I think this is the only airbrush introduction video that mentions the amount of dust it makes in the room, which is what I feared! Thanks, now I know I need to prepare my room better before dipping my toes into airbrushing >
If you are scared about thinning your paints just buy a couple bottles of airbrush specific paint to get your feet wet. Once you get your technique down start doing some thinning and experimenting.
Thanks for your video! I follow your recommendation and bought an airbrush with big compressor, not anyone recommend bigger ones with tank but OK. I spent 90€ on the compressor and 30€ on the airbrush because for me the compressor is more important than airbrush. Airbrush mechanical is very simple, as you saw it cleaning it. What could be wrong? Twisted parts or something like that from production, which if come like that, please return it. But compressor is another history, it has electrical system, air system, cooling system, etc. No way to fix it easily. So that's my recommendation, go for medium level compressor and not the cheapest airbrush but something you can afford. And regarding airbushing, I love it. I am just zenithal priming with it but I love it more than painting with brush. I am scared to paint with airbrush detailed minis because all things related to cover parts but it's really pleased to paint. Thanks for your content, keep going Greetings from Barcelona
I am so happy I bought a proper compressor (where you have to put oil in). it was a major step up and it dead silent. Even when it kicks in it is barely audible, especially if you have some movie running or some music. never buy a compresser with no tank, but if you can spare the money, but one with oil cooling and not air cooled.
I don’t have an artistic bone in my body but I’ve taken up mini painting recently and really enjoy my airbrush. In the spirit of “buy nice or buy twice”, I picked up an Iwata HP-CS and an Iwata Smart Jet Plus and found them very easy to use right out of the box. Rather than purchase a spray booth, I use a Corsi-Rosenthal box I built a few months ago to draw in overspray. It works like a charm!
For brighter colors like yellow, definitely try a light grey primer, not black. Not necessarily white because I would still like to keep a zenithal effect using white ink and grey primer. I think your idea of base coating everything with airbrush gradients and then going in later with a brush to create fine edges and specular highlights is an excellent way to go about it. There are much quieter compressors out there that have an air tank to store the air as you airbrush. They might set you back $200 or so though. Spray booths are a must no matter where you are painting, especially when priming a large army as you pointed out.
Thanks Jason, Yeah, if I ever have to return the stuff I borrowed and invest in something new.. I'm thinking the compressor will get the most out of my wallet. I've got myself a booth by now. Makes a hell of noise as well unfortunately... 😂
@@52Miniatures yeah very true about the booth fan noise. Unless im priming large models or a large group of minis i just turn the fan off since Im doing this in the garage.
We bought an airbrush and spray booth and it has been worth it for priming alone. We live in a high humidity area and being able to prime indoors is a game changer. I am working to learn painting techniques.
Whether I could use my existing Citadel paints easily was the biggest concern I had. I didn't want to have to buy a whole new set of "airbrush" paints. So the biggest learning starting out (inspired by your honest experience here!) has been what to thin the paints with. Water and Vallejo airbrush thinner (acrylic medium, as I've come to understand it) starting at a 10:1 mix into a dropper bottle seems to work well for me, then I just add enough of that to make the paint run not as fast as water but not as thick as out of pot. I'm not sure if the Vallejo thinner is already diluted, so I _may_ just be further diluting it, but it seems to mix with the paints okay. What I don't like much is flow improver. As I understand it, flow improver helps with tip dry as it's a retarding medium. For priming, flow improver - a drop or two - seems beneficial as the primer has that extra stuff that makes it a bit more "sticky". But for normal acrylics, I've found it makes the drying times waaay too long and it makes the paint "pool", similar to a wash. The last thing I'd recommend is to get a "quick release" plug, so you can easily take the airbrush off the line to clean it without worrying about the compressor. I hope that might help someone in addition to the great info in this video :)
Excellent D! I still haven't really grasped flow improver. But I think, when getting down to really small needle sizes, working on small details... it might be a thing... I haven't tried yet, but I have been gifted a new airbrush with a 0.2 needle. And its tricky to get the paint through that thing. Oh, and yes, I now have a quick release :)
Don’t have a lot of airbrushing experience under my belt but I noticed that acrylics do tend to quickly block the nozzle. And that was using Vallejo Air, which is designed for airbrushes, plus some flow improver. I believe there are a few solutions. Firstly put thinner/flow improver in your airbrush before you add the paint - this is especially important if you ‘mix in the cup’, as the paint will start to dry in the airbrush before it’s mixed. Second, if you’re able to use stinky chemicals in your workplace (not all of us can) add some lacquer-type thinners. The best is apparently Gunzo’s Mr Leveller, which greatly improves flow without affecting drying times too much. But it does stink and is probably toxic too!
Great video, I painted four night haunts by brush few months ago and this has helped me want to actually use my airbrush which I have just used for priming.
I started airbrushing and got a really good high end one, and did all the mistakes with that one and got really dishearten with airbrushing and was about to give up. Then I bought a cheap one from Biltema (not there cheapest one, but a few bucks up) and what a blessing that one was, works like a charm for 90% of my airbrush work, which is priming and base coating. Then a quick connector over to the more expansives one, or just just the normal brush from there.
Good video I'm also at the same point of debating if to buy an airbrush or not, if I do I'm going to try an airbrush booth with an extension exhaust hose to deal with the fumes. On another note I will use your "rattle cans cost over time" theory on the wife and see if that will swing the argument my way financially.
In that war you are not only allowed but enticed to use any weapon you have on hand. Be it the saving money on cans, the ecology of not throwing fumes the the atmosphere or cans to the trash bin 😆
Another thoughtful, reasoned vid talking us through the challenges in exploring another aspect of the hobby, whilst the new experience is still fresh in the mind. This is what 52M does so well, everything he raises is a valid concern that I found myself. Maybe I don't get as much dust when priming, that might be because I use thinner paint and multiple very thin layers, not sure. Don't buy the very cheap airbrushes, they're frustrating to keep working. One thing I did with the cheap .5mm I got free with my compressor was polish the end of the rather roughly machined needle gently with a very mildly abrasive jewellery polish. Now the paint sticks a lot less and I can use it to prime 40 or 50 models without a full take apart and clean halfway through. Careful though, mine started out so crap I had nothing to lose. The thing I'd add is choose the right needle size for what you're doing. 0.5 is good for vehicles and terrain, great for priming figures. 0.3 is a good starting brush, you can zenithal highlight or other value sketch to create light, spray cloaks and armour, put detailed camo on vehicles and varnish minis. 0.2 is when you can start to block in colours and even spray details, trousers, and with care and careful planning, or with masking, faces, arms larger weapons, folds in cloaks etc. A jet/needle this fine needs to be a quality brush or it'll dry and clog ALL the time, and you need to have grasped paint thinning, not mastered necessarily but pretty assured and that judgment only comes with experience. Start with an entry level 0.5 or maybe a 0.3, beware buying a high end brush at the start because you may well destroy a couple of needles before you're used to stripping, cleaning and rebuilding it. Keep it medically clean, if you wouldn't put it in your mouth, it's not clean enough. (Don't put it in your mouth...) A 0.15 needle is just like a 0.20 only more so. Hope that helps.
Another topic occurs, 52M rightly talks about an airbrushed "look", and that's perfectly true spraying opaque layers of matt paint. Less obvious if you're spraying filters or glazes over a base or a value sketch (whether airbrushed or brushed) or a metallic (I only use vallejo metal colour - it's superb) but again I'll tint it with ink or glaze over it. I often thin my paints (mostly vallejo game colour) with artist ink as well as thinner, they combine a thinned consistency with strong pigmentation - ideal for an airbrush, they often dry satin or glossy but a little matt medium or if you plan to finish with matt varnish, takes care of that, especially on cloth - experiment. Whilst you're learning, thin paint in an old mini blister or a little tin dish, be able to mix it, stir it, slosh it back and forth, brush it up the side and watch it run, judge the opacity, and check for bits in it, then pour it into the cup of the airbrush. I still don't mix anything in the cup itself. Have a blast and get really good!
Priming is when I'm putting out paint steadily and almost constantly which is very different than other airbrushing. I don't have a booth or extractor. I prepare 40, 50, 100 models at a time depending on the wait for a dry day above 12*C, Put a folding table just outside the back door with a cardboard box on it (thankyou Amazon) put the lot out and wearing a vinyl glove on my left hand (same one for weeks) I hold up and spray each mini. Hold the brush straight and twist and turn the mini. First coat is just to get primer over all of the surface Take the box back into the warm kitchen to dry, repeat till full opacity. Switch to a white ink with a bit of white paint in it and zenithal each, again as many thin layers as needed for the light effect I want. Airbrushing is so much quicker that you'll have the time for patient effects. Clean the brush anytime the paint isn't a perfect fine symmetrical spray. Don't be tempted to push on - it'll be way harder to clean if you push it.
