :)
The algorithm recommended this video to me. The fact that you showed where you stumbled and had issues made me subscribe. It shows you are a normal human, unlike the "pro painters" who only show their best work in videos.
Good on you for sticking with it! It really is worth the time investment to learn. The model turned out excellent! I'm quite experienced with the airbrush, and I can point out exactly where some of your problems were: 1) You need to thin almost everything you put through your airbrush, including inks, even though they feel thinner. Especially white. White pigment has a tendency to gum up. Thin your airbrush paints in a little container outside of the bowl so you can test the consistency before putting them through the airbrush. I go for milk consistency most of the time. There are these wonderful little metal, reusable mixing saucers that are perfect for this I got on Amazon. Also, thinner whites also go on smoother. If you mix in a little gloss medium and airbrush flow improver (which is basically retarder, not the same as airbrush thinner), then your white will be less chalky and more durable. 2) Keeping the airflow going while being gentle on the trigger is the way to go. I still keep the PSI around 30-40. You can do that without causing spider webbing as long as you build up the layers slowly and are gentle on the trigger. 3) Paints take longer to fully cure than you think, especially white ink, which should be dried over night. Applying a transfer straight away will wreck them. The issue is more visible with an airbrush because the layers are thinner. When using white ink and over airbrush layers, before I do any techniques that will stress the surface of the model, like decals or drybrushing, I wait an hour, gloss varnish (which you should also thin), then wait overnight and work on other stuff in the meantime. In short, the adage "thin your paints" applies double with the airbrush.
Still a noob myself, I've found that if you aren't consistent with it, you tend to forget a lot of the little things you've learned along the way. Things like thinning the paint, air pressure, etc. I end up having to relearn between sessions. But then I'm old and forget easily. Great vid on the topic!
When mixing your paints, add the thinner first. It helps stop blockages because there isn’t thick paint at the front. It also helps mix the paint with the thinner better.
As someone who bought himself a handheld air brush over Christmas and still hasn't worked up the courage to use it, I really appreciate an honest trial-and-error look at airbrushing. You've motivated me to bite the bullet and give it a go!
As far as stoppages, I would say thinning is even more important for the airbrush than in hand painting. Especially with how thin and quick drying the airbrushed layers are, I've found I can build up smooth layers without having to stop to unclog the nozzle and still batch paint faster than I would going by hand. Keep at it, you'll get there!
Thank you for this video. There are so many videos talking about how easy airbrushing is and it is just nice to see someone go though the problems they went through as a newbie to airbrushing. I learnt a lot and cheers.
I bought everything for airbrushing and got so sad after trying the first time. And the second, third and fourth time. But when it clicked, it felt so good and you always learn. I’m quite comfortable with the airbrush now but i still make mistakes and i learn new things. Trying new paints with different viscosities and how to get white not to clog is an ongoing thing. Keep up the good work and you will ”master” it in no time at all.
Dude. That came out really nice. Must be encouraging. You pushed through the hard bit. Just mix everything to the consistency of Liquitex ink and you're good.
One of the best tips I've gotten for airbrushing, esp as someone who is pretty new to it and not very experienced with thinning paints, is to buy a shower tile and prime it. Try your mix, make it thicker or thinner as needed, try again, etc etc until its right. Then, because its tile, when it gets overloaded with paint you can just rag + acetone and its like new! It was also super helpful to do this so I could practice and get used to trigger control, the size of the spray, how far I should be from the mini, etc.
Chin up Pat, it's a whole new set of skills to learn! And you're basically raw-dogging the learning part with trial and error and no-one to teach you in person. Your end result looks fantastic, even if you do think you put heaps too much time into it.
As it looks like the blockages are forming due to paint drying at the tip of the needle, it could of course be a thinning issue, but one thing which is often overlooked is the need to lube the needle. One drop of lube, rubbed all over the shaft should be enough to prevent this and let the liquid spray out much more smoothly! (In all seriousness though, get a tube of airbrush lubricant for a few £, apply a very thin coat of it over the needle and it should help to avoid this type of blockage).
I recently treated myself to an airbrush and have found the learning experience to be very fulfilling, difficult but fulfilling. I am far from great(or even good) at using it, but I am not over thinning or clogging the airbrush every time anymore! One thing that I hear a lot about airbrushing(was even brought it up in this video) is that people find it to be annoying to set up, prep and clean. I personally haven't found it to be any better or worse than brush painting in that regard because I don't have a permanent set up for painting at all so I have to get out my paints and set up to paint every time as it is.
You seem stressed. Thank you for showing your failure. I fail often too, it's validating to see. I've never used an airbrush and this is making me think of learning
Proper candid video with errors and issues for future novice airbrush users to look out for when working on their own projects- and I think the end result of that terminator looks awesome! Nice one Pat!
