OMG Moment

[ZeGas]

Not sure if this is the right section but it's as close as I can find.

I'm sure I am not alone but I have just had an OMG moment.

I've been slot car-ing since 2011 and have put up with rattle cans and brushes the whole time, getting frustrated by the results, thinking, "one day I must get an airbrush".

Always been hesitant as I always thought .... must be hard to use, they are a bit expensive, what if I get a cheap one and its shite and it puts me off, what if I get an expensive one and I can't use it to its potential and it puts me off, what about paint .... and so on.

In fact I had never even seen one used in real life.

I have a car I really want to look super and so I watched a few vids and read up on airbrushing, some of the info sounded like, you really need to do this or it'll be stuffed or you really need to be careful or it'll be stuffed or you really need to ... or it'll be stuffed ... so on.

It all sounded like it would take me weeks possibly months to practice and master.

BOY WAS I WRONG.

Picked up a Neoeco off Aliexpress for $82AU, it sat on my workbench for a few days, I didn't even open the box.

Tonight though I plucked up enough courage (yes wimpy in this respect) to have a crack.

WHY, OH WHY, DID I NOT DO THIS 10 YEARS AGO.

It is amazing and so easy to use, I will not say master as it is my first try and it was a flood fill job, after a bit of practice on a piece of paper.

But I painted a trial body black and it came out smooth as a babies bottom using Tamiya paint and thinning with water, the thinners/retardant are on order.

OMF'nG MOMENT COMPLETE.

Onwards to master this thing.

[rosco01]

Welcome to the amazing world of airbrushing, Grant - nothing is ever going to send you back to aerosol cans, no matter how bad you think you have done when messing up an airbrush job.

You have chosen well, gravity fed and double action... it gets better from now on, learning to "wisp" it on in places where you want to create soot, dust and bring other little areas to life - it really makes the difference between a toy-like look... and a realistic model of the proto-type.

I've been missing in slot cars for a year or more now, returning to one of my other hobbies - model railways.

In that hobby, we create some amazing realism... I'd like to post here, but it might be a little unwarranted.. 

I'll add just one - all done with an airbrush... to create reality to a model that no longer looks like just so many others that look like toys to me... 

 

I might suggest you give SMS paints a go - I simply love them. Scott has made available to us some really amazing colours - including colour shifts, pearls and even chrome..... with an airbrush, you'll create some works of art in your models. Finally, he markets a product called Ultra-Clear.. it's a 2 pack (yes, have to be careful).. but it finishes to a rock hard shell coating over models... be careful with it over decals - a light coat of a regular clear over them protects the soft decal from damage as the 2K sets....

 

Welcome to our world of airbrushing... lots to learn, don't hesitate to ask. Scott will answer any questions put to him regarding colours and how to apply the many different types of finish he has made available to us..

 

Ok - couple of pix of my efforts bringing realism to otherwise "plastic" models

 

frats,

Rosco

 

 

[Vinno]

I got an airbrush for my birthday last year but still haven’t used it. Main reason being I have not painted a car. I did have one about 35 years ago that used an aerosol car for pressure which was still pretty simple to use.

I am currently working on an Area71 Bob Jane Monaro however for which I have bought the SMS correct Holden colour for. Hopefully I will have time in the next week to start painting the car and I will put up some pictures. I just want to get it as smooth as I can before the colour coat so have been putting extra coats of undercoat and sanding until it is smooth. 

[ZeGas]

Hey Ross, good to see you are still keeping in touch, I had a bit of a hiatus myself with building a new house, that took two years and then having nowhere as a workshop for another year until I had finished the basement & got power down there.

Now all is up and running with a new working track, just completed but no scenery yet.

Also have progressed with the coreless motor idea and it is amazing for small cars 1:43, haven't tried it on a 1:32 yet.

That engine looks amazing, if I can get to half that standard I'll be happy. Were the nose stripe purely masking, I am assuming the yellow went down first followed by the blue?

