Airbrush exclusive or hand paint small parts?

[Bad-Karma]

Hi All,

I've been practicing with my airbrush on egg cartons and old spare parts and I think I'm ready to attempt airbrushing my first model. I picked up a revell p51 I found for 7 bucks. For the price it makes the perfect practice kit and detail isn't awful. It's a no brainer to spray most of the kit but I was curious for small detail work (the pilot for example) what is everyone's painting preference? Do you use the airbrush for everything or hand brush some parts? I know it's going to come down to personal preference but I'd like to know what you really experienced guys do so I have something to aspire to.

 

[stona]

I spray the basic colours of a cockpit or similar, but paint the detail using a brush.

My tips would be to get decent quality brushes in various sizes, at least a couple very fine for small detail, and some sort of magnification.

Figures I brush paint entirely and not terribly well .

Cheers

Steve

 

[Crimea_River]

With Steve. Definitely use my hairy brush for some parts where a smooth finish is not a concern and it's not worth cleaning my airbrush. I normally don't do the figures but cockpits see the most brushwork and I do the same as Steve.

 

[fubar57]

I just started using an airbrush myself and still getting used to how much paint to use and not waste the rest. Like the others I brush paint the details. I use an abandoned T-6 for paint flow tests and practising mottles and thin lines

 

[Airframes]

Same as Steve and Andy mainly. I rarely use the airbrush for cockpits etc, unless it's a large area, for example the interior of 1/48th scale bomber. All small parts are brush painted, but I must stress that i use enamels - acrylics can be brushed, but are more prone to brush marks or translucent finish, due to their nature and rapid drying.
Any figures I use, mainly in aircraft dioramas, are always brush painted.
As for magnification, I've just joined the 'bigger eyes club', and bought one of those 'head band' magnifiers a couple of days ago, and what a difference it makes. As Andy stated, it really allows one to see one's mistakes !!

 

[mikewint]

Agreed with all the above. An airbrush is really not for small details say 1/72 - 1/32. Along with everyone above I use fine-tip brushes for small detail painting.
Now unfortunately brush sizes are not standardized except that smaller numbers are finer, thinner, shorter. I have several from 0 (zero) to 00, 000, 0000, 10/0, 12/0, to 20/0. Good brushes are not cheap and I personally like SABLE hair, In addition I like fat long handles with a triangle shape. A good art supply shop can advise you.
Lastly you can also use MICROBRUSH, MAGIC, and NANO brushes which are not hair brushes. They come in various sizes and styles and some have a holder to extend their reach.
Check out the FLEX-I-FILE website or Ebay

 

[at6]

Definitely air brush for major painting and "hairy sticks" for small painting and touch ups. I used to brush paint only many lifetimes ago and now, that method sucks.

 

[Bad-Karma]

Thanks guys. I had a feeling most people brush the smaller parts but wanted to make sure. I like to learn the "correct" way and respect a lot of the great models you guys put together.

 

[mikewint]

IMHO, there is no golden "correct" way there is only YOUR way. What is comfortable for you and give you what YOU like in a model. Peruse all the various threads in the modeling section and you will see that there are many ways to do just about everything. Now some are easier/simpler and some are harder/ more difficult, some require artistic talent and dexterity and others, not so much.
You will find here long discussions on the "correct" shade of a particular paint as found on a 1942 Spitfire/P-40/Me-109/ect flying in Russia. You will also find long discussions on the correct shade of a particular interior paint which is inside a fuselage that is going to be glued together and will never ever be seen. Discussions on the correct shape of the rudder pedals on a 1941 Stuka flying in Libya. Some go to great pains to make their models look like they just flew in from months of combat and others like they just came from the factory
Now I hasten to add that I am not disparaging any of the above just pointing out that different things matter to different people. Make your models they way YOU like them using whatever paints/glues/techniques you are comfortable with and use this forum as a resource for improving on something that is not turning out the way YOU would like it too.
I'd been building models for 20 years and never liked the way decals looked...then on this site discovered Microsol and -set. Never liked the way my overall exterior finish turned out...discovered airbrushing and Future on this site so so on.
Modeling is a hobby and FUN not a job/contest.
My $0.02

 

[fubar57]

It's also about how comfortable you are with an air brush, There is a guy on here who sprayed just a fuel filler cap. He is very good with an airbrush and knows his paint usage. I'm not even close to there and can't afford to waste paint. For me to get a few bottles of paint is a 400km round trip (done it)

 

[Airframes]

Agree wit all.
It's also worth considering effort, time and materials use etc.
For example, if a part can be successfully painted using a brush, with the desired finish being acceptable enough, is it really worth getting the airbrush in action ? Which involves mixing and thinning the paint, using much more of both solutions than would be needed for use with a brush, and then having to spray the part, possibly after some almost impossible masking.Then follows the clean-up of the airbrush.
Add to this the time spent preparing, painting and clean-up, and it will be seen that there is still plenty of room for the traditional brush.
However, as Mike stated, good quality brushes are essential for a good finish and, although they cost more, they should last a lot longer if looked after.

 

[mikewint]

Got you beat George, 240 km one way to the nearest real hobby shop. There is a Hobby Lobby in town where I can get a few things but generally I rely on Ebay for paint. I'll generally get 3-4 bottles of the common RLM cammo colors. I'll keep one out and put the others together in Zip-Lock bags until I need them. Same with my Future bottle, even have one that I used the Foodsaver to seal in a vacuum bag going on 7 years now.