This is such a refreshing video to see and so valuable for people not to feel like airbrushing is instant cheating. Your approach to testing up different combos and not giving up is great. I don't see failures. I see a progression of practice and trial and error. I do think that having a 0.2 mm needle may have been making it more difficult for you as that might struggle with larger pigment particles.
Just compare that final version of the Imperial Fist to the iron Warriors you did a year or so ago, and you will see how different the quality of the finished product is. You can be truly proud of the amount of growth you (and your beard) have gone through in the last year!
Hi ! Thanks for this video ! I'm not really an expert in airbrushing, but one advise I received and I can share is to always put thinner first in your cup before adding the paint. This will help avoiding your airbrush to be clogged.
That is a airbrush quality question, the better the brush the better the atomization of the paint is, in my opinion nothing beats harder&steenbeck brushes on that, but just keep going with the airbrush and you will get the feel for what youre doing wrong when things go wrong. The paint must be totaly cured before you use the decal solutions on it or it will reactivate the paints. And its fun that you guys credit Darren latham for the sponge in the tube thing, that is actully a tool thats been sold for years and years in the scale model communety, even greenstuffworld has its own once
@@thepaintingphase yeh he does have a lot of pepole following him and he uses the DIY once in a few clips, so i do understand why you think it was something he invented🙂. Was a fun video, i like that its more airbrush work in videos these days, its a great tool to use, Just keep going with it and in a couple of years youll have great control and understanding of it
Thanks for the video and leaving all that went wrong in it, it's refreshing to see its not plain sailing explaining what went wrong and how you went about fixing it. I think it's time to try out my airbrush again. Love the way the armour turned out in the end
at about the 12 minute mark you look like you're contemplating drinking the paint stripper - it looks like an incredibly frustrating process you've been through but you've had a fantastically positive attitude to all the problems cropping up and the finished mini looks great. nice one.
It was really refreshing to see someone learning a new process and having struggles while you ironed out how to get it working, or figuring out what works for you. That much more resembles my modelling and painting journey then so many of the other tutorials I see online. And the mini turned out great so your struggles definitely paid off. Kudos!
Best thing about painting a mini with an airbrush and then hating the result, it's super easy to strip or re-undercoat the mini and not loose detail because paint is soo thin 😊
At last, someone on TH-cam going through the same pain I did!!! It’s refreshing to see not everyone is an instant airbrush god. I feel much better about myself now 👍
Got an airbrush for Christmas 2 years ago. Have been intimidated to try it because of all the potential problems. This give me the confidence to just GO FOR IT, MAN!
This mirrored my experience pretty closely. I guess I take it for granted now that I don't get clogs and stoppages. Mostly just due to familiarity. Like all tools, proficiency grows with use. These steps forward on your airbrush journey will be priceless the next time you pick it up
Respect that you put out a video that's mostly about failing. Very relatable. I haven't tried airbrushing but I've definitely been there with other aspects of the hobby
I use tamiya or lacquer based paints through my airbrush, never had a blockage, when I use water based even when thinned correctly I can guarantee that at some point I will have to disassemble and clean the brush. Having a tooth brush and iso alcohol is also handy to clean the tip .
I think I’ve been painting long enough that I’d like to try airbrushing. Just seems like so much work to set up and use and clean and put away. That finished result looks AWESOME
Genuinely loved this video despite not originally being invested in the topic. I own an airbrush and having used it a bunch over the years I never really mastered it. This video sums up a lot of my experiences with airbrushing and I feel seen! 😂😂 Thanks Patrick for a great journey of a video, I look forward to more Honest Painter content. 😊
Lovely vibrant colours. If youre a noob it really isnt obvious. Im only a few months into using my airbrush and certainly agree, practice maked perfect! Well done and thanks!
Appreciate the honesty of this video. Its encouraging to see other people struggle and recognise that practice is what builds skill. The final paint job looked great, despite the initial set backs
Using Airbrush flow improver instead of thinners really is the key. Like thinners just dry the paint faster and that messes up the airbrushing process. Also to anyone who's still using and struggling with one of those compressors that came with a 40 euro airbrush set: throw it away and get a proper, cheap floor compressor for like 50 euros online. You really need to be able to manually set the PSI, and you want something that won't turn itself off every 15 minutes and overheat.
I thought the order was: Few drops of thinner > paint > flow improver > stir or backblow to mix > start painting. I saw an airbrush enthusiast say this is to prevent paint from sticking to the inside of the airbrush since those areas will be coated with thinner before any paint touches them.