I seem to remember a discussion about SMS paints here years ago but totally forgot all about them as I didn't really do much custom painting, just the Rustoleum rattle can colours. I'm going to look into that now. 

Do they thin with any laquer thinner, I have Tamiya on order.

 

Vinno,

I'd love to see photos when done, I'll post a few when I complete my first attempt.

[ZeGas]

Another thought,

Do you reckon I could run floor polish through the airbrush, it is quite liquid and I use it as a clear coat as it sets hard as rock.

Previously I have just dipped my bodies into it which works well.

[rosco01]

Vinno and Grant - yes and yes to all mentioned.

The sooner folk get out of aerosols - the better will be their results, but - if they are happy... it's a no brainer that there is no reason to change.

Airbrushing can be as easy as you make it, or as intricate as your determination dictates.

No, the "VR" heralding across the nose of that loco was a decal - matching the colour of the body to it was the tricky bit.

I always spray dark over light - so, yellow went down first.. then masked up and sprayed the blue. A gloss coat over that (decals stick best to gloss).. Scott's "super clear" is brilliant for this - then the decal. "Pascoe's one step floor polish over the decal once it had fully cured out"... using the airbrush (answering your question) and then a very light "misting" coat of super clear. The floor polish insulates the decal from the acrylic paint.. I have had issues with decals and acrylics before... but by giving a decal a light cover coat of floor polish - no more problems. Patto's decals are probably the worst for coating damage - floor polish makes life a lot easier.

SMS "Premium" range (acrylic - as in automotive acrylic, not the "house paint" water based acrylic which is totally wronly named) comes pre-thinned... 

The "Advance" range (smaller bottle) is not thinned, but should be thinned 1:1 with SMS thinner for airbrushing. The advance range is intended more for hand brushing... it's the same paint as Premium, without as much thinner.

SMS also make the "infinity" range... and that's water based - although I use the SMS thinner for that instead of water - there's something in it with makes it easier to spray.

One word of warning about airbrushing with water based paints - they dry before your eyes.... in the airbrush - and you'll have a devil of a time getting it out if you let it dry. You will also "ruin" paint jobs when you go to using acrylic again - little flecks of the hardened paint come flying out and embed into your lovely finish - so, if using water based paint in an airbrush - clean it thoroughly after every little bit of work.... only put the amount of paint in the cup you intend to use... and flush it all out when you have done the work.... 

I have 11 airbrushes - from the original I bought when in my 20's back in around 1977... right up to a professional detailing model that I paid an absolute fortune for. I rarely use it, but it stands out on its own when the demand occurs.

Of the others, there is one that stands out way above all the others. All of my airbrushes are Badger, except for one Anest Iwata - which is a great gun, but is larger than the Badgers.

Badger are a quality unit.. they are engineered very well and manufactured to the finest standard.

The one I pick up each time I want to spray is called a Badger Patriot 105.... it's my "go to" brush.

I pretty much step up to a paint job with that great little brush and simply spray. First pass onto some scrap - and make adjustments.

Rarely, do I ever have to adjust anything again after making the first one - this comes with practice.

Three things determine the outcome of your work - thickness of paint (on the particular day - temperature and humidity play a huge part in this), distance from model (this is critical with most paints - too close and it gets wet too quickly, too far - and the paint dries before it hits the surface.. resulting in a "sandpaper" finish and finally - speed of the pass (this is what really gives you the result you are looking for - too fast - and the paint cover is too thin, too slow and the build to too thick.. threatening running). 

The other factors that come in are the amount of thinners - that is entirely dependent on the day..... paint will flow easier when temperatures are up. Humidity is to be avoided at all costs - pick another day. Humidity can "trap" moisture in the film of the paint.. and causes all sorts of issues as the paint cures out. Thinning is probably best achieved by how the paint comes out of the brush... together with air pressure from the supply... the two go hand in hand. Too much thinners will reduce the amount of gloss possible. Too little, and the paint simply won't "spray".. but instead will tend to "splutter". It will also cause build ups around the nozzle of the brush and you'll destroy your work with "lumps" of paint that eventually get into the path of the pattern...... 