Thanks for all the tips Allwyn. It sounds like you batch up a lot of minis at the same time! It seems like I might have a new airbrush incoming. That will give me some different needle choices and I look forward to experimenting with that. As of now I've only been using the 0.4 that comes with the Neo I borrowed.
@@52Miniatures 0.4 is a perfect starting point and the Neo is an ideal brand point for a quality starter brush that doesn't break the bank. Even better to borrow one as you did. Honestly I'm still on a chinese copy of of my ideal brush, again I polished the needle but it's actually well made and a joy to use. That was just luck tho, when you buy something like it they are almost always a waste of time. Starting out I just didn't know that and wound up with three before I learned - 1 junk, 1 for priming and terrain, 1 good Luckily I 'd bought a decent, quiet compressor with an air tank. I lined a cardboard box with polystyrene to put over it for when I'm listening to my book or music (or when the wife is around). Does make it run a little hotter but not worryingly so. My best recommendation for you is to use artist inks through it, you'll love how they filter and glaze through your brush. I use Daler Rowney but the Liquitex I have work even better. As soon as I saw your Ninja Rangers I could see you accenting your super matt camo and your beasts with them.
I love your channel man. You have a very unique approach on your channel and have just amazing video production. You make beautiful miniatures. I'd love to have a more in depth approach on what you have learned with an airbrush. Put up some painting tutorials man!
This is great info for me. I've been painting for about 3 years but haven't added an airbrush to my toolkit. I've been considering it lately, so I appreciate this information!
@@52Miniatures There are, for sure. I can also tell that you enjoyed experimenting and trying cool things with it, which is my favorite part of the hobby. Those Stormcast cloaks look particularly fantastic, and when you get in there to detail them with a brush, they're going to be even better!
Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting this done, I just need to get a hold of myself and stop starting other projects all the time :)
i Love the way you explain the airbrush and what is expected with it and its use. I was given one and then bought the compressor after. I wish I had researched it more before buying to compressor. i use the airbrush for terrain and it works great. Cleaning can take some time though as you explained.
Mixing up batches of paint sounds like a good idea. I’ll have to think about that. I second saving money on priming. Once you start Zenithal priming with the air brush, and than try glazing over that, you can get so much done so fast!
Yeah! I “rattlecaned” a couple of the houses yesterday. Went through an entire can of black primer.... most of it is still stuck on the lawn... feels like a huge waist of materials and not great for the lawn or the environment in general. Great to see you in the live stream the other day Josh :) hope you are well.
Its important to start with a quality airbrush, I made the mistake of starting with a cheap 20 euro airbrush, and while it is good for priming, for other things its not. The cheap airbrushes are made of cheap materials and you have to be extra careful not to bend or damage anything.
I can definitely see that. Also, I’m thinking. If one is considering getting an airbrush... well then your already kind of deep into the hobby and most probably you will like airbrushing. So going straight for a decent airbrush, saves you money from, you know, getting a cheap one and then wanting to upgrade.
Absolutely agree on not buying a cheap airbrush. Nothing more frustrating than struggling with an airbrush, a cheap one will just increase your struggles.
I love how everybody paying thousands of Euros on Miniatures , and then hesitates on a couple hundered bucks for a priming machine that is also the high end in fine detail.
I'm fairly new to airbrushing myself. I pretty much agree with everything you said in the video, but the one thing that I learned is that true metallic colors are notoriously iffy going through an airbrush do to the size of the metallic particles. Trying to spray leadbelcher through my Patriot 105 caused too many clogs to count - however, Vallejo's airbrush ready metallics are fantastic through an airbrush, and I highly recommend them.
As someone who's used both airbrushes and regular brushes extensively, I can say with certainty that you can do virtually anything without one, but the time-saving is just too great to be ignored. You can save SO MUCH time even if you're not doing anything advanced.
@@52Miniatures Oh yes. When you mentioned the cost of the Chaos Black spray I had to go look it up, and yes. My airbrush has definitely paid for itself. Plus, I got to learn some new skills
Started airbrushing not that long ago and I bought a spray booth from aircom which have filtration so there is no need for a hose which is really nice if you don't have space next to a window or other ventilation. Works really good. Also as I dont like to mix the paint in the cup I looked around for some plastic ones to use. As it happen where I live you can buy eggs in plastic racks which is perfect to cut down and use as mixing cups. Another big part which I struggled with alot in the beginning was cleaning and not clogging the airbrush, especially when you want to switch colors. It was not so much painting and more cleaning. After wathcing alot of videos on the topic I found vince venturellas one on cleaning which had some really good info that actually worked. Highly recommend watching. Looking forward for more great content. Cheers!
Hey Your Majesty, I mean Martin. I bought a booth from Leif (Devs&Dice), It does have a massive hose that I put out through the window. The thing is it makes so much noise, and with the airbrush compressor noise... well I can't really airbrush while anyone else is at home. So opening a window isn't really an issue. I keep it in the basement and just bring it up every now and again. The up side with all this is that when I do airbrush, I do it in the kitchen. So keeping the airbrush clean is a breeze, running water and the sink is just a meter away. It was actually the only subject I "researched" before airbrushing... how to keep it clean. I very seldom get clogging... if I do it's usually with primers. I'm not a huge fan of mixing in the cup, but quite often I use real small quantities of paint... so it's just the easiest way in that case. The egg plastic sounds smart! Nice to hear from you Martin, nice to hear about your airbrush experience.
You definitely can have airbrush areas in your home. I have a cardboard box set up on top of my girlfriend's bookcase. I just cut most of the flaps off of the top and leave the other to fold down in front. This makes a great space to catch the overspray. A lamp you can adjust the lighting to where you want/need is ideal as well. My suggestion for your first brush is midrange or better. I wholly get not wanting to spend a lot, but buying one you can actually get replacement parts for is important.
Great video ! I think one thing that you neglected to mentioned was needle size as that makes a big difference in how much control, detail and fine lines that you can get out of a airbrush. I have a Neo and a Badger Patriot 105, both have different needle sizes and they are great brushes especially the Patriot.
Thanks Ken, and very true. I have kept going with the one I used in the video, the Neo I borrowed. But I do have a more expensive on incoming, with choices for finer needles. Kind of did not want to talk about needles in the video, because I have no personal experience with anything but the 0.4.
I've found a pretty practical (I think) way to have an airbrush in a small space. I use a "portable bottle compressor" from green stuff world and I spray my minis against a vertical piece of cardboard so the paint that doesn't hit the model hits the cardboard. I wear a mask for extra safety but I don't have any problems of paint dust collecting anywhere. The main inconvenient is that the compressor has a battery so I have to remember to charge it before airbrushing, but so far it worked pretty well.
That’s nice Luca. I’ve been looking at maybe getting something like that. Maybe for small touches of airbrush. So that I can use it without it all becoming a big project.
I’ve been looking at an airbrush set up as well I’m toying with the idea of making a sound proof box to put it in with a small hole to let the hose out of
Putting the compressor in a cupboard padded with styrofoam probably helps a lot. Just make sure it’s not too sealed... the compressor needs air after all.
you touched all the topics.. and the climax: the compressor sound, and the answer to the problem is a cliff hanger! oh nooo :) (I do not (yet) have an airbrush but the sound problem is one I have not yet found a conclusive answer... just like relying on the "description" of a product with "silent" does not sound like a good idea)
I think there are workarounds with the sound. Worth checking out at least. I have heard people building foam boxes (not airtight obviously) and stuff like that. I've even been told about adding specific components, like from refrigerators or something... Have a google :)
So a few points. 1) it's not the propellant in rattle cans that gets you, it's the lacquer paint. 2) any aerosolized paint is on some level toxic. 3) that mask is 'okay' for basic water-based acrylics, but if you're serious, you need to pick up a respirator. If you're spraying Tamiya acrylics, or any other lacquer based paints, you 100% need a respirator, those dust masks will not protect you. 4) I think you meant de-ionized water :) 5) nice video
Great video as always. When I just got my airbrush I found the most frustrating thing to be a clogged airbrush. Good advice on keeping it wet. It's easy enough for me to clean the needle and make sure it's clean, so I leave the airbrush and the needle dry, but I put just the nozzle by itself into pure alcohol after cleaning it. Stays really really clean. My iwata came with a 0.35 mm needle, which is great for really tiny details. But I found the general usability of the 0.5 mm needle to be a lot better. Much faster priming, and with practice you can reach the same level of detail.
Thanks! Yes, I have had no major clogging issues. I try and be careful with cleaning properly, but also keep the airbrush wet if I don't have the time to clean properly. I still don't have a proper airbrush "space" but I bought one of the booths with a fan attached. I take it out and build up a temporary airbrush station every time I need to airbrush. A bit of a hassle. But the good thing with this is that I always set the airbrush up in the kitchen, next to the sink. Having a sink and running water so close means I just never have any cleaning or clogging issues. Pretty nice actually.