Two really good good quotes that apply here: “Sucking at something is the first step towards being kinda good at something.” and “The greatest teacher, failure is.” Look how much progress you made in 48 hours! Keep banging away at it. I’m just starting my airbrush journey myself and I’m working hard to embrace failures and setbacks as integral parts of the process. You got this, man.
Echoing what others are saying here - I have an airbrush that I use infrequently, and find frustrating when I do use it (but the speed does help make the overall faff worthwhile). Glad to see it's common with other 'real' hobbyists out there when often the narrative on YT or other places is usually around flawless execution with £££ airbrushes. Nice work Pat.
I was afraid for a very long time. I kept buying things I thought I must have then decided I was just putting it off. I love it now. I'm not the best at it, but I tend to use it more and more as time goes on. Started as just priming, then base coating, etc. There really is a lot of things that it is good for.
I think you’ve made an awesome airbrushing video that shows an honest journey on where we all begin. Too many airbrushing tutorials are usually just ”do this and get good”. You have to invest a lot of time to learn anything new and it will be messy, but I find so many tutorials gloss over the very early challenges when starting out airbrushing. This vid I found very reassuring and has inspired me to pick up my airbrush again. Like you say, just got to keep trying! Cheers dude 💪
This has been great, some of the same issues I've found... It's nice to know that airbrushing isn't the silver bullet without putting the effort in. Keep up the good work!
I love this video! I’ve been struggling with very much the same (and a bunch of other) issues with my airbrushing and fixing my own slippages afterwards and it’s so educational and encouraging to see how you are overcoming them. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Love the trying to learn, bugger it if i'm good, vibe! Easy to be an expert and post a video showing off insane skills, cool to show that everyone starts somewhere. On the same path myself, cursing at my airbrush, paintbrush - calling up my water supplier and telling them it's the wrong water for my paints. Trying different ratios of thinner to paint, learning that changes on brand AND colour! Keep trying peeps, airbrushes are not a golden arrow, in fact I'd say they are a pain in the arse; but get it right, and they are lovely :)
Hi Pat, great video! I would imagine there’s a lot of folks who are intimidated by airbrushes: very good of you to share your experiences. And, of course, the video quality is exceptional 👍
I just started learning the airbrush as well and I’m going through the exact same learning curve. It’s nice to see that sometimes using the right product does make things a bit easier. It’s also nice to see some else make some of the mistakes before I do 😂
One of the most realistic vids of what airbrushing is really like , I had some of the same problems . It is a case of practice , practice and more practice, all of a sudden it will click and you will think what was all the fuss about ( hint it was the practice) . Keep up the great work TPP :)
Chin up Pat! You've basically basically sunk a weekend into learning new things! You will remember for next time and some problems will persist, but guarantee you will do things better with the next lot. Looks like you're doing ok. I'm still an amateur with Airbrushes and I for sure have my own problems with methods that everyone else seems to nail down. Only advice I would offer is to consider using a bigger nozzle for this job, you probably don't need 0.2 for basecoats on a Terminator :D
I was gifted an airbrush for Christmas three years ago, and I've barely used it because it is scary and new. I definitely relate with the anxiety in this video.
thank you for this video. we will in fact, bust out the airbrush this weekend and paint. we've been putting it off because it scares us and because brush painting is what we already knew, but you're right, there's no reason to buy a thing and not use it
Great video. Been working with my airbrush for two years and she can be a cruel mistress. Multiple failures and stripped miniatures has kept our love/hate relationship alive. Keep making more relatable content like this for us average hobby masses.
Oh wow - that result in the end! I was cringing for you during the first half of the video but when you did the streaking grime, chipping and those selective edge highlights - wow...instant grimdark imperial fists - very impressive!
If you didn’t experience problems, make mistakes, try new approaches, you’d never improve. So don’t worry, just practice. BTW, that Terminator looked great. Also, well done on correcting the brush mistakes as well as you did!
I pre-mix/thin my paints in cheap little plastic pots, it really helps stop blockages, especially with white as any chalky parts don't go straight down into the needle. Stopped the issue almost entirely for me.
As someone who has been in the hobby for 30+ years, iv'e also had the fear of using an airbrush. This video was a great honest introduction, without giving a hard sell. So well done. Still on the fence over it but no longer have the fear, just not sure it's for me. Kudos Pat, loving this content.
For transparent paint. Lower the pressure to 20-15psi worked for me to control how much opacity on the model as well as preventing spider webbing when I hold for air after I let the paint trigger go.