The best thing to practice on - are plastic spoons... they give you lovely curved surfaces to work over.

I like to spray by looking at the "wetness" of the pass as I spray along a surface - not at the actual "paint" as in colour etc.. but the amount of "wet" that the paint builds to .. it's hard to explain, but that's how I do it. I look at the "reflection" more than the paint.. it tells me how "wet" I am laying paint down. To get the required coverage, don't attempt it in one pass - as you do with an aerosol (another reason I don't like them)... apply passes until you get the coverage you want.. and stop. Far too many paint jobs have been ruined by overdoing it. Remember - you are most likely to apply a clear coat over the top of a colour coat - more so, if you apply decals.

Keeping your layers of paint thin - keeps the detail of the model from being buried in paint... thin layers are only possible with an airbrush.

I don't like spraying water based paints... I tend to stick to acrylics. I use water based paints for little hand work like faces on drivers etc... or their clothes... seats of cars etc etc..... for body work, I use acrylics.

Scott also makes available an additive to acrylic paint - it's called "Flex". This allows the acrylic paint to "flex" - very applicable to slot car bodies where they bend when making contact. I like to add a little flex to my paint for slot cars.

If I spray his 2K Ultra Clear - there is no need to add Flex to the acrylic - that stuff cures out rock hard - it will never crack or peel.

As for corelss motors - they are now the go to in model railways.. I have retrofitted two loco's with them now - and the results are spectacular. Smaller motors with a huge improvement of output power - and quiet... it really is a win/win alternative.

I have not yet meddled with one in a slot car - I believe they would be well suited.

The one thing to remember with coreless motors - you do not set up BEMF - there isn't any.

With the older type resistor throttles we used back in the day - coreless motors would be an issue.. because there isn't any magnet effect for braking.... but, with modern digital and also analogue "smart" controllers - we dial in "braking" to demand..... I'm not exactly how this works - but I believe it would also work fine with a coreless motor - for investigation.

The entire hobby industry needs pulling into the 21st century in this - they still churn out cheap cored (magnet) motors for slot cars - one day, one of them is going to take the coreless path and the entire hobby will follow suit..

Be brave, Grant - you are at the cusp of this... 

If you have an upper end controller - mess around with your braking settings with a coreless motor - I believe you'll get some great results.

 

frats,

Rosco

[ZeGas]

Ross, as usual and amazing amount of good information, thank you for taking the time to explain.

A question in you comments, quoted below

9 minutes ago, rosco01 said:

I don't like spraying water based paints... I tend to stick to acrylics. I use water based paints for little hand work like faces on drivers etc... or their clothes... seats of cars etc etc..... for body work, I use acrylics.

Aren't acrylics water based?

13 minutes ago, rosco01 said:

As for coreless motors - they are now the go to in model railways.. I have retrofitted two loco's with them now - and the results are spectacular. Smaller motors with a huge improvement of output power - and quiet... it really is a win/win alternative.

I have not yet meddled with one in a slot car - I believe they would be well suited.

The one thing to remember with coreless motors - you do not set up BEMF - there isn't any.

With the older type resistor throttles we used back in the day - coreless motors would be an issue.. because there isn't any magnet effect for braking.... but, with modern digital and also analogue "smart" controllers - we dial in "braking" to demand..... I'm not exactly how this works - but I believe it would also work fine with a coreless motor - for investigation.

The entire hobby industry needs pulling into the 21st century in this - they still churn out cheap cored (magnet) motors for slot cars - one day, one of them is going to take the coreless path and the entire hobby will follow suit..

Be brave, Grant - you are at the cusp of this... 

If you have an upper end controller - mess around with your braking settings with a coreless motor - I believe you'll get some great results.