Great video, I built a spray booth out of a medium moving box and 5mm foam board. To exhaust fans I used some computer case fans I had in my parts box. It’s set up in the garage. Luckily my garage has vents and that where the exhaust hose is connected to. Only downside was I had to buy a stronger exhaust fan. I have the same space issue as you. I currently take up half the dining room table during my paint sessions. I saw you have backyard sort of, could you fit a small plastic tool shed and use that for painting ( spray painting). Your videos are awesome keep up the good work.
I’ve managed to get my hands on a spray booth as well. It does make a terrible ruckus but it does the trick. I can stick the ventilation pipe out through the kitchen window and sit at the kitchen table when I airbrush. It’s all so terribly noisy though, so I can only do it when no one else is home - something quite unobtainable at the moment, pandemic and all. But at least it’s something :) You’re right, there is a backyard, unfortunately it’s not mine. I live in an apartment, it just happens to be on the bottom floor :) Your solution sounds good, it’s great with some diy!
I use a 3M respirator with my airbrush paint extractor booth. If anyone thinks this is redundant - try it out and be shocked at how your respirator filters look after a month or so of airbrushing. Seems the booth is only good for keeping the particles from straying too far from the booth - but you would still be inhaling a crud load of particles without the respirator.
Agree with buy quality. Don't need the highest most espensive model in the range. 100% reliable and very good are Tamiya 74901 (Sparmax OEM rebadge), Sparmax Max-3, Iwata Neo HP.CN. Badger (Patriot 105) and Omni 4000 used to be in that list, but they're too expensive now and fall into the next tier price segment up with puts them competing against the likes of GSI Creos and Iwata. Personally, for a top quality airbrush for relatively little money, Sparmax's SP-35 or Max-3. Can't go wrong.
I use a really (like REALLY) cheap airbrush from Wish to prime my models. It's not at all fancy, and the compressor only has a single (very low pressure) setting, but it speeds up priming soooo much compared to brushing it on. I very much suggest anyone interesting in starting airbrushes to just find someone like that, and then in the future, get a proper airbrush with an adjustable compressor.
A good idea for the priming Kim! I must say that was a bit of a mind blowing experience (exaggerating a tad just for effect), priming the minis. Just how smooth and thin it was.
Great video, thank you.. I have been using an airbrush for about two years and you nailed most of the pit falls have I had. I never though ot storing the brush in water/thinner, might give it a try. The only thing that concerns me, is how the rubber o-ring will hold up in the solution.
I think that depends on the brand of Airbrush. Some have a tougher plastic o ring, some use rubber. I think one should be mindful about that. The recommendations from my new, expensive airbrush - is to not store it in airbrush cleaner. But - also how long it is stored? Like, if I know I will be doing a fair bit of airbrushing during a couple of days, I don't think to much about it. But I would not do it for long term storage. And, it works pretty we with just water (de-ionised, distilled).
Top-end brushes have teflon o-rings, which shouldn’t be too badly affected by solvents. The really vicious solvents seem to be acetone-based and are very smelly. They will eat almost any plastic/rubber compound over time. Isopropyl alcohol is generally one of the milder solvents and also one of the better ones. You can get a litre bottle for about €2,50 online.
I bought an airbrush to save money on rattle can primers and varnishes...and to save my lungs from all those vapors. In a year and a half that I have an airbrush I think I saved almost a 100 € in rattle cans (especially for terrain) and that is almost the price of my airbrush + compressor. I still use my airbrush mostly for (zenithal) priming and varnishing, but it saves a lot of time and effort when I have some smooth surfaces that I wish to paint some gradient on or some similar effect. Btw, thanks for the video :)
I’m prepared to agree :) I do pretty much the same and I’m happy to save to money not buying cans, also feel a bit better not having to pray all to much stuff into not only my lungs but nature at large.
An advice/observation about compressors, when you buy one. The ones without an air tank are generally quieter, but run all the time, as you said. The ones with the tank are more noisy when filling the tank...so plan on getting as big a tank as you can fit in your space. Also get one or two moisture traps. I had to put one at the exit from the compressor and one at the exit of the hose...but I live near the sea and it is warm and moist all the time and moisture condensates in the hose.
I just have a cardboard box that I spray into, and I've never noticed paint dust anywhere other than in the box and in my lungs. No seriously, I don't think a box with pipes is necessary, just a box is 👌🏻
I haven't tried the just the box, but got a proper booth. It works real well, only makes - a lot - of noise. I think I'm a bit of a messy airbrusher, doing a lot of zenithal priming from quite the distance. That sort of spreads... so for me the booth is a good thing I think... for small details... with a thin needle.. probably not even a box is required.
Can't add much (yet I'll ramble), you did a quite exhaustive list here. Cleaning and dilution is something you get used to over time and you end doing it on autopilot. The AB look is something you get rid of when you mix and match techniques: edge highlights here, a wash there... Oil washes are a big thing cause you can get your paint into recesses bringing contrast without killing the gradients you achieved. Mediums affect paint to great extent: thinner dries faster so I use it for primming and varnishing. Yeah, you'll save on varnish cans too. Flow improver has acrylic retarder agents which keeps paint from drying that fast. On what does an AB do, it's not just the free gradients you can get in no time / effort. You also work so thin you can apply SMOOTH surfaces without leaving brush strokes. That really matters to people painting big surfaces like tanks or robots. You can also glaze really thin and transparent colors like diluted inks: AB has a good use not only in the starting phases of work but in the whole process. Most important info bit you dropped here is the OMEGA EQUATION. Put noise and / or potential fumes in the same equation as your wife/husband or kids and the result will always be the end of all living forms. And by all living forms I mean you. 😁 Some paints are straight bad out of the AB. If your red in example, has cadmium on it, etc you are atomising cadmium for anyone to breath. Maybe that has changed now, but I recall old (I mean Matusalem old) Vallejo paints had a warning in the label advicing not to AB that given color. It could be a red, it could be certain green... It's worth a check nonetheless. It's no big deal, I've been working my entire life without mask, be it airbrushing or in a silicate dust rich environment and I'm still fine on my 40s, but I know it's not good and some people may concern. Booths would take that out of equation. Concerning noise, you can build a foam box arround the compressor to kill the noise: that's the way we did at my job place. This brings me to something affecting different compressors: the more time you work, the hotter it gets. And hot air condensates (inside the air reserve) resulting in water squirts thru the AB. You might want to check out for a moisture trap. This also applies to the noise box (heating and humidity). In the end you don't NEED anything of that, you can go naked and airbrush freely, and have big fun. Well, pants are strongly encouraged I guess. Great vid, as always Alex.
Smooth... yeah! I forgot to mention that. The most positive and obvious think in front of me :) All those scale model tanks and airplanes I saw as a kid, painted up in a lovely store down town (shut down now unfortunately) are no longer a mystery to me. I definitely see what you mean with contrast, I'm still working on my test model to see where my army is going to go now that I have a regular brush in hand. I've got to say that I really appreciate the "washed out" look. I've tested some ink's, regular washes, and oil washes. For these minis in front of me I think I might skip the contrast :) and just go for highlights. But for other projects... definitely. Through the testing I'd say oil washes was my personal favourite. Second in place comes Vallejo washes... they have always been a bit of a mystery to me, very unlike the Citadel washes... but on airbrushed stuff I can see what they are about. Foam box is a great idea! Still making up plans for the airbrush. Might have to buy a new house. I used to dream about having a house so big that I could have a specific room to use as a library... the library has now been scratched out and is replaced with "airbrush room" :)
@@52Miniatures wow, to buy a whole new house to get a room for the airbrush, you liked it that much? I use my guests room in a slightly different manner 😆 I feel you: when I got mine I had clearly in mind it had to be a space for me to sculpt, paint, etc so dust, resin fumes and all won't bother wife. Keep in mind your room will be a MAGNET to whoever's job is solely destroying your thing: I remember as a kid sneaking dad's room to see the enamel paint rack and the planes. Heck, even nowadays my parrot wich has a broken wing manages to sneak in to bite brushes while I paint. BTW never ever skip the books: in the long run that's the best and lovelyest material thing we ever have in life, at least IMHO. Greatest ideas come always from stuff brewed in your brain rather than social media pics. These are brain snacks but books are the meat. Unfortunately with that global disease my willing to read kinda evaporated but hopely it's just a stage. All the best.