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Piggybacking off this to give you my top tip for preventing 90% of (my) stoppages: an old toothbrush head mounted within easy reach when airbrushing. I've glued mine to the holder I use for my brush. I have the bristles pointing straight up, and then I dribble a little water or alcohol on. Whenever I feel a clog/dried tip starting, i just rub the airbrush through the toothbrush. Sometimes I do it preventatively as well, sort of like rinsing a regular brush. Having the toothbrush head glued in place makes it incredibly easy to do, and I don't even have to empty out the airbrush cup first.
It obviously won't do anything for issues inside the airbrush, but it has solved almost all my issues during regular use. I hope my explanation makes sense, it felt awkward without showing pictures.
A normal video for a normal level painter. Good stuff, thanks for keeping the mistakes in. More of this painters journey stuff please. Will help ease everyone’s journey down that hobby trumpet and hopefully prevent anyone from getting stuck in it never to return. I to the warp of the hobby trumpet. Do you want to live forever?
It's good to know you're not the only one with such problems. I definitely can relate, been there done that and more (like setting too high PSI to basically tear off previous layers of paint).
100% I used to love when old white dwarfs showed armies that weren't eavy metal and you could see normal armies
Its very refreshing watching a video of someone showing their trial and error with airbrushing. I have had an airbrush that my wife got me for Christmas for over a year and have never used it because I am (like you) intimidated by the tool. Thanks for giving me some confidence to just go for it and see what happens no matter the results!
Try not to start with your paint in the pot first. It's good practice to go thinners/flow improvers first. Run them through for one or two small bursts and then add paints. This essentially lubes your needle a bit prior to spraying your paint. Makes cleaning easier too.
FWIW for stoppages, I saw a great tip on Airbrush Asylum, which is (for a dual action airbrush) to keep the airbrush air on at all times rather than doing short bursts. Short bursts makes it more likely to clog because when you cut off the air suddenly whatever paint is going through the mechanism dries half way out, so you're looking to reduce the number of times you cut off the airflow in a painting session
Well short bursts causing stoppages is dependent on the pressure your using and how thin the paint is.
Facts.
There are different ways to avoid this, Vince says to avoid blowing air through the airbrush unless there is also coming paint out because the airflow will dry any paint left on the needle. It has served me well, and I don´t have a lot of clogs, and a quetip on hand with airbrush cleaner on it to wipe the needle makes them even less frustrating.
Leaving the air on all the time made me enjoy air brushing
The main thing is to keep it on until after the paint has stopped. So if you continue painting it goes on full blast. If you stop just make sure that the paint is out before stopping the airflow. It takes some getting used to.
2:35 Sadly this can be a problem with a lot of things in life. Not just airbrushes. I think the terminator came out really nice. Well done!
It does just get in the way right??
Most painting tutorial channels are showing only their quality work/skills. Its wonderful to see someone fail. Failure is the only way to improve and its so so much more valuable to novices just learning how to paint. Kudos to you sir.
Love this. Not enough creators show the stress you go through learning all of this stuff. End result was cracking too. Lovely job.
Also, what are you using at 15:12...? Leaves a really nice after effect!
Dust effects by AK
Cult of Painting Phase collab? Get Henry up here for a well spoken gentlemen painter stream.
We have him in our sights. If he doesn’t duck and weave, he’ll be ours!
Airbrushing is significantly more difficult than a lot of hobby youtubers seem to suggest so thanks for making this. The end result was great and I'd love to see future attempts.
BIG THANKS for a very real video - constantly toying with the idea of getting an air brush - still scared. Brilliant.
Varnishes are normally like an acrylic base resin and they take a long time to harden properly, it's not the microsol melting your paint but probably the varnish when it was still soft. Hope that helps in future :)
I've had issues with liquitex inks and varnishes reactivate AK paints specifically. I think his primer is AK.
Primer is ak, yes. I'd like to try again and leave the varnish to harden overnight and see if that helps.
@@thepaintingphase inks tend to be fairly fragile, and i absolutely always regret rushing the ink>varnish>decal process. microsol is also acidic, and it will do a number on acrylic paint if it's not properly cured and you disturb it
I've had this issue as well, LOVE my AK paints but occasionally they turn into like a sticky/stringy goo when I do anything on top of them.@@lukeeaton2364
@matthewmacdougall3198 Absolutely agree. Microsol is totally unnecessary anyway. Just float decals in warm water with a TINY drop of Fairy Liquid. I do this in a shot glass. Themightybrush taught me this method, it's never gone wrong for me.
There's no true failure in mini painting. You either nail it 100% (which is never the case even if you're Richard Gray) or you learn and grow. Every mini painted is progress which can sometimes feel infinitesimal but progress nonetheless!