I have a Truspeed controller & love, it, have and analog and digital one, don't use the digital anymore, should really sell it.

The braking works as follows.

Extract from website.

This is a Transistorised DC braking system. A single rotary control sets the braking strength and has a built-in hold circuit to release the brakes once the car has slowed to a speed relative to the amount of brake you have selected. The useful feature of this design is that motor drives the brake circuit in such a way that the faster the car is going, the harder the brakes are applied. As the car slows, the brakes are gradually released to give very balanced and predictable control. The brake and hold remain balanced to leave you free to race confidently.

[rosco01]

Ah- ha - this "gem" resurfaces again..... 

In the paint industry, there is an anomoly regarding "acrylic" paint.... 

Those in the automotive industry refer to acrylic as being solvent based, whereas those in the house painting industry refer to it as water based... other industries vary from application to application.

If you read through what Scott has to say on his website, you'll learn the origin of this - and that "true" acrylic is solvent based.

Where the others got their reference from is beyond our comprehension.. but, I refer to acylic as solvent based - always have.

You might have to drag in the techical qualifications of an industrial chemist to differentiate between the two arguments.. 

 

Glad you have a "smart" controller - I have two of the Slot-It SCP-2's... using analogue chips - they work wonderfully for me, and yes - braking is very programmable.. right to the point of setting some of my more powerful models to produce a very angry "snarl" as brakes are applied from high speed. I don't believe power is applied in reverse, but more likely through control of BEMF being "teased" into retardation.. I would not like to think that I'm actually throwing the gearbox into reverse for use in braking - I'm sure whoever programmed the braking parameters would have done a lot of technical R&D into the long term effect on motors used with such electronic wizardry.

 

Finally, I have sprayed water based paints - but it is very, very rare that I do... I don't like it. For one, contrary to what I posted earlier concerning paint drying in the nozzle of the brush - I find water based paints take ages to dry..... result of having to thin then substantially to get them to spray a decent and controllable pattern.... you'll learn all this as you work your way through what works for you - and doesn't.

I find spraying acrylics (solvent based) gives me the best results, and affords me to "fuse" layers of paint into each other as I add coats - rather than lay one coat of water based paint down onto the top of the previous..... 

Spraying with SMS acrylic (Premium or thinned down Advance) - allows me to recoat within 10 minutes or so.... 

If I know I'm going to sand (as in primer, or if I stuff up a job).. I let it dry for 24 hours.... acrylic paint dries from the inside out (as the thinners evaporate through the paint from the base. enamel dries from the outside in.... sanding enamel should never be attempted until the paint has well and truly fully cured out.. depending on the thickness of the layer of paint - this can take up to a week.

 

I have introduced the "third" type of paint - enamel.

We remember enamel paint from when we were kids (in my case, the '60's).. Humbrol was the "go to" paint back then... and we brushed it on... for what it was, and what we used it for - it worked fine... until airbrushes came along.. 

Enamel sprays very well through an airbrush - providing a correct ratio of enamel thinners are added.

The more thinners added, the less gloss which can be produced... and the "thinner" the paint layer - often being thinned sufficiently that when a coat is sprayed - it is translucent... such is the nature of spraying enamel through an airbrush.

But, if great care is taken thinning - only to the point that it can be sprayed through an airbrush without those dreaded "blobs" of paint forming in the nozzle of the brush - keeping it thicker will both produce a deeper gloss AND better coverage.

I don't mind spraying enamel - I can get quite good results for things that are probably more suited to it than acrylics.

Enamel eventually dries rock hard.. like the "enamel" of your teeth (in my case, which are plastic)... it is very hard wearing, and where is shines above others is this ability to be able to be handled repeatedly without any noticeable loss of finish.

I would prefer to use acrylic - and top coat a clear using Ultra Clear ..... the advantage of doing this, is that any imperfections in the final 2K coat can be "compounded" out... without any noticeable loss of finish... 