I've seen some very cheap airbrush kits with rechargeable mini handheld compressors that attach directly to the airbrush. They can run as low as 50ish $ US. I've been thinking of getting one just for priming so I don't have to go outside, or buy rattlecans. Anyway, I really have to consider these things alot cause the only thing more limited than my budget, is my hobby space. Infact I need to shrink my hobby space down even smaller lol
I have no idea how those work for minis, so I can’t really give you a solid tip. If I hear anything I let you know. But I definitely get where you’re coming from, it’s the same for me. At the moment I’m looking into the possibility of setting up my airbrush at work... there is a specs there I could use... only then I have to transport minis and paint back and forth. At the moment I’m airbrush (mainly priming) outdoors, but - winter is coming...
@@52Miniatures well, are you the boss where you work? Do you have keys to come and go as you please? If so you could potentially just do your hobbying at work. If not, well all our little plastic men and paints are quite pricey. I wouldn't want mine left anywhere I didn't have a key to lock them up and have access to them whenever I wanted. So, I would have a really nice system to transport them in place before trying that.
It’s a very small workplace, no worries about that kind of stuff but very much enjoy some evening painting at home... well we shall see how things go. Airbrushing outdoors during a Swedish winter is probably not awesome... frozen paint and frostbite 🥶
silly putty is great for masking with an airbrush, in terms of thinning the consistency of milk is the general rule the thumb. If its super close detail lower the airpressure and thin the paint a bit further. use and old fridge compressor hooked up to an air tank. best thing i ever did. few good vids on diy silent compressors. yeah i love it i can talk over it and you can barely here it the background. How often do you truly here your fridge other than a slight hum :) hope this helps anyone thinging of getting into airbushing.
Thanks you for the tips M. What is Silly Putty? Silly for silicone? I think when the time is right, I will be looking into a better compressor. Mine is not "over talkable"
@@52Miniatures yeah i know that one my first ran at around 55-60db which was crazy. certainly annoyed the neighbours with that one. Hence this inspiration to do the silent comp. Was a big learning curve doing the project but i enjoyed it. I spent around £50 on parts and a Pro Bambi silent compressor is around £500 so well worth it. the silly putty is ls something for kids :) its a silicone putty that you can keep on re using but its really gentle on your paint. dead easy to shape too. www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=silly+putty i also use this too for more intricate masking www.artifolk.co.uk/daler-rowney-masking-fluid-75ml-87114.html?gclid=CjwKCAiApNSABhAlEiwANuR9YBlo01vm7l6Rm5GvozKPn7udFObKyVHnln0S37CgJn5nWo70R0S4TxoCzdUQAvD_BwE
@@52Miniatures no worries, hope it helps. one thing i love most about the miniatures & modeling comunity is hsaring skills. everyone aproaches stuff silgihtly differently and there's so many techiques we can learn from one another :) recntly just watched your liquid frost vid and found some great bits i hoping to give a try an apply to my upcomming project. I'm mainly build and painting gunpla at the mo so putting them in a setting makes the piece for me. So was really interesting to watch what could be achieved with that product, good looking snow is notoriously hard
I do my airbrushing in the garage; I find dampness can play a factor, with a little water finding its way into the hose.. So i recommend a second air condensing tap connected to the bottom of the airbrush; in addition to the regular one attached to the compressor. Hope that helps someone
Good video mate, I bought myself the same airbrush as my first one a year ago or so... unfortunately lockdown prevented me from having any proper lessons... but it has been a great tool for priming, basic OSL stuff etc! I’ve found a pipette for the airbrush thinner has been really useful, as gives much more consistent “drops” I’ve found myself very seldom Using “flow improver” I hint this one is a bit more niche... and having a compressor with a tank would be my main change now, as the tankless ones overhear quite quickly, leaving you a much shorter working time... also much louder! P.s, the Siri bit had me in bits 😂
Thanks Tom. Pipette is smart! Guessing the size of drops is tricky. And I agree, I got the flow improver at get go... but I am finding myself only using thinner.
B4 u let off the trigger make sure the last thing blown out is just air if not than when u go to push trigger again it'll spurt spider web lookin paint messing up ur work.
If you’re clever with your hands it’s not too difficult to power your airbrush from an old car tyre. A bit inconvenient having a huge tyre in your den, but should give you enough experience to decide if you like airbrushing.
Thanks for the tip SRS. I think this probably depends on ones situation. For someone like me who lives in the middle of a city, and does not own a car. Getting hold of a tyre is not something done easily :)
@@52Miniatures - We have some of our neighbour’s 🧑🌾agricultural 🧑🌾 machinery in our barn-shed so it’s quite easy for me to borrow 👨🏼🔧 a wheel for an evening’s airbrushing. If I’m careful they don’t even notice the slight deflation of the tyres. Nah, just pulling your leg. I have a Chinese compressor with tank :-) It cost about €70. Just thought it was interesting that in emergency you could power your airbrush that way. But I am just wondering if I can use the compressor to pump up my bicycle tyres...
I'd liken it to pigment dust. So try and wipe it and it "smears". This mainly becomes an issue when pushing a lot of paint through the airbrush. Like when priming. I'm kind of guessing it is also down to technique. I was used to priming with rattle cans.. And I would never stick a rattle can close to a mini... But with an airbrush, one can get closer, and thus less paint goes all over the place. That being said... the filter on the "spray booth" I got is no way near clean looking. I'd I would not have wanted all that dust in my apartment.
Yes and No is my best answer.... The dust can sometimes be dusted, sometimes it sticks and most often it starts to rub into everything when you try and dust. Probably a vacuum is best?
I think the water is DE-ionized , regular water is a bit ionised with minerals and salts and things. Distilled water is also good :-) Also a good friend of mine said an airbrush is worth the investment if you're a 'lifer' in the mini painting hobby and also that your airbrush should be as close to 'sugically clean' as you can get :D Love this channel! Oh also - the advice for which brand/model to get there is a great video of a seminar by the head of Badger from the US who essentially recommended that all of the established brands do their job well, and that a more important factor is the availability of replacement parts such as needles or seals. EG in Europe H&S is easier to get than Badger th-cam.com/video/tsW-vN0_lHw/w-d-xo.html
I don't know if you've improved the cleaning of your airbrush, but if you're still having issues, Vince Venturella has an excellent fast airbrush cleaning video. (th-cam.com/video/yEIJs1c4bsQ/w-d-xo.html)
I think this is the only airbrush introduction video that mentions the amount of dust it makes in the room, which is what I feared! Thanks, now I know I need to prepare my room better before dipping my toes into airbrushing >
It all depends on what one does. Some fine detailed work... I wouldn't worry to much. Priming, definitely dusty.
i have never noticed any dust, maybe im concentrating too hard :-D or maybe its because i do it into a cut out box
I like hearing about the country house
It’s a nice place. Not mine unfortunately but “in the family” :)
If you are scared about thinning your paints just buy a couple bottles of airbrush specific paint to get your feet wet. Once you get your technique down start doing some thinning and experimenting.
I'm not sure how I missed this video, but I've found it, now, and I really enjoyed it!
I'm glad you did Emily :)
Thanks for your video! I follow your recommendation and bought an airbrush with big compressor, not anyone recommend bigger ones with tank but OK. I spent 90€ on the compressor and 30€ on the airbrush because for me the compressor is more important than airbrush. Airbrush mechanical is very simple, as you saw it cleaning it. What could be wrong? Twisted parts or something like that from production, which if come like that, please return it. But compressor is another history, it has electrical system, air system, cooling system, etc. No way to fix it easily. So that's my recommendation, go for medium level compressor and not the cheapest airbrush but something you can afford.
And regarding airbushing, I love it. I am just zenithal priming with it but I love it more than painting with brush. I am scared to paint with airbrush detailed minis because all things related to cover parts but it's really pleased to paint.
Thanks for your content, keep going
Greetings from Barcelona
Glad to hear it Maxi, thank you.
I am so happy I bought a proper compressor (where you have to put oil in). it was a major step up and it dead silent. Even when it kicks in it is barely audible, especially if you have some movie running or some music.
never buy a compresser with no tank, but if you can spare the money, but one with oil cooling and not air cooled.
Thanks for the tip B!
I don’t have an artistic bone in my body but I’ve taken up mini painting recently and really enjoy my airbrush. In the spirit of “buy nice or buy twice”, I picked up an Iwata HP-CS and an Iwata Smart Jet Plus and found them very easy to use right out of the box. Rather than purchase a spray booth, I use a Corsi-Rosenthal box I built a few months ago to draw in overspray. It works like a charm!
For brighter colors like yellow, definitely try a light grey primer, not black. Not necessarily white because I would still like to keep a zenithal effect using white ink and grey primer. I think your idea of base coating everything with airbrush gradients and then going in later with a brush to create fine edges and specular highlights is an excellent way to go about it. There are much quieter compressors out there that have an air tank to store the air as you airbrush. They might set you back $200 or so though. Spray booths are a must no matter where you are painting, especially when priming a large army as you pointed out.