I have to say, with all the frustration you are talking about, the finished mini looks absolutely stellar.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your experiences with airbrushing. I've recently got into mini painting and also jumped on with an airbrush and this is more in line with my own experiences than a lot of the other tutorials online. Sharing your frustrations is an affirmation that mistakes happen but to keep pressing on and trying new things.
I was wincing abit when you started this video but was super stoked to see you finally achieve a super sweet looking miniature instead of giving up. I would encourage you to turn to resources like Vince Venturella for best practices regarding airbrushing. A few tweaks to the way you load your cup, maximum duration of paint in cup dwell time, and quick rinse practices will basically resolve 99% of the issues you had in this video. Glad to see you guys branching out!!
I'll take a look! Thanks for the tips!
@@thepaintingphaseVince has a couple excellent videos on airbrushing. I use his formula for thinner/flow improver and use similar ratios and very rarely get any clogging. I'm using a H&S Evolution.
@@thepaintingphase Strongly recommend Vince's video on quickly cleaning an airbrush, it made my workflow so much better and I really enjoy airbrushing now:)
Marco frisoni also has some brilliant videos about airbrushing, especially for inks/thin paints (air on the entire time, short bursts of paint) - I think they would help you a lot!
Vince‘s Videos made me not stressing out, when trying to airbrush. It is a lot more enjoyable and also faster process 👍
Well done Pat. It's very brave to film yourself doing the most important bit of the hobby that no one talks about - by which I mean failing better. It's something that not even the "big boys" have the stones to do and it's really refreshing.
Plus the end result was absolutely banging. I hope you were pleased enough to keep on going because a squad just like that would look fantastic.
Thank you for this video. An honest view of the first airbrushing attempts helps a lot!
Now I can say 'I' am not scared of airbrushing - I am part of a community, and 'we' are all scared together :)
The algorithm recommended this video to me. The fact that you showed where you stumbled and had issues made me subscribe.
It shows you are a normal human, unlike the "pro painters" who only show their best work in videos.
Good on you for sticking with it! It really is worth the time investment to learn. The model turned out excellent!
I'm quite experienced with the airbrush, and I can point out exactly where some of your problems were:
1) You need to thin almost everything you put through your airbrush, including inks, even though they feel thinner. Especially white. White pigment has a tendency to gum up. Thin your airbrush paints in a little container outside of the bowl so you can test the consistency before putting them through the airbrush. I go for milk consistency most of the time. There are these wonderful little metal, reusable mixing saucers that are perfect for this I got on Amazon. Also, thinner whites also go on smoother. If you mix in a little gloss medium and airbrush flow improver (which is basically retarder, not the same as airbrush thinner), then your white will be less chalky and more durable.
2) Keeping the airflow going while being gentle on the trigger is the way to go. I still keep the PSI around 30-40. You can do that without causing spider webbing as long as you build up the layers slowly and are gentle on the trigger.
3) Paints take longer to fully cure than you think, especially white ink, which should be dried over night. Applying a transfer straight away will wreck them. The issue is more visible with an airbrush because the layers are thinner. When using white ink and over airbrush layers, before I do any techniques that will stress the surface of the model, like decals or drybrushing, I wait an hour, gloss varnish (which you should also thin), then wait overnight and work on other stuff in the meantime.
In short, the adage "thin your paints" applies double with the airbrush.
Still a noob myself, I've found that if you aren't consistent with it, you tend to forget a lot of the little things you've learned along the way. Things like thinning the paint, air pressure, etc. I end up having to relearn between sessions. But then I'm old and forget easily. Great vid on the topic!
When mixing your paints, add the thinner first. It helps stop blockages because there isn’t thick paint at the front. It also helps mix the paint with the thinner better.
This video has restored my hope in my ability to learn. I have all these some frustrations so it is nice to know I'm not alone.
You can do it!
The airbrush is a fickle mistress and becomes more fickle the smaller the needle you use. Still you got a great result in the end!
As someone who bought himself a handheld air brush over Christmas and still hasn't worked up the courage to use it, I really appreciate an honest trial-and-error look at airbrushing. You've motivated me to bite the bullet and give it a go!
Go for it. You’re not going to break it and any mistakes can be fixed with a little bath in rubbing alcohol.
Thank you, just bought my first airbrush and assumed I was doing everything wrong. Looks like I need to spend time experimenting.
As far as stoppages, I would say thinning is even more important for the airbrush than in hand painting. Especially with how thin and quick drying the airbrushed layers are, I've found I can build up smooth layers without having to stop to unclog the nozzle and still batch paint faster than I would going by hand. Keep at it, you'll get there!
Thank you for this video. There are so many videos talking about how easy airbrushing is and it is just nice to see someone go though the problems they went through as a newbie to airbrushing. I learnt a lot and cheers.