Tamiya make a range of three differing compounds (like a "cut and polish" for your automobile)... it brings up 2K really, really well - and more so, with an extreme amount of care - using a Dremel with a buffing pad to do the work... extreme word of warning! - very, very lightly used to buff... it will burn through even the hardest of paint finishes.. including Ultra clear.

 

As always, Grant - I do not claim to have any expertise on anything I post - I post entirely from experience, and in that - there is a huge history of mistakes to "knock my learning into shape"... 

 

frats,

Rosco

[ZeGas]

5 minutes ago, rosco01 said:

As always, Grant - I do not claim to have any expertise on anything I post - I post entirely from experience, and in that - there is a huge history of mistakes to "knock my learning into shape"... 

Well you should own that expertise, experiences are what make you an expert not only knowledge.

[rosco01]

No expert, Grant - but I'm happy to share what I have learned - and even more happy to be corrected if in err... 

 

frats,

Rosco

[ZeGas]

First attempts on donor bodies, low res prints and ones that have an issue.

First one is black that was diluted with water only while I wait for some proper stuff.

Second is a bit of masking just to see what bleeding might occur

White and black diluted with IPA (No ... I drank that lot, the other lot)

The wash you see is my bad, I also was in a rush so the masking took some of the white off, this was then coated with floor polish.

 

Then third attempt was a bit more masking and contrast, need to work on my masking & I think I was a tad heavy on the red.

No clear coat on this one yet.

There was no body prep with these, sanding cleaning etc. just wanted to try out the new toy.

 

[rosco01]

Ok Grant, let's make some lessons of this thread shall we?

First up, have you tried some SMS Premium paint through your brush yet?.. if not, you won't go back to water based once you have. I have not tried this, but am reliably informed that thinning water based paint can be done with Tamiya 20A thinners - it might be worth a shot.

Secondly - masking. I find the key to good masking relies heavily on two things..... what the mask is being applied to - and the sharpness of the masking media.

Before you mask, try to get any surface imperfections of the masking joint flat..... you are going to top coat the finish anyway, so there's no issue with blocking the paint down provided you don't break through the masked off colour to the primer.

Clean the surface scrupulously - if there is anything which is loose on it - your paint will bleed through.

Tape - I have used just about every brand on the market - Tamiya is probably my chosen, but it's not the be all and end all to it.

Although the edge of Tamiya masking tape is reasonably sharp - it's way too "furry" for me.. 

The method I use, and you might like to scribble this down.. and also for other readers in this thread - is to find a small sheet of glass... unscratched. Around 6" by 3" is ideal..but anything similar would do.

I clean the glass with metho and wipe it absolutley clean with a lint free cloth... spectacle glasses cloths are great.

Next, lay down your masking tape.... as straight as you can and cut it off... length just a little longer than what you intend to use.

Get your sharpest scalpel... if you have a stone, give it another quick hone... and find a straight edged ruler.. the stainless ones by Arc are what I use in modelling.

Now, the next bit will give you the edge (pun intended) over all others who mask..... cutting the tape.

Lay your scalpel blade over at 45 degrees as you cut along ..... with the bevelled edge "leaning" towards the off cut... 

What this does, is that when you lift the mask after painting - it does not tear or rip the edge of the paint.... that bevel "overlaps" it and will leave a very sharp edge that you will struggle to see any imperfection even under a magnifying glass.

Some of the very fine lines I do in model railways cannot be achieved without doing this.... it would be very similar in our slot car hobby to that of pin-striping... 

When it comes to curved masking - cut the tape into a very narrow band.... apply it, but lightly until you have it where you want it to be.. then use the back of your fingernail to press it down firmly.... 

Once you have the curve laid - apply more larger pieces of tape to cover the masked area..... make sure it does not extend over your fine lined tape.... and also make sure that it seals any gaps between it and the narrow mask... 