Thanks Jason, Yeah, if I ever have to return the stuff I borrowed and invest in something new.. I'm thinking the compressor will get the most out of my wallet. I've got myself a booth by now. Makes a hell of noise as well unfortunately... 😂
@@52Miniatures yeah very true about the booth fan noise. Unless im priming large models or a large group of minis i just turn the fan off since Im doing this in the garage.
We bought an airbrush and spray booth and it has been worth it for priming alone. We live in a high humidity area and being able to prime indoors is a game changer. I am working to learn painting techniques.
I agree! I also feel better not releasing all those gas particles into the air.
Whether I could use my existing Citadel paints easily was the biggest concern I had. I didn't want to have to buy a whole new set of "airbrush" paints. So the biggest learning starting out (inspired by your honest experience here!) has been what to thin the paints with.
Water and Vallejo airbrush thinner (acrylic medium, as I've come to understand it) starting at a 10:1 mix into a dropper bottle seems to work well for me, then I just add enough of that to make the paint run not as fast as water but not as thick as out of pot. I'm not sure if the Vallejo thinner is already diluted, so I _may_ just be further diluting it, but it seems to mix with the paints okay.
What I don't like much is flow improver. As I understand it, flow improver helps with tip dry as it's a retarding medium. For priming, flow improver - a drop or two - seems beneficial as the primer has that extra stuff that makes it a bit more "sticky". But for normal acrylics, I've found it makes the drying times waaay too long and it makes the paint "pool", similar to a wash.
The last thing I'd recommend is to get a "quick release" plug, so you can easily take the airbrush off the line to clean it without worrying about the compressor. I hope that might help someone in addition to the great info in this video :)
Excellent D! I still haven't really grasped flow improver. But I think, when getting down to really small needle sizes, working on small details... it might be a thing... I haven't tried yet, but I have been gifted a new airbrush with a 0.2 needle. And its tricky to get the paint through that thing. Oh, and yes, I now have a quick release :)
Don’t have a lot of airbrushing experience under my belt but I noticed that acrylics do tend to quickly block the nozzle. And that was using Vallejo Air, which is designed for airbrushes, plus some flow improver.
I believe there are a few solutions. Firstly put thinner/flow improver in your airbrush before you add the paint - this is especially important if you ‘mix in the cup’, as the paint will start to dry in the airbrush before it’s mixed.
Second, if you’re able to use stinky chemicals in your workplace (not all of us can) add some lacquer-type thinners. The best is apparently Gunzo’s Mr Leveller, which greatly improves flow without affecting drying times too much. But it does stink and is probably toxic too!
Just got a brush myself. Looking forward to going through exactly you did.
Great video, I painted four night haunts by brush few months ago and this has helped me want to actually use my airbrush which I have just used for priming.
a spray booth with good lightning is a good 2 in one thing to use as a paint area in general.
i love your videos, your quite an amusing watch as well as very informative. hats off my friend.
Well thank you Mike!
I started airbrushing and got a really good high end one, and did all the mistakes with that one and got really dishearten with airbrushing and was about to give up. Then I bought a cheap one from Biltema (not there cheapest one, but a few bucks up) and what a blessing that one was, works like a charm for 90% of my airbrush work, which is priming and base coating. Then a quick connector over to the more expansives one, or just just the normal brush from there.
Thanks Björn
I did basically the reverse, I learned on a cheap one, and now I have an hp-cs
I only just bought an airbrush but I feel a lot more confident now, thank you very much, I love your videos!
Glad to hear it K, hope you enjoy the airbrush.
Had my airbrush for many months before I was brave enough to try it out. Vids like this one really helped.
Good video I'm also at the same point of debating if to buy an airbrush or not, if I do I'm going to try an airbrush booth with an extension exhaust hose to deal with the fumes. On another note I will use your "rattle cans cost over time" theory on the wife and see if that will swing the argument my way financially.
Lol! As long as you don't mention that you accidentally bought minis for all the money you saved on rattle cans. But awesome to hear :)
In that war you are not only allowed but enticed to use any weapon you have on hand. Be it the saving money on cans, the ecology of not throwing fumes the the atmosphere or cans to the trash bin 😆
Another thoughtful, reasoned vid talking us through the challenges in exploring another aspect of the hobby, whilst the new experience is still fresh in the mind. This is what 52M does so well, everything he raises is a valid concern that I found myself. Maybe I don't get as much dust when priming, that might be because I use thinner paint and multiple very thin layers, not sure. Don't buy the very cheap airbrushes, they're frustrating to keep working. One thing I did with the cheap .5mm I got free with my compressor was polish the end of the rather roughly machined needle gently with a very mildly abrasive jewellery polish. Now the paint sticks a lot less and I can use it to prime 40 or 50 models without a full take apart and clean halfway through. Careful though, mine started out so crap I had nothing to lose.
The thing I'd add is choose the right needle size for what you're doing. 0.5 is good for vehicles and terrain, great for priming figures. 0.3 is a good starting brush, you can zenithal highlight or other value sketch to create light, spray cloaks and armour, put detailed camo on vehicles and varnish minis. 0.2 is when you can start to block in colours and even spray details, trousers, and with care and careful planning, or with masking, faces, arms larger weapons, folds in cloaks etc. A jet/needle this fine needs to be a quality brush or it'll dry and clog ALL the time, and you need to have grasped paint thinning, not mastered necessarily but pretty assured and that judgment only comes with experience. Start with an entry level 0.5 or maybe a 0.3, beware buying a high end brush at the start because you may well destroy a couple of needles before you're used to stripping, cleaning and rebuilding it. Keep it medically clean, if you wouldn't put it in your mouth, it's not clean enough. (Don't put it in your mouth...) A 0.15 needle is just like a 0.20 only more so.
Hope that helps.
Another topic occurs, 52M rightly talks about an airbrushed "look", and that's perfectly true spraying opaque layers of matt paint. Less obvious if you're spraying filters or glazes over a base or a value sketch (whether airbrushed or brushed) or a metallic (I only use vallejo metal colour - it's superb) but again I'll tint it with ink or glaze over it. I often thin my paints (mostly vallejo game colour) with artist ink as well as thinner, they combine a thinned consistency with strong pigmentation - ideal for an airbrush, they often dry satin or glossy but a little matt medium or if you plan to finish with matt varnish, takes care of that, especially on cloth - experiment. Whilst you're learning, thin paint in an old mini blister or a little tin dish, be able to mix it, stir it, slosh it back and forth, brush it up the side and watch it run, judge the opacity, and check for bits in it, then pour it into the cup of the airbrush. I still don't mix anything in the cup itself. Have a blast and get really good!
Priming is when I'm putting out paint steadily and almost constantly which is very different than other airbrushing. I don't have a booth or extractor. I prepare 40, 50, 100 models at a time depending on the wait for a dry day above 12*C, Put a folding table just outside the back door with a cardboard box on it (thankyou Amazon) put the lot out and wearing a vinyl glove on my left hand (same one for weeks) I hold up and spray each mini. Hold the brush straight and twist and turn the mini. First coat is just to get primer over all of the surface Take the box back into the warm kitchen to dry, repeat till full opacity. Switch to a white ink with a bit of white paint in it and zenithal each, again as many thin layers as needed for the light effect I want. Airbrushing is so much quicker that you'll have the time for patient effects. Clean the brush anytime the paint isn't a perfect fine symmetrical spray. Don't be tempted to push on - it'll be way harder to clean if you push it.
Thanks for all the tips Allwyn. It sounds like you batch up a lot of minis at the same time! It seems like I might have a new airbrush incoming. That will give me some different needle choices and I look forward to experimenting with that. As of now I've only been using the 0.4 that comes with the Neo I borrowed.
@@52Miniatures 0.4 is a perfect starting point and the Neo is an ideal brand point for a quality starter brush that doesn't break the bank. Even better to borrow one as you did. Honestly I'm still on a chinese copy of of my ideal brush, again I polished the needle but it's actually well made and a joy to use. That was just luck tho, when you buy something like it they are almost always a waste of time. Starting out I just didn't know that and wound up with three before I learned - 1 junk, 1 for priming and terrain, 1 good
Luckily I 'd bought a decent, quiet compressor with an air tank. I lined a cardboard box with polystyrene to put over it for when I'm listening to my book or music (or when the wife is around). Does make it run a little hotter but not worryingly so. My best recommendation for you is to use artist inks through it, you'll love how they filter and glaze through your brush. I use Daler Rowney but the Liquitex I have work even better. As soon as I saw your Ninja Rangers I could see you accenting your super matt camo and your beasts with them.
Thanks A! I appreciate the tips!
I love your channel man. You have a very unique approach on your channel and have just amazing video production. You make beautiful miniatures.
I'd love to have a more in depth approach on what you have learned with an airbrush. Put up some painting tutorials man!