Im so glad I finally made the plunge. Holy cow if any of you are on the fence, please do it!!!
Appreciate how honest this was. I found the airbrush a very difficult tool to learn. When it works its amazing, when it doesn't it's disastrous
This was really good to see a real warts and all. It has let me learn that I am not the only one. It really is practice makes perfect thank you
I bought everything for airbrushing and got so sad after trying the first time. And the second, third and fourth time. But when it clicked, it felt so good and you always learn. I’m quite comfortable with the airbrush now but i still make mistakes and i learn new things. Trying new paints with different viscosities and how to get white not to clog is an ongoing thing.
Keep up the good work and you will ”master” it in no time at all.
Dude. That came out really nice. Must be encouraging. You pushed through the hard bit. Just mix everything to the consistency of Liquitex ink and you're good.
One of the best tips I've gotten for airbrushing, esp as someone who is pretty new to it and not very experienced with thinning paints, is to buy a shower tile and prime it. Try your mix, make it thicker or thinner as needed, try again, etc etc until its right. Then, because its tile, when it gets overloaded with paint you can just rag + acetone and its like new!
It was also super helpful to do this so I could practice and get used to trigger control, the size of the spray, how far I should be from the mini, etc.
Having just got an airbrush I'm so thankful you put out this video!
Chin up Pat, it's a whole new set of skills to learn! And you're basically raw-dogging the learning part with trial and error and no-one to teach you in person. Your end result looks fantastic, even if you do think you put heaps too much time into it.
Really interesting video, nice to see a learning process and things going wrong rather than just flawless pros that I couldn't emulate anyway!
As it looks like the blockages are forming due to paint drying at the tip of the needle, it could of course be a thinning issue, but one thing which is often overlooked is the need to lube the needle. One drop of lube, rubbed all over the shaft should be enough to prevent this and let the liquid spray out much more smoothly!
(In all seriousness though, get a tube of airbrush lubricant for a few £, apply a very thin coat of it over the needle and it should help to avoid this type of blockage).
I enjoyed reading all of this comment, thank you for the advice!
I recently treated myself to an airbrush and have found the learning experience to be very fulfilling, difficult but fulfilling. I am far from great(or even good) at using it, but I am not over thinning or clogging the airbrush every time anymore!
One thing that I hear a lot about airbrushing(was even brought it up in this video) is that people find it to be annoying to set up, prep and clean. I personally haven't found it to be any better or worse than brush painting in that regard because I don't have a permanent set up for painting at all so I have to get out my paints and set up to paint every time as it is.
You seem stressed. Thank you for showing your failure. I fail often too, it's validating to see. I've never used an airbrush and this is making me think of learning
Mini looks awesome! Good work and such a good message. You can't just expect to bust out an airbrush and immediately be awesome at it.
Proper candid video with errors and issues for future novice airbrush users to look out for when working on their own projects- and I think the end result of that terminator looks awesome! Nice one Pat!
This is such a refreshing video to see and so valuable for people not to feel like airbrushing is instant cheating. Your approach to testing up different combos and not giving up is great. I don't see failures. I see a progression of practice and trial and error.
I do think that having a 0.2 mm needle may have been making it more difficult for you as that might struggle with larger pigment particles.
Just compare that final version of the Imperial Fist to the iron Warriors you did a year or so ago, and you will see how different the quality of the finished product is. You can be truly proud of the amount of growth you (and your beard) have gone through in the last year!
Hi ! Thanks for this video ! I'm not really an expert in airbrushing, but one advise I received and I can share is to always put thinner first in your cup before adding the paint. This will help avoiding your airbrush to be clogged.
That is a airbrush quality question, the better the brush the better the atomization of the paint is, in my opinion nothing beats harder&steenbeck brushes on that, but just keep going with the airbrush and you will get the feel for what youre doing wrong when things go wrong.
The paint must be totaly cured before you use the decal solutions on it or it will reactivate the paints. And its fun that you guys credit Darren latham for the sponge in the tube thing, that is actully a tool thats been sold for years and years in the scale model communety, even greenstuffworld has its own once
We credit Darren as that’s where we seen it for the first time.
@@thepaintingphase yeh he does have a lot of pepole following him and he uses the DIY once in a few clips, so i do understand why you think it was something he invented🙂. Was a fun video, i like that its more airbrush work in videos these days, its a great tool to use, Just keep going with it and in a couple of years youll have great control and understanding of it
Thanks for the video and leaving all that went wrong in it, it's refreshing to see its not plain sailing explaining what went wrong and how you went about fixing it. I think it's time to try out my airbrush again. Love the way the armour turned out in the end
Mate, that looks FANTASTIC! Well done!
at about the 12 minute mark you look like you're contemplating drinking the paint stripper - it looks like an incredibly frustrating process you've been through but you've had a fantastically positive attitude to all the problems cropping up and the finished mini looks great. nice one.
