Newbie needs Airbrushing Help - BAD

[Jeff Schiller]

First of all, this is a really great site. I'm glad that I found it. It's already helped with some other issues, but now......

I've just begun pouring shad heads (Do-It Ultra Minnow) with lead and I have the pouring going very well with minimal issues.

Now I want to begin airbrush painting them.

I've already jumped the gun probably and bought an airbrush. Make and model I don't have with me right now, but can get it later if needed.

Ready for the questions?

What kind of paint do I need? Particular brand? Any thinning required?

Do I need a base coat of some sort? What kind?

What about a top coat?

I did some searching here and couldn't find what I'm really looking for..which is everything.

Okay, so you've seen some of my idiocy already.

Bascially, I need a step by step on what I need and anything else that can help me out.

Any and all help would certainly be appreciated.

Thanks

-Jeff

PS. If I've put this in the wrong place here, or if I missed all of the information that I'm asking during my search, I apologize. Please bare with the newbie. Thanks again.

[Jeff Schiller]

After spending most of the day here reading past posts, I've learned a ton of information.

It seems that most prefer the Createx paints.

And it's a toss up between Devcon and E-Tex for clear/top coating.

What about primer? Anybody have any preferences?

Is there anything I'm missing?

Again, thanks for any and all help.

PS. My airbrush is a Badger Anthem. Is it decent, good, bad...any advice out of the gate?

[Celticav]

Be sure to prime your heads asap to keep the lead from oxidizing or you'll end up spending alot of time cleaning them. I like Eastwood's self etching primer personally, but any decent primer should do. The Badger is a fine tool and should do you nicely for a long time. Everyone loves Createx and for good reasons, but I still use alot of Testors model paints. I have three tips for newbie airbrush'ers:

1. If your spraying besides acrylics then a can of carburetor cleaner is a necessity, a couple of shots makes clean up too easy.

2. Thin your paint to the viscosity of skim milk and run it thru a filter before you try to spray it.

3. It might not work for everyone but 75% of my airbrushing problems go away at 60 psi.

The only other thing I can recommend is keep doing searches and reading the posts here, JIM

[Jeff Schiller]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I have been working on this for a little over a week now.

I was using the compressed air in a can...thought that was my problem. So, I bought a compressor....with no regulator. Thought that was my problem. So, I bought a regulator and have my pressure at 40. That may be my problem.

I can get a detailed line for a little bit and without adjusting the trigger on the brush at all, it all of a sudden just spurts out. Arghhh..

I'll try bumping the psi up to 60 and see if that will fix that problem.

The createx paints seem to be real runny...and I seem to get the splatter more often.

I tried some of the regular old Testors and it seems to work better.

Is that sudden spurt my subconscious pulling the trigger? Or could it be a psi problem?

Thanks again for the reply.

[Celticav]

Sounds like your brush maybe getting clogs. Try occasionally putting the tip in a cup filled with water, alcohol, mineral spirits, etc and trigger the brush with the tip submerged or place a cotton ball soaked with the same over the tip and spray, this will clear any minor clogs. One thing that worked really well for me is putting some Super Lube Dri-Film on my needle after clean up and before I used the brush, once it dries it will not intefere with your paint. JIM

[Nimrod]

Jeff - Sudden spurts of paint, then light paint, then nothing, then another mass shot of paint?

Paint is too thick -or- air pressure is too low.

I'd way toward thick paint.......

Remember, you're atomizing the paint, not putting it on with a paint brush so it needs to be "loose".