Thank you, I appreciate it. I must admit to using the airbrush mainly for priming and varnishing. I should practice more advanced work.
@@52Miniatures we've had our airbrushes the same amount of time. I use it for the same. Maybe base coats and vehicles. That's it.
Your videos are very wonderful to watch and chill to.
Glad to hear it Adam
This is great info for me. I've been painting for about 3 years but haven't added an airbrush to my toolkit. I've been considering it lately, so I appreciate this information!
Glad to hear it and hope there are some nuggets of information in there that help.
@@52Miniatures There are, for sure. I can also tell that you enjoyed experimenting and trying cool things with it, which is my favorite part of the hobby. Those Stormcast cloaks look particularly fantastic, and when you get in there to detail them with a brush, they're going to be even better!
Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting this done, I just need to get a hold of myself and stop starting other projects all the time :)
i Love the way you explain the airbrush and what is expected with it and its use. I was given one and then bought the compressor after. I wish I had researched it more before buying to compressor. i use the airbrush for terrain and it works great. Cleaning can take some time though as you explained.
Mixing up batches of paint sounds like a good idea. I’ll have to think about that. I second saving money on priming. Once you start Zenithal priming with the air brush, and than try glazing over that, you can get so much done so fast!
Yeah! I “rattlecaned” a couple of the houses yesterday. Went through an entire can of black primer.... most of it is still stuck on the lawn... feels like a huge waist of materials and not great for the lawn or the environment in general. Great to see you in the live stream the other day Josh :) hope you are well.
Its important to start with a quality airbrush, I made the mistake of starting with a cheap 20 euro airbrush, and while it is good for priming, for other things its not. The cheap airbrushes are made of cheap materials and you have to be extra careful not to bend or damage anything.
I can definitely see that. Also, I’m thinking. If one is considering getting an airbrush... well then your already kind of deep into the hobby and most probably you will like airbrushing. So going straight for a decent airbrush, saves you money from, you know, getting a cheap one and then wanting to upgrade.
"Thumbs up" at "No! SIRI STOP!!" X-D
She really gave me quite the surprise....
Absolutely agree on not buying a cheap airbrush. Nothing more frustrating than struggling with an airbrush, a cheap one will just increase your struggles.
I have been getting this from a lot of people. To get a reasonably good entry model airbrush and... rather spend some money on a decent compressor
I love how everybody paying thousands of Euros on Miniatures , and then hesitates on a couple hundered bucks for a priming machine that is also the high end in fine detail.
I just got an airbrush, will watch the rest of the video tomorrow, bedtime for me now 😴
Good luck Jake and have fun.
I'm fairly new to airbrushing myself. I pretty much agree with everything you said in the video, but the one thing that I learned is that true metallic colors are notoriously iffy going through an airbrush do to the size of the metallic particles. Trying to spray leadbelcher through my Patriot 105 caused too many clogs to count - however, Vallejo's airbrush ready metallics are fantastic through an airbrush, and I highly recommend them.
Good point C! I have not yet experimented with metallic through airbrush, so thanks.
As someone who's used both airbrushes and regular brushes extensively, I can say with certainty that you can do virtually anything without one, but the time-saving is just too great to be ignored. You can save SO MUCH time even if you're not doing anything advanced.
Agreed Jon, and I mean, for some things, it's almost a cost saver in the ling run. Like with priming.
@@52Miniatures Oh yes. When you mentioned the cost of the Chaos Black spray I had to go look it up, and yes. My airbrush has definitely paid for itself.
Plus, I got to learn some new skills
Started airbrushing not that long ago and I bought a spray booth from aircom which have filtration so there is no need for a hose which is really nice if you don't have space next to a window or other ventilation. Works really good. Also as I dont like to mix the paint in the cup I looked around for some plastic ones to use. As it happen where I live you can buy eggs in plastic racks which is perfect to cut down and use as mixing cups. Another big part which I struggled with alot in the beginning was cleaning and not clogging the airbrush, especially when you want to switch colors. It was not so much painting and more cleaning. After wathcing alot of videos on the topic I found vince venturellas one on cleaning which had some really good info that actually worked. Highly recommend watching. Looking forward for more great content. Cheers!
Hey Your Majesty, I mean Martin. I bought a booth from Leif (Devs&Dice), It does have a massive hose that I put out through the window. The thing is it makes so much noise, and with the airbrush compressor noise... well I can't really airbrush while anyone else is at home. So opening a window isn't really an issue. I keep it in the basement and just bring it up every now and again. The up side with all this is that when I do airbrush, I do it in the kitchen. So keeping the airbrush clean is a breeze, running water and the sink is just a meter away. It was actually the only subject I "researched" before airbrushing... how to keep it clean. I very seldom get clogging... if I do it's usually with primers. I'm not a huge fan of mixing in the cup, but quite often I use real small quantities of paint... so it's just the easiest way in that case. The egg plastic sounds smart! Nice to hear from you Martin, nice to hear about your airbrush experience.
You definitely can have airbrush areas in your home. I have a cardboard box set up on top of my girlfriend's bookcase. I just cut most of the flaps off of the top and leave the other to fold down in front. This makes a great space to catch the overspray. A lamp you can adjust the lighting to where you want/need is ideal as well.
My suggestion for your first brush is midrange or better. I wholly get not wanting to spend a lot, but buying one you can actually get replacement parts for is important.
Nice Seamus 👍 good thought about spare parts, I haven’t thought about that. Thanks!
Great info
Glad it was helpful!
I’ve just bought a second hand hp cs and compressor off eBay. Waiting on delivery. This vid was very useful. Thanks.
I'm glad it helped. And hope you enjoy the airbrush.
Great video ! I think one thing that you neglected to mentioned was needle size as that makes a big difference in how much control, detail and fine lines that you can get out of a airbrush. I have a Neo and a Badger Patriot 105, both have different needle sizes and they are great brushes especially the Patriot.
Thanks Ken, and very true. I have kept going with the one I used in the video, the Neo I borrowed. But I do have a more expensive on incoming, with choices for finer needles. Kind of did not want to talk about needles in the video, because I have no personal experience with anything but the 0.4.
ZENITHAL PRIME!!!!
I've found a pretty practical (I think) way to have an airbrush in a small space. I use a "portable bottle compressor" from green stuff world and I spray my minis against a vertical piece of cardboard so the paint that doesn't hit the model hits the cardboard. I wear a mask for extra safety but I don't have any problems of paint dust collecting anywhere. The main inconvenient is that the compressor has a battery so I have to remember to charge it before airbrushing, but so far it worked pretty well.
That’s nice Luca. I’ve been looking at maybe getting something like that. Maybe for small touches of airbrush. So that I can use it without it all becoming a big project.
I’ve been looking at an airbrush set up as well I’m toying with the idea of making a sound proof box to put it in with a small hole to let the hose out of
Putting the compressor in a cupboard padded with styrofoam probably helps a lot. Just make sure it’s not too sealed... the compressor needs air after all.
you touched all the topics.. and the climax: the compressor sound, and the answer to the problem is a cliff hanger! oh nooo :) (I do not (yet) have an airbrush but the sound problem is one I have not yet found a conclusive answer... just like relying on the "description" of a product with "silent" does not sound like a good idea)
I think there are workarounds with the sound. Worth checking out at least. I have heard people building foam boxes (not airtight obviously) and stuff like that. I've even been told about adding specific components, like from refrigerators or something... Have a google :)
So a few points.
1) it's not the propellant in rattle cans that gets you, it's the lacquer paint.
2) any aerosolized paint is on some level toxic.
3) that mask is 'okay' for basic water-based acrylics, but if you're serious, you need to pick up a respirator. If you're spraying Tamiya acrylics, or any other lacquer based paints, you 100% need a respirator, those dust masks will not protect you.
4) I think you meant de-ionized water :)
5) nice video
Check! And thank you, I appreciate it :)
@@52Miniatures no worries :) been watching a lot of your content the last few days, enjoying it. Thank you
Great video as always. When I just got my airbrush I found the most frustrating thing to be a clogged airbrush. Good advice on keeping it wet. It's easy enough for me to clean the needle and make sure it's clean, so I leave the airbrush and the needle dry, but I put just the nozzle by itself into pure alcohol after cleaning it. Stays really really clean.
My iwata came with a 0.35 mm needle, which is great for really tiny details. But I found the general usability of the 0.5 mm needle to be a lot better. Much faster priming, and with practice you can reach the same level of detail.
Thanks! Yes, I have had no major clogging issues. I try and be careful with cleaning properly, but also keep the airbrush wet if I don't have the time to clean properly. I still don't have a proper airbrush "space" but I bought one of the booths with a fan attached. I take it out and build up a temporary airbrush station every time I need to airbrush. A bit of a hassle. But the good thing with this is that I always set the airbrush up in the kitchen, next to the sink. Having a sink and running water so close means I just never have any cleaning or clogging issues. Pretty nice actually.
