Airbrushing in poor lighting conditions

[mmcv]

Need must...



I had a lot of figures to prime after all:



Not sure yet if the airbrushing is faster than just globbing on black gesso, given the amount of stoppages for clearing blocks and dismantling and cleaning it and so forth, but good to get all those figures primed.

Of course another bag came through the door just as I finished up! But never mind, will need to get them onto sticks anyway, plus I'm thinking if I can mix up some green primer I could pretty much paint my 2mm Crimean Russians in one fell swoop once I have them based this way. So will likely have things setup again soon.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Head torch maybe?

[mmcv]

Head torch maybe?

Might be a sensible investment, found myself hunching under lamps to paint of late as well.

[petercooman]

Got this at crisis, comes with a headlight installed and has several magnifying lenzes for painting. Best buy ever at 15-16 €!!!

[mmcv]

Got this at crisis, comes with a headlight installed and has several magnifying lenzes for painting. Best buy ever at 15-16 €!!!

Neat! Do you happen to know the make?

[Norm]

Airbrushing takes a while to find your feet, but stoppages and cleaning are par for the course ....... but, you might get a few less blockages if you;

Add a small amount of thinner to the paint, the paint must, must, must have a sort of milky consistency anything gloopy is just going to ruin your day..

Turn up the pressure on your compressor (slightly)

Have a cotton bud soaked in brush cleaner on stand-by and between re-fills, use it to clean inside the nozzle area, but pull back on the lever to withdraw the needle first.

Have a small bucket of clean water next to you, between re-fills, swish the brush in the water, scoop some water up in the cup, push a fine paintbrush down the bottom of the cup towards to needle body and clean, then use the airbrush to spray the water out, so it self cleans.

I push cleaner through it between refills.

Keep the thing running and spraying as much as possible, so that paint does not get chance to dry at the nozzle.

With the best will in the world, you will still get blockages and stopages, but swearing loudly generally helps!

It might be worth putting some cling film or some-such over the torch, as the spray will likely find its way onto the lens and over time thicken.

[petercooman]

Neat! Do you happen to know the make?

No brand or anything on it.

this is the one and this is where i got it: https://www.marks-miniatures.com/en/head-magnifying-glass-led-4-lenses-magnifying-12x.html

[Ithoriel]

It looks like the Rolson one that I have

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-60390-Loupe-Magnifier-Visor/dp/B001MJ0JW2

[mmcv]

Thanks Peter and Ithoriel!

Norm, some good advice there. I'd been using a some airbrush primer so think the consistency is good, certainly working better than previous attempts trying to thin it myself. I've only used the airbrush a few times so far so still getting a feel for it. Taken to keeping a small jar of cleaner handy to dip the tip in to help keep it clear. I'll definitely try some of your suggestions next time.

Suspect half my problem is I'm using quite a cheap airbrush and compressor, which only has an off/off switch, no pressure variability. So think I'll have to look into a proper compressor with a bit if variance control on it.

[Norm]

I use the Vallejo poly primer which is intended for airbrushes, but it can thicken with age. I always add thinner to this primer, even though it is intended for airbrushing - it is a balancing act of too much thinner making the result ineffective, sometimes I need two passes because I have gone too thin. I always have an old building or some-such on stand-by that needs priming, so that when I am having problems or have spare paint left in the pan, it gives me a target that is more forgiving of application. 

[FierceKitty]

I keep reading this as ambushing in poor lighting conditions.

[mmcv]

I use the Vallejo poly primer which is intended for airbrushes, but it can thicken with age. I always add thinner to this primer, even though it is intended for airbrushing - it is a balancing act of too much thinner making the result ineffective, sometimes I need two passes because I have gone too thin. I always have an old building or some-such on stand-by that needs priming, so that when I am having problems or have spare paint left in the pan, it gives me a target that is more forgiving of application. 

Yeah it was the Vallejo one I used, will try adding thinner to it next time. I think last time I tried to thin I went too thin and ended up having to do a lot of touch up as coverage was poor.

I was generally using the side of the box to test it on when I wasn't sure if it was working right, though did get a few buildings done at the end. They are much more forgiving as you say!

I keep reading this as ambushing in poor lighting conditions.

I much more interesting prospect, no doubt!

[FierceKitty]

Probably means I'm a poor low-tech Neanderthal.

[mmcv]

Another batch of airbrushing there priming next batch.

Headlamp proved very handy! Cheers for the suggestion.

Also left the lid off the paint chamber this time which seemed to improve airflow and reduce blocks. Though did result on a few unfortunate instances of upending paint in myself! 

[Techno]

Ooops ! 

Cheers - Phil