Repainting

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Evening all, I'm going to have a go at repainting stock, have any of you bought an airbrush recently, good or bad or alright? Where are they available on this island? I have plenty bits and pieces I can practice on, thanks in advance.

[irishrailways52]

this video might be of use

 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

36 minutes ago, irishrailways52 said:

this video might be of use

 

Ya seen that, handy for someone living over there to find what he is using, also he may be sponsored by that company, I'm hoping for first hand information on here.

[DJ Dangerous]

Try asking @murphaph, @Dempsey, @Noel , @JasonB, @irishthump , @Georgeconna or any of the members posting their work in the "Workbench" area. There are lots more, I've only listed a handful.

[Mayner]

The advice on the Chadwick video particularly around ventilation and respiratory protection is relevant, I used to use airbrushes (Badger 150 and Paasche TS-A3+compressor) but use automotive rattle-cans for spray painting locos and stock, more consistent results and eliminates the requirement to mix paint to the correct consistency for spraying and the time consuming and messy cleaning process.

Colours are custom mixed at a local industrial/automotive paint supplier colour matched with existing models, paint samples or BS or RAL numbers, I very seldom buy 'model railway' or model paints!

[Noel]

take me to your leader. We come in peace   
 

Edited May 20, 2023 by Noel

[Noel]

10 hours ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Evening all, I'm going to have a go at repainting stock, have any of you bought an airbrush recently, good or bad or alright? Where are they available on this island? I have plenty bits and pieces I can practice on, thanks in advance.

A few visuals better than lots of words.  Started with airbrush about 6 years ago thanks to some advice and guidance from Richie and others.

I started using Tamiya and Railmatch acrylics cause less noxious and less smelly indoors, also was easy to mix CIE orange tan using Tamiya.  I’ve since adopted Valejo acrylic paints. Acrylics are water based so easier to clean equipment after painting.

Best bit of advice was not to bother buying expensive airbrushes, this Veda no longer in production cost about €28. I was terrified of taking airbrush apart to clean it after first session test, it took me an hour I was so pedantic, then I got cleaning time down to 10mins, now about 120 seconds. In the beginning it too more time to clean than airbrush. It’s not rocket science once you get used to quickly dismantling and putting back together.

 

This airbrush cleaning pot reduces nasty fumes when cleaning airbrush 

 

IPA readily available from pharmacy shops is handy for cleaning. Do not use white spirits.

compressor was about £80 from Bartsharp in uk prior to brexit costs. Worth spending the few extra euro for one with an air reservoir bottle, and a moisture trap. The air bottle means the pump only runs every now and then to fill the bottle so you get a smoother constant flow of paint and its quieter as most of the time the motor is not running. Acrylics are more forgiving and easier to clean up as they are water based. MY wife would not tolerate the solvents in enamel paints but they can flow better through an airbrush. If you properly thin acrylic paints and use Vallejo flow improver they will not clog up the airbrush. Lower air pressure also a help (ie 20psi rather than 40). Vallejo 'model air' are pre-thinned but I still add a little more water based thinner. 

 

My first resprayed coach. Good quality masking tape is essential. It takes more time to accurately apply masking tape at the various stages than painting time. Patience also required, don’t rush to next step in a job. This was done using the standard ‘reverse masking’ technique. 

YouTube is your friend and university for learning, and giving it a go, start with some older stock. More than anything have fun and enjoy the learning process. The more you do it the quicker and better you’ll get. My first airbrush stayed in its ca se for nearly a year such was my fear.

https://www.bartsharpairbrush.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=1684564496.7064940929412841796875

WARNING: Do not airbrush varnish indoors or near your other stock. It will turn all windows opaque.  When varnishing models you will have to remove all glazing and windows or carefully mask over them with tape or maskol paint. Or they will end up opaque milky white.

Edited May 20, 2023 by Noel

[Noel]

10 hours ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Evening all, I'm going to have a go at repainting stock, have any of you bought an airbrush recently, good or bad or alright? Where are they available on this island? I have plenty bits and pieces I can practice on, thanks in advance.

PS: Marks models sell badger airbrush kits, they are the only source in Ireland I am aware of, otherwise its d'internet

Some sell complete kits including airbrush, hose, compressor, cleaning gear:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Airbrush-Fengda-FD-186K-compressor-accessories/dp/B01984G4SU/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1BKR6LFZTPJKL&keywords=airbrush+kit+with+compressor&qid=1684565887&sprefix=airbrush%2Caps%2C62&sr=8-7

I bought my gear from BartSharp before brexit screwed up dealing with GB.

[murphaph]

I also use two cheap Amazon airbrushes similar to the one Noel uses, think they cost even less. This is not detail airbrush work. You don't need a high end airbrush to spray models like ours. 

I would recommend a ventilation/spray booth if you have the space. I also mostly use acrylics as I spray indoors and anyway they dry much faster so you can move on to the next masking phase quicker.

Cheap masking tape will break your heart. Just get Tamiya tapes if they have the size you want.

I personally moved away from rattle cans because the propellant kicked up too much dust that landed on the model being sprayed. You could go outside if the temperature and humidity are right and spray freehand so there's no dust to kick up. Also most of the paint does not end up on the model so it costs a lot more in paint if you are going to be painting a lot. An airbrush is designed for close up working. None of the paint in the cup tends to miss the model.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Thanks Mayner, Noel and Murphaph, that's great info, I don't intend doing it every week or as a business, I just want to give it a go whenever I can and see if I can get a satisfactory result, I have plenty room to keep the spraying away from other stuff.

[David Holman]

Really useful stuff everyone and certainly enough to make me try to use mine more often. However, for me, they remain the Spawn of Satan and I remain happy to use car paint rattle cans whenever I can.

Acrylics seem the way to go though.