@@KingUsyk I'm glad that works for him :)
Really good video. Thanks!
Great video, I built a spray booth out of a medium moving box and 5mm foam board. To exhaust fans I used some computer case fans I had in my parts box. It’s set up in the garage. Luckily my garage has vents and that where the exhaust hose is connected to. Only downside was I had to buy a stronger exhaust fan. I have the same space issue as you. I currently take up half the dining room table during my paint sessions. I saw you have backyard sort of, could you fit a small plastic tool shed and use that for painting ( spray painting). Your videos are awesome keep up the good work.
I’ve managed to get my hands on a spray booth as well. It does make a terrible ruckus but it does the trick. I can stick the ventilation pipe out through the kitchen window and sit at the kitchen table when I airbrush. It’s all so terribly noisy though, so I can only do it when no one else is home - something quite unobtainable at the moment, pandemic and all. But at least it’s something :) You’re right, there is a backyard, unfortunately it’s not mine. I live in an apartment, it just happens to be on the bottom floor :) Your solution sounds good, it’s great with some diy!
I use a 3M respirator with my airbrush paint extractor booth. If anyone thinks this is redundant - try it out and be shocked at how your respirator filters look after a month or so of airbrushing. Seems the booth is only good for keeping the particles from straying too far from the booth - but you would still be inhaling a crud load of particles without the respirator.
True! I use just a regular "pandemic" thing over my mouth most of the time, at least when spraying a lot. Like Priming a large piece.
Agree with buy quality. Don't need the highest most espensive model in the range. 100% reliable and very good are Tamiya 74901 (Sparmax OEM rebadge), Sparmax Max-3, Iwata Neo HP.CN. Badger (Patriot 105) and Omni 4000 used to be in that list, but they're too expensive now and fall into the next tier price segment up with puts them competing against the likes of GSI Creos and Iwata. Personally, for a top quality airbrush for relatively little money, Sparmax's SP-35 or Max-3. Can't go wrong.
ZENITHAL PRIME! Made me laugh out loud.
Ha ha! Thanks!
If you want quiet airbrush sessions then go for co2 or nitrogen gas bottles or a Werter Sil-Air compressor..
Thanks!
I use a really (like REALLY) cheap airbrush from Wish to prime my models. It's not at all fancy, and the compressor only has a single (very low pressure) setting, but it speeds up priming soooo much compared to brushing it on. I very much suggest anyone interesting in starting airbrushes to just find someone like that, and then in the future, get a proper airbrush with an adjustable compressor.
A good idea for the priming Kim! I must say that was a bit of a mind blowing experience (exaggerating a tad just for effect), priming the minis. Just how smooth and thin it was.
Great video, thank you.. I have been using an airbrush for about two years and you nailed most of the pit falls have I had. I never though ot storing the brush in water/thinner, might give it a try. The only thing that concerns me, is how the rubber o-ring will hold up in the solution.
I think that depends on the brand of Airbrush. Some have a tougher plastic o ring, some use rubber. I think one should be mindful about that. The recommendations from my new, expensive airbrush - is to not store it in airbrush cleaner. But - also how long it is stored? Like, if I know I will be doing a fair bit of airbrushing during a couple of days, I don't think to much about it. But I would not do it for long term storage. And, it works pretty we with just water (de-ionised, distilled).
Top-end brushes have teflon o-rings, which shouldn’t be too badly affected by solvents.
The really vicious solvents seem to be acetone-based and are very smelly. They will eat almost any plastic/rubber compound over time.
Isopropyl alcohol is generally one of the milder solvents and also one of the better ones. You can get a litre bottle for about €2,50 online.
I can recommend the airbrushing set in this video by the way, they are good to enter with, and if you like it, you could upgrade
Yeah, it worked out nicely.
I bought an airbrush to save money on rattle can primers and varnishes...and to save my lungs from all those vapors. In a year and a half that I have an airbrush I think I saved almost a 100 € in rattle cans (especially for terrain) and that is almost the price of my airbrush + compressor.
I still use my airbrush mostly for (zenithal) priming and varnishing, but it saves a lot of time and effort when I have some smooth surfaces that I wish to paint some gradient on or some similar effect.
Btw, thanks for the video :)
I’m prepared to agree :) I do pretty much the same and I’m happy to save to money not buying cans, also feel a bit better not having to pray all to much stuff into not only my lungs but nature at large.
An advice/observation about compressors, when you buy one. The ones without an air tank are generally quieter, but run all the time, as you said. The ones with the tank are more noisy when filling the tank...so plan on getting as big a tank as you can fit in your space. Also get one or two moisture traps. I had to put one at the exit from the compressor and one at the exit of the hose...but I live near the sea and it is warm and moist all the time and moisture condensates in the hose.
🙏
I just have a cardboard box that I spray into, and I've never noticed paint dust anywhere other than in the box and in my lungs. No seriously, I don't think a box with pipes is necessary, just a box is 👌🏻
I haven't tried the just the box, but got a proper booth. It works real well, only makes - a lot - of noise. I think I'm a bit of a messy airbrusher, doing a lot of zenithal priming from quite the distance. That sort of spreads... so for me the booth is a good thing I think... for small details... with a thin needle.. probably not even a box is required.
Can't add much (yet I'll ramble), you did a quite exhaustive list here.
Cleaning and dilution is something you get used to over time and you end doing it on autopilot. The AB look is something you get rid of when you mix and match techniques: edge highlights here, a wash there... Oil washes are a big thing cause you can get your paint into recesses bringing contrast without killing the gradients you achieved.
Mediums affect paint to great extent: thinner dries faster so I use it for primming and varnishing. Yeah, you'll save on varnish cans too. Flow improver has acrylic retarder agents which keeps paint from drying that fast.
On what does an AB do, it's not just the free gradients you can get in no time / effort. You also work so thin you can apply SMOOTH surfaces without leaving brush strokes. That really matters to people painting big surfaces like tanks or robots.
You can also glaze really thin and transparent colors like diluted inks: AB has a good use not only in the starting phases of work but in the whole process.
Most important info bit you dropped here is the OMEGA EQUATION. Put noise and / or potential fumes in the same equation as your wife/husband or kids and the result will always be the end of all living forms. And by all living forms I mean you. 😁
Some paints are straight bad out of the AB. If your red in example, has cadmium on it, etc you are atomising cadmium for anyone to breath. Maybe that has changed now, but I recall old (I mean Matusalem old) Vallejo paints had a warning in the label advicing not to AB that given color. It could be a red, it could be certain green... It's worth a check nonetheless.
It's no big deal, I've been working my entire life without mask, be it airbrushing or in a silicate dust rich environment and I'm still fine on my 40s, but I know it's not good and some people may concern. Booths would take that out of equation.
Concerning noise, you can build a foam box arround the compressor to kill the noise: that's the way we did at my job place. This brings me to something affecting different compressors: the more time you work, the hotter it gets. And hot air condensates (inside the air reserve) resulting in water squirts thru the AB. You might want to check out for a moisture trap. This also applies to the noise box (heating and humidity).
In the end you don't NEED anything of that, you can go naked and airbrush freely, and have big fun. Well, pants are strongly encouraged I guess.
Great vid, as always Alex.
Smooth... yeah! I forgot to mention that. The most positive and obvious think in front of me :) All those scale model tanks and airplanes I saw as a kid, painted up in a lovely store down town (shut down now unfortunately) are no longer a mystery to me.
I definitely see what you mean with contrast, I'm still working on my test model to see where my army is going to go now that I have a regular brush in hand. I've got to say that I really appreciate the "washed out" look. I've tested some ink's, regular washes, and oil washes. For these minis in front of me I think I might skip the contrast :) and just go for highlights. But for other projects... definitely. Through the testing I'd say oil washes was my personal favourite. Second in place comes Vallejo washes... they have always been a bit of a mystery to me, very unlike the Citadel washes... but on airbrushed stuff I can see what they are about.
Foam box is a great idea! Still making up plans for the airbrush. Might have to buy a new house. I used to dream about having a house so big that I could have a specific room to use as a library... the library has now been scratched out and is replaced with "airbrush room" :)
@@52Miniatures wow, to buy a whole new house to get a room for the airbrush, you liked it that much? I use my guests room in a slightly different manner 😆
I feel you: when I got mine I had clearly in mind it had to be a space for me to sculpt, paint, etc so dust, resin fumes and all won't bother wife.
Keep in mind your room will be a MAGNET to whoever's job is solely destroying your thing: I remember as a kid sneaking dad's room to see the enamel paint rack and the planes. Heck, even nowadays my parrot wich has a broken wing manages to sneak in to bite brushes while I paint.
