I have zero airbrush experience, as I am sure a few others fall into that category or have very limited experience. So I have a few Questions and created this thread so to have a technical Q&A regarding airbrushing... Examples in answers are great.

Questions.
1. As a complete newbie to airbrushing, how much paint would be used to paint a tank a single base colour (Assuming a KT for size). Would you go through a Tamiya 30ml bottle? (Note this does not include thinning to airbrush consistency, just base paint).

2. Preferred paints? I have a ton of Tamiya and a few Vallejo. Are these decent to use? Others that are preferred?

3. Thinning. I've heard all about the skim milk thinness for using in an airbrush, but wondering what people use to thin their paints, and if they have a specific ratio/mixture they maintain?

4. Cleaning and maintaining your compressor and airbrushes. Things to watch for/how to do so?

1. one to one and a half

2. any water based paint for easy clean up of airbrush

3. if its me using water based paint then it goes straight through my airbrush

4. you should never need to clean the compressor.
cleaning the air brush after you done painting spray water, thinner or airbrush cleaner through it until it sprays clear. then if its a option take apart the air brush and clean with paper towel better with a pipe cleaner for the tite parts but a paperclip with some paper towel on the end works too.

if you use oil paints you may nee to soak the smaller parts in thinner after you clean them

Negaduck wrote:

3.  if its me using water based paint then it goes straight through my airbrush

What is your standard "go to" paint brand?

i will use anything that the colour i want

One of the keys is to primer your tank properly. I use Tamiya primer that is made for metal and plastic. I use Tamiya pretty much exclusively unless I need some funky colour then I might use dollar store acrylics. Thinning to get that skim milk consistency is 50/50 in Tamiya's case or even a little more thinner depending on the opacity of the colour you are using. The KEY to proper flow are 3 elements, thinness which we have now, filtered, I use my wife's old nylons to strain the paint through into the jar. If you have the smallest little chunk of debris in your paint it inevitably clogs the airbrush. And last air pressure. Too high and your paint is dry before it hits the target. Too low and it can't draw strongly enough to get the right mix of paint to air. For detail work I run about 14lbs. For general overspray I will run about 25.
Specific to the tanks I use for battling after I have the paint on I clear coat using gloss acrylic floor polish. Then I apply decals and do my black/dark grey pin washes, chipping, pencil edge work, and streak detailing next. Then a coat of clear flat lacquer. Dry, another coat of lacquer. Finally I will do some dust and dirt work. The reason I do lacquer is it gives it a tough, tough finish so that even when Ren hits my tank the paint doesn't scrap off...

I dont remember hitting your tanks all I remember is your jagdpanther "nudging" my Sherman into a river lol

We had some fun that day didn't we? LOL!

1. As a complete newbie to airbrushing, how much paint would be used to paint a tank a single base colour (Assuming a KT for size). Would you go through a Tamiya 30ml bottle? (Note this does not include thinning to airbrush consistency, just base paint).


Depends on what you're painting.  I won't burn through a full Tamiya bottle if working on a 1/72 kit but on a 1/16 scale RC tank I generally go through 2 or 3 bottles of dark yellow for base and half bottle of red brown and/or either dark green or NATO green depending on the camo pattern I use.



2. Preferred paints? I have a ton of Tamiya and a few Vallejo. Are these decent to use? Others that are preferred?


Tamiya is my go to for airbrushing.  Easy to clean if you botch something up and for cleaning the brush itself (I just use a bottle of isopropyl alcohol )  From the modeling forums I go to Vallejo is more for brush painting rather than airbrushing.

Other than that I also use Testors and use mineral spirits for cleanup.


3. Thinning. I've heard all about the skim milk thinness for using in an airbrush, but wondering what people use to thin their paints, and if they have a specific ratio/mixture they maintain?

standard ispropryl alcohol.  I use the 50% to 75% ones you can pick up at Dollarama.  Turpentine or mineral spirits for the enamels like Testors.


4. Cleaning and maintaining your compressor and airbrushes. Things to watch for/how to do so?


Keeping the needle tip unbent is the trickiest part, especially the very fine tip needles, next is keeping the nozzle in good condition.  I flush mine out with alcohol or mineral spirits in between paint.  Afterwards the entire airbrush gets disassembled.  The needles go in their own jar with mineral spirits, nozzles, body and tips go in their own jar with mineral spirits and the parts that don't get exposed to paint gets put in a small plastic case.

I have airbrushed for many years and always used Tamiya paint and there thinner x20a the way I thin a new bottle of paint open it then fill the bottle to the top close and shake to mix the perfect mix for airbrush I have used this on hundreds of military models to clean your air brush fill an empty bottle with warm water and two drops of dish soap spray into paper towel till clear water comes out done

dougjobe wrote:

I have airbrushed for many years and always used Tamiya paint and there thinner x20a the way I thin a new bottle of paint open it then fill the bottle to the top close and shake to mix the perfect mix for airbrush I have used this on hundreds of military models to clean your air brush fill an empty bottle with warm water and two drops of dish soap spray into paper towel till clear water comes out done

For the Tamiya paint, is that with the older larger 30ml bottles or the newer smaller ones?

same amount will give you what you are to paint with