Here's a little further trick that will drive others crazy when they look at your work.. 

Before you apply your second colour - spray a very light coat of the masked off colour along the edges of the mask... not heavy, or you will create a "ledge".. 

Let that fully dry out.... so that the second colour paint doesn't fuse or bleed into it.. 

Apply your second coat.. and let that dry. You can lift the tape earlier using an acrylic or solvent based tape than an enamel or water based..

Pulling up the tape - big lesson here, if you want to save yourself from having to go back and do repairs... 

When lifting the tape, use the point of your scalpel to "sneak" under the end of it.. never try to lift the tape by pulling up on the masked area.

Next, when pulling up the tape - pull it back "over itself"... that is, having lifted the end of it - start "peeling" the mask over itself as close to the surface as you can.. pull it over itself in the direction of lift..... 

What this does, is to remove the tape as gently as it can without "lifting" it.. resisting the tape of actually tearing the edge, or pulling up a patch.... you'll be amazed at how sharp your masked edge will be.... 

Heavier builds of paint will tear more easily and take longer to dry... keep your coats as thin as you can - to the point of giving you "just" the amount of cover that is needed. 

Modellers tend to "over-build" paint..... this destroys the fine detail that manufacturers go to to produce things like rivets and screws..
Keep all your coats light. The only exception to this is for crude surfaces where the substrate (material of the model) is rough... or has voids in it... but, for those - you'd be working up primer to prepare a sound surface for your colour and top coats... 

Glad you have moved to the world of airbrushing - it will only get better and better from here...

 

frats,

Rosco

[rosco01]

I went looking for pix of some of my work... only found one car.. first little Cooper I entered in the Tasman Cup... maybe 2014.. 10 years back. The colour scheme was that of Bill Patterson's T 53.. silver over white. Using the masking method above, the edges are quite sharp. Silver is probably the worst of all paint colours for bleeding... some pix...

 

 

[ZeGas]

Thanks for the instructions regarding masking Rossco,

most of which I have done for years, yes Tamiya tape is my go to, scalpel skills are fine, my biggest problem is light and sight.

The only reason I had paint peel fail was because I was in a rush trying things out over the course of the night, it was a donor body so not worried.

Cutting the tape tip is great, will employ that from now on (unless I am in a rush )

Tip right back, I use the pointy end of a kabab skewer to press the masking in to the folds and crevasses, soft wood, doesn't harm anything.

 

6 hours ago, rosco01 said:

Here's a little further trick that will drive others crazy when they look at your work.. 

Before you apply your second colour - spray a very light coat of the masked off colour along the edges of the mask... not heavy, or you will create a "ledge".. 

Let that fully dry out.... so that the second colour paint doesn't fuse or bleed into it.. 

What does this achieve?

Lastly, regarding paints, I was just trying what I have available this weekend which was Tamiya acrylic, I have 5 litre bottle of 99% IPA so used that as thinners just to get going, I realised at the time it was probably the wrong thing to do but it was something

Got some Tamiya thinner/retarder on order to properly thin the acrylic paint, but will look into the SMS paints in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for the info on that by the way, I'll look into the premium & advanced range.

 

As for your photos, love the silver stipe & nose, how the hell did you get that curve so smooth or is it a decal?

[rosco01]

Yes - skewer for pressing tape into detail... I use toothpicks..

As for sight - I couldn't do the work I can without the large magnifying lens on a stand - it has something like 50 bright LED's around it.

Sad thing is, using this lens reveals things that I can't stand to leave unfixed.

No - the silver was sprayed ... SMS "silver pearl" over "white". White went down first, masked then silver and finally Ultra Clear.

That model was sent off two years running to the Tasman Cup proxy series.... hence why I coated it with Ultra Clear 2K.

The chassis was scratch built - piano wire and brass, put a lot of work into springs, dampers and links etc. The shock absorbers were 7 pieces alone each.

I wound the springs from brass wire.. 