It was really refreshing to see someone learning a new process and having struggles while you ironed out how to get it working, or figuring out what works for you. That much more resembles my modelling and painting journey then so many of the other tutorials I see online.
And the mini turned out great so your struggles definitely paid off. Kudos!
Best thing about painting a mini with an airbrush and then hating the result, it's super easy to strip or re-undercoat the mini and not loose detail because paint is soo thin 😊
The model looks great Pat - its all just a case of practice! As you said huge improvements from the first attempt and you've learned a ton!
At last, someone on TH-cam going through the same pain I did!!! It’s refreshing to see not everyone is an instant airbrush god. I feel much better about myself now 👍
Got an airbrush for Christmas 2 years ago. Have been intimidated to try it because of all the potential problems. This give me the confidence to just GO FOR IT, MAN!
This mirrored my experience pretty closely. I guess I take it for granted now that I don't get clogs and stoppages. Mostly just due to familiarity.
Like all tools, proficiency grows with use. These steps forward on your airbrush journey will be priceless the next time you pick it up
For Dorn! Love this video and the demonstration of learning from mistakes. I'm now motivated to paint some Imperial Fists again.
Normal brush using peasant here. Bruh, the end result is absolutely phenomenal. You ought to be very proud of it. I would be!
Waiting for my first airbrush, Ultra 2024 right now. I’m extremely excited to add it to my toolkit. Can’t wait to make mistakes and learn.
Good work Pat
That final Terminator looks really good 👍
Respect that you put out a video that's mostly about failing. Very relatable. I haven't tried airbrushing but I've definitely been there with other aspects of the hobby
Your finished result looks amazing, what a learning experience for us all. Thank you.
I use tamiya or lacquer based paints through my airbrush, never had a blockage, when I use water based even when thinned correctly I can guarantee that at some point I will have to disassemble and clean the brush.
Having a tooth brush and iso alcohol is also handy to clean the tip .
I think I’ve been painting long enough that I’d like to try airbrushing. Just seems like so much work to set up and use and clean and put away.
That finished result looks AWESOME
Some of these brushes still need cleaning 😂
Genuinely loved this video despite not originally being invested in the topic. I own an airbrush and having used it a bunch over the years I never really mastered it. This video sums up a lot of my experiences with airbrushing and I feel seen! 😂😂 Thanks Patrick for a great journey of a video, I look forward to more Honest Painter content. 😊
Lovely vibrant colours. If youre a noob it really isnt obvious. Im only a few months into using my airbrush and certainly agree, practice maked perfect! Well done and thanks!
Appreciate the honesty of this video. Its encouraging to see other people struggle and recognise that practice is what builds skill. The final paint job looked great, despite the initial set backs
Using Airbrush flow improver instead of thinners really is the key. Like thinners just dry the paint faster and that messes up the airbrushing process.
Also to anyone who's still using and struggling with one of those compressors that came with a 40 euro airbrush set: throw it away and get a proper, cheap floor compressor for like 50 euros online. You really need to be able to manually set the PSI, and you want something that won't turn itself off every 15 minutes and overheat.
I thought the order was: Few drops of thinner > paint > flow improver > stir or backblow to mix > start painting. I saw an airbrush enthusiast say this is to prevent paint from sticking to the inside of the airbrush since those areas will be coated with thinner before any paint touches them.
That sounds like it makes sense, I'll give it a go!
Two really good good quotes that apply here:
“Sucking at something is the first step towards being kinda good at something.”
and
“The greatest teacher, failure is.”
Look how much progress you made in 48 hours! Keep banging away at it. I’m just starting my airbrush journey myself and I’m working hard to embrace failures and setbacks as integral parts of the process. You got this, man.
Echoing what others are saying here - I have an airbrush that I use infrequently, and find frustrating when I do use it (but the speed does help make the overall faff worthwhile). Glad to see it's common with other 'real' hobbyists out there when often the narrative on YT or other places is usually around flawless execution with £££ airbrushes. Nice work Pat.
I was afraid for a very long time. I kept buying things I thought I must have then decided I was just putting it off. I love it now. I'm not the best at it, but I tend to use it more and more as time goes on. Started as just priming, then base coating, etc. There really is a lot of things that it is good for.