BTW never ever skip the books: in the long run that's the best and lovelyest material thing we ever have in life, at least IMHO. Greatest ideas come always from stuff brewed in your brain rather than social media pics. These are brain snacks but books are the meat. Unfortunately with that global disease my willing to read kinda evaporated but hopely it's just a stage.
All the best.
Soo.. a combo perhaps. Books with spray dust on :) Now I just need to find some money for a house. I'm I sure I left some around somewhere....
@@52Miniatures meh, pocket money. We gentlemen swim in coins 🧐
I've seen some very cheap airbrush kits with rechargeable mini handheld compressors that attach directly to the airbrush. They can run as low as 50ish $ US. I've been thinking of getting one just for priming so I don't have to go outside, or buy rattlecans.
Anyway, I really have to consider these things alot cause the only thing more limited than my budget, is my hobby space. Infact I need to shrink my hobby space down even smaller lol
I have no idea how those work for minis, so I can’t really give you a solid tip. If I hear anything I let you know. But I definitely get where you’re coming from, it’s the same for me. At the moment I’m looking into the possibility of setting up my airbrush at work... there is a specs there I could use... only then I have to transport minis and paint back and forth. At the moment I’m airbrush (mainly priming) outdoors, but - winter is coming...
@@52Miniatures well, are you the boss where you work? Do you have keys to come and go as you please? If so you could potentially just do your hobbying at work. If not, well all our little plastic men and paints are quite pricey. I wouldn't want mine left anywhere I didn't have a key to lock them up and have access to them whenever I wanted. So, I would have a really nice system to transport them in place before trying that.
It’s a very small workplace, no worries about that kind of stuff but very much enjoy some evening painting at home... well we shall see how things go. Airbrushing outdoors during a Swedish winter is probably not awesome... frozen paint and frostbite 🥶
@@52Miniatures well, I wish you luck whatever you end up doing👍
silly putty is great for masking with an airbrush, in terms of thinning the consistency of milk is the general rule the thumb. If its super close detail lower the airpressure and thin the paint a bit further. use and old fridge compressor hooked up to an air tank. best thing i ever did. few good vids on diy silent compressors. yeah i love it i can talk over it and you can barely here it the background. How often do you truly here your fridge other than a slight hum :)
hope this helps anyone thinging of getting into airbushing.
Thanks you for the tips M. What is Silly Putty? Silly for silicone? I think when the time is right, I will be looking into a better compressor. Mine is not "over talkable"
@@52Miniatures yeah i know that one my first ran at around 55-60db which was crazy. certainly annoyed the neighbours with that one. Hence this inspiration to do the silent comp. Was a big learning curve doing the project but i enjoyed it. I spent around £50 on parts and a Pro Bambi silent compressor is around £500 so well worth it. the silly putty is ls something for kids :) its a silicone putty that you can keep on re using but its really gentle on your paint. dead easy to shape too. www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=silly+putty
i also use this too for more intricate masking
www.artifolk.co.uk/daler-rowney-masking-fluid-75ml-87114.html?gclid=CjwKCAiApNSABhAlEiwANuR9YBlo01vm7l6Rm5GvozKPn7udFObKyVHnln0S37CgJn5nWo70R0S4TxoCzdUQAvD_BwE
thanks!
@@52Miniatures no worries, hope it helps. one thing i love most about the miniatures & modeling comunity is hsaring skills. everyone aproaches stuff silgihtly differently and there's so many techiques we can learn from one another :) recntly just watched your liquid frost vid and found some great bits i hoping to give a try an apply to my upcomming project. I'm mainly build and painting gunpla at the mo so putting them in a setting makes the piece for me. So was really interesting to watch what could be achieved with that product, good looking snow is notoriously hard
I do my airbrushing in the garage; I find dampness can play a factor, with a little water finding its way into the hose.. So i recommend a second air condensing tap connected to the bottom of the airbrush; in addition to the regular one attached to the compressor. Hope that helps someone
Thanks for the tip Stephen!
Good video mate,
I bought myself the same airbrush as my first one a year ago or so... unfortunately lockdown prevented me from having any proper lessons... but it has been a great tool for priming, basic OSL stuff etc!
I’ve found a pipette for the airbrush thinner has been really useful, as gives much more consistent “drops”
I’ve found myself very seldom Using “flow improver” I hint this one is a bit more niche... and having a compressor with a tank would be my main change now, as the tankless ones overhear quite quickly, leaving you a much shorter working time... also much louder!
P.s, the Siri bit had me in bits 😂
Also, quick-release hose has been a godsend (and pot!)
Thanks Tom. Pipette is smart! Guessing the size of drops is tricky. And I agree, I got the flow improver at get go... but I am finding myself only using thinner.
@@52Miniatures same with the flow improver.... think I’ve used it twice... to make Citadel metallics slightly more palatable!
one thing I'll mention: avoid vallejo black primer like the plague. it clogs like CRAZY, even when thinned.
You don't like it? It's the only one I've been using and I've had no issues :)
My extractor booth fan is a lot louder than my Sparmax TC620x compressor.
Oh yes... I got one of them now. A booth. I can pretty much only use it when "home alone".
B4 u let off the trigger make sure the last thing blown out is just air if not than when u go to push trigger again it'll spurt spider web lookin paint messing up ur work.
Yeah, good tip. Thanks!
Airbrushing is great for osl
If you’re clever with your hands it’s not too difficult to power your airbrush from an old car tyre. A bit inconvenient having a huge tyre in your den, but should give you enough experience to decide if you like airbrushing.
Yes, there are vids on ytube showing how to do it. The key is a long rubber or plastic tube.
Thanks for the tip SRS. I think this probably depends on ones situation. For someone like me who lives in the middle of a city, and does not own a car. Getting hold of a tyre is not something done easily :)
@@52Miniatures - We have some of our neighbour’s 🧑🌾agricultural 🧑🌾 machinery in our barn-shed so it’s quite easy for me to borrow 👨🏼🔧 a wheel for an evening’s airbrushing. If I’m careful they don’t even notice the slight deflation of the tyres.
Nah, just pulling your leg. I have a Chinese compressor with tank :-) It cost about €70.
Just thought it was interesting that in emergency you could power your airbrush that way.
But I am just wondering if I can use the compressor to pump up my bicycle tyres...
Hi Alex, when you say 'dust' does that stick to a surface or sit on the surface and wipe away like dust?
I'd liken it to pigment dust. So try and wipe it and it "smears". This mainly becomes an issue when pushing a lot of paint through the airbrush. Like when priming. I'm kind of guessing it is also down to technique. I was used to priming with rattle cans.. And I would never stick a rattle can close to a mini... But with an airbrush, one can get closer, and thus less paint goes all over the place. That being said... the filter on the "spray booth" I got is no way near clean looking. I'd I would not have wanted all that dust in my apartment.
@@52Miniatures Thanks for confirming, spray booth it is then 😎
if you scared to spend a lot of money on first airbrush buy cheap one on ebay, they work exacly same and are quite decent for price
When you get dust from airbrushing, can you just broom it away or is it basically going to paint the environment around you?
Yes and No is my best answer.... The dust can sometimes be dusted, sometimes it sticks and most often it starts to rub into everything when you try and dust. Probably a vacuum is best?
Thanks!
Love your work, and your voice itself but at max volume, it is hard to hear you.
I have never heard anyone comment on this before. Maybe there is something wrong with your setup?
I think the water is DE-ionized , regular water is a bit ionised with minerals and salts and things. Distilled water is also good :-) Also a good friend of mine said an airbrush is worth the investment if you're a 'lifer' in the mini painting hobby and also that your airbrush should be as close to 'sugically clean' as you can get :D Love this channel!
Oh also - the advice for which brand/model to get there is a great video of a seminar by the head of Badger from the US who essentially recommended that all of the established brands do their job well, and that a more important factor is the availability of replacement parts such as needles or seals. EG in Europe H&S is easier to get than Badger
th-cam.com/video/tsW-vN0_lHw/w-d-xo.html
Great, thanks Joe. Yeah, Badger is pretty non existent here, H%S is the "thing".
I still can't get my white primer to say "ZENITHAL PRIME" when I use it.
Are you sure you bought the right stuff?
@@52Miniatures I guess not, the devil is in the details.
I just watched this....did you buy an airbrush after all?
I was given one by a subscriber to the channel. Very kind. And so I bought a larger compressor with a tank.
I don't know if you've improved the cleaning of your airbrush, but if you're still having issues, Vince Venturella has an excellent fast airbrush cleaning video. (th-cam.com/video/yEIJs1c4bsQ/w-d-xo.html)
Thanks Jason, no real issues right now. It seems like if you take care of the airbrush - it takes care of you :)
People of Planet Earth! Buy any decent airbrush, but - avoid the JAS products as a plague! Kirk, out