Almost anyone who looks at this model close up asks me if the suspension works!.. sadly, no it doesn't.. it's all show.

I did a second Cooper T-53 in gold with the same stripe but in white.... I put a bit more work into that model.. can't get my hand on pix for now.. but the finish is much better.

The carburettor intakes were aluminium boot lace ferrules - polished up and clear coated. Exhaust was hand made out of brass.

Steering wheel was made of brass - wire rod for the rim, cut out segments for the spokes.

The panel latches were cut from brass rod.

Wheels were Ranch Design (US) - but the second model, I turned my own (first time)... loved them so much, I started to make my own wheels after that and used whatever factory wheels as inserts.

 

I've been missing from this hobby for quite a while now - just looked at my diary this morning... back into model railways for 4 years.. so, more than likely that was when I put slot cars into mothballs... maybe time to build another model or two - taken a liking to scratch building things I like.. I did PB's XU-1 Torana just before his 50th anniversary of wining Bathurst in '72... I was determined to honor him.

Chassis scratch built.. body from Munter.. decals from Patto and clear coated with 2K Ultra Clear - must find some pix of it.

I have 28 PB bodies that I made myself, all mounted on a rack - still can't decide which one I got closest to for his face.. might add a pic of those as well... maybe the "jury" will decide for me.. then I can fully assemble the model and put it away - been staring at me since 2022.... 

 

 

Apologies for swaming your thread, Grant... the waffle above has nothing to do with your post... 

 

frats,

Rosco

Edited Sunday at 11:32 AM by rosco01

[ZeGas]

Please Ross, don't apologise, conversations turn, I loved reading the details of your cars, I cannot believe the nose curve was masked, so regular and so uniform, massive well done on that.

PLUG ALERT.

If you want to try scratch building again have a look at the proxy I am running in July 2025, will be international with two races in Oz, one in Germany & one in Austria. Has a twist as the media likes to pronounce for almost every single program.

Click on my signature link for more if you are keen.

UNPLUG

As for the tip on the boot lace ferrel, I do love utilising or reappropriating items I see around.

On my last track "oh so many years ago now", I used, to my wife's detriment, cut down sewing pins as rivets for a railway bridge, an actual rivet for road sign post & flickering tea lights, cellophane & cotton wool for an oil drum fire.

[ZeGas]

The default nozzle in the airbrush was 0.3mm, last night I changed it to 0.5mm for painting a body and got a more consistent coat.

So I am guessing 0.5mm for flood fill, 0.3mm for detail & 0.2mm for fine detail.

Would that about sum it up?

 

And Rossco, you didn't answer my question above, would you mind please, I'm still curious.

[rosco01]

Hi Grant, my apologies - not sure that you had asked me a question...but, no - if in regard to the Proxy series, I can't commit time for the immediate future..... invested very heavily in model locomotives, more specifically brass and white metal kits... learning to solder white metal is an art in itself.  My initial attempts back in '87 were quite good, since then - I have gained considerable experience and am now in possession of far greater tools than I did back then... more expense. I have quite a number of these metal locomotive kits to assemble, paint and fit out with decoders etc. etc.... some of them take me over three months to complete.. 

I might add a pic here of the first one I did back in 1987... a little Victorian Railways "E" class locomotive - main body and some of the parts are white metal, which was soldered rather than glued. There is considerable brass in this loco as well - again, all soldered.

I sprayed the model in black etch primer, then thinned down ordinary Estapol Satin clear over the model.. 

The entire chassis had to be assembled - getting the motion gear to run smoothly was quite demanding..

I work in "HO" scale which 1/87th. I also have "N" scale, which is 1/160th.. but I have not assembled any models in that scale in the form of kits - yet...  

Again, Grant - apologies for digressing, but it might give you some appreciation of what airbrushing can achieve.. 

 

 

 

 

Air brush tips/nozzles.

