Due to my recent enthusiasm with the airbrush and what I learned over the weekend, some people have been asking me about my set up. I decided to make a post about it rather than tell people individually. I would like to say I am far from an expert on the matter, but I am happy to tell people what I have learned over the past few days.
This is the compressor I use:
While I was on the course, I learned that using the airbrush pressure at 60 is fine and encouraged. Apparently, a lot of people use it between 20 and 30, but we were told that having a Farrari that only drove at 30mph is pointless, the same logic can be put to use with airbrushes. I have been using it at 60psi and using the trigger on the airbrush itself to moderate the airflow. It’s worked so far for me.
This is the airbrush I am working with:
It is a Harder and Steinbeck Ultra. This is a basic airbrush with not too many parts. It has been easy to troubleshoot with when there has been a problem as well. It comes apart easily, which means it can be cleaned without too much fuss. I am using a 0.4 needle and due to clogs – this is a common occurance when you’re new to airbrushing have had to take it apart. The weight of the airbrush is something that needs to be looked at in the future as I intend to use it a lot. It would be fine for a couple of hours I think but I plan to use this to base coat everything and to do so in bulk. I shall upgrade when I have had more time to practice and get to grips with the techniques.
I also have an extractor booth:
It’s not so squeaky clean now – I have quite terrible asthma so I wanted something to take the dust away from my lungs. You can see the cleaner container which is useful for blasting cleaning fluid through the airbrush – something that you do a good deal of! The cardboard is for testing the flow of paint.
I still have a lot to learn and a great deal to play around with, but I believe I have the basics. I have even managed to base coat some miniatures and intend to paint them up over the next few days. The smoothness of the airbrush will provide a brilliant froundation on which to build, something a spraycan is unable to do!
Heretic Deb! 