 

[Bad-Karma]

Appreciate the input guys. My end goal here is to become skilled enough to do my 1/48 B17 G in the likeness of my Grandfather's bomber during WW2. Generally I am not a perfectionist and approach modeling with more of a relaxing and fun attitude but I'd really like to get the b17 "right". If a lot of guys here were saying they used air brush only I'd give it a try even though common sense tells me it's more difficult and time consuming. I think my biggest hurdle right now is developing my eye to notice detail especially when it comes to weathering. Currently I really like shiny factory fresh models but have been viewing a lot of photos to get better perspective.

 

[mikewint]

I personally highly recommend the airbrush. Now highly skilled guys like Terry can paint a house with zero brush lines. I simply cannot no matter how hard I try. So if you want the big pieces to look smooth and even, get and learn to use an airbrush. It will make a very large difference in how your model looks. Then when the build is complete decide if you are going to weather or not. If NOT then: (a) you do an overall airbrushed coat of Future Floor Wax (it's not a wax, it's an acrylic clear coat). Then apply your decals using Microset. Then when they are almost dry a coat of Microsol (possibly several coats depending on decal thickness). THEN when the decals are fully "melted in" (they should look like paint) and dry apply an overall coat of flat clear (unless you have a shiny metallic finish). This will cover and protect the decals and give that flat military finish.
If you ARE going to then: (b) Weathering a model is its own skill set and there a multiple ways to approach it. Read the articles on the forum. My best advice is LESS IS MORE. Better to little than to much. When you are done weathering then go to (a).
Now there are other ways and it does not have to be a lock-step approach. Look at Wayne's GB-35 Skyraider. He did the exhaust stains, then applied his "Rescue" decal. He'll fix it later on but he weathered then decaled.

 

[Airframes]

If you're planning to paint a large area in a single colour, for example on the B-17, whether in Olive Drab upper surfaces and Neutral Gray undresides, or bare metal overall, that's a heck of an area to cover evenly with a paint brush.
It can be done without leaving brush marks, if using enamels not acrylics, but takes practice, or more correctly, experience and 'knowing' the paint and brushes being used.(I posted a basic guide to brush painting, some years ago, elsewhere in the modelling threads).

I started using an airbrush (with a propellant can !), just under 40 years ago specifically for two main types of paint finish - single colour over large areas, and mottled schemes on Luftwaffe aircraft - but still continued to use a paint brush for most other applications, and I still do on some models.
But again, I stress that I use enamels, which are more versatile than any acrylics, and allow more flexibility in use, providing a smoother, more even finish.
If you intend to paint a B-17, then I'd highly recommend using the airbrush, but first, practice, practice, practice, using the colour(s) to be used on the model, spraying onto a scrap model to a) get the feel of the brush over compound curves, joints and angles, and b) get accustomed to building-up the colour in thin coats, with a single pass of the airbrush in one direction.
It's better to apply two or more thin coats, than try to cover a large area in one go with a heavy coat, particularly with a single colour over a large area. The latter will only result in pooling of the paint, runs, drips, sags and all sorts of drying problems,
Using an airbrush is not the dark, mysterious science that some think it is - after all, young women in 'beauty salons' use them daily, to spray nail varnish !
It is a relatively simple, straightforward task, although, as in any form of 'artistic' work, it needs at least a little practice. The biggest problem in using an airbrush is the 'fear' of using it 'for real' for the first time - overcome that, and the problem no longer exists.

If the B-17 model is going to be sprayed, in whatever scheme then, as it's an important subject,with the 'family connection', then I'd suggest that you concentrate on getting the best finish possible, and leave weathering and other surface variations for another time. Better to have such a model looking good, although maybe 'factory fresh', than risk spoiling it by possibly overdoing the first weathering attempt.
However, just for interest, below is a pic of my (still unfinished) 1/48th scale B-17, built and painted around 24 years ago. This was brush-painted, as I didn't have an area in which to use an airbrush and compressor at the time, and still looks fairly reasonable as far as the finish goes, although 'some day' I might re-touch a couple of areas using the airbrush.

 

[N4521U]

I've been tearing my hair out, chin hair is falling out by it's ownself, over painting details over airbrushed areas.
GB#41 F4f"s, did Lifecolor green overall in the cockpit.
Now detailing IP and other stuff, black, red yellow etc with Tamiya XF colors.
They just don't want to cover, they schmeeeer! Unless I flood the paint on, let it dry and shrink.
I use the 20A thinner and dip back and forth, paint, thinner and pallet before applying.
Just doesn't like going over anything sprayed.

Now in an above post, Terry is saying he uses enamels for the details.
Terry are you using enamels because of my experiences??????

Hepp, please!

 

[Crimea_River]

Tamiya paints certainly don't brush well in my experience. Anything more than one stroke will pull the paint away and leave streaks as you have discovered.

 

[fubar57]

Both Vallejo Model Color and Model Air brush paint well. Polly Scale(if you can find it) does as well

 

[Airframes]

Bill, I've tried acrylics, from various manufacturers, and although, in general, they spray well, none of them can compete with enamels for brush work.
I've used enamels for over 50 years, both sprayed and brushed, and 'know' the paints, and how they should perform.
It's very rare that I'll spray small parts (maybe prop blades), and generally brush paint them, knowing that the enamels will work, where acrylics will streak, or look translucent, and / or leave brush marks.

 

[at6]

The problem with enamels is that they getting harder to get. Krylon has "killed" the Model Master line to the point that you have to try Ebay to get whatever you can. I have to airbrust since hand painting makes a cruddy model. I only hand paint small details.