It has always been stated that these should be used as a "combination".. that is, a .5 needle should be used with a .5 tip and nozzle.

My very fine detail airbrush has a .2 set - paint has to be really thinned out for use with that - applications are painstakingly slow.

My go to brush has a .5 set... and I can pretty much spray anything with it, but my preferred paint is SMS Premium along with the Premium thined earners if needed.. 

A .5 set will happily also spray primers and fillers - if thinned to suit. 

With a primer/filler - we are not looking for "finish", but "coverage"... it will be blocked back to fill voids in the surface prior to colour and clear coats... so I tend only to thin primer surfacers with enough so that it will hit the surface "wet"... I'm not looking for any finish, and am satisfied when I can lay down a number of coats which fill voids - allowing blocking back to produce an even surface.

If you are looking for that miracle look - once you have applied your filler/primer coats.... spray a very thin coat of black over it.. this will be a "sacrificial" coat... intended to be rubbed away.

What this does, is to highlight any remaining "voids" in the primer..... they show up as remaining black.... and either more blocking back has to come, or further coats of primer.... 

We must be very careful working near detail... for, as stated earlier - we don't want to smother detail by heaping on filling coats... 

When priming, attention should be focussed on the areas needing work.... every attempt should be made to avoid spraying un-needed coats over detail.... and more so - when blocking back, avoid sanding over it..... 

You'll be amazed at how "creative" you become when you consider what you are actually doing with your airbrush... 

Hope this gives you a little more into how an airbrush is eons ahead of an aerosol or hand painting.. 

frats,

Rosco

[rosco01]

Ok, just read through your posts regarding questions... 

If you refer to applying a light coat of the masked colour before your second colour - the purpose is to avoid "bleeding" or "leaching" of the second colour into the underlying or masked off paint.  

It "seals" the edge of the mask with the same colour as that of underneath.

The second colour is applied, and when dry - lifting the mask separates the two colours.... if "anything" has leached or bled under the mask - it will be the same colour as that underneath... and won't be noticed at all.. 

This method is not widely used, but - for "that" sharp edge you comment on - it works a treat.. 

frats,

Rosco

[ZeGas]

No not the proxy, it was as per below.

My question was "What does this achieve?"

Here's a little further trick that will drive others crazy when they look at your work.. 

Before you apply your second colour - spray a very light coat of the masked off colour along the edges of the mask... not heavy, or you will create a "ledge".. 

Let that fully dry out.... so that the second colour paint doesn't fuse or bleed into it.. 

[ZeGas]

1 minute ago, rosco01 said:

Ok, just read through your posts regarding questions... 

If you refer to applying a light coat of the masked colour before your second colour - the purpose is to avoid "bleeding" or "leaching" of the second colour into the underlying or masked off paint.  

It "seals" the edge of the mask with the same colour as that of underneath.

The second colour is applied, and when dry - lifting the mask separates the two colours.... if "anything" has leached or bled under the mask - it will be the same colour as that underneath... and won't be noticed at all.. 

This method is not widely used, but - for "that" sharp edge you comment on - it works a treat.. 

frats,

Rosco

That's a bloody great tip.

Looks like we both posted together.

[rosco01]

Try it, Grant - I pretty much am convinced you'll use it where applicable once you do.

You can use this when you have trouble with spraying pearls and metal flakes over masked solid colours.

These particle paints can be quite troublesome... as you can appreciate, the edge of them does not lend itself well to being masked off... the particles often refuse to follow the rules and lift as "jagged" edges.

Sealing the edge of the mask with the base colour does an awful lot to help with this - it builds up a slight "meniscus" (raised border) and the particles seem happy to move away slightly from that meniscus as they settle in the wet paint.... the thinner of those particles will nestle up against the mask, so we don't get a zig-zagged line edge.... but those thinner particles will settle down against the mask... and produce the lovely razor edge border... 

Hope this makes sense?

frats,

Rosco

[ZeGas]

perfectly.