I think you’ve made an awesome airbrushing video that shows an honest journey on where we all begin. Too many airbrushing tutorials are usually just ”do this and get good”. You have to invest a lot of time to learn anything new and it will be messy, but I find so many tutorials gloss over the very early challenges when starting out airbrushing. This vid I found very reassuring and has inspired me to pick up my airbrush again. Like you say, just got to keep trying! Cheers dude 💪
Awesome video. Appreciated meeting you and Geoff in Vegas. Fun trading old cross the pond Army stories with him.
This has been great, some of the same issues I've found... It's nice to know that airbrushing isn't the silver bullet without putting the effort in. Keep up the good work!
This was a great video by the way. Few show the mistakes and the struggles. It’s a process. Everyone has these issues. Great job
I love this video! I’ve been struggling with very much the same (and a bunch of other) issues with my airbrushing and fixing my own slippages afterwards and it’s so educational and encouraging to see how you are overcoming them. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Love the trying to learn, bugger it if i'm good, vibe! Easy to be an expert and post a video showing off insane skills, cool to show that everyone starts somewhere. On the same path myself, cursing at my airbrush, paintbrush - calling up my water supplier and telling them it's the wrong water for my paints. Trying different ratios of thinner to paint, learning that changes on brand AND colour! Keep trying peeps, airbrushes are not a golden arrow, in fact I'd say they are a pain in the arse; but get it right, and they are lovely :)
This is the most relatable video I've seen on this! One day I'll get it right, but glad to know it's not just me!
Hi Pat, great video! I would imagine there’s a lot of folks who are intimidated by airbrushes: very good of you to share your experiences. And, of course, the video quality is exceptional 👍
I just started learning the airbrush as well and I’m going through the exact same learning curve. It’s nice to see that sometimes using the right product does make things a bit easier. It’s also nice to see some else make some of the mistakes before I do 😂
One of the most realistic vids of what airbrushing is really like , I had some of the same problems . It is a case of practice , practice and more practice, all of a sudden it will click and you will think what was all the fuss about ( hint it was the practice) .
Keep up the great work TPP :)
No one is a professional painter from the get go, it’s trial, error, practice, more trials, more practice… and it’s takes time to master.
Chin up Pat! You've basically basically sunk a weekend into learning new things! You will remember for next time and some problems will persist, but guarantee you will do things better with the next lot. Looks like you're doing ok.
I'm still an amateur with Airbrushes and I for sure have my own problems with methods that everyone else seems to nail down. Only advice I would offer is to consider using a bigger nozzle for this job, you probably don't need 0.2 for basecoats on a Terminator :D
I was gifted an airbrush for Christmas three years ago, and I've barely used it because it is scary and new. I definitely relate with the anxiety in this video.
thank you for this video. we will in fact, bust out the airbrush this weekend and paint. we've been putting it off because it scares us and because brush painting is what we already knew, but you're right, there's no reason to buy a thing and not use it
Great video. Been working with my airbrush for two years and she can be a cruel mistress. Multiple failures and stripped miniatures has kept our love/hate relationship alive. Keep making more relatable content like this for us average hobby masses.
I was sitting here at about 75% through and thinking, man this is rough. Then I watched you finish it and the result was amazing! You did great man!
Thanks! Certainly comes together at the end... With the aid of grime and weathering.
Oh wow - that result in the end! I was cringing for you during the first half of the video but when you did the streaking grime, chipping and those selective edge highlights - wow...instant grimdark imperial fists - very impressive!
If you didn’t experience problems, make mistakes, try new approaches, you’d never improve. So don’t worry, just practice.
BTW, that Terminator looked great. Also, well done on correcting the brush mistakes as well as you did!
This was a cool journey Pat! Final model looked rad. Good work dude!
I pre-mix/thin my paints in cheap little plastic pots, it really helps stop blockages, especially with white as any chalky parts don't go straight down into the needle. Stopped the issue almost entirely for me.
This was a great video, it was very refreshing to see someone being honest and not just making the whole process look effortless. Thank you
Loved this! Nice to see you in front of the camera for a change 😊
Thanks for sharing your real experience. Give far more of an idea of what to expect
As someone who has been in the hobby for 30+ years, iv'e also had the fear of using an airbrush. This video was a great honest introduction, without giving a hard sell. So well done. Still on the fence over it but no longer have the fear, just not sure it's for me. Kudos Pat, loving this content.
Thank you for letting us see your struggles. It's very heartening for us new painters. :)
Oh Pat that was truly heartbreaking to watch in places!
I am too scared to even buy an airbrush, but your end result was outstanding!
You got it!
For transparent paint. Lower the pressure to 20-15psi worked for me to control how much opacity on the model as well as preventing spider webbing when I hold for air after I let the paint trigger go.
More of this please!