TX Fisher Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 What do I need to set my PSI at when I'm airbrushing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 It depends on your airbrushes needle size, and the paint you're shooting. I use a .3mm nozzle, and I thin my paint to the consistency of skim milk. I am able to shoot with 15psi up to 40psi without problems. Lower than that, and my paint can be spotty, requiring constant triggering. Higher than that, and I blow the paint off the lure blank. I would make sure my paint is thinned, and then do some test spraying on a piece of white paper, to see what works for your particular airbrush. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osutodd Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 You will find that different colors, even in the same brand, need widely different amounts of air pressure and thinning. I use a lot of Createx and Wicked, and some colors like moss green are fine at low PSI straight from the bottle with my setup, but other colors, especially anything with pearl, needs a lot of pressure and thinning. Along with that, I need to get up around 20 or 30 PSI to shoot well for some colors, but others shoot better way down around 5. It also depends if I'm throwing down a solid base coat on a whole bait (higher PSI) or trying to do small details (lower PSI). Taking notes and recording what gives you good results and what didn't work will help a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGagner Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 Depends on the brush, paint (i.e. fluorescents are thinner for me). My iwata brush and createx paints It's between about 15 and 30. Higher for thicker paints and lower for thinner ones. Sometimes lower if I'm doing detail work like gills compared to full body coating. One thing I can say that is important for me. If you turn it down so that it makes things more controllable that's fine but there comes a point where it's better to turn the pressure up a bit and pull back more carefully on the trigger. Too little pressure can cause splattering, especially when the paint first exits the gun. I used to thin some types of my paints. Now though I find it better to just control it with pressure and trigger control. I find that the paint if used straight gives the most consistent coverage. My bottle of thinner is still mostly full. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX Fisher Posted June 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 What do y'all thin the paint with